Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
In this common question type you are presented with an issue and two OPPOSITE opinions.
For (a very simple) example,
It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet. Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas. Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
We can clearly see in this question that there are 4 parts:
Continue reading for explanation, tips and practice question...
The Four Parts of the Task
(1)It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet. (2)Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas. (3)Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
(4)Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
1) The Issue
It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet.
You DON'T have to agree or disagree with this part. Just mention it (briefly) in the INTRODUCTION by paraphrasing (rewriting in your own words).
Note: Not every question has this. However, it is clear what the issue is from the opinions given. Just write a sentence explaining what the issue is.
2) The First View
Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas.
Read the view CAREFULLY - here it is important that the view is that bananas are the BEST, not just very good.
3) The Second View
Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
We can see that the views are opposite because of the COHESIVE used in the second view: HOWEVER.
Again, read CAREFULLY. According to this view, eating oranges is more beneficial than eating bananas. This is not the same as being the BEST.
4) The Task
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
It is very important that you understand what the task is in IELTS writing.
Here you MUST do three things:
If you only give YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
If you discuss both views, but DON'T GIVE YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
If you only discuss ONE VIEW and give YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
You MUST include ALL THREE parts of the task in your essay.
Structure
To make sure you answer all parts of the task, structure your writing according to the task.
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Conclusion
Your Opinion
Often the issue is not totally one-sided. You might agree (or disagree) in some ways with BOTH views. That is completely fine.
Remember, the task is NOT to choose which side you agree with - discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Just make sure you give your opinion in both your INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION, as well as in your BODY PARAGRAPHS.
Tips
In this common question type you are presented with an issue and two OPPOSITE opinions.
For (a very simple) example,
It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet. Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas. Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
We can clearly see in this question that there are 4 parts:
Continue reading for explanation, tips and practice question...
The Four Parts of the Task
(1)It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet. (2)Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas. (3)Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
(4)Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
1) The Issue
It is important to eat fruit as part of our daily diet.
You DON'T have to agree or disagree with this part. Just mention it (briefly) in the INTRODUCTION by paraphrasing (rewriting in your own words).
Note: Not every question has this. However, it is clear what the issue is from the opinions given. Just write a sentence explaining what the issue is.
2) The First View
Some people believe the best type of fruit to eat is bananas.
Read the view CAREFULLY - here it is important that the view is that bananas are the BEST, not just very good.
3) The Second View
Others, however, think eating oranges is more beneficial.
We can see that the views are opposite because of the COHESIVE used in the second view: HOWEVER.
Again, read CAREFULLY. According to this view, eating oranges is more beneficial than eating bananas. This is not the same as being the BEST.
4) The Task
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
It is very important that you understand what the task is in IELTS writing.
Here you MUST do three things:
- Discuss the FIRST VIEW
- Discuss the SECOND VIEW
- Give YOUR OPINION
If you only give YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
If you discuss both views, but DON'T GIVE YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
If you only discuss ONE VIEW and give YOUR OPINION, you didn't answer the question.
You MUST include ALL THREE parts of the task in your essay.
Structure
To make sure you answer all parts of the task, structure your writing according to the task.
Introduction
- Briefly paraphrase the ISSUE.
- Indicate that there are DIFFERENT OPINIONS - you don't need lots of detail here.
- Give YOUR OPINION - again, briefly.
Body Paragraph 1
- Discuss the FIRST VIEW - give reasons why they think this / examples.
- Give YOUR OPINION - i.e. say if you AGREE or DISAGREE with this view.
- Discuss the SECOND VIEW - give reasons why they think this / examples.
- Give YOUR OPINION - i.e. say if you AGREE or DISAGREE with this view.
Conclusion
- Summarise by restating YOUR OPINION (overall).
- Finish with a short comment on the issue (optional).
Your Opinion
Often the issue is not totally one-sided. You might agree (or disagree) in some ways with BOTH views. That is completely fine.
Remember, the task is NOT to choose which side you agree with - discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Just make sure you give your opinion in both your INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION, as well as in your BODY PARAGRAPHS.
