IELTS Writing Task 2 prompts are new every session but the themes are not. Education, technology, environment, work, health, urban life, crime, globalisation, media and government spending account for the overwhelming majority, and within each theme the same three or four arguments recur.
The topics below are grouped by theme and labelled with question type, so you can practise the structure the prompt actually demands rather than writing the same essay each time.
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| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Some people believe university education should be free for all students. To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion |
| Some argue that children should start formal schooling at four; others say seven is better. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Discussion |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Many students lose motivation in their teenage years. What causes this, and how could schools respond? | Problem and solution |
| Why do some people choose vocational training over university? Is this a positive development? | Two-part question |
| Some believe examinations are a poor measure of ability. Do the drawbacks of examinations outweigh the benefits? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Some people think that technology has made society less social. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Automation will eliminate many jobs. Some see this as progress, others as a threat. Discuss both views. | Discussion |
| What problems does widespread smartphone use cause among young people, and what can be done? | Problem and solution |
| Do the benefits of remote working outweigh the disadvantages? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why are people increasingly reliant on digital devices, and what effect does this have on memory and attention? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Individual action cannot solve climate change; only governments can. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Some believe environmental protection should be a national responsibility; others say it requires international agreement. Discuss both views and give your opinion. | Discussion |
| What are the main causes of urban air pollution, and how could cities reduce it? | Problem and solution |
| Do the advantages of nuclear power outweigh its risks? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why do people continue to buy products with excessive packaging, and what could change this? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| A four-day working week would improve productivity. To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion |
| Some think employers should provide training; others believe it is the individual’s responsibility. Discuss both views. | Discussion |
| What causes people to remain in jobs they dislike, and how could this be addressed? | Problem and solution |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of changing career several times in a working life? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why is there a shortage of skilled workers in some industries, and what should be done about it? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Governments should tax unhealthy food to improve public health. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Some argue healthcare spending should prioritise prevention; others say treatment. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Discussion |
| Why are levels of physical activity falling in many countries, and how could this trend be reversed? | Two-part question |
| Do the benefits of a universally free health service outweigh the costs? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| What problems arise from an ageing population, and what measures could address them? | Problem and solution |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Cities should ban private cars from their centres. To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion |
| Some believe governments should build more housing; others say they should regulate rents instead. Discuss both views. | Discussion |
| What causes traffic congestion in large cities, and what solutions are most effective? | Problem and solution |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a high-rise building? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why do young people increasingly move to large cities, and what effect does this have on rural areas? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Prison sentences should focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Some believe crime is caused mainly by poverty; others point to upbringing. Discuss both views and give your opinion. | Discussion |
| What problems are created by the widespread use of surveillance cameras, and how might they be limited? | Problem and solution |
| Do the benefits of stricter policing outweigh the loss of privacy it involves? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Governments should fund the arts as well as essential services. To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion |
| Some argue public money should support space exploration; others say it should address problems on Earth. Discuss both views. | Discussion |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of privatising public services such as railways? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why do some countries spend heavily on sporting events, and is this a good use of public funds? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| News organisations should be regulated in the same way as other industries. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Some believe social media platforms should be responsible for the content they host; others disagree. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Discussion |
| What problems does the spread of misinformation cause, and what can be done to reduce it? | Problem and solution |
| Why do people increasingly get news from social media rather than newspapers, and what are the consequences? | Two-part question |
| Prompt | Type |
|---|---|
| Globalisation has done more to erode local cultures than to enrich them. To what extent do you agree? | Opinion |
| Some think tourism benefits local communities; others believe it damages them. Discuss both views. | Discussion |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of a single global language? | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Why do traditional crafts decline in developed economies, and how might they be preserved? | Problem and solution |
| Theme | Argument for | Argument against |
|---|---|---|
| Free university | Removes cost as a barrier at the point of entry, where it deters most | Transfers money to future high earners, funded by those who will not attend |
| Automation | Historically, displaced labour has moved into new sectors within a generation | The transition is borne by specific people in specific places, not by “the economy” |
| Individual vs government climate action | Regulation changes the default; individual choice only reaches the motivated | Individual behaviour builds the political constituency regulation needs |
| Four-day week | Output per hour rises when hours fall; long hours mask low productivity | Works for knowledge work, poorly for shift-based and care work |
| Taxing unhealthy food | Price responsiveness is highest among those with the worst outcomes | Regressive by design, and substitution is often to something no better |
| Banning cars from centres | Road capacity induces the traffic it relieves; buses fill usefully, roads do not | Penalises those with no alternative if sequenced before public transport exists |
| Rehabilitation vs punishment | Reoffending rates are the only outcome that reduces future victims | Deterrence and public confidence are also functions of sentencing |
| Public funding for the arts | Cultural infrastructure has no market that will build it | Benefits accrue disproportionately to those already advantaged |
| Platform responsibility | Reach is editorial; distribution at scale is not neutral | Liability at scale forces over-removal, which suppresses legitimate speech |
| Tourism | Direct income to local economies, often where alternatives are scarce | Prices out residents and reshapes places around visitor expectations |
Two arguments per theme is enough. Task 2 needs two developed ideas, not five undeveloped ones, and a bank of twenty arguments covers most prompts you will meet.
| Activity | Time | Frequency | What it builds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan only — position, two ideas, two examples | 5 min | Daily, one prompt | The skill that decides task response |
| Introduction and conclusion only | 10 min | Three times a week | Clear position statement |
| One body paragraph, developed fully | 12 min | Three times a week | Development and examples |
| Full essay, timed | 40 min | Twice a week | Endurance and pacing |
| Rewrite a past essay after feedback | 30 min | Weekly | Fixing recurring errors |
Ten plans teach more about task response than two full essays do, and take the same time. Save full essays for the pacing practice they are actually good for.
| If the prompt ends with… | Type | Non-negotiable element |
|---|---|---|
| To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion | A clear position, stated in the introduction |
| Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Discussion | Both views, plus your own position |
| What are the advantages and disadvantages? | Advantages and disadvantages | Both sides; verdict optional |
| Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? | Advantages and disadvantages | An explicit yes or no |
| What problems… and what solutions…? | Problem and solution | Solutions attached to named problems |
| Two separate questions | Two-part question | Both answered, roughly equally |
Getting this wrong is the single most expensive error in Task 2, because task response is the criterion it damages and a well-written essay answering the wrong question cannot recover the marks elsewhere.
The exact prompts do not, but the themes do. Education, technology, environment, work, health, urban life, crime, government spending, media and globalisation account for most prompts, and the arguments within each theme recur, which is what makes an idea bank worth building.
Fewer full essays and more plans. Ten five-minute plans across different question types teach more about task response than two full essays, and take about the same time. Keep two timed full essays a week for pacing.
No. Memorised essays rarely fit the exact question, and answering a slightly different question is the most heavily penalised error in Task 2. Memorise arguments and structures instead.
Rarely, because Task 2 prompts are deliberately general and no specialist knowledge is assumed. If a topic is unfamiliar, argue from mechanisms and from who is affected rather than from facts you do not have.
Two, developed properly. Two body paragraphs each with one clear idea, an explanation and an example scores better than four paragraphs of assertion, because development is what coherence and task response reward.
The two-part question, for most candidates — not because the ideas are harder but because it is the easiest to answer unevenly. Giving one part a paragraph and the other a sentence is a task response error even when both answers are correct.
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