IELTS Agree or Disagree Essay format: Works 100%. Guaranteed

In Writing Task 2 of IELTS, an agree or disagree essay is the most common type of essay. Essentially, a debatable opinion will be presented to you, and you have to propound a discourse either supporting or opposing it.

There are multiple ways of going about with agree or disagree essay questions. You can agree with the statements whole-heartedly or totally disagree with the claims. Likewise, you may decide to agree or disagree to a certain degree. All this depends on your perspective as well as the arguments you can think of during the test.

Examples of IELTS Agree or Disagree essay questions

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Schools should prepare students for work rather than for university. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

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WRITING TASK 2

You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Only governments can handle environmental problems as they are too great to be managed at individual level. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

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WRITING TASK 2

You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Certain jobs are more appropriate for men and other jobs are more suitable for women. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

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WRITING TASK 2

You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

These days social media sites have become public forums for discussion on political and social issues. Therefore, all types of opinions should be allowed on such platforms, and nobody should be banned. Do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Structure of IELTS Agree or Disagree Essay

Even though we can lean on one side of the argument partially or fully, I recommend to either completely agree or completely disagree with the opinion in agree or disagree essays in the IELTS test.

This is because regardless of what your personal beliefs are on the matter, scoring high in the IELTS Writing Test involves writing in a tightly-structured format with a clear position on the subject matter.

So, during the test, brainstorm for ideas regarding the topic, and choose to agree or disagree depending on how many arguments you can think of on either side. You need to write about two to four separate ideas in support of your position based on the following format:

Paragraphs	Format for Agree	Format for Disagree
1	Introduction	Introduction
2	Points on why you agree	Points on why you disagree
3	More points to support your argument	More points to support your argument
4	Conclusion	Conclusion

If you have only two arguments, then develop them into two separate paragraphs with explanations and examples.

When you come up with three arguments, include two of them in one body paragraph and the other in the next.

Similarly, with four arguments, the two body paragraphs should consist of two ideas each.

You do not need more than four arguments for an agree or disagree essay in IELTS Writing Task 2. More is not always better. Too many ideas may make your essay disorganized and lacking focus.

Questions which ask “Do you think this is positive or negative?” can also be answered in the same format as the agree or disagree essay.

Introduction

As we have seen before, an Introduction paragraph in essays has three components.

1. Paraphrase the statements from the question
2. Pick a side: choose between agree or disagree
3. Mention your arguments

Schools should prepare students for work rather than for university. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Introduction:
The role of a school is to make students ready to take on jobs when they graduate instead of preparing them to attend university. I fully agree with this sentiment because most high school graduates do not go into full-time college education. While some of them immediately start full-time employment, others combine further education with part-time work.

The above paragraph is a good Introduction for IELTS agree or disagree essay question. The first sentence paraphrases the statement given in the prompt. The second sentence asserts that the essay agrees with the opinion as well as provides an argument. The third sentence adds more ideas which will be developed in the body paragraphs.

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Only governments can handle environmental problems as they are too great to be managed at individual level. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Introduction:
Some people claim that environmental issues are better managed at government level as compared to individuals taking actions on their own. I could not disagree more. Apart from the fact that small private initiatives work wonders when tackling big issues, huge bureaucratic projects have the tendency to become inefficient.

Body paragraphs

The ideas mentioned in the Introduction paragraph of agree or disagree questions should be extended in the paragraphs that follow. For this, clarification, logical reasoning, and evidences are needed. In Writing Task 2 of IELTS, two body paragraphs work best for an agree or disagree essay.

Just like the Introduction paragraph, the body paragraph also has a three-part structure:

1. State your point
2. Explain what you mean by providing reasons
3. Give examples

Schools should prepare students for work rather than for university. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Example:

Introduction: The role of a school is to make students ready to take on jobs when they graduate instead of preparing them to attend university. I fully agree with this sentiment because most high school graduates do not go into full-time college education. While some of them immediately start full-time employment, others combine further education with part-time work. Body paragraphs: The main reason why school education should be job-centric, in my opinion, is that not everyone attends university. Although more and more individuals are joining colleges after high school, a vast majority who enter the job market need practical skills like operating computers, basic accounting, filing documents, meeting deadlines, and behaving appropriately in the workplace. These attributes help people function better in their careers. However, if secondary schools operate like prep schools for universities, students will be taught about abstruse concepts and standardized tests which often are inconsequential in real life. What is more, part-time employments and internships have become part and partial of career development in the modern world. On the one hand, many high school graduates want to experience a working environment before joining college or instead of joining college. On the other hand, even while pursuing a university education, holding a part-time job or an internship has become the norm for most students. They do this in order to earn a living, partially fund their tuition fees, or to make a head start in their careers. Therefore, school teachers should devote their time teaching functional and pragmatic lessons in place of just academic concepts.

