Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the three day weekend. I am about to start my weekend, after teaching a 6 hour IELTS course today.

In my column today, I want to give you some advice about ways in which you can more quickly and easily think of ideas for IELTS Task 2 essays. In the IELTS course I taught today, my students looked at the following essay question:

To learn effectively, students need to eat healthy meals at school.

How true is this statement?

Whose responsibility is it to provide meals for children?

One problem my students had however, was thinking of ideas. Therefore, I gave the following advice:

- firstly, quickly think of questions.

- next, think of answers to the questions. 

Look at the following example of questions and answers that could help you more quickly understand the essay question and think of ideas: 

What does 'learn effectively' mean? 

- to achieve good grades in exams at school.

What is 'healthy food'?

- fresh fruit and vegetables.

- food containing good nutrition.

- not oily, high calorie junk food such as hamburgers.

Why is healthy eating important?

- children need energy to concentrate and study.

- important for children not to become ill and miss lessons.

What meals do children eat?

- breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Who provides meals for children?

- parents (breakfast and dinner).

- schools (lunch).

In addition, to answer questions such as whose responsibility is it to provide food, it is also easier to think about a wide variety of ideas. If you only write about parents, then it may be hard to think of many ideas. If you write about both parents and schools however, this can make it easier for you to think of ideas.

I hope this advice helps you to more quickly and easily think of ideas and write Task 2 IELTS questions.

Good Luck!! (and enjoy your weekend)

Mark