IELTS Writing Task 2 topics: Health, with practice questions and ideas

Health is a theme that Task 2 questions are commonly reported to touch: how far people are responsible for their own health, what governments and employers should do, and how societies treat illness and ageing. IELTS publishes no list of Task 2 topics, and IELTS.org’s Academic Writing format page describes the task only as a point of view, argument or problem to respond to. The themes below are candidate-reported from practice material, so prepare by theme and by essay shape, and do not rely on predicting a single question.

The angles this theme comes up with

• Personal responsibility for health. A statement may say that people who ignore advice should accept the consequences of their choices. You weigh freedom and individual duty against the influence of surroundings, habit and information.
• Diet and exercise. Questions ask why people eat poorly and move less, and whether schools or families should lead change. You weigh the pull of convenient food and desk work against practical ways to build healthy routines.
• Prevention versus treatment. A question may ask whether public effort should go to stopping illness or to treating it. You weigh early action and long-term benefit against urgent needs of people who are already ill.
• Public health measures. Questions ask whether governments should restrict harmful products or run campaigns. You weigh protection of the community against personal choice and the limits of what rules achieve.
• Mental health. A statement may say mental health deserves as much attention as physical health. You weigh stigma, access to support and the effects of work and study pressure against how hard it is to see the problem.
• Ageing populations. Questions ask how societies should care for a growing number of older people. You weigh the roles of family, community and the state, and the pressure on health services.

Practice questions

These ten questions are invented for practice, in our own words. They are not copied from any list or past paper, and IELTS does not publish Task 2 questions. Each is labelled with the shape it takes in practice material, which is a planning convenience, not an IELTS category.

1. People who damage their own health through poor habits should take full responsibility for the consequences. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
2. Some people believe governments should focus on preventing illness. Others think the priority should be treating people who are already sick. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (discuss both views)
3. More people now eat food prepared outside the home, such as takeaways and ready meals. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend? (advantages and disadvantages)
4. Many adults take little exercise because of long hours at a desk. What problems does this cause, and what can be done about it? (problem and solution)
5. Mental health problems are becoming more common among young people. Why do you think this is, and what can be done to help? (two-part question)
6. Schools, not parents, should be responsible for teaching children how to eat healthily. Do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
7. Some people think the best way to improve public health is to ban harmful products. Others prefer education and awareness campaigns. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (discuss both views)
8. Many people use apps and wearable devices to monitor their own health. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages? (advantages and disadvantages)
9. In many countries the proportion of older people is rising quickly. What problems will this cause for society, and how can they be addressed? (problem and solution)
10. People today are living longer than in the past. Why is this, and is it a positive development? (two-part question)

Ideas for and against

Two or three reasons on each side, each with a consequence or example you could develop in a paragraph. These are starting points, not facts to quote.

Personal responsibility for health

• For responsibility: adults make daily choices about what they eat and whether they smoke, so they should accept results. A sense of ownership often motivates change more than blame from outside.
• Against: a person who grows up where fresh food is hard to find or whose job leaves no time to exercise has fewer real choices. Addiction also limits real decision-making, so blaming individuals ignores the causes.

Diet and exercise

• For school and family leadership: habits formed in childhood last, so cooking lessons and a daily activity period can shape a lifetime of choices. Children eat what is served at home, so parents set the pattern.
• For wider action: advertising of sweet snacks and the lack of safe places to walk push people the wrong way, so personal effort alone is not enough. Workplaces can encourage movement by offering breaks and active commuting.

Prevention versus treatment

• For prevention: vaccination and regular check-ups stop illness before it spreads, which spares families suffering and keeps people in work. Early detection makes later treatment simpler.
• For treatment: a patient with a serious illness cannot wait for a long-term campaign to take effect. Preventive programmes are hard to measure, so people may question whether they work, while a rescued patient is visible.

Public health measures

• For restrictions: public places where smoking is banned protect people who never chose to breathe smoke, such as restaurant staff. Rules set a clear standard that campaigns alone often fail to create.
• Against: adults may resent being told what to do, and bans can push a product into unregulated markets. Education treats people as capable of decisions, so change lasts longer when it is understood.

Mental health

• For more attention: untreated depression harms work, study and relationships, and early support prevents it from worsening. Talking openly in schools reduces the fear of asking for help.
• Against over-emphasis: some everyday sadness is normal, and treating every difficulty as a condition may weaken resilience. Services can also be thin, so raising demand without support risks disappointing people.

Ageing populations

• For family care: older people often prefer to stay near relatives, and shared homes give company and a role in daily life. Children who help look after grandparents learn responsibility.
• For community and state support: families cannot always provide round-the-clock care, particularly when both adults work. Day centres and trained carers allow older people to live with dignity and let relatives keep their jobs.

Vocabulary for this theme

A worked plan

Question 4: Many adults take little exercise because of long hours at a desk. What problems does this cause, and what can be done about it?

• Position: the main problems are poorer physical health and lower energy at work; the solutions lie with both employers and individuals.
• Introduction: paraphrase the topic; say you will explain two problems and suggest two responses.
• Body paragraph one (problems): reason, sitting for most of the day weakens the body over time. Example, an office worker who drives to work and sits until evening develops back pain and tires easily. Consequence, more days away from work and a lower quality of life.
• Body paragraph two (solutions): reason, small changes are easier to keep than dramatic ones. Example, an employer who allows walking meetings and a lunchtime exercise break. Consequence, staff feel more alert and stay active without extra effort. Add the individual part briefly: walking or cycling part of the way to work.
• Conclusion: restate problems and solutions in different words, with no new argument.

Check that the question’s two parts, problems and what can be done, each get a paragraph.

How the app marks it

IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 2 essay on all four criteria, with a band for each and an Examiner’s Summary, followed by what worked and how to improve for each criterion. Write an essay on one of the questions above, then read the Task response comments first: they show whether your arguments about health and responsibility were developed or only listed.

Where this fits

The general answer, what are common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics, lists all the themes and explains why IELTS publishes none. Each shape has a guide: agree or disagree, discuss both views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages and two-part questions. For finished examples, see a two-part question essay at Band 6, 7 and 8. When you have written your own answer, the essay checker gives you feedback on it.