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Advantages--Disadvantages (Templates for IELTS Essays, Writing Task 2)

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IELTS Writing Task 2 (Essay)

Question type: Advantages--Disadvantages (Template)


Possible Question(s)

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ______?


Format

1. (One paragraph) Introduction (General statement; paraphrasing; thesis statement)

2. (One or two paragraphs) Advantages (Topic sentence; at least 2-3 advantages)

3. (One or two paragraphs) Disadvantages (Topic sentence; at least 2-3 disadvantages)

4. (One paragraph) Conclusion


Thesis statement templates

  • This essay shall discuss the positives and negatives of _______
  • In the following paragraphs, I intend to explore the merits and demerits of _______  
Topic sentence for '2' (Advantages)
  • There are a plethora of positives of ________.
  • There are many obvious advantages of ________
  • The topic sentence can be combined with the first point. E.g., One of the (major) benefits of _______ is that _______
  • On the positive side, _______
  • Advantages of _______ are that _______. Also, _______

Topic sentence for '3' (Disadvantages)
  • However, _______ does have a few drawbacks as well.
  • On the negative side, _______
  • Disadvantages of _______ are _______. Also, _______ 
Points (when writing reasons and solutions in '2' and '3')

After the topic sentence, start the first advantage or disadvantage with:
  • To begin with; Firstly
Subsequent points (after the first one) can be started with:
  • Secondly; Thirdly...
  • Also; Moreover; Furthermore; Additionally; In addition
  • Then (E.g, Then another possible benefit of _______ is that _______.)
The last point can be started with:
  • Lastly
  • Last but not the least

Each point (the first point and the subsequent points) may be explained or elaborated on. This can be done by using different transition words and phrases. Which one of these you use will depend on what you have to say.
  • Similarly
  • After all
  • The same is true for

  • If _______, _______

  • Therefore; So; Hence; Thus; As a result

  • For example
    For instance
    To exemplify

Different sentence structures to give advantages or disadvantages:
  • The first (major) benefit/drawback of ________ is that
  • One of the major benefits/drawbacks of ________ is that ________
  •  One way in which ________  is beneficial/disadvantageous is that ________

  • It is also ________
  • ________ is also important for ensuring ________

  • Furthermore, another merit/demerit of ________ is that it ________

  • How ________ is done is important. Therefore, ________ is advantageous as it ensures ________ 
  • How ________ is done is important. Therefore, ________ could be disadvantageous as it leads to ________

Conclusion of the Advantage--Disadvantage Essay
The conclusion of the Advantage--Disadvantage essay should summarise the essay. Although it is not asked which of the two has more points, it would make your conclusion better to mention it.

Ways to make the conclusion better:

Mention the points you have written in the essay
  • There are a number of advantages responsible for ________ such as ________ and ________. However, in some ways, ________ can be problematic too.

Mention which of the two is more
  • In conclusion, it is obvious that ________ is very essential nowadays. In contrast, the negatives are negligible (very few) as compared to the positives.

How to make your Advantages--Disadvantages essay better
How you make paragraphs and what you write in your conclusion would depend a lot on how many advantages and disadvantages you have written.

Even though this (Advantages--Disadvantages Essay) is a discursive essay (that is, it only requires you to discuss the positives and negatives of something), some things can improve your essay.
  • If you are writing many advantages and very few disadvantages, you could write in a single sentence how the disadvantages can be easily avoided/reduced.

    For example,
    There are very few disadvantages to making sports compulsory in school. These disadvantages can, however, be easily avoided or reduced by ensuring that the medical history of every student is considered. (This is the ending of an Advantage--Disadvantage essay about making sports compulsory in school. There are many advantages. But the only disadvantage is that some students may not be deemed medically fit for certain kinds of sports.)

  • Another possibility is that the disadvantages are conditional, that is, only in some situations or conditions, there are problems. So, this can be mentioned either in the 'disadvantages' paragraph or in the conclusions or in both.
Statements that can be used in the conclusion and can also be your thesis statement (Make sure that the same statement is not repeated in your essay. Even if you have to write the same thing, change how it is written)

If the advantages are much more than the disadvantages
  • This is largely advantageous (to both -- and --) but has a few disadvantages as well.
  • ________ has pros as well as cons but definitely the advantages have an edge over the disadvantages.
  • ________ has both merits as well as demerits but the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

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