What Task 2 samples can—and cannot—show you
A useful sample answer shows how a writer responds directly to a particular prompt, develops a position, organises ideas and controls language. It can help you notice the relationship between a question and the choices inside an essay. It cannot give you a universal introduction, paragraph formula or set of sentences that will fit every topic.
In both Academic and General Training IELTS, Task 2 asks you to write at least 250 words in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Task 2 contributes more to the Writing score than Task 1. Examiners assess Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Official candidate samples are especially valuable when they include a band score and examiner comment. Read the comment after making your own judgement. IELTS notes that there are many ways to achieve a band and that candidate answers should not be regarded as definitive examples. The original sample below is a teaching response, not an official band script.
Analyse the instruction before reading a sample
Separate the topic from the task. A prompt may discuss remote work, public health or education, but the instruction tells the writer what to do with that topic. “To what extent do you agree?” requires a clear degree of agreement. “Discuss both views and give your opinion” requires both positions and the writer’s view. A two-part question requires two answers.
What broad issue is being discussed?
What precise idea does the prompt present?
What judgement, discussion or explanation is required?
Which words limit the people, place, time or strength of the claim?
Before opening a sample, write a one-sentence answer to the instruction. This becomes your comparison point. The sample may take a different valid position, but you can still judge whether it answers the same question fully.
Worked Task 2 sample: remote work and cities
Some people believe that working from home will make large cities better places to live. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
I largely agree because fewer daily commutes can ease pressure on transport and give neighbourhoods a more balanced daily life, although remote work cannot solve housing costs or weak public services.
Introduction The growth of home-based employment has changed how many people use large cities. I largely agree that this shift can improve urban life because it can reduce commuting pressure and spread economic activity beyond central business districts. However, its effect is limited unless cities also address housing and essential services.
Body 1 The clearest benefit is a reduction in unnecessary daily travel. When employees work remotely for even part of the week, fewer people need to enter crowded centres at the same time. This can shorten journeys for workers who must be physically present, such as nurses, builders and shop staff, while also reducing demand for parking. Public transport authorities may then be able to focus capacity on the busiest routes and times instead of serving an extreme morning peak. Remote work therefore improves city life not by eliminating travel, but by making travel patterns less concentrated.
Body 2 Home working can also support neighbourhood economies. Office workers traditionally buy meals and services near their employers, leaving residential districts quiet during the day. If some of that spending moves closer to home, local cafés, childcare providers and shared workspaces may gain more regular customers. Residents may also become more involved in their immediate area because they spend less time commuting. This does not mean that city centres will disappear; rather, economic activity can be distributed more evenly across the city.
Body 3 Nevertheless, remote employment is not a complete urban policy. Many jobs cannot be performed from home, and poorly designed housing may offer no quiet place to work. More importantly, remote work does not automatically make rent affordable, improve schools or repair unreliable infrastructure. A city that depends on home working while ignoring these problems may simply transfer office pressures into overcrowded homes. The benefits are therefore greatest when flexible work is combined with investment in housing, transport and local public spaces.
Conclusion In conclusion, I largely agree that working from home can make large cities more liveable by reducing peak travel and strengthening neighbourhoods. Yet it should be viewed as one useful change within a wider urban strategy, rather than a substitute for essential public investment.
Trace the reasoning through the sample
Remote days reduce peak demand rather than making the unrealistic claim that commuting disappears.
The paragraph explains who benefits and why the transport system can operate differently.
The second paragraph moves from local spending to community involvement.
The third paragraph limits the position with housing, job and service constraints.
The position is “largely agree,” so the essay needs strong supporting reasons and a meaningful limit. The third body paragraph does not contradict the thesis. It defines the conditions under which the benefits are realistic.
Notice the language of degree: “can,” “may,” “some,” “not automatically” and “greatest when.” These choices avoid unsupported certainty. The essay does not invent exact statistics. Its examples are plausible consequences that explain the argument.
How the introduction answers the question
The opening sentence places the topic in context without making a broad claim about all modern society. The next sentence gives the degree of agreement and previews two reasons. The final sentence introduces the limitation. A reader already knows the essay’s direction.
A weaker introduction might say: “Nowadays, working from home is a controversial topic and different people have different opinions. This essay will discuss this issue.” Those sentences could introduce almost any question. They neither answer the instruction nor establish a position.
This essay will discuss whether cities can be improved by remote work.
I largely agree because flexible work can ease peak travel and strengthen local neighbourhoods, although it cannot replace investment in housing and services.
Direct does not mean simplistic. The stronger thesis contains a clear judgement, reasons and a limit. For more practice, see Writing Introductions and the published Opinion Essays guide.
How the body paragraphs develop ideas
Each body paragraph has one main purpose, but it does not follow a mechanical four-sentence template. The first moves from reduced commuting to who benefits, then to a possible transport response. The final sentence returns to the exact claim by defining the improvement carefully.
The second paragraph explains a different effect, so it earns a separate paragraph. It follows money and time from central offices to residential areas. The idea develops through consequences rather than a list of unrelated benefits.
