What you should include in an IELTS Writing Task 2 introduction
In this post, I’d like to show you what information you should include in an IELTS Writing Task 2 introduction, i.e. the first paragraph of an IELTS essay. (For those of you new to IELTS, in IELTS Writing Task 2 you have to write an essay of 250 words or more on a particular topic).
In general, your IELTS Writing Task 2 introduction should include:
- an introduction to the essay topic and why it’s important
- an indication of how your essay will continue
Depending on the type of IELTS essay question and on your style of writing, your introduction could also include:
- a statement about different views on the topic
- your own opinion on the topic
To show you what I mean, here’s an IELTS Writing Task 2 question and the introduction from the essay in my post ‘Here’s an IELTS essay I wrote earlier‘. When you read the introduction, think about which ideas from the list above are included.
IELTS Writing Task 2 (taken from the Official IELTS Practice Materials):
Television is dangerous because it destroys family life and any sense of community; instead of visiting people or talking with our family we just watch television.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample essay introduction:
A big part of many people’s lives these days is spent watching television. The average adult can routinely watch two or three hours a day, while many children spend the equivalent of a working week in front of the television. The question is whether or not this development is harmful to families and/or communities.
As you can see, the first two sentences in the sample introduction above introduce the topic and say why it’s important and the third sentence gives an indication of how the essay will continue. If you read the whole essay, you’ll see that it continues by talking about the negative effects, and then the benefits, of televisions for families and communities.
To see an introduction that also includes a statement about different views on the topic and the writer’s opinion on the topic, have a look at the essay in my post ‘Discuss both views‘.
So, to sum up, there’s some information you should include in your introduction and some information that you can include if you want to. If you’ve recently written an IELTS Writing Task 2 essay, you could look back at your introduction to see what information you’ve included.
One final piece of advice is that you’ll probably find it easier to write an introduction if you make an essay plan first.
Let me know if you have any comments or questions by submitting a comment below.
Pete
See our IELTS tutor profiles to find out more about our qualified and experienced English language teachers.
Average rating
Hi
Thanks alots, it was more useful and I am looking forward others your email.
With regards
Azam
I’m glad you found this post useful, Azam.
Pete
Your writing tips are really great. I want to ask that in writing task 2 if question is agree or disagree, what should we include in our essay. In body paragraphs we should write only in favour of agree or disagree or both, and how many paragraphs we can include in our essay 4 or 5? Thanks and waitin for ur reply.
Thank you, Alina.
For IELTS Writing Task 2 essay questions that ask if you agree or disagree with a particular opinion, you have a choice; you can agree with the opinion completely, disagree with the opinion completely or write about both sides of the argument.
For an example of this type of question and some ideas about how to answer it, have a look at my blog post ‘To what extent…‘.
If you have enough different ideas, you could include five paragraphs in your essay, but four is okay as long as you write at least 250 words in total.
Have a good weekend,
Pete
Dear Pete,
Can we use ready made sentences in introduction & in conclusion?
Regards,
Gulzar
Hi Gulzar,
If you need an IELTS band score of 7.0 or above, it’s not a good idea to use ready-made sentences in your introduction or conclusion because those sentences are unlikely to relate to the exact topic of your essay and the examiner may think you cannot use English flexibly.
It is a good idea, however, to memorise some common ways to begin sentences in introductions and conclusions as this may help you write more quickly in the test.
Two examples from the sample introduction in the blog post above are:
Best wishes,
Pete
Hi Pete
Does examiner count in,on,and,….?
Thanks for your question, Mati.
The examiner will count words like ‘in‘, ‘on‘ and ‘and‘; he or she will even count the words ‘a‘ and ‘the‘.
Pete
THANKS FOR TIPS… How many times the examiner will count articles like ‘the’ ‘a’ ‘an’?… only once or…
Hi Aygul,
The examiner will count every ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. For example in the sample introduction in the blog post above, the examiner will count 54 words (including three ‘a‘s and four ‘the‘s).
Pete
Hi
Pleae tell me if the question ask about agree or disagree then how should we start the essay?
Thank you so much.
Seela
Hi Seela,
The sample introduction in the blog post above is for an essay question that asks whether or not you agree with a particular opinion.
There’s more advice about writing introductions in our e-books called ‘How to answer IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 questions‘ and ‘How to answer IELTS General Training Writing Task 2 questions‘.
Pete