IELTS - Ideas for IELTS Writing

Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com Read this page first _________________________________________________________________________ From Simon: Thank you for buying this ebook. By paying for it, you are helping me to continue developing free IELTS materials for the website ielts-simon.com. Good luck, I hope you find these materials useful. _________________________________________________________________________ Who is this book for? Many students have no ideas or opinions about IELTS writing topics. Even if your grammar is perfect, you will not get a high IELTS score if you do not know what to write. This book is for students who want to go into the writing exam feeling confident that they have excellent ideas, opinions and vocabulary for as many topics as possible. How do you get an IELTS score of 7 or higher? The key to a high score is not grammar, it is not your use of words like “moreover” or “in addition”, and it is not your use of phrases like “this is a controversial issue nowadays”. To get a high score you need to use good ‘topic language’ (words and phrases that are related to the question topic). You need good ideas in order to answer the question well. How should you prepare for IELTS Writing Task 2? There is an enormous amount of advice on my website ielts-simon.com. Here is a summary of what I suggest: • Spend more time preparing than testing. When you test yourself, you find out what your level is, but you do not learn anything new. You will not improve if you only write test essays. Before writing an essay, study the topic and prepare your ideas, opinions and vocabulary. • Steal my ideas! If you only use the vocabulary that you already know, you will not learn anything new, and you will not improve. Practise linking my topic ideas together to write ‘perfect essays’. See the website for examples of how to do this. • Use this book together with the website. The website ielts-simon.com contains lessons and videos that show you how to use the ideas from this book. You can speak to me there if you have any questions. 2 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com Contents _________________________________________________________________________ 1. Advertising Positives, negatives, opinions 2. Animal Rights Testing on animals, vegetarianism, zoos 6 3. Cities Urbanisation, negatives of city life, pedestrian areas 8 4. Crime Police and crime prevention, punishments/ prisons, rehabilitation, capital punishment, community service, crime in the media 9 5. Education Benefits, studying abroad, technology in education, education in developing countries higher education, home-schooling, bad behaviour in schools, corporal punishment, single sex education, streaming (grouping children according to ability) 11 6. Environment Global warming, impact of humans on the environment, solutions to environment problems, waste/rubbish, litter, recycling, nuclear power 17 7. Family Family size, working parents: negative effects on children, divorce, care for old people 20 8. Gender (Males and Females) Gender and education, gender and work, women’s and men’s role in the family 22 9. Genetic Engineering Positives, negatives, genetically modified foods 23 10. Global Issues Problems in developing countries, how to help developing countries, immigration, multi-cultural societies, globalisation 24 11. Government and Society What governments can do, public services, censorship, video cameras in public places, smart cards, disabilities 27 3 Page 5 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com 12. Guns and Weapons Gun ownership and possession, police and guns, arms trade, nuclear weapons, armed forces 29 13. Health Diet, exercise, governments’ role, state health systems, private healthcare, alternative medicine, stress 31 14. Housing and Architecture State housing, old buildings, modern/green buildings 34 15. Language English as an international language: positives and negatives 35 16. Money Money and society, consumerism 36 17. Personality Happiness, success, nature or nurture 37 18. Sport and Leisure Professional/competitive sport, sport salaries, sport and politics 38 19. Television, Internet, Phones Positives, negatives, opinions, Internet, newspapers and books, mobile phones 40 20. Tourism Positives, negative effects on environment, future of tourism 43 21. Traditional vs. Modern Losing traditional skills, traditional customs 44 22. Transport Traffic problems, traffic solutions, public transport, road safety 45 23. Water Importance of clean water, water supply, water and politics, water should be free, bottled water 46 24. Work Same job for life, self-employment, unemployment, unemployment benefits, work/life balance, technology and work, child labour 48 4 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com 1. Advertising _________________________________________________________________________ Positives of Advertising Advertising is a key part of modern business. Companies need to tell customers about their products. Advertisements inform us about the choices we have. Advertising is a creative industry that employs many people. Without advertising we would have less choice. Without advertising there would be higher unemployment. Advertising is a form of modern art. People enjoy adverts. Negatives of Advertising Advertising manipulates people. It aims to persuade people that buying a product will make them happier. Advertisers focus on selling a brand image. They use glamorous, successful people. We now live in a consumer culture. We are persuaded to follow the latest trends. We are encouraged to associate certain brands with a higher status. Advertisers often aim their marketing at children. Children can easily be influenced by advertisements. Children put pressure on parents to buy them things. Opinions about Advertising Advertising should be regulated. Advertising aimed at children should be controlled or even banned. Unhealthy foods should not be marketed in a way that attracts children. Products that can be a risk to health should display warnings. In some countries it is illegal to advertise cigarettes on television. 