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IELTS Sample Essays

Here you will find IELTS Sample Essays for a variety of common topics that appear in the writing exam.

The model answers all have tips and strategies for how you may approach the question and comments on the sample answer.

You can also view sample essays with band scores on this page. 

Looking at IELTS essay topics with answers is a great way to help you to prepare for the test. 

These IELTS sample essays have been categorised in a way that makes it easy for you to see how certain essay question types require you to provide certain responses to ensure the question is fully answered. 

Specifically these are:

• Agree / Disagree
• Discuss Two Opinions
• Problems and Solutions
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Other Types

Agree / Disagree Type Questions

In these types of question you are given one opinion and you then have to state the extent to which you agree or disagree with that opinion:

• Advertising
• Alternative Medicine
• Spending on the Arts
• Human Cloning
• Social Interaction & the Internet
• Airline Tax
• Free University Education
• Scientific Research
• Banning Smoking
• Employing Older People
• Vegetarianism
• Paying Taxes  
• Examinations or Formal Assessment 
• Multinational Organisations and Culture
• Internet vs Newspapers
• Technology Development  
• Dying of Languages
• Animal Extinction
• Truth in Relationships
• Role of Schools
• Return of Historical Artefacts

Discuss Two Opinions Type Questions

In this essay question type you are given two opinions, and you have to discuss both of these and then give your own view:

• University Education
• Reducing Crime
• Animal Rights
• Child Development
• Diet & Health
• Donating Money to Charity
• Closing Zoos   
• Becoming Independent  
• Formal and Informal Education  
• Influence of Scientists and Politicians
• Sources for Stories
• Searching for Extraterrestrial Life

Cause Type Questions

There are a variety of 'cause type' essay questions. In these you first have to give the reasons why something has happened, in other words the causes, but then discuss a different aspect of it, such as the effects, solutions or the extent to whether it is a positive or negative development:

Causes & Effects:

• Child Obesity
• Skin Whitening Creams
• Family Size
• Having Children Later in Life
• Time Away from Family

Causes and Solutions:

• Youth Crime
• Global Warming
• Paying Attention in Class
• International Travel & Prejudice 
• Museums & Historical Places
• Disappearance of Traditions
• Communication Between Generations

Causes, Pros & Cons:

• Family Closeness
• Living Alone
• Rural to Urban Migration

Problems & Solutions Type Questions

In these type of questions, instead of discussing the causes of a problem, you need to discuss the problems related to a particular issue in society, and then suggest what can be to solve these problems:

• Overpopulation
• Competing for Jobs  
• Professionals Immigrating

Advantage & Disadvantages Type Questions

In these type of questions you are asked to discuss the positive and negative sides of a particular topic. You will usually be asked this in the context of giving an opinion ( e.g. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Is it a positive or negative development? ): 

• Traffic Problems
• Food Additives
• Computer Games
• Age Discrimination at Work  
• Children using Tablets and Computers  
• Cell Phones, Internet, & Communication  
• Working from Home 
• Eating Locally grown  Produce  
• Oil and Gas Essay  
• Peer Pressure on Young People
• Online Fraud
• Decreasing House Sizes

'Hybrid' Types of Essay Question

There are sometimes questions that don't fit easily into a particular category as above. I've called these 'hybrid', as they are of mixed character, are composed of different elements from other types of essay, or are perhaps just worded differently. 

• Protecting Old Buildings
• Animal Testing
• Fear of Crime
• Communication Technology
• Influence of Children's Friends  

Sample Essays with Band Scores

You can also view some sample essays that have been written by candidates practising for the test and have band scores and comments by an experienced ex-IELTS Examiner based on the IELTS marking criteria. 

• IELTS Band 8 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 7 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 6 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 5 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 4 Essay Samples

Student Sample Essays

For more IELTS essay topics with answers you can also view essays that have been written by students. Some have feedback from other students or IELTS teachers:

• Student Model Essays  (with comments by other students)
• Student Model Essays (with comments by IELTS buddy)

Any comments or questions about this page or about IELTS? Post them here. Your email will not be published or shared.

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20 English Essay Topics/Questions | B2 First (FCE)

The language of an English essay should be formal . Also, make sure that you justify all your ideas and that you use appropriate connectors to link your sentences and paragraphs .

How to write B2 First (FCE) essay?

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B2 First (FCE) Essay: Example Topics / Questions

Below is a sample list of academic essay writing topics/tasks for B2-level (intermediate) students. You can use them to practice writing English essays or to prepare for the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) exam

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 1 | First (FCE)

You have watched a documentary about young children in poor areas who leave school to work. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

Teenagers are dropping out of school to find a job. How can we help them to continue their education?

