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Writing IELTS Essay Introductions and Conclusions

by jhonson
(malaysia )


Could you please comment on the IELTS Essay introduction. Thanks.

Question:

Some of the methods used in advertising are unethical and unacceptable in today’s society.

To what extent do you agree with this view?


Introduction:

The world that we live in today is dominated by advertising, and this true as we can see many of the Adverts on television, on the World Wide Web, in the street and even on our mobile phones. However, many of the strategies used to sell a product or service can be considered immoral or unacceptable.

Comments for Writing IELTS Essay Introductions and Conclusions

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Jul 21, 2012
 Task 2 Introductions
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

Yes, your introduction is good.

  1. In the first part you have introduced the topic (advertising) and given some background facts.

  2. Then you have given your opinion - that you agree.

  3. You have paraphrased and not copied the rubric.

In the essay you can then explain why you have this opinion, and you can also put the opposite side of the argument in as well if you wish (I recommend students put both sides of the argument in).

Some students introductions are much too long for a 250-300 word essay.

Follow these links for further guidance writing introductions and writing thesis statements.

So the structure is fine. The only problem is your wording looks odd in the first sentences. You have said that the world is dominated by advertising (this looks like your opinion), but then you have said your own opinion is true.

You would not have said the first part if you did not think it was true, so this looks odd.

I would word it like this:

The world that we live in today is dominated by advertising, and this is evident in the many adverts that we see on television, on the World Wide Web, in the street and even on our mobile phones.

Also, you missed the verb 'is' after 'this'.

Thanks and good luck.
Oct 26, 2017
 Introduction
by: Anonymous

Hello, the introduction is good and simple, easy to understand
May 26, 2018
 Personal views
by: Anonymous

Sir, giving personal views in introduction will constitute repetition of ideas in the last. This practice sounds childish and unbecoming of ielts essay. How about giving it in conclusion only?
May 27, 2018
 Personal views
by: IELTS buddy

You can give it in both, it's not an issue.

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How do I attract the examiners attention with a good introduction?

by YU Millie
(Suzhou, Jiangsu,China)

I want to ask a question. How to write a good introduction in my first paragraph to attract examiners' attention.

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Mar 10, 2014
 A good IELTS introduction
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

It is not really writing a good introduction to attract the examiner - the examiner will read your introduction whatever you do because that is their job!

But there are two basic things that someone will expect to see when you do an introduction. That is

1) Introduce the topic
2) Let the reader know what you will be writing about in the essay

So you should do those basic things - the examiner will like it more of course if it is well-written - but that is a grammar issue.

Check out the link in my reply to the post above I provided that explains introduction writing.

These are simple ways to do it - of course you can try to make your IELTS introduction more sophisticated if you are a good writer, but it should still have these two things.

Thanks

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How do I write a clear IELTS essay introduction and conclusion?

by ven chheang
(siem reap ,cambodia)

how to write a clear introduction and conclusion?

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Jun 03, 2015
 Clear introduction and conclusion
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Ven

Check out these Task 2 writing lesssons:

Writing an IELTS Essay Introduction

Writing an IELTS Essay Conclusion

Thanks

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Should I give my opinion in the introduction or conclusion?

by Yasar

In opinion essays, should I give my opinion in introductory paragraph or should i wait till conclusion in order to present my opinion.

Most of the format I have seen online state their opinion in the introduction and then reaffirm it in the conclusion but that seems more like a repetition to me. what is your opinion about this?

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Aug 10, 2015
 IELTS essay opinion
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

It's very important to make sure you clearly give your opinion in an opinion essay. That is why many sites state that you should give it in the introduction and conclusion.

It is fine to do this and it won't look like you are repeating yourself. A conclusion summarises the main ideas and points of your essay so it is normal for the conclusion to repeat things.

So you may have your opinion only in the conclusion or in the introduction and conclusion. You would never just have it in the introduction.

