How to Prepare for IELTS Writing – Essay Tips, Structure & Practice

Learn how to prepare for IELTS Writing with expert tips on essay structure, planning, and practice to achieve Band 7 or higher.




How to Write High-Scoring IELTS Essays

Before we start learning how to write a high-scoring IELTS essay, it's important to know some basic English grammar and understand key parts of the language. There are two books that are highly recommended to read first.
"English Grammar in Use" by Raymond Murphy is one of the best books for learning grammar. It's easy to follow and well-organized. The book helps you understand English grammar clearly and offers plenty of practice exercises.

"Three Little Words" by Elizabeth Claire is a book about the three most common words in English: articles. Articles can be tricky, especially for beginners whose native language doesn't use them. This book helps clear up the confusion and provides a better understanding of how to use them correctly.


There is an easy and effective method how to write a high band essay. In this section, you will be provided with step-by-step instructions on how to do that, in a simple and interactive way.

As you probably know there are 5 types of essays that you could get in the IELTS exam: Advantages and Disadvantages Essay, Discussion Essay (Discuss Both Views), Opinion Essay (Agree or Disagree), Problem-Solution Essay, and Double Question Essay (Direct Questions).

Advantages and Disadvantages Essay
Key question words:
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
Discuss both sides of this argument and then give your own opinion.

For example:
The increase in mobile phone use in recent years has transformed the way we live, communicate and do business. Mobile phones can also be the cause of social or medical problems. What forms do these problems take? Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of mobile phones? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
There is no doubt that over the last few decades mobile phones have changed our lives dramatically. While there are quite a lot of people who support the idea that these changes are mostly beneficial and outweigh some of their drawbacks, others tend to disagree with this position. In this essay, both sides of the argument will be analyzed before a logical conclusion is drawn and my perspective is given.

From one point of view, there are tons of obvious advantages of this phenomenon.
In the first place, mobile phones provide various information which people need at any time and almost everywhere on the planet.
Undoubtedly, the vast majority of mobile phones are connected to the Internet and can be used for communication and receiving data.
For example, a recent study conducted by the University of London concluded that 95% of mobile phone users in the UK use phones for reading news and communicating with friends and relatives via social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter on a daily basis.
Consequently, a mobile phone has become an essential part of a contemporary person's life and provides vital services.


From another perspective, mobile phones cause some negative trends.
Indeed, in the era of the Internet more and more people neglect face-to-face communication.
This is because it is much easier these days to chat with your friends and relatives via IM or voice calls.
As a result, this development causes various psychological problems and diseases such as social phobia and depression.
Moreover, these psychological issues may lead to various problems with the cardiovascular system.
Probably nobody would argue that these issues are very serious and may have tragic consequences.


In conclusion, there are benefits on both sides of the argument over whether increased usage of mobile phones is good for people or not. However, after analyzing the subject, it has become quite evident that the advantages of this development outweigh its drawbacks. Overall, it should not be forgotten that this phenomenon may cause some negative issues which must be addressed.