How to answer ‎‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’ questions.

Nov 17, 2015

Pauline Cullen Author

How to answer ‎‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’ questions.

Nov 17, 2015

How should you answer ‎IELTS writing task 2 questions that ask ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’

A lot of people have asked me about this recently.  Here are two typical questions:

1) ‘When the writing task question says ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’ Do I have to discuss both of the views in the question? So, one body paragraph for ‘agree’ and other one for the ‘disagree’? Or can I choose to just either agree or disagree?’

2) ‘In “To what extent do you agree or disagree” type questions, will I lose marks if I write only the points in the body paragraphs that I agree or disagree?’

These questions are basically asking – ‘is it ok to only give only one opinion or do I have to mention both opinions?’

Let’s take a look at an authentic example of this type of writing task. It is very important that the writing tasks you use for practice are authentic and reflect the real IELTS test. I find that it is test questions that are NOT authentic (the ones that advertise themselves as ‘free!” or ‘cheaper than Cambridge!”) that often cause problems and confusion.

Here is an image showing an authentic writing task question that comes from Cambridge Practice Tests Book 9.  I’ve added notes to show how you should approach this type of question.

 

To understand more about planning your answer, and how to approach this type of question, read this post: How to quickly plan your answer

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32 Comments

  1. Muhamamd

    So! Do I have to support why I agree in one paragraph with advatages and effects of not applying and then write a paragraph for disagreement? Please answer.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Muhamamd, it isn’t that you ‘have to’ to do that, it is that I suggest you do that (It means you look at both sides and gives you more to talk about so your answer is balanced and less repetitive) I will be explaining it in more detail in my free book

      Reply
  2. Ngan

    Hi Pauline,
    Above you said “consider the effects of NOT HAVING unpaid community service”
    I’m a little confused about this.
    These “effects” are negative effects of not having unpaid community service (ideas for disagreement) or both positive and negative effects of that?

    Reply
    • Pauline

      They can be either positive or negative – there is no rule for that – it is only about finding ideas to write about and looking at the question for inspiration. A lot of people tell me that they have no ideas, so this suggestion is a way of thinking to help you get ideas in the short space of time you have in the test. For example, not having unpaid community service would mean the students have more time to study and relax (a positive), but would also mean that community suffers as a result (a negative) It’s just about finding things to write about.

      Reply
  3. Sophie

    I have a question about citing research in task 2. Many of my students are experts in their field and they are in a position to say things like “according to research in behavioral psychology….”. My question is, how do the examiners know if these examples are not made up if the source is not provided? Also, what kind of examples should be given in task 2?

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Sophie, If they are truly experts then they will naturally know this data so it is absolutely find to use it just as you say. However, in my experience, the people who do this are often going out of their way to show their knowledge and so use data that may be relevant to part of the topic but is not really relevant to the specific question – once they cite data like this they also tend to get a bit carried away. This is particularly true of the many doctors I help. The ones that are clearly made up tend to use extremes (e.g. 80% of children in the USA are obese) or make up names using famous people they know – I have seen a Dr Justin Bieber (!) In itself, this is ok, but I do find that once they are inventing, other language problems creep in. This is why I always recommend they write about what they know.

      Reply
  4. James Edel

    Dear Pauline,

    Permit me to ask few questions on this post even though it has been posted almost two years ago.

    Do candidates lose any mark if they fail to consider both sides of the question? Which of the writing assessment criteria will they not meet if they write explanations to only the point/side they support?

    I do agree with you that writing about the two sides will make the essay more balanced, however, this method of writing is difficult to teach.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi James, I am answering those questions in my free book – the short answer is that a candidate will lose marks if they do not discuss everything in the task (i.e. if there are two views they must discuss both, if there are two elements, they must discuss both). What I suggest in this post is that, where there is only one viewpoint given, non-native speakers often struggle to write about only one side, so it can help them to be less repetitive if they also write about the opposite (i.e. to say 1) I believe x because 2) if we did not have x then y would happen

      Reply
  5. Pawan Bahuguna

    Hi Pauline,

    That is great and I got some idea from the comments what you are trying to say. If the candidate is not having 2 different ideas to explain in 2 paragraphs, he/she can also explain the other side.

    Also, the image in this article is not working, so please fix that.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Yes, that’s exactly my point, Pawan :). With the images from old posts, I am going to update these links over the next few weeks. Please bear with me as I move into my new site.

      Reply
  6. Sara Moh.

    Is it opinion task or discussion
    How to differentiate between them?

