On a recent post, someone suggested that I write a few sample answers for the essay prompts in Cambridge IELTS 20, the latest in the essential book series for prospective IELTS candidates. Today, I will show you my approach to answering the four task 2 questions found in the book.

How to Use Sample Answers

Before we begin, I’d like to quickly note that these are just my sample answers and they do not represent the only way of approaching the questions. That should be obvious but unfortunately many IELTS tutors pretend that students must follow their formulas. That is simply untrue. There are lots of ways of writing a good essay.

When you look at sample answers online, you should thus scrutinise them carefully in a number of ways. You can find good ideas, methods of developing an idea, structural techniques, language points, and so on. Do not try to copy everything you see, but instead take good ideas and incorporate them into your own answers where appropriate.

A few years ago, I made this video all about how to benefit from band 9 sample answers like my ones:

Note that below I will only provide answers to task 2 prompts. This is for copyright reasons. I do not want to be guilty of stealing images from those books.

Question #1

Here’s the first prompt for task 2 in Cambridge IELTS 20:

Access to clean water is a basic human right. Therefore, every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge.

Do you agree or disagree?

Analysis

This is a pretty straightforward question. I don’t think there’s much to discuss here except if you are unsure about how to write agree or disagree questions. You can read that linked article if you have any issues with them.

Basically, you should say whether you agree, disagree, or neither agree nor disagree with the idea of freely supplied water on the basis of it being a human right.

Some minor problems here could include the fact that there are two statements. Feel free to disagree with one or both of them if you really feel that way, but make sure that your essay never strays from the topic and answers it directly with a full justification of all your points.

Sample Band 9 Answer

It is widely recognised that clean water is a fundamental human right and that all people should be provided with a free water supply to their home. This essay will entirely agree but acknowledge that it is nonetheless highly unlikely that this will happen soon.

First of all, given that it is a basic human right, water should of course be provided free of charge to all citizens. A government’s duty should be first and foremost to protect its people and of the various essentials for life, probably none are as important as fresh water. It is even more important than food and shelter. Beyond just survival, people are naturally going to be more productive when they do not need to worry about water access and this will be beneficial for governments, meaning that it is not just the ethically right thing to do but it should be logically justifiable from a practical standpoint.

In spite of all that, it does seem unlikely that all governments can achieve such a feat. Even in countries like China, which have vast amounts of wealth and extremely powerful governments, the water that people get in their homes is not potable. In poorer nations, it is not only unpotable but quite often unclean, meaning that it can only be used for things like flushing toilets. In many parts of the world, it is currently impractical to even provide an unclean water supply and so people have to collect it from elsewhere and bring it home or else they must gather rainwater during certain seasons. Thus, even if it is ethical for all governments to provide clean water and practical for some of them, it is not realistic that it will happen in the near future.

In conclusion, this essay agrees that water should be provided to all homes free of charge but admits that it almost certainly will not happen in certain parts of the world.

Notes on the Essay

This essay meets all the criteria required for a band 9. Obviously, as it was written by a professional writer who is a native speaker of English, the vocabulary and grammar are more than good enough. As for structure, it is carefully organised and linked. The response is detailed and direct, so that does enough for a good TR score. In terms of vocabulary, please note that I have used words and phrases directly related to the topic without trying to show off by using obscure terms for no good reason.

Question #2

Here is the second question prompt:

In many countries, primary and secondary schools close for two months or more in the summer holidays.

What is the value of long school holidays?

What are the arguments in favour of shorter school holidays?

Analysis

This is a two-part question and it’s quite difficult. Each question could almost spawn a whole essay! In spite of that, you have to aim for something manageable, which means writing 280-320 words if you really want development of ideas without spending too long on it. As for structure, you would do well to put the first question into body paragraph 1 and the second into body paragraph 2.

This is a quite unusual question and honestly I’ve not seen one like it before. I wonder if we will get more like this in the future…

Sample Band 9 Answer

Around the world, schools differ in terms of how much time off they give their students for different holidays. Some give very long holidays and others give much shorter ones. This essay will compare the respective merits of these approaches.

In many countries, holidays used to coincide with the harvest, when children were expected to work alongside their families and so work was considered more important than education, but nowadays this is no longer the case even if those same approximate holiday periods are respected. This begs the question of why children are given so much time off school as it may seem like a luxury. In fact, now that children do not have to work, these long holidays can be viewed as rest periods, and given how stressful education can be—particularly in the teenage years—this is very valuable indeed. Holidays also allow children to spend more time with their families and friends. During the school year, they are in class throughout most of each weekday and of course parents also have to work, so these opportunities can be sadly limited, but in the holidays children can bond with their parents more, and they also have time to pursue their hobbies with friends in the neighbourhood.

Whilst all of that is true, there are arguments in favour of shorter holiday periods. Although most parents love spending time with their children, this can become a challenge after a certain number of days. If a parent has to work, then they must find someone to look after their children, and this often costs money. Even when they can take time off, the job of looking after a child all day can prove exhausting and many parents are relieved at the end of the holidays when they can send their children back to school, where teachers are paid to take care of them. It is also true that schools give students structure and of course provide a constant flow of education and activity, stopping them from getting bored or turning to destructive activities, so keeping holidays to a minimum has some benefits from that perspective, too.

In conclusion, there are clear benefits to both long and short holiday periods for schoolchildren.