Introduction & Conclusion

Putting your opinion upfront in the thesis (the last sentence of the introduction, not the first sentence as this will be your general statement) means it will be very clear to the examiner at the beginning exactly what your position is before they start reading.

(Check out the link in the post above that explains introduction writing).

This can be a good thing as it will avoid any confusion, especially if you are a lower level candidate and you are less able to make your ideas clear in the body paragraphs.

You would then repeat your opinion in the conclusion.

(Check out the link in the post above, which explains how to write a conclusion for an IELTS essay).

Conclusion Only

But you don't have to do this. If you follow some general essay writing guides they will tell you to put your opinion at the end of the essay if it is an essay where you are asked to "Discuss both opinions and give your own opinion" but at the beginning if you are asked if you "Agree or disagree".

If you want to do this, that is fine, but you won't be marked down if you do not follow this convention.

As I said, it is up to you how you decide to approach things, but whatever you do, you must have a clear opinion which supports what you have written in the actual body paragraphs.

If you are of a lower level of writing though and there could be any confusion it is best to put it upfront in the introduction and conclusion.
Dec 05, 2015
 Stating your Opinion
by: Teacher Jill

The criteria examiners use for marking Task 2 essays constantly refers to 'position'.

For example, for Band 7, it says "presents a clear position throughout the response". While you might not use the words 'I believe' or 'In my opinion'in the introduction, you still need to make sure that the examiner knows what YOU think.

It makes no difference HOW an IELTS question is worded - the marking sheet doesn't change - so whether the question says 'give your opinion' or not, you must make it plain throughout your essay to score 7 or higher.

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Please Check my IELTS Essay Introduction

by Udhaya S
(Chennai)

Please help me to correct introduction of Ielts essay

Some people think that schools should select students according to their academic abilities, while others believe that it is better to have students with different abilities studying together.

Discuss both views and state your own opinion.

Answer:

Every children will have different abilities. Some people argue that it is undesirable to distinct children according to their abilities. Personally I believe that it is healthier to differentiate children with respect to their abilities.

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Feb 05, 2014
 Please check my IELTS essay introduction
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

I would say it is just 'ok' as it needs a few things improved. You have problems with your grammar, word choices and sentence structure.

For example, 'distinct' does not fit here, you repeat 'abilities' (three times!) and 'every' should be followed by a singular noun.

In addition there are too many simple sentences together so you should make the second two into one complex sentence.

Also you must mention key words from the topic. In your essay introduction you have made no reference to education or schools. That is a key part of the topic.

This would be better:

Every child will have different abilities at school. Though some people argue that it is undesirable to separate children according to their skills, personally I believe that it is healthier to differentiate children in this respect.

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Unfinished Conclusion

by Rajeev
(Noida)

Hi, yesterday I attempted my IELTS writing exam but I was not able to complete Task 2. I missed some part of the conclusion. Will I loose any marks for that??

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Sep 25, 2016
 IELTS Task 2 Conclusion
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Rajeev,

It's not really possible to say whether it would have or not.

The marking doesn't work in that way - there is nothing in the marking that specifically mentions conclusions.

Your essay needs to be a certain length, answer the question, be coherent etc. If any of those kinds of things were affected by your conclusion it's possible your band could be affected.

But if you fulfilled most the criteria and your opinion was clear etc. it may not make any difference.

So too difficult to say. You really just need to wait for your result.

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Do we always need to give our opinion?

by Siel

Do you always need to give your opinion about the subject in the question for the essay in task 2?

On the IELTS website they talk about how important it is that you express your own opinion in the essay.

But what if the question does not specifically ask for your opinion?

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Aug 16, 2016
 Giving your opinion in IELTS Writing Task 2
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Siel,

I don't know what you are referring to on the IELTS website, but you always should obviously give you opinion for opinion essays i.e. do you agree or disagree or discuss both sides and give your opinion.

