Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. do you agree or disagree?: IELTS Writing Task

Bhargavee Sisodia

19 Nov 2024

The shared assignment in the second section of the IELTS writing test for both the Academic and General Training categories is writing an essay. The IELTS essay component lasts for forty minutes, and applicants must write an essay in this section that is at least 250 words long. This blog will review the many kinds of IELTS essay topics, how to approach them correctly, and many writing task 2 topics with answers. 

IELTS essay segment: Categories of Essay

There are six main categories into which IELTS essay topics often fall, and each category has a certain pattern of responses. You need to be fully versed in each format in order to assess the topic that has been assigned to you and formulate an apt response. If you are unable to identify which category your IELTS writing task 2 topics fall under, your IELTS writing band score will decrease.

• Problem Solution: You must do an investigation into the causes and consequences of major issues that are related to your topic for these essays. Personal advice and opinions should not be used in these sorts of writings.
• Advantage & Disadvantage: For this kind of essay, you have to enumerate the benefits and drawbacks of the assigned topic. The major body of your essay should be well-balanced, with a distinct paragraph addressing the advantages and disadvantages of the given topic. If it is not necessary to address the subject, do not share your point of view.
• Discussion: Writing an essay in this structure allows you to discuss both sides of the topic. If it doesn't specifically ask for your opinion, don't give it away. These articles will sometimes ask you to share your opinions, so you will need to share your ideas at such times. 
• Balanced Opinion: You must clearly and concisely express your thoughts about the subject in this kind of essay. You must defend both sides of the argument; you cannot favor one over the other. Your opinions should be presented objectively at the start and end of the essay.
• Opinion: This essay requires you to express your opinion on the provided topic, whether you agree with it or not. To bolster your perspective, provide convincing arguments and supporting data. Speaking partially in favor or disagreement with the subject at hand is not permitted. It is important to hold your position strongly no matter what.
• Direct Question/Double Question: This type of essay asks one or more direct questions, to which your answer should be written in the form of an essay with examples and a style that is clear and simple. You should answer each question of the topic in separate paragraphs of the main body with proper connecting pointers.

Your IELTS writing band score is determined by four primary evaluation categories, each of which accounts for 25% of your final result. To do well on each assessment, you should focus on all of the points listed below. Your ultimate score will be determined by how well you perform on these evaluation criteria. 

IELTS Writing: Assessment criteria 

The four main categories on which IELTS writing task 2 topics are scored are: 

• Task Achievement / Task Response: This criterion assesses the level of ability with which you have developed a response to the question in your IELTS writing task 2 topics. This assesses if you have written the required minimum of 250 words in the 40 minutes that you have been given, as well as whether you have supported your points with evidence and examples.
• Coherence and Cohesion: In a book, coherence refers to the logical flow and consistency of ideas. Ideas are disjointed in a paragraph that lacks cohesion. Cohesion is the capacity to make logical connections between sentences and produce writing that flows smoothly. 
• Lexical Resource: These criteria assess the extent and sophistication of your vocabulary as well as the appropriateness of the word usage given the essay topic.
• Grammatical Accuracy and Range: This section evaluates how well, precisely, and sophisticatedly you use the grammatical range. It takes into account things like using nouns, appropriate punctuation, the right tense, etc. 

IELTS essay tips: How to paraphrase successfully

Paraphrasing: The process of rewording or restating a text with other words or expressions while keeping the original meaning is known as paraphrasing. It is a technique for expressing the same concept in a different way that is frequently employed to clarify, simplify, or summarize information without exactly replicating the original text. 

There are a few techniques that need to be followed while paraphrasing your content in the IELTS essay. They are: 

Using Synonyms: While paraphrasing, it is important to use part of paraphrasing. Synonyms help change the pattern of a sentence without changing its exact meaning. It also ensures to portray our vocabulary range. However, it is important to understand the problems with using synonyms. All synonyms do not mean the same thing. In fact, using the wrong synonym in the wrong context can alter the meaning of the sentence, disrupting the flow of paraphrasing. 

Avoid Over-Paraphrasing: A good paraphrasing technique is to avoid over-paraphrasing. It is important to know that paraphrasing beyond a limit can be harmful. It can degrade the meaning of the sentence. One should be mindful of which words to paraphrase and which ones to keep intact so that the sentence doesn’t lose its essence.

Avoiding Mistakes: While paraphrasing, you should be aware of the real meaning of the synonyms you are using and their correct spelling. People often make mistakes while paraphrasing by using the wrong synonyms or incorrect spelling for the synonyms which will lower the score in IELTS writing task 2. 

IELTS writing task 2 topics with answers  

How to identify the type of your essay?

Assessing which category your topic fits into is the most important and first thing you should do after receiving the IELTS writing task 2 topics. The sort of essay must be determined since the essay's entire structure will be outlined in accordance with it. Every category of IELTS essay topics has a certain response syntax that must be carefully adhered to when writing the essay.

For example, if your essay topic is  “Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. do you agree or disagree?”, then your first task is to understand the instruction keywords within the topic. In this case, the instruction keywords are:

• “Do you agree or disagree?”: This question within the topic statement claims that the issue belongs to the “Agree/Disagree” or “Opinion” category of essays. 

Because of this, the essay on the subject at hand is an Opinion Essay, in which you are required to express your unambiguous agreement or disagreement with the issue. Regarding the issue statement, a diplomatic viewpoint is not appreciated. You should also provide relevant examples in your essay to amplify your opinions and statements.

Structure of the Opinion Essay

Introduction: Paraphrase the topic statement and mention your rigid perspective on it. 

Main Body: Two paragraphs should make up the main body of the essay. Its syntax will suffer if the entire essay does not provide a unilateral opinion or perspective.