Tips
- Make sure you clearly understand the two views BEFORE you start writing.
- Make sure you clearly say YOUR opinion AND the OPINION OF OTHERS.
- Give short, but strong examples and reasons. You don't have space for long or irrelevant examples.
- Be sure to use COHESIVES (HOWEVER, ON THE OTHER HAND, FURTHERMORE, MOREOVER etc.) to show different and similar views, reasons and examples.
- For lower scores giving your opinion in the introduction and conclusion is enough.
- For higher scores make sure your opinion is clear throughout the essay.
Task
Try this example question for practice. You can post your essay here and I will give you some general feedback.
Some people believe that a person's success is influenced by their family background. Others, however, believe that each person determines his or her own success.Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
3 則留言:
In contemporary society, news can be known almost immediate and world-wide, thus judgments and opinions of wealthy celebrities are much more than before. A number of citizens consider that achievement of person relate to his or her family. Nevertheless, there is a group of citizens consider that achievement just belong to individual. As I know, there are several celebrities were successful due to each reason.
Numerous people think that resources from family are powerful. Such as fame, finance, and individual career is influenced by these factors. For example, an enterprise own by a family, the members can possess branches easily as well. Likewise, the candidate will obtain higher reputation if one of her or his parent was a successful politician before. I think the members in a rich or well-known family become prosperous are feasible than others in society.
However, some reports had told us the accomplishments were established by a person. They become prosperous because of their creativity, imagination or intelligence. For example, Harry Porter series were written by J.K. Rowling. Also, famous singers were found because they practiced as much as they can. Furthermore, I believe good characteristics for a men or woman will become a foundation of accomplishment.
In conclusion, I believe there are different ways for becoming prosperous. Perhaps a number of celebrities can reach their goal more quickly than us. Nevertheless, we can pursue our own achievement by ourselves as long as we work diligently as well as in right way. There is chance for any one.
Comments
Well done! You have balanced the argument and presented examples to support your ideas.
The conclusion is clearly based on the previous paragraphs – however, please note that I have added a phrase to your conclusion to make your opinion more clear.
On the other hand, your introduction is not really related to the topic, especially the first sentence. Remember to clearly introduce the topic by paraphrasing the question.
Also, please note that there are word order problems, especially in the first part of your essay. I have rewritten one or two sentences to show you a clearer way. Be clear about the SUBJECT of your sentences.
Finally, we cannot use SUCH AS to begin a sentence. Use FOR EXAMPLE or FOR INSTANCE instead (or combine with the previous sentence as I have suggested here).
In contemporary society, news can be known almost immediately and world-wide, thus judgments and opinions of wealthy celebrities are much more (? numerous ? widely-known? ) than before. (How is this connected to the question?) A number of citizens consider that the achievements of a person relate to his or her family. Nevertheless, others consider that achievements just belong to theindividual. As far as I know, there are several celebrities who were successful due to each reason.
Numerous people think that the resources of a family are powerful. For example, fame, finance, and individual careers can all be influenced by these factors. (Many people think that family resources, such as fame, finance and reputation, can have an influence on the career of an individual.) For example, the members of a family which owns an enterprise can possess branches easily. Likewise, a political candidate will obtain a higher reputation if one parent was a successful politician before. Therefore, I think the members of a rich or well-known family can become prosperous more easily than others in society.
However, some reports have told us some accomplishments were established by a person themselves. They become prosperous because of their own creativity, imagination or intelligence. For example, the Harry Porter series was written by J.K. Rowling. Also, many famous singers were found (discovered) because they practiced as much as they could. Therefore, I believe positive characteristics will become a foundation of accomplishment.
In conclusion, I believe there are different ways for individuals to become prosperous. Perhaps a number of celebrities can reach their goal more quickly than us. Nevertheless, we can pursue our own achievement by ourselves as long as we work diligently as well as in the right way. There is a chance for anyone to be successful in society through hard work and practice.
Olivia,
I have emailed you with some additional feedback. Please check your inbox. :)
James
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