Write about:

• family problems
• financial difficulties
• …………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 2 | First (FCE)

In your social studies course, you have watched a documentary on the potential effects of too much pollution on the air quality of city centres. Your professor has assigned you an essay to write.

Keeping the air quality in city centres at healthy levels for their residents is a concern for many places. How can we solve the problem of pollution in city centres?

• automobiles
• ………………  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 3 | First (FCE)

In your education class, you have listened to a lecture on the importance of teaching foreign languages in school. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Learning a foreign language helps students develop a set of important skills. Why should foreign languages be taught in schools?

• new cultures
•  employment
• …………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 4 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the problem of widespread starvation in many parts of Africa. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In many parts of Africa, people are dying of starvation and lack of freshwater. Can these problems be solved?

• lack of organised farming
• …….. …….. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 5 | First (FCE)

You have watched a video on a non-profit organisation working to stop the use of animals for testing medicines used by human beings. Now, your professor has asked you to write an essay.

Testing on animals is a standard in scientific research. What is the best way to deal with this problem?

• animals suffer
• outdated form of research
• …… ……..  (your own idea)

Get Your (FCE) Essay Checked!

B2 - essay topic / question 6 | first (fce).

You have listened to a radio programme about deforestation, the cutting down of trees in many wild areas around the world. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Many forests around the world are being destroyed for agricultural, commercial, or housing use without allowing time for the forests to regenerate themselves. What can be done to improve the situation?

• what contributes to the greenhouse effect
• ………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 7 | First (FCE)

In your English class, you have been talking about endangered species, animals or plants that will likely become extinct. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Around the world, many wildlife species are in danger of extinction. How can we protect endangered animals?

• hunting wild animals
• ………..  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 8 | First (FCE)

You have watched a Youtube video about the problem of computer game addiction in children. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

More and more young people spend most of their time playing computer games. How can we help children to overcome this addiction?

• bad grades at school
• no social life
• ………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 9 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the impact of smoking on people’s health. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Smoking is responsible for many health problems throughout the world. Do you think it should be made illegal?

• lung cancer
•  passive smoking
• ……………… (your own idea)

FCE, CAE, CPE

More than practice tests, b2 - essay topic / question 10 | first (fce).

In your English class, you have been talking about the problem of obesity in young people. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In Europe and the USA a lot of young people have an obesity problem. What can be done to solve this problem?

• (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 11 | First (FCE)

Has technology made a positive contribution to sport today?

• The use of technology to improve performance
• The use of technology in refereeing decisions

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 12 | First (FCE)

It is better to work at home than in an office. Do you agree?

• Contact with people
• Working hours

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 13 | First (FCE)

Life is harder for young people now than in the past. Do you agree?

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 14 | First (FCE)

Is it better to go shopping in small local businesses or large out-of-town shopping centres?

• Where things are cheaper
• Where service is better

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 15 | First (FCE)

Is it better to spend a summer holiday in the countryside or on the coast?

• Leisure options

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 16 | First (FCE)

Your teacher has asked you to write your response to the following statement taken from a recent newspaper article:

Do you agree that community service works better than fines?

• effort and time
• lesson learned
• ………………(your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 17 | First (FCE)

Is it true that we help the environment when we plant a tree?

• clear the air
•  ………….( your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 18 | First (FCE)

Nowadays children are suffering from obesity, that was once considered to be meant for adults only. What are its causes and what solutions can be offered?

• busy lifestyle

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 19 | First (FCE)

Is it better to be the oldest or the youngest in a family?

• role of older sibling

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 20 | First (FCE)

Modern lifestyles can seriously endanger our health.

Do you agree?

• physical activity
• …….. (your own choice)

B2 First (FCE) Essay: Download (PDF)

Download B2 First (FCE) Essay: Topics (PDF)

Practice Tests Online

B2 first (fce) essay: assessement criteria.

Your essay will be assessed according to these four criteria:

What is your level of English?

• Writing an effective essay: Cambridge B2 First

• Posted on 28/02/2018
• Categories: Blog
• Tags: B2 First , C1 Advanced , C2 Proficiency , Cambridge CAE Certificate of Advanced English , Cambridge CPE Certificate of Proficiency in English , Cambridge Exams , Cambridge FCE First Certificate of English , Learn English

Students take language certifications like the Cambridge B2 First qualification for lots of different reasons. You might do it to motivate yourself to improve your language abilities, to prove your level of English to an employer, or even to achieve an ambition like travelling around the world and going to live in an English-speaking country.

The Cambridge B2 First exam includes a two-part writing section, which can be daunting for some people. So if you’re thinking about taking an exam like this, we have some top tips to help you write an excellent exam essay.