• Paragraph 1: First idea on the topic statement along with relevant examples.
• Paragraph 2: Second idea on the topic statement along with relevant examples. 

Conclusion: Give it a fitting conclusion and restate your particular viewpoint (disagreement or agreement) on the issue statement.

Now let's have a look at the possible answers to the above topic from the “Opinion” category for the IELTS writing band scores 6, 7, and 9. 

score 6

Many foods and drinks contain high levels of sweeteners which is one of the major causes of health issues faced by consumers. So the price of such goods should be increased to decrease their consumtion. I agree with this statement and would like to talk about it in the essay.

The approach of charging more price for such products can have an impact on the manufacturer's company, provided that the bulk of their clients are concerned about their price. However such commodities might have healthier alternatives capable of changing the unhealthy components with healthy ones. For example, big brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have developed economical drinks with less sugar content that can retain both health and taste. Such products are capable of replacing unhealthy drinks of the same brand containing high sugar levels.

Even while better alternatives are promoted, high-sugar items still need to be priced higher so that consumers avoid buying them. A good amount of customers are drawn to less costly drinks despite their possible drawbacks which need to be changed. However, when the price of these goods increases, consumers will be forced to switch to less costly, healthier alternatives that promote their health. For instance, my father buys spices from those brands which has the lowest price. He says all brands have same ingredient and taste, so going for the cheapest is a better choice. The same mindset can be applied for high sugar level items.

To conclude, as the price of goods with high sugar content increases, the consumption will decrease resulting in better health of consumers.  

Notes on the above answer: 

• The words in both underlined and italics represent Grammatical mistakes that reduce the score in this criterion. 
• The underlined words indicate a lack of paraphrasing of the essay’s topic statement decreasing the score in Task Achievement. 
• The essay's vocabulary is narrow. Spelling errors are indicated with italicized words. The Lexical Resources score is lowered by these two elements. 
• he number of linking words is very low, and words in bold like “price”, “sugar”, and “consumers” have been repeated a lot, reducing the score of Cohesion and Coherence.

score 7

Eating and drinking products high in artificial sweeteners is one of the main sources of health problems for consumers which is why, raising the price is the best way to decrease their use. I want to go into more detail about why I think this is a valid statement in this essay.

Given that most of the manufacturer's clients are price-conscious, the approach of imposing additional fees may have an impact on the business. However such items may have other alternatives that can effectively swap out the unhealthy sugar components with healthier components. For example, the sugar-free refreshment beverage varieties that are being pushed on the market can act as an alternative to other beverages of the same brand with high sugar content. 

However premium pricing must be applied to products with high sugar content to discourage the general public from consuming them, even when superior alternatives receive promotions. A considerable portion of consumers are lured to less expensive drinks despite their potential negative effects and components. But as the cost of these products rises, customers will be forced to move on to less expensive and healthier options enabling their health. For instance, when taxi fares increase, most people steer clear of them. To avoid the health risks associated with any sweetened products, the same strategies can be used.

In conclusion, packaged foods that are high in sugar content have the potential to seriously harm health causing several life-altering diseases. As a result, to reduce demand and encourage consumers to make better choices, their suppliers must raise their prices.  

Notes on the above answer: 

• The words in both underlined and italics represent Grammatical mistakes because of which the score in that criterion has decreased.  
• The amount of linking words is lower than anticipated, and words in bold like “products”, “consumers”, “health”, and sugar” have been repeated, which has decreased the score in Cohesion and Coherence. 
• The sentence in bold is improperly formed which reduced the score in Cohesion.

score 9

Consumption of food and beverages that are rich in preservatives and sweeteners is one of the major causes of health issues faced by consumers. Hence an optimal method of reducing their ingestion is to increase its price. I wholeheartedly agree with this premise and would like to elaborate on my stance in this essay.

On one hand, the strategy to apply extra charges can affect the manufacturer’s business assuming the majority of their customers are price-sensitive. But, that reasoning is fallacious, since such products can have healthier alternatives capable of replacing the unhealthier components in the goods with beneficial substitutes. One such example is the sugar-free variants of refreshment beverages that are being promoted in the market. Conglomerates like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have produced affordable “Zero sugar” products that can preserve fitness and flavor, all at once. Apart from that, several chocolate companies have started promoting more robust surrogates like keto items, cocoa-rich pralines, and “no sugar” cocoa treats to steer their clients to fitter pathways.

On the other hand, while better backups get promoted, it is imperative to apply exorbitant rates on sugar-laden items to demote their intake by the common people. As per the common survey, a significant percentage of the middle class are drawn towards cheaper refreshments overlooking their ingredients and side effects. However, the advent of a price hike in such goods will push the clientele further away and force them to switch to affordable and more salubrious choices. For instance, my sister stopped buying junk food from a restaurant after a surge in their charges as it is no longer pocket-friendly to her. The same tactics can be implemented with all the sweetened consumables to overcome their health hazards.

To sum up, sugar-heavy package edibles may cause severe medical conditions like obesity, cholesterol, infertility, and diabetes. Thus their producers must increase their cost to decrease demand and lead their patrons towards more invigorating options. 

Conclusion

You may get support from a D-VIVID Consultant, a study buddy, an adviser, and a teacher, to be ready for the IELTS writing exam. Our comprehensive collection of frequently questioned IELTS writing task 2 topics with answers has helped several applicants obtain their anticipated IELTS writing band score. You can be sure that your IELTS preparation will be interesting and educational with our specifically created IELTS writing preparation guides, study materials on IELTS essay topics, and first-rate mentorship from competent and respected academics on IELTS writing task 2 topics. So for a fruitful and well-planned IELTS preparation experience, don't hesitate to contact us right now.