General Writing Task 2 Topics

The General Training Writing Task 2 is a minimum 250-word essay on a topic of daily life. Candidates must solve a problem, express ideas, or analyze viewpoints on a given topic in a short essay. Ideally, the task should be completed in 40 minutes.

The Task 2 assignments in Academic Writing and General Writing share the same format and conventions. However, General Writing Task 2 is a little easier because its topics, which focus on everyday life and regular social activities, are easier to understand and straightforward to answer.

In most cases, you can organize the general writing task 2 essay into about 4-5 paragraphs:

Paragraph 1 - Start: introduce the topic, show the primary point.

Paragraph 2,3,4 (or 2,3) - Body: Main idea, supporting idea, examples.

Paragraph 5(or 4) - Conclusion: Summarize ideas, restate basic point.

The IELTS general essay, or general writing task 2, should be longer than 250 words. We suggest writing 300-word essays as often as possible until you can do so quickly and confidently within 40 minutes. If so, you will be rewarded with an ideal band in the writing test.

We divide the question types for the general writing task 2 essay into four categories. This is just to help test takers address essay writing by type. When you get a real task 2 assignment, you shouldn't assume it involves only one question type. A few general essays may include two question types, e.g., Outline, Cause, and Discussion. So it would help if you practiced not only all possible question types but also their combinations.

Samples: Agree Disagree 

Samples: Discussion 

Samples: Cause & Solution 

Samples: Direct Question 

Although general writing topics are around everyday life, if you happen to write the test topic in advance, you will have a considerable advantage on test day. Here we collect popular topics from recent years' tests and offer questions recalled by test takers. This handy tool links essay topics, questions, and sample answers together.