The third paragraph is not included merely to appear balanced. It tests the limits of the writer’s own position. It identifies workers and homes that may not benefit and explains why wider policy still matters. This qualification makes “largely agree” credible.
- What exact claim does the paragraph make?
- How does each following sentence explain or support it?
- How does the paragraph help answer the prompt?
If you cannot answer one of these questions, the sample may contain repetition, an undeveloped example or an irrelevant sentence. The Writing Body Paragraphs guide provides more targeted practice.
Adapt the decisions to different essay questions
An opinion essay needs a clear degree of agreement, but other prompts change the required content. In a discussion essay, represent both views fairly and make your own position clear. In an advantages-and-disadvantages essay, distinguish effects that are genuinely positive or negative and make any required judgement. A problem-solution essay needs specific problems, workable responses and a clear connection between them.
Why might reasonable people hold each view, and what is your own judgement?
Who benefits or loses, under what conditions, and does the question require an overall judgement?
What causes or consequences define the problem, and how would each solution address them?
What separate answer does each question require, and how much development should each receive?
Use the relevant published guides for discussion essays, advantages and disadvantages essays, problem and solution essays and two-part questions.
Compare a developed idea with a repeated one
Repeated
Remote work reduces traffic. This is because there is less traffic when people work at home. Therefore, working at home is good for traffic.
The wording changes slightly, but the idea does not move.Developed
When fewer employees enter the centre simultaneously, roads and trains face a smaller peak. Essential workers can then travel more reliably even though total travel does not disappear.
The second sentence explains a consequence and identifies who benefits.Development answers the reader’s natural questions: why, how, for whom, under what conditions and with what result? Not every claim needs all five answers, but a paragraph should add meaning after its topic sentence.
Assess the sample using all four criteria
The essay gives a consistent degree of agreement, develops two reasons and explains a relevant limitation.
Paragraphs have distinct purposes, and references such as “this shift” connect ideas without repetitive linking phrases.
Topic language is precise—peak travel, central business districts, public services—and repeated concepts are paraphrased naturally.
Complex sentences express cause, condition, concession and qualification while sentence boundaries remain clear.
This analysis does not assign an official band. Only trained and certificated IELTS examiners award scores under controlled assessment conditions. Use the Writing Assessment Criteria guide and Task Response guide to make evidence-based practice notes.
Common sample-answer traps
- Memorised openings: they may delay or distort your actual answer.
- Fixed paragraph numbers: organisation should reflect the task and reasoning.
- Invented statistics: precision is not evidence when the source is imaginary.
- Rare synonyms: inaccurate word choice can weaken an otherwise clear claim.
- One-sided discussion: “discuss both views” requires meaningful coverage of both.
- Changing position: the conclusion should not introduce a different judgement.
- Examples without explanation: show how the example supports the claim.
- Copying candidate errors: official band samples may contain weaknesses discussed by the examiner.
Exercises for active sample study
- Thesis test.
Cover the essay and write the position in one sentence. Reveal it and compare degree, reasons and limits.
- Argument trace.
Label every sentence as claim, explanation, example, qualification or link. Question any sentence with no role.
- Alternative position.
Write a credible “partly disagree” plan for the same remote-work question without copying the sample reasons.
- Development repair.
Take a repetitive paragraph and add one mechanism, affected group and consequence.
- Question conversion.
Turn the topic into a discussion or problem-solution prompt, then identify how the essay structure must change.
- Timed transfer.
Close the sample and write a fresh 250-word response in about 40 minutes. Review it using the four criteria.
Use examiner comments intelligently
Predict a sample’s strengths and weaknesses before reading its examiner comment. Then compare the evidence. If the comment says ideas need further development, locate the paragraph where explanation stops. If it mentions overused sequencers, count them and test whether the logical relationship is already clear without each one.
Do not reduce a band to a vocabulary list. Official comments often show mixed performance: a response may have a clear position but insufficient development, or wide vocabulary alongside imprecise choices. Record one observation for each criterion, then choose the weakness with the greatest effect on the reader.
Finally, write something new. Sample analysis becomes useful only when it changes an independent response. Keep the sample closed while drafting so that you retrieve the decision instead of imitating the sentence.
Final checklist for Task 2 samples
- The exact question is visible.
- The response addresses every instruction.
- The position is clear and consistent.
- Each paragraph has a distinct purpose.
- Main ideas are explained rather than repeated.
- Examples are relevant and plausible.
- Vocabulary is precise, not merely unusual.
- Grammar expresses relationships accurately.
- Any band claim has genuine examiner support.
- The sample is a source of decisions, not memorised text.
References
This guide was researched using these official IELTS-owner sources:
- IELTS.org: Academic candidate responses with band scores and examiner comments
- IELTS.org: Academic Writing sample questions and Task 2 responses
- IELTS.org: Writing criteria and preparation resources
- IELTS.org: Academic Writing format and assessment
- British Council: Academic Writing model answers
- British Council: Academic Writing practice materials
- IDP IELTS: Writing practice tests and sample materials
Write independently
Carry the reasoning forward, not the sentences
Answer the exact question, develop each step and let the reader follow your position.