5 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com Warnings must be displayed on cigarette packets. However, advertising is necessary in free market economies. It creates demand for products. Governments should only censor false information or products that are harmful. 2. Animal Rights _________________________________________________________________________ Arguments for Animal Testing Animals are used in important scientific research. It is necessary to do medical tests on new drugs. Animal testing helps to advance medical and scientific knowledge. Many important medical discoveries involved experimentation on animals. Researchers aim to minimise the suffering that animals experience. Testing for the cosmetics industry is now banned in many countries. Arguments against Animal Testing The benefits of research using animals do not justify the suffering caused. There are alternative methods of research. The lives of animals should be respected. Humans have no moral right to do experiments on animals. Arguments for Vegetarianism Vegetarians do not eat foods that are produced by killing animals. Many people choose a vegetarian diet for moral or health reasons. A healthy diet is possible without eating meat. It is unnecessary to kill animals for food. A vegetarian diet may reduce the risk of diseases like cancer. Many people question the treatment of animals in factory farms. 6 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com Arguments against Vegetarianism Vegetarians do not eat a balanced diet. In many cultures, meat is the main ingredient in traditional meals. Meat-eaters argue that animals are below humans in the food chain. It is completely natural for us to kill them for food. Our aim should be to improve farming methods. Farms should produce organic food. Positives of Zoos Zoos play an important role in wildlife conservation. They can help to protect endangered species. Zoos allow scientists to study animals and their behaviour. Zoos are educational, interesting and fun. Children, in particular, enjoy learning about animals. Zoos provide job opportunities. Negatives of Zoos Zoo animals are kept in artificial environments. They are kept in cages or have limited space. Zoo animals rely on humans. They lose the freedom to hunt for food. The best way to save endangered species is by protecting natural habitats. Some people believe that zoos are unethical. Zoos exhibit animals with the aim of making money. We have no right to use animals for entertainment and profit. 7 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com 3. Cities _________________________________________________________________________ Reasons for Urbanisation People move to cities in search of job opportunities. Cities offer greater employment possibilities and a higher standard of living. People migrate to cities from the countryside. Traditional activities like farming need fewer workers nowadays. Negatives of City Life Life in cities has its drawbacks. The cost of living is higher than in rural areas. Some people do not manage to find work. Housing is usually much more expensive. Homelessness and poverty are common in cities. There is a gap between the rich and poor. Life in cities can be extremely stressful. There are problems like traffic congestion and crime. Cities lack a sense of community. People do not even know their neighbours. Cities are sometimes described as “concrete jungles”. Pedestrian Areas Pedestrian zones in city centres can improve the local environment. Banning cars encourages people to walk or cycle. Many European cities have built bicycle lanes. Dependence on cars is linked to health problems like obesity. People who walk or cycle regularly are generally healthier. Pedestrian areas are safer and more attractive for both residents and tourists. 8 Ideas for IELTS Topics ielts-simon.com 4. Crime _________________________________________________________________________ Police and Crime Prevention The job of the police is to catch criminals. They must also prevent crime and make communities safer. There should be an increase in the number of police officers on the streets. Police officers should be seen as part of the community. They should be involved with education and prevention. The police should be in close contact with schools. They should focus on young people who have dropped out of school. These teenagers may become involved with gangs. Punishments / Prisons Fines are used as punishment for minor crimes. If the crime is more serious, prison is the most common punishment. Some criminals pose a threat to society. They are put in prison to ensure the safety of other citizens. Negatives of Prisons Criminals are put together. They make friends with other offenders. Many prisoners re-offend when they are released. A criminal record makes finding a job more difficult. Rehabilitation Another aim of prisons is rehabilitation. Prisoners receive education or vocational training. Prisoners should learn personal skills and specific job skills. Punishment could make prisoners’ behaviour worse. Rehabilitation aims to make them better citizens. Rehabilitated prisoners are less likely to re-offend. 9