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IELTS Task 2 Question Types and How to Recognise Each One

IELTS Writing29 August 2026 · 7 min read · WiderAI Team

Every IELTS Writing Task 2 question belongs to one of five types: opinion (agree or disagree), discussion (discuss both views), advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and the double question (two direct questions). Identifying the type correctly in the first thirty seconds matters more than anything else you do in the test, because the type dictates what a complete answer must contain — and missing a required element caps your Task Response score no matter how good your English is.

The type is announced by the instruction words at the end of the prompt, not by the topic. A question about technology might be any of the five types; a question asking "to what extent do you agree" is always an opinion essay, whatever the topic. Candidates who prepare topic vocabulary but never practise reading instruction words routinely write a beautiful essay to the wrong brief.

This guide gives you the identifying wording for each type, what the examiner expects in a complete answer, and the recognition traps that catch prepared candidates.

Type one: the opinion essay (agree or disagree)

Identifying wording: "To what extent do you agree or disagree?", "Do you agree or disagree?", "What is your opinion?"

This is the most common type, and its trap is hidden in the phrase "to what extent". You are being asked for a position with a degree: fully agree, fully disagree, or agree with a specific, clearly-bounded reservation. All three are equally valid — examiners do not reward one side. What they penalise is a position that never becomes clear, or the classic band 6 essay that argues both sides evenly and calls it balance. Balance is a feature of the discussion essay; in an opinion essay it reads as fence-sitting.

State your position in the introduction, give it two body paragraphs of support (or one support and one bounded concession), and restate it in the conclusion. A partial position — "I largely agree, although this does not apply to primary education" — can score highly, but only if the boundary you set in the introduction is the same one you defend throughout.

Type two: the discussion essay (discuss both views)

Identifying wording: "Discuss both these views and give your own opinion."

Here the brief contains three tasks: present view A fairly, present view B fairly, and state your own opinion. The most common failure is writing a strong opinion essay that mentions the other view in one dismissive sentence — that leaves a whole task unaddressed. The second most common failure is discussing both views thoroughly and forgetting the opinion entirely.

The clean structure is one body paragraph per view, explaining why reasonable people hold it, with your own position stated in the introduction and developed in whichever paragraph you agree with (or in the conclusion if you take a middle path). Discussing a view you disagree with is a skill worth practising on its own: you must present its genuine logic, not a weak parody of it.

Type three: advantages and disadvantages

Identifying wording: "What are the advantages and disadvantages?", "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?"

These two wordings look like twins and are not — this is the single most dangerous recognition trap in Task 2. "What are the advantages and disadvantages?" asks you to explain both sides; no verdict is required. "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" is an opinion question wearing a discussion costume: it demands a verdict, stated early and defended. Answer the outweigh version with a neutral list of pros and cons and you have not answered the question.

For the outweigh version, make your judgement in the introduction ("the benefits are considerable, but they are outweighed by two serious drawbacks"), and let the weighing show in your paragraphs — for instance, concede the advantages briefly in one paragraph and develop the heavier side more fully in the next.

Type four: problem and solution

Identifying wording: "What problems does this cause?", "What are the causes, and what measures could be taken?", "How can this problem be solved?"

Read carefully which pair you are given, because the prompts mix and match: causes and solutions, problems and solutions, sometimes causes and effects. Each named element needs its own development — a question asking for causes and solutions is incompletely answered by five solutions and no causes.

Two habits raise these essays from 6 to 7. First, connect your solutions to your problems: if paragraph one says the problem is cheap fast food, paragraph two's solution should address the price of food, not advertise exercise. Unlinked solutions read as memorised. Second, name an agent for each solution — governments legislate, schools educate, individuals change habits. "Something should be done" is not a solution; "municipal governments could subsidise fresh produce in low-income districts" is.

Type five: the double question

Identifying wording: Two direct questions in a row, such as "Why is this happening? Is it a positive or negative development?"

Sometimes called the two-part question, this type simply asks two things and expects two answers — usually one body paragraph each. The questions vary widely ("What are the reasons? What can be done?", "Is this a positive or negative trend? Why?"), so there is no formula beyond the obvious one: answer question one fully, then answer question two fully, and make sure your introduction acknowledges both.

The characteristic error is spending 200 words on the first question and 40 on the second. The examiner scores the response to the whole task, so an unbalanced answer caps Task Response exactly as an incomplete one does. When one question interests you far more than the other, that is a warning, not an invitation.

Does essay structure change between the five types?

Less than the preparation industry suggests. Every type fits the same frame: an introduction that paraphrases the topic and announces what your essay will do, two body paragraphs each developing one idea fully, and a conclusion that confirms your answer. What changes is the content contract — which elements must appear:

• Opinion: a clear, consistent position with support.
• Discussion: both views plus your own opinion.
• Advantages/disadvantages: both sides; a verdict too if asked to weigh them.
• Problem/solution: every element the question names, linked to each other.
• Double question: both answers, in reasonable balance.

Checking your plan against that contract before you write is the highest-value thirty seconds in the test. Official sample questions for practice are available through the official IELTS website, and the same skill of decoding what a question really asks applies to Part 3 of the speaking test — you can practise that under exam conditions with an IELTS speaking mock test.