How to answer IELTS Writing Task 2 agree or disagree questions
Quick answer
Answer an agree or disagree question by choosing one position before you plan, then holding it from the introduction to the conclusion. "To what extent" lets you agree, disagree or agree in part, but a partial view must still be one stated position, not a tour of both sides. IELTS.org marks Task 2 on Task Response, which asks for a clear position, every part of the question answered, and ideas that are developed and supported.
The app marks a Task 2 essay on all four criteria and gives an Examiner's Summary, so you can see whether your position stayed clear to the last line.
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On this page
IELTS.org’s Academic Writing format page introduces Task 2 as a point of view, argument or problem that you need to discuss. It does not sort questions into types. “Agree or disagree” is a name that practice material gives to one shape a question takes: a statement, followed by a request for your view of it. The four criteria that mark your essay are the same whatever shape the question has, so what follows is a way of reading this shape, not a separate exam rule.
This guide covers how to spot the shape, what Task Response asks for at bands 6 and 7, a short plan, a paragraph layout and the traps that belong to this wording. The wider picture is in the Writing test format guide.
Key takeaways
- Decide your position in one sentence before you write anything else.
- Partial agreement is fine when it is stated, bounded and developed. Sitting on the fence is not a position.
- Check the statement for a reason as well as a claim: you must answer both.
- Read your conclusion against your introduction. They should say the same thing.
- The same four criteria mark every Task 2 shape.
A shape, not an IELTS category
IELTS.org describes Task 2 only in general terms: you are given a topic and you must discuss the relevant issues in a clear, relevant, well-organised argument, with evidence or examples, in connected text rather than notes. It does not publish a list of essay types, and it does not say how often any shape appears. The labels used on this site and in practice books are a convenience for planning. If a question mixes shapes, answer the wording in front of you.
How to recognise the shape
The wording gives it away. A statement is given, then one of these:
- “To what extent do you agree or disagree?”
- “Do you agree or disagree?”
- “How far do you agree with this view?”
The statement is the thing you are judging. It often has two parts: a claim and a reason. In “neighbourhood libraries are no longer needed because people can find information online”, the claim is that libraries are unnecessary and the reason is online access. Judging only the claim leaves half of the statement unanswered.
If the question gives you two opposing views and asks you to discuss them, it is a different shape, covered in discuss both views essays.
What Task Response asks for at bands 6 and 7
This is the site’s own paraphrase of the public descriptors, which you can browse in the Writing band descriptors.
Band 6. Every part of the question receives an answer, though one part may get far more room than another. Your view is on-topic and a reader can tell what it is. The closing lines can blur or repeat themselves, and one or two points are named without being explained.
Band 7. Every part is answered, one clear position runs through the whole essay, and nothing later quietly contradicts it. Main points are explained and backed up rather than merely mentioned. Sweeping claims still appear in places.
For this shape, the practical differences are position and development. A band 6 essay says what it thinks. A band 7 essay says it, keeps to it and shows the reasoning. For the full criterion-by-criterion picture, see how to get band 7 in IELTS Writing.
Taking a position, including a partial one
“To what extent” invites a degree, and a degree is allowed. IELTS publishes no rule that you must agree or disagree completely, so the question is how to do it well.
A partial position done well has a single sentence that a reader could repeat back: “I agree that online sources have replaced libraries for finding facts, but I disagree that this makes them unnecessary.” The boundary is stated early. One body paragraph develops the part you agree with, the other develops the part you do not, and both serve the same sentence.
Sitting on the fence looks like this: “Some people agree and some disagree, and both have good points.” Nothing is claimed. A marker finishing your introduction cannot say what you think. The same happens when the body gives the two sides equal weight and the conclusion says “it depends”.
A quick test: cover everything except your introduction’s last sentence. Can someone tell whether you mostly agree, mostly disagree, or agree with one part and not another? If not, rewrite it.
Plan it in a few minutes
IELTS.org says to spend no more than 40 minutes on Task 2, so planning has to be quick.
- Underline the claim and the reason in the statement.
- Write your position in one sentence. Include the boundary if it is partial.
- Choose two reasons that each support that sentence. If the reasons point in different directions, the position is not settled yet.
- Give each reason a development: one sentence of explanation and one example or consequence.