Notes

Most IELTS candidates would start this essay by paraphrasing the statement in the question prompt. They would say something like “Most schools close for two months in the summer…” but why? What relevance does that have to your essay? The two questions you have been given are about long vs short holidays, so two months is not something you have to think about. They do not mention two months or the fact that holidays could only come in the summer months. This is a common problem among IELTS candidates. They often see an example in the question prompt and then assume it is the main issue, which causes them to write misguided responses.

You may have noticed that my answer was a lot longer than usual here. That’s because this task was so complex that it required many more words in order for me to adequately answer the two questions. That said, you could write shorter body paragraphs and stand a good chance of getting a band 7 or 8 for TR.

Question #3

Here’s the third question prompt from this book:

Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether.

 Do you think the environmental benefits of this development outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses?

Analysis

In this case, we have an advantages and disadvantages question, but it’s a little more tricky than usual. You are not being asked about advantages outweighing disadvantages in a general sense but specifically whether the environmental advantages outweigh the personal and business disadvantages. This is a minor point but it’s important not to just quickly scan the question and jump to conclusions.

For a question like this, try to think carefully. How much of a difference would it make it a few thousand or a few million people made this choice? Now weigh that against other environmental issues… and then bring in the personal inconvenience and economic issues that might arise. Plan your answer accordingly.

Sample Band 9 Answer

In some parts of the world, it is now common for people to attempt to reduce the negative impact they have on the environment, and this includes flying less, with some people even refusing to fly at all. This essay will note that whilst this could be negative in terms of the economy, it is of course a net benefit for the world.

First of all, it is important to establish the fact that climate change impacts everyone in various ways and that it will only continue to worsen over the coming decades unless massive changes are made. The impact on the world will likely include economic distress, so it is important to weigh financial gains today against those of the future. If someone argues that flying more now is important for the sake of the global economy, it overlooks the fact that the effects of climate change in the future could drastically outweigh this. Of course, the impacts go far beyond economic factors. People and animals will die and this consideration should be given more weight than any other.

That said, airplanes are hardly the biggest contributor to climate change. By some estimates, air travel contributes 2.5% of total CO2 emissions, which is a relatively modest figure. If a small number of people from a small number of countries with low populations decide not to travel, the impact would be negligible. On the other hand, these people tend to be quite affluent, so their choice could negatively affect certain travel destinations. Thus, when making this decision people ought to weigh the realistic outcomes rather than the ideal ones. In any case, their aims are undeniably admirable and there will be some positive effect on the world in the long-run.

In conclusion, when considering the decision to fly less or not fly at all as a means of reducing environmental impact, it is clear that this is a positive step. However, it is probably positive only in a quite minor way and many other steps ought to be taken.

Notes on the Answer

I will admit that when I wrote this I searched Google for some accurate figures but feel free to make up believable ones when you are in the real exam. Obviously you can’t be expected to know all the scientific data!

In this essay, I wanted to focus on the fact that even if the impacts are not huge, they are undoubtedly positive and that the environmental benefits are thus not to be overlooked. I did not talk about personal and economic matters much because I was focused on the side that I think was more important (thus outweighing the other).

Question 4

Here’s the final question from the book:

Many aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends.

How has global fashion become such a strong influence on people’s lives?

Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

Analysis

Here we have a second two-part question, with one of them being an opinion (positive or negative) question.

This sort of question is quite easy to answer. You simply respond to the first question and then switch to answer the second one. Of course, depending on what your opinion is, you may have to write the first part carefully so that they link up. For example, if you think that it’s a negative development, then you may want to stress the groupthink aspect of fashion and the fact that people are often scared to express themselves as individuals.

Sample Band 9 Answer

It is quite easy to see that around the world people often dress in similar ways now because of global fashion trends. This essay will explain why that has happened and then argue that it is a mostly negative phenomenon.

It is no surprise that people follow fashion trends because humans are genetically wired for it. We are social creatures who mostly follow others, so throughout human history our cultures have developed along certain paths, with people tending to act like their peers. In the modern era, this has only accelerated with globalisation and the internet. In the late 20th century, people around the world began wearing blue jeans, high heels, and other aspects of American culture as Hollywood and pop music presented a certain image that people linked to wealth and power, and social media has done the same. Even though people have some attachment to their own culture, they are increasingly entering a global monoculture of sorts due to the desire to look like the most successful people.

Whilst this is not entirely negative due to it being a somewhat natural phenomenon, it is also not particularly positive either. The problems are primarily that this desire to copy others eliminates firstly their own personal identity and secondly their native culture. One just has to look around Asia to see that traditional Asian clothes are rapidly disappearing and being replaced by Western-style dress. People only wear their culture’s clothes for weddings, funerals, and other such occasions. In fact, even on special occasions many prefer to dress like their favourite Western celebrities. This leads to a situation where individuality is lost and everyone just copies everyone else, making the world a less interesting and diverse place.

In conclusion, it is obvious that people are starting to dress alike and whilst this is natural and unavoidable, it is a mostly negative situation.

Notes on the Answer

I have tried to give specific examples here and to give detail for both my explanation and opinion. I’ve also tried to avoid repetition, which is an issue in essays like this one, where certain words (clothes, fashion, dress) are necessarily going to appear more than once. The use of specific examples can help because it allows the writer to talk about something on-topic but at the same time avoiding the more general issue. Note that I avoided giving a strong opinion. That’s not necessary for a good score—you can say whatever you want. If you feel strongly, then do that. If you don’t feel strongly, then give some balance. There are many ways to write a good essay.

Writing Correction

If you want to try writing your own response to the above questions, then you can do so and send it to me using my writing correction service. I’ll mark it for you and give detailed feedback. This can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, thereby improving your chances of a good score in your next IELTS exam.