Most of the advice in this article can also be applied to any exam where you have to write an essay, such as the C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency or IELTS .

Writing test structure

Before we get into the details, let’s take a look at the structure of the writing paper. You have 80 minutes to write two texts – and it will go quickly!

The first part is the essay; the second part is an article, email, letter, report, or review.

You will be given the essay title and two ideas or prompts . It’s essential that you include both of these ideas in your essay, as well as another relevant idea that you have to come up with yourself .

You have to write 140-190 words in each part and it shouldn’t take you more than 40 minutes per answer .

Writing an essay in three steps

Take a look at this example from a sample paper and then think about how you would answer it in an exam:

Essay title:

Some parents teach their children at home rather than sending them to school. Is this a good or a bad thing for the children?

• 1. having a parent as a teacher
• 2. making friends
• 3. …..

Question taken from http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/exam-format/ (Cambridge Assessment English, Feb 2018).

What could the third idea be? Stop reading, grab a pen and write down some ideas! Keep them general, but relevant. When you’ve finished, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see some of our ideas * .

Step One: plan it (10 minutes)

That’s what my old history teacher used to tell me. I hate to admit it, but he was right! If you don’t usually plan before you start writing, you really need to get into the habit . Ten minutes may seem a lot, but the more time you spend planning, the clearer your ideas will be and the quicker the writing process will be.

A good place to start is to brainstorm keywords and phrases related to the topic.

Next, you should think about how you’re going to begin ( the introduction ), how you’re going to connect the three main ideas ( the body ) and how you’re going to finish ( the conclusion ). If you know where you’re headed , you’re much less likely to get lost along the way!

Step Two: write it (25 minutes)

OK, you’ve got our plan – you’re good to go ! It’s important to know what the examiners are looking for. The mark you get for the essay is based on the following four aspects :

Content: Have you included all three ideas? Remember, all content should be 100% relevant to the topic, so don’t go off on a tangent !

Communicative achievement: Is the style or tone of your essay appropriate? It should be neutral and quite formal, so avoid contractions (e.g. it’s, don’t, they’ll) and first person pronouns (e.g. I, me, my, we, us, our).

Organisation: Does your essay follow a logical order? To help your writing flow , try to include linking words. Here’s a website with some examples.

Language: Have you used a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures? Don’t always write the first word that comes to mind – look for synonyms . Using some complex structures (e.g. different verb tenses, passives, inversion) will boost your marks, but be sure to use them correctly!

Step Three: check it (5 minutes)

This final step is essential. It’s your chance to read (and re-read) your essay to identify any mistakes. No matter how careful you’ve been, there are probably a few things that you can improve. Check for spellings. Check for plurals. Check for verb agreement . Basically, check everything!

5 quick tips to improve your proofreading

• Keep a list of (your) frequent mistakes, so you know what to look out for
• Read it slowly
• Use your finger to guide your eyes
• Correct one thing at a time (e.g. only punctuation, then only spelling)
• Focus on the little words (pronouns, articles, prepositions, etc.)

Still not sure if this is the right exam for you?

There are many benefits of earning an English certification, but before you decide to do so, it’s very important to check your English level . This will help you select the right exam course and make sure you don’t waste time completing one that’s too hard or too easy for you.

If you decide to do an exam preparation course with us, one of our trained level testers will work with you to assess your level. But, if you can’t wait until then, here’s a multiple-choice test for you to complete to give you some idea.

This article also outlines the differences between the Cambridge and IELTS exams to help you decide which exam is for you.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Daunting (adj): something that worries you because it might seem difficult to do.

Prompts (n): something serving to suggest or remind.

To come up with (pv): to think of something such as an idea or a plan.

To get into the habit (exp): to begin to do something regularly or often.

Headed (adj): destined for.

You’re good to go! (exp): you’re ready!

To go off on a tangent (exp): to start doing, discussing, or thinking about something completely different.

To flow (v): to proceed smoothly and continuously.

adj = adjective

pv = phrasal verb

exp = expression

*Example ideas: ‘group work’, ‘bullying’, ‘class sizes’, ‘working parents’, ‘free curriculum’

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• Posted on 22/02/2018

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Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks

Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes.

This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction , focused paragraphs , clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion .

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Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay, an appeal to the senses: the development of the braille system in nineteenth-century france.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

In France, debates about how to deal with disability led to the adoption of different strategies over time. While people with temporary difficulties were able to access public welfare, the most common response to people with long-term disabilities, such as hearing or vision loss, was to group them together in institutions (Tombs, 1996). At first, a joint institute for the blind and deaf was created, and although the partnership was motivated more by financial considerations than by the well-being of the residents, the institute aimed to help people develop skills valuable to society (Weygand, 2009). Eventually blind institutions were separated from deaf institutions, and the focus shifted towards education of the blind, as was the case for the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which Louis Braille attended (Jimenez et al, 2009). The growing acknowledgement of the uniqueness of different disabilities led to more targeted education strategies, fostering an environment in which the benefits of a specifically blind education could be more widely recognized.