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Only governments can handle environmental problems as they are too great to be managed at individual level. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Example:

Introduction: Some people claim that environmental issues are better managed at government level as compared to individuals taking actions on their own. I could not disagree more. Apart from the fact that small private initiatives work wonders when tackling big issues, huge bureaucratic projects have the tendency to become inefficient. Body paragraphs: As far as I am concerned, grassroots movements are more effective in instituting change. Through awareness and education, it is possible to make people realize the vulnerability of our ecosystem and habitat, and how individual actions can safeguard the environment. For example, citizens can control pollution by disposing their wastes appropriately or by recycling. Similarly, we can use energy-efficient devices in our homes to save energy or use unleaded petrol in our vehicles to limit carbon emissions. Beyond that, environment can also be helped by planting trees and curtailing the use of plastic bags for grocery shopping. Such steps, if undertaken by a large number of individuals, can reduce human impact on the environment much better and quicker than any government-backed program. Another reason for my disagreement is a general distrust of the legislative process and bureaucracy. Environmental problems build up slowly and gradually, so there will always be a lag between the time an issue springs up and the time it festers enough to grab the attention of lawmakers and bureaucrats. Then, the political process – which involves research, consultation, deliberation, promulgation, budgeting, and implementation – is a lengthy affair, and it may fail to stitch the problem in time. Finally, even when actions are taken, corruption and incompetence of public officials might still be setbacks to the project. For an instance, community forests in Nepal managed by the local community have been more successful in ecosystem regulation, watershed conservation and carbon sequestration compared to the national parks which are under the control of the federal government.

Conclusion for Agree or Disagree essay

Like all other essay questions, the IELTS agree or disagree essay also ends with a Conclusion paragraph. It is here in this last paragraph that we summarize the points made in the body.

1. Reiterate your thesis

Schools should prepare students for work rather than for university. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Example:

Introduction: The role of a school is to make students ready to take on jobs when they graduate instead of preparing them to attend university. I fully agree with this sentiment because most high school graduates do not go into full-time college education. While some of them immediately start full-time employment, others combine further education with part-time work. Body paragraphs: The main reason why school education should be job-centric, in my opinion, is that not everyone attends university. Although more and more individuals are joining colleges after high school, a vast majority who enter the job market need practical skills like operating computers, basic accounting, filing documents, meeting deadlines, and behaving appropriately in the workplace. These attributes help people function better in their careers. However, if secondary schools operate like prep schools for universities, students will be taught about abstruse concepts and standardized tests which often are inconsequential in real life. What is more, part-time employments and internships have become part and partial of career development in the modern world. On the one hand, many high school graduates want to experience a working environment before joining college or instead of joining college. On the other hand, even while pursuing a university education, holding a part-time job or an internship has become the norm for most students. They do this in order to earn a living, partially fund their tuition fees, or to make a head start in their careers. Therefore, school teachers should devote their time teaching functional and pragmatic lessons in place of just academic concepts. Conclusion: To conclude, I am of the opinion that university should not be touted as an end-all and be-all to every student. In addition to scholarly knowledge imparted to school students, practical lessons on securing, performing, and holding jobs should be instituted in schools. Twelve years of school education should be enough as a stepping stone for a vibrant career.

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Only governments can handle environmental problems as they are too great to be managed at individual level. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Example:

Introduction: Some people claim that environmental issues are better managed at government level as compared to individuals taking actions on their own. I could not disagree more. Apart from the fact that small private initiatives work wonders when tackling big issues, huge bureaucratic projects have the tendency to become inefficient. Body paragraphs: As far as I am concerned, grassroots movements are more effective in instituting change. Through awareness and education, it is possible to make people realize the vulnerability of our ecosystem and habitat, and how individual actions can safeguard the environment. For example, citizens can control pollution by disposing their wastes appropriately or by recycling. Similarly, we can use energy-efficient devices in our homes to save energy or use unleaded petrol in our vehicles to limit carbon emissions. Beyond that, environment can also be helped by planting trees and curtailing the use of plastic bags for grocery shopping. Such steps, if undertaken by a large number of individuals, can reduce human impact on the environment much better and quicker than any government-backed program. Another reason for my disagreement is a general distrust of the legislative process and bureaucracy. Environmental problems build up slowly and gradually, so there will always be a lag between the time an issue springs up and the time it festers enough to grab the attention of lawmakers and bureaucrats. Then, the political process – which involves research, consultation, deliberation, promulgation, budgeting, and implementation – is a lengthy affair, and it may fail to stitch the problem in time. Finally, even when actions are taken, corruption and incompetence of public officials might still invite setbacks to the project. For an instance, community forests in Nepal managed by the local community have been more successful in ecosystem regulation, watershed conservation and carbon sequestration compared to the national parks which are under the control of the federal government. Conclusion: In conclusion, people are more than capable of addressing environmental troubles on their own by taking responsibility of their actions. As relying on the government might prolong the issue, I highly doubt the efficacy of government-level solutions.

Next lesson:

Advantages and Disadvantages essay in IELTS Writing Task 2