Practising IELTS Academic Writing Task 2

Contents
A. TEACHERS NOTES.............................................................................................. 2
A1. Lesson Plan ..................................................................................................... 2
A2. Classroom Handout 1 ...................................................................................... 5
A3. Classroom Handout 2 ...................................................................................... 6
A4. Suggested homework/self study activities ....................................................... 7
B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES ......................................................... 7

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Part 2
A. TEACHERS NOTES

Description
Time required: 45 50minutes
Materials One copy for each student of Classroom Handouts 1 & 2
required:

Aims: To practise planning the content and structure of answers to Task 2

of the Academic Writing test.

A1. Lesson Plan

1. With the whole class, brainstorm the kinds of topics they might find in national and
international newspapers.
Write their suggestions on the board.
Next, ask the class to brainstorm the topics they may be asked to discuss in Task 2
of the Writing paper.
Point out that many of the kinds of topic are very similar.
Suggested answers for possible topics.
The media Crime & Laws
Education Science & Technology
Work & jobs Food & diet
Money & finance Family
Politics Arts, music and entertainment
The environment Globalisation
Health care Men & women
Travelling & tourism Sports
Language & culture

Timing 5 mins

2. Tell the class, that they are going to think about the topic of the environment. With
the whole class, brainstorm some possible themes that might appear in the exam on
the topic of the environment.
Possible responses: pollution, recycling, farming, resources, living conditions

Timing 10 mins

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Task 2
3. Give out A2 Classroom Handout 1.
Focus them on the first question
Elicit from the whole class how many paragraphs their answer should have and what
they should contain.
As a class, complete the information for the first question together.
Question 1: Pollution is becoming a problem in many major cities. What can be done
about this?
Suggested structure: Paragraph 1: Introduction description of problem
Paragraph 2: Possible solutions
Paragraph 3: Conclusion

In pairs, the students complete the information for questions 2 and 3

Question 2: Some people think that governments need to do more to reduce pollution. Do
you agree?
Suggested structure: Paragraph 1: Introduction + statement of opinion
Paragraph 2: Justification for opinion
Paragraph 3: Conclusion

Question 3: Some people think that too much emphasis is placed on protecting the
environment while others believe that we are using natural resources too
quickly.
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.
Suggested structure: Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Advantages
Paragraph 3: Disadvantages
Paragraph 4: Conclusion + statement of opinion
Timing 10 mins

4. Tell the students that, in this lesson, they are going to look at Question 3.
Some people think that too much emphasis is placed on protecting the
environment while others believe that we are using natural resources too quickly.
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.

Give out A3. Classroom Handout 2.

Depending on the experience of the students, they can either work in pairs or alone to
complete the plan for the essay.
Remind the students that it is important to give examples for any opinions that they
express.
Once they have completed the plan to their and your satisfaction, the students can
discuss any vocabulary that will be useful to their argument.

Timing 15 -20 mins

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Part 2
5. If there is time at the end of the lesson, put the students into small groups to discuss
and explain the arguments that they are going to put in their essays.
Timing 5 mins

6. For homework, the students complete the writing within a specified time.
Set the time limit depending on the strength of the class. (See Guidance for follow up
Activities)

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Task 2
A2. Classroom Handout 1

Question 1 : Pollution is becoming a problem in many major cities.

What can be done about this?
Structure:

Question 2: Some people think that governments need to do more to reduce

pollution.
Do you agree?
Structure:

Question 3: Some people think that too much emphasis is placed on protecting
the environment while others believe that we are using natural
resources too quickly.
Discuss both points of view and give your opinion.
Structure:

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Part 2
A3. Classroom Handout 2
ESSAY PLAN
Introduction

Opinions Examples

Opinions Examples

Opinions Examples

Conclusion

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Practising IELTS Academic Writing Task 2
A4. Suggested homework/self study activities
Students can carry out the same planning process on their own with the other
questions on A2. Classroom Handout 1.
These notes can be used for either a timed Task 2 writing task in the class or at home.
Encourage your students to read as many articles as they can to build up a stock of
opnions on a variety of topics.

B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES

If you do not have easy access to newspapers or magazines in English, there are
many excellent sources on the internet.
As well as looking at the large news websites, such as the bbc.co.uk, searching for
the phrase newspaper articles for english language students will give you some
options.
Use the list of topics in stage 3 to brainstorm different exam type questions with your
class.
You can carry out stages 6 8 using any exam question. Doing this planning activity
weekly should improve the quality of your students writing.
When setting the time limits for a piece of writing, consider the strength of your class.
Start with a longer time limit and reduce it as you approach the date of the exam to
40 minutes.

UCLES 2011. This material may be photocopied (without alteration) and distributed for classroom use provided no charge is made. For further
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