Several different systems of tactile reading can be seen as forerunners to the method Louis Braille developed, but these systems were all developed based on the sighted system. The Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris taught the students to read embossed roman letters, a method created by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauy (Jimenez et al., 2009). Reading this way proved to be a rather arduous task, as the letters were difficult to distinguish by touch. The embossed letter method was based on the reading system of sighted people, with minimal adaptation for those with vision loss. As a result, this method did not gain significant success among blind students.

Louis Braille was bound to be influenced by his school’s founder, but the most influential pre-Braille tactile reading system was Charles Barbier’s night writing. A soldier in Napoleon’s army, Barbier developed a system in 1819 that used 12 dots with a five line musical staff (Kersten, 1997). His intention was to develop a system that would allow the military to communicate at night without the need for light (Herron, 2009). The code developed by Barbier was phonetic (Jimenez et al., 2009); in other words, the code was designed for sighted people and was based on the sounds of words, not on an actual alphabet. Barbier discovered that variants of raised dots within a square were the easiest method of reading by touch (Jimenez et al., 2009). This system proved effective for the transmission of short messages between military personnel, but the symbols were too large for the fingertip, greatly reducing the speed at which a message could be read (Herron, 2009). For this reason, it was unsuitable for daily use and was not widely adopted in the blind community.

Nevertheless, Barbier’s military dot system was more efficient than Hauy’s embossed letters, and it provided the framework within which Louis Braille developed his method. Barbier’s system, with its dashes and dots, could form over 4000 combinations (Jimenez et al., 2009). Compared to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, this was an absurdly high number. Braille kept the raised dot form, but developed a more manageable system that would reflect the sighted alphabet. He replaced Barbier’s dashes and dots with just six dots in a rectangular configuration (Jimenez et al., 2009). The result was that the blind population in France had a tactile reading system using dots (like Barbier’s) that was based on the structure of the sighted alphabet (like Hauy’s); crucially, this system was the first developed specifically for the purposes of the blind.

While the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009), realizing that access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).

Although Blind people remained marginalized throughout the nineteenth century, the Braille system granted them growing opportunities for social participation. Most obviously, Braille allowed people with vision loss to read the same alphabet used by sighted people (Bullock & Galst, 2009), allowing them to participate in certain cultural experiences previously unavailable to them. Written works, such as books and poetry, had previously been inaccessible to the blind population without the aid of a reader, limiting their autonomy. As books began to be distributed in Braille, this barrier was reduced, enabling people with vision loss to access information autonomously. The closing of the gap between the abilities of blind and the sighted contributed to a gradual shift in blind people’s status, lessening the cultural perception of the blind as essentially different and facilitating greater social integration.

The Braille system also had important cultural effects beyond the sphere of written culture. Its invention later led to the development of a music notation system for the blind, although Louis Braille did not develop this system himself (Jimenez, et al., 2009). This development helped remove a cultural obstacle that had been introduced by the popularization of written musical notation in the early 1500s. While music had previously been an arena in which the blind could participate on equal footing, the transition from memory-based performance to notation-based performance meant that blind musicians were no longer able to compete with sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997). As a result, a tactile musical notation system became necessary for professional equality between blind and sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997).

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Bullock, J. D., & Galst, J. M. (2009). The Story of Louis Braille. Archives of Ophthalmology , 127(11), 1532. https://​doi.org/10.1001/​archophthalmol.2009.286.

Herron, M. (2009, May 6). Blind visionary. Retrieved from https://​eandt.theiet.org/​content/​articles/2009/05/​blind-visionary/.

Jiménez, J., Olea, J., Torres, J., Alonso, I., Harder, D., & Fischer, K. (2009). Biography of Louis Braille and Invention of the Braille Alphabet. Survey of Ophthalmology , 54(1), 142–149. https://​doi.org/10.1016/​j.survophthal.2008.10.006.

Kersten, F.G. (1997). The history and development of Braille music methodology. The Bulletin of Historical Research in Music Education , 18(2). Retrieved from https://​www.jstor.org/​stable/40214926.

Mellor, C.M. (2006). Louis Braille: A touch of genius . Boston: National Braille Press.

Tombs, R. (1996). France: 1814-1914 . London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Weygand, Z. (2009). The blind in French society from the Middle Ages to the century of Louis Braille . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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Shane Bryson

Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.

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