    Reply
  7. Milad

    Hi Pauline, Sometimes the question or prompt has just one idea, for example:
    ” Some people say that music is a good way of bringing people of different cultures and ages together.
    To what extent do you agree or disagree? ”
    Cambridge Book 14-Test 3.
    How we can organize our paragraphs in examples like this?

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    Hi. May I ask if I can disagree if the question only asks “To what extent do you agree?”

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Can I ask where you saw the question?

      Reply
    • Anonymous

      That’s what im wondering

      Reply
  9. Yasaman

    Dear pualine,

    I am a candidate from Iran who has IELTS soon. I know you are really busy, but I would be so grateful, if you give my essay a score based on criteria or at least just an overall score.

    yours sincerely,

    Universities should accept equal numbers of female and male students in every subject.
    To what extent do you agree or disagree?

    It is said that the proportion of candidates from one gender who are accepted by universities should be as many as opposite gender in all fields of study. I totally disagree with this view because it is not only impractical but also unfair.

    The main reason why I do not believe that universities should admit same number of female and male students is due to impracticality. Sine every subject might not have equal popularity among both genders, it is not feasible to get equal number of students. To illustrate, teaching and nursing subject s are more popular among girls, whereas boys are mores interested in engineering and mechanics. If half of the seats were dedicated to one gender, the remaining seats may become vacant. So, I am not of the same opinion that university admission should be based on equal quantity of candidates from both gender as it is unrealistic.

    Another reason to not support the notion of equality in number of students accepted from each gender is due to lack of fairness. Male and female students will not have access to same educational opportunities unless they are evaluated based on their qualifications rather than gender. However, if fifty percent of university seats are reserved for one gender regardless ofbdegree or achievement, the right of those students from opposit gender who may have more potential abilities will be violated. For example, in some countries where universities admit same proportion of male and female students, some individuals may argue that if there had not been any restriction in terms of gender, now they could continue their education in the major they really like. Consequently, I am opposed to the idea of enrolling both gender equally as it unjust.

    In conclusion, while it is indispensable to provide educational equity at universities, I completely disagree with equal acceptance of male and female students. This is because it is impossible as well as not fair. In fact, that is applicants’ aptitudes and proficiency which should be prioritized over gender. Otherwise, it would lead to gender discrimination.
    Universities should accept equal numbers of female and male students in every subject.
    To what extent do you agree or disagree?

    It is said that the proportion of candidates from one gender who are accepted by universities should be as many as opposite gender in all fields of study. I totally disagree with this view because it is not only impractical but also unfair.

    The main reason why I do not believe that universities should admit same number of female and male students is due to impracticality. Sine every subject might not have equal popularity among both genders, it is not feasible to get equal number of students. To illustrate, teaching and nursing subject s are more popular among girls, whereas boys are mores interested in engineering and mechanics. If half of the seats were dedicated to one gender, the remaining seats may become vacant. So, I am not of the same opinion that university admission should be based on equal quantity of candidates from both gender as it is unrealistic.

    Another reason to not support the notion of equality in number of students accepted from each gender is due to lack of fairness. Male and female students will not have access to same educational opportunities unless they are evaluated based on their qualifications rather than gender. However, if fifty percent of university seats are reserved for one gender regardless ofbdegree or achievement, the right of those students from opposit gender who may have more potential abilities will be violated. For example, in some countries where universities admit same proportion of male and female students, some individuals may argue that if there had not been any restriction in terms of gender, now they could continue their education in the major they really like. Consequently, I am opposed to the idea of enrolling both gender equally as it unjust.

    In conclusion, while it is indispensable to provide educational equity at universities, I completely disagree with equal acceptance of male and female students. This is because it is impossible as well as not fair. In fact, that is applicants’ aptitudes and proficiency which should be prioritized over gender. Otherwise, it would lead to gender discrimination.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Yasaman, the main problem with your answer is repetition of key ideas – if you read your answer aloud you should notice this. I have now completed my writing course, which you will be able to access very soon, and it will show you how to fix this problem. Your language ability is band 7+, your main problem is with Task response and the new course will show you where you are going wrong as well as how to fix it. I’ll share a link to the course soon.

      Reply
  10. Mohammad Abuzar Shaikh

    Hi Pauline, Hope you are doing well.
    I will soon be appearing for IELTS and I came across your amazing site and need your help.
    While practicing writing Task 2 a confusion arose when I came across an online question which asks for only “the extent to which one agrees”. Yet, should I still present the disagreement ideas or is it fine to only state the ideas in agreement?