In those cases you would want to make sure your opinion is very clear in the introduction and / or conclusion.

But if you were asked for example about causes and solutions you would not need to give your opinion in the intro / conclusion.

It would not be a problem if you did give some kind of opinion about the subject but it would not be necessary.

It would be useful if you copied and pasted the part on the website you are referring to then I can look.

Thanks

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Faulty Thesis Statement

by Bernard
(UAE)

Hello,

I took the exam last May 25, 2017 and my writing task 2 question goes like this:

These days more fathers stay at home and take care of their children while mothers go out to work.

What could be the reasons for this? Is it a positive or negative development?

Well, it is not exactly the words but has the same thought.

Due to time pressure and anxiety, as far as I can remember, I forgot to address the 1st question in the introduction.

What I did was I paraphrased the topic and answered that it is a disadvantage to the society. On the other hand, I discussed the reasons in first body paragraph.

Is there still a possibility that i can still get a band 7? Thanks

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Jun 04, 2017
 Introduction
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Bernard,

Yes you could still get a 7. It sounds like you still had a clear thesis statement setting out your opinion and you also answered the question fully - body paragraph one about the reasons then body two explaining your opinion.

Obviously there are many other factors they take into account when they score you essay so there is no guarantee of a 7, but if you did everything else well I don't think what you did is likely to be a reason to knock your score down.
Dec 27, 2017
 Regards Task 2
by: Anonymous

Hello,

I recently took the IELTS exam. The task 2 asked to write about differences children have with parents and grandparents. The Qs. were

1) What are these differences?
2) What are the problems caused by it?

I think I have not listed all the differences and the problems. Will I lose marks for losing out some important ideas?
Dec 28, 2017
 Regards Task 2
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

The examiner does not have a list of ideas in front of him/her, with a check list to see if you got them all. And who knows which is the 'most' important? That's very subjective so you can't get marked down because the examiner felt another idea that was more important was not discussed.

You decide what ideas you want to use to support your essay and you'll be marked on how well you present and explain them.

Anyway, it would be completely impossible to give every possible idea in response to a question. There could be many. You only have the time and space to present around two ideas in each body paragraph.
May 20, 2019
 Is conclusion essential in task 2?
by: Anonymous

Hi , I got cause and negative effects situation in writing task 2 but I forgot to write conclusion. I just discuss the cause in the first paragraph and effects in second paragraph then really forgot the conclusion as there’s no enough space. Will it affect my score?

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Concluding an Advantages Disadvantages Essay

by Imran

How to conclude an essay of advantages and disadvantages when your opinion is not required.

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Nov 21, 2019
 Concluding an Advantages Disadvantages Essay
by: IELTS buddy

You usually are asked for your opinion in those types of essay, but if not you can just summarise your main ideas that you had for each body paragraph in the conclusion.

So for example, if you were asked about the pros and cons of living abroad your conclusion might say:

In conclusion, there are benefits to living abroad, which are learning about a new culture and earning more money. However, the disadvantages are possible loneliness and stress.

So obviously what you put in it depends what arguments you put forward in your essay. You could also give a sentence with a very general further thought about the future after that if you wanted.

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IELTS Essay Introduction

by Yola Iolanta
(Russia)

Hello!

There is an essay topic:

Some people think that it is better for children to grow up in the city, while others think that life in the countryside is more suitable.

Would the introduction below be off-topic?

In my opinion, it does not matter for children if they grow up in the city or the countryside for, the main thing is parents who can take care of them and be near. Moreover, a life in the city is almost not different from the village life. In other words, everyone can be successful and grow up a smart individual.

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Nov 12, 2021
 IELTS Essay Introduction
by: IELTS buddy

Your introduction is wrong as you are just giving a list of ideas / opinions. These should mostly be in the essay.

Your introduction should start with facts to introduce the topic then have a short thesis statement.

Check out my Task 2 writing lessons as it's explained there.

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