- Draft the conclusion sentence now and compare it with the position sentence. If they differ, change one before you start writing.
This is the same four-paragraph shape described in the Task 2 essay structure post; the plan above fills it for this wording.
A paragraph plan
- Introduction. The topic in your own words, then your position, with its boundary if it has one.
- Body paragraph one. Your strongest reason for the position. State it, explain how it leads to your view, then give an example or a consequence.
- Body paragraph two. A second reason, or the part you disagree with if your position is partial. The same pattern: statement, explanation, support.
- Conclusion. The position again, in different words, with no new argument.
IELTS.org does not set a required number of paragraphs. Four is a working choice, and a third body paragraph is fine if you can develop it.
A worked example (invented)
The prompt, outline and paragraph below are invented for practice. They are not from a real paper, and the paragraph is not a model answer that earned a band.
Prompt: Neighbourhood libraries are no longer needed because most people can find information online. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Outline
- Position: libraries are less needed for facts, but still needed for other things.
- Reason one (agree): online sources have taken over quick fact-finding.
- Reason two (disagree): libraries give quiet space, internet access and help to people who lack them.
- Conclusion: the role has changed, not ended.
Sample body paragraph (invented):
I agree that online sources have taken over much of what libraries once did, but I do not accept that this makes neighbourhood libraries unnecessary. A student who needs a quiet room to revise, or an older resident who has never used a search engine, is not helped by the fact that information exists online. For these people, the library is where access, a working space and a trained member of staff come together. This suggests that the purpose of a library has shifted from supplying facts to supplying the conditions for using them, which online sources cannot easily replace.
Notice what it does. The first sentence restates the position with its boundary. The middle sentences name who is affected and why. The last sentence draws a conclusion from them rather than repeating the first.
Traps specific to this shape
Answering a different question. “Are libraries useful?” is not “are they unnecessary?”. Write about the words in the statement.
Ignoring the reason. If the statement says “because”, say whether the reason holds as well as whether the claim does.
Arguing the other side better. Writing your body paragraphs about the view you reject, in more detail than your own, leaves the reader unsure which side you chose. If you mention an opposing view, keep it short and answer it.
A shifting conclusion. An introduction that agrees and a conclusion that begins “However, I think” signals that the position moved. Make the final paragraph match.
Over-qualifying. “To some extent, in certain circumstances, it could be said that” says nothing. State the degree: mostly, partly, with one exception.
Listing instead of developing. Three ideas each given one sentence read as underdeveloped. Two ideas, each carried through, are usually safer.
How the app marks it
IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 2 essay with an overall Writing band, a band for each of the four criteria and an Examiner’s Summary, followed by what worked and how to improve for each criterion. The editor is timed at 40:00 with a live word count against the 250 minimum. For this shape, the Task Response comments are the ones to read first, because they show whether your position carried through.
Where this fits
Agree or disagree is one shape among several. The Writing test format guide puts the whole test in one place. If your question asks for two views, see discuss both views essays. If it asks about causes and solutions, see problem and solution essays. For how the scoring works, read how the IELTS Writing score is calculated.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to agree or disagree completely in IELTS Task 2?
IELTS.org publishes nothing that says you must take an all-or-nothing side. What the Task Response criterion asks for is a clear position, so a partial view is fine when you state it plainly in the introduction and keep to it. What does not work is a view that changes between paragraphs.
Is it safer to agree or to disagree?
IELTS publishes nothing that favours either side. The score depends on how clearly your position is stated and how well your ideas are developed, not on which side you take. Choose the side you can explain with the most specific reasons and examples.
Should I write my own opinion or what most people think?
Write your own, argued as well as you can. The question asks for your position, and the marking criteria reward a clear position with developed ideas. You can still mention a different view briefly, as long as your essay answers the question you were asked.
Can I change my mind while writing?
Only before you start the body paragraphs. If you notice halfway through that your second paragraph argues against your first, fix the plan, not just the sentence. A position that shifts between the introduction and the conclusion is the pattern the Task Response descriptors treat as weaker.
How many words should an agree or disagree essay have?
IELTS.org says Task 2 needs at least 250 words and no more than 40 minutes. It publishes no maximum. A clear plan matters more than extra length, because a longer essay with a wandering position does not answer the question any better.
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