    Here is the question prompt:
    “In the past, shopping was a routine domestic task. Many people nowadays regard it as a hobby.
    To what extent do you think this is a positive trend?”
    (source: https://www.ielts-exam.net/ielts_writing_samples_task_2/1056/)

    Could you kindly help me please?

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Mohammad, the problem is with paying any attention to questions you find online. The internet is not a reliable source of information. People write their own questions without any training in how to do this. Or people often claim that they are showing you a question from a ‘recent actual test’. When they do this, there are always changes made by the people who share them. These changes are based on: 1) their memory 2) their English level 3) they way their interpreted the question 4) the fixed ideas they have about what a test question looks like and ‘question types’. I even saw a question like this once that said ‘Only discuss the opinion you agree with.’ This is not IELTS, so you are not practising for the test if you use materials like this. Instead, you are guaranteeing you remain below band 7. Read chapters 7 and 10 of myths free book, The Key to IELTS Success, to understand why. Here is a link if you don’t have it:
      https://keytoielts.com/product/ielts-teacher-the-key-to-ielts-success/

      Reply
  11. surgal

    Dear Pauline,
    In IELTS Vocabulary book, you used “a lot more easily than in the past” phrase. My question is why not “…easier than…”. Can “more easily” phrase be used in IELTS writing?

    Reply
    • surgal

      And also, what is the difference between “modern” and “modern-day” used in the same paragraph.

      Reply
      • monago1984

        I don’t know which paragraph you mean (I have two IELTS Vocabulary books and they are now both in their second edition). Modern-day is used to mean ‘from the present time we are living in’ and ‘modern’ is more connected to design or fashion and means ‘designed or made using current methods or materials’. I would need to know exactly what paragraph you are referring to to be able to give more information on that.

        Reply
    • monago1984

      ‘a lot more easily’ just highlights it more than ‘more easily’- both are fine to use.

      Reply
      • surgal

        Thank you very much. The source book is Vocabulary for IELTS- Self-study vocabulary practice.
        Page 138, task 2.1, both “a lot more easily” and “modern-day travel” are present in the paragraph.
        I asked the explanation in terms of grammar.
        So easy is an adjective and easily is an adverb. Adjectives and adverbs have their comparative and superlative forms.
        As an adjective, it would be easy, easier, the easiest
        As an adverb, it would be easily, more easily, the most easily.
        The explanation for modern and modern-day is fine, but again there seem to be inconsistencies.
        For example, on page 65, “a modern problem” phrase is used, while on page 161 (Recording 8b), “a modern-day problem” is used.

        Reply
        • monago1984

          Hi Surgal, I am not sure what you mean by inconsistencies – when used to describe a problem (which both of those examples are) there is a lot of overlap in meaning and they are almost interchangeable. Let me know if you still have a problem with the ‘a lot more easily’ phrase. We can also say ‘much more easily’, I am not clear on what your question is regarding those, so please let me know if it is still unclear.

          Reply
  12. amintgn

    Dear Pauline,
    I have a question about this question type.
    “People should look after their health as a duty in the society they live in, rather than only for their personal benefit.
    To what extent do you agree or disagree?”

    To answer this question, I provided 3 main body paragraphs that the first one was a one-sentence paragraph showing my agreement with caring about health issues for individuals as a whole and its rewarding aspects for them.
    The next body paragraphs was concerned with communal benefits and aspects of looking after health in a society. Finally, my conclusion paragraph was also a single sentence one.

    The question is that will I lose mark for making use of paragraphs consisting only one sentence in my essay? If so, what band score does this Coherence and Cohesion deserve?

    Reply
    • monago1984

      Where does the question come from? Three single-sentence paragraphs will not create a clear argument and it does not sound like a complete essay to me.

      Reply
      • Amin

        This question is an authentic one.
        I think there’s a misunderstanding.
        The essay I mean looks like this:

        INTRODUCTION
        A SINGLE-SNETENCE CONCESSION PARAGRAPH
        TWO BODY PARAGRAPHS FOR AGREEMENT
        A SINGLE-SNETENCE CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH

        I should say both single-sentence paragraphs were written by the complex sentence and fairly developed argument.

        Reply
        • monago1984

          Can you tell me which of the Cambridge IELTS books 9-16 it comes from then?

          I have beer written or advised anyone to write a ‘single-sentence paragraph’. What you are describing is not a plan, it is a formula. If you read my free book then you will see this won’t help.

          Reply

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