In this post: A planning tool of three pairs of angles, how to develop every point (point, mechanism, example, result), how point choice differs across the three question types, and sentence frames that signal a change of angle.
Advantages/Disadvantages Essays · 3 parts
- 1. Question type and mirror repetition
- 2. Angles, development and frames (you are here)
- 3. Worked example and practice
✦ In this post
3. A planning tool: three pairs of angles to spread your four points
The framework post (The IELTS Task 2 Essay Framework) has “seven directions”: environment, money, health, daily life, safety, the mind and learning. Those help you think of topics. For advantages/disadvantages questions, I add three pairs of “opposing angles” to check that your four points are spread out:
| Angle | Ask yourself | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Individual vs society | Who does this benefit or harm? The person themselves, or their family, an industry or the whole country? | Take at least one of the four points to the level of society and your range of arguments becomes more complete |
| Short term vs long term | Does the effect appear immediately and fade quickly, or only become visible years later? | In pros and cons + opinion or Outweigh questions, you can use “the long term outweighs the short term” to give your position |
| Economic vs health | Is it about money (income, costs, tax) or about body and mind (stress, energy, illness)? | The two easiest angles to find examples for; start here when you are stuck |
When planning, write down a point and then label which box it belongs in. Once all four points are labelled, check two things:
- The same box must not contain an advantage and a disadvantage that say opposite things (for example, “earn money” and “spend a lot of money” both in the “individual / economic” box).
- The four points should fall into at least three different boxes, and at least one point should go beyond the individual level.
Checking Essay 43 (7.5) with the angle table
| Point | Topic | Level | Time frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advantage 1: children dare to pursue goals they really want, not easy ones | Psychology (motivation) | Individual | Long term |
| Advantage 2: they are willing to work to improve their abilities, so the younger generation’s overall ability rises | Ability | Individual → society | Long term |
| Disadvantage 1: they do not consider the possibility of failure and lose money on investments | Economic | Individual | Medium term |
| Disadvantage 2: they are not prepared to cope with pressure and may develop mental health problems such as depression | Health (mental) | Individual | Short to medium term |
The four points in this essay belong to four different topics. The most interesting pair is advantage 1 and disadvantage 2: one is about psychological “motivation”, the other about psychological “pressure”. The topics are close, yet they do not become mirror images. The reason is that advantage 1 does not say “children will be happy”; it says “children will choose goals they are genuinely interested in”:
In other words, when youngsters understand that they can successfully reach their goals in the future, it is possible that they will try to set up their goals that they are really interested in, instead of finding those easier ones.
It is about choosing goals, while disadvantage 2 is about coping with pressure, so the mechanisms are different. In addition, advantage 2 raises the level from the individual to society (the competitiveness of the society), so the four points are not all squeezed into the “individual” box. I think this clear separation between points is one reason the essay reached TR 8.
If I had to find a weakness, three of the four points stay at the individual level, and neither disadvantage extends to society. To make it more complete, disadvantage 1 could be extended to “a high failure rate for young people’s start-ups, with families taking on the debt”, making the levels on both sides more balanced.
4. Develop every point: point, mechanism, example, result
Once your points are separated, the next step is to develop each one fully. In a four-paragraph essay, each body paragraph holds two points of about 50–60 words each. I check each point with four questions:
| Question | What to write | Common openings | Sentences |
|---|---|---|---|
| What? | The point itself (topic sentence) | The primary one is that … / Secondly, … | 1 |
| Why does it happen? | The mechanism: the steps in between | This is because … / In other words, … | 1 |
| For example? | A specific situation or familiar example | For instance, … / … is a good example of this. | 1 |
| So what? | Who the result affects and what it causes | As a result, … / Consequently, … | 0–1 |
In a four-paragraph essay you can choose between “for example” and “so what”, but try not to leave out “why does it happen”. It is the key to keeping points from repeating: once you write out the mechanism, you will see for yourself whether two points follow the same path.
A well-developed example: advantage 2 in Essay 43
If children know that they can success after working hard, they will make an effort to enhance their capabilities and focus on their realms, further fostering their professions. Consequently, the ability of the younger generation will undeniably rise simultaneously, which increases the competitiveness of the society.
These two sentences form one complete chain: believing that effort pays off → willing to commit and improve their abilities → professional skills grow → the younger generation’s overall ability rises → society becomes more competitive. Each step answers the “so what?” of the step before. Two grammar fixes are needed: can success should be can succeed, and realms in focus on their realms is rarely used this way; their chosen fields sounds natural.
An underdeveloped example: disadvantage 2 in Essay 15
Secondly, the concern of road safety will increase simultaneously if the driverless vehicles are used on the roads. For instance, car accidents may happen easily without the supervision by humans.
There are only two sentences, and what follows For instance is not an example but the topic sentence said again in different words. What is missing is the “why”: why would driverless vehicles be unsafe? Is it a system error, an inability to react to something unexpected, or hacking? Add a mechanism and a situation, and the point is developed:
Rewrite: Another concern is road safety. Self-driving systems rely on sensors and software, which may fail to recognise unexpected situations such as a child running into the street or a road sign covered by snow. When this happens, there is no human driver to take control, so a minor error could quickly become a serious accident.
What changed: rely on sensors and software states the mechanism; two specific situations replace the vague car accidents may happen; and the last sentence states the result (a small error becomes a major accident). It now also belongs to a completely different angle (safety) from the advantages of “saving money” and “being greener”, so it will not be seen as a repeat.
5. Choosing points differs for the three question types
Even with the same list of advantages and disadvantages, the three question types use different criteria for which points to pick. This table is how I decide now:
| Question type | Principle for choosing points | Using the angles |
|---|---|---|
| Pure pros and cons | Similar weight on both sides; do not make one side heavy and the other light | One individual-level and one society-level point on each side reads most evenly |
| Pros and cons + opinion | For the side you support, pick high-impact points that can be extended; for the other side, pick points that can be dealt with | Put “long term” or “society” on your side and “short term” or “individual” on the other, and the conclusion can give a position naturally |
| Outweigh | Two points for the side you support, one concession | Make the concession “short-term, small in scope and solvable”; the conclusion explains why it weighs less |
In the Trial Essay (26A), my conclusion was that a gap year does more good than harm, and I used one sentence to say the disadvantages could be dealt with:
Furthermore, the implementation of regulations and loans from banks can tackle the downsides concerning this issue.
The direction was right, but using “bank loans” to solve “the cost of travel” really means borrowing money to fix a lack of money, which could add to the financial pressure. The gap year sample post (the Band 6.5 gap year sample) has a detailed rewrite. From the point of view of choosing points, if I had picked an “easy to deal with” disadvantage from the start, the solution in the conclusion would not have been so forced.
6. Sentence frames: show the reader at a glance that you have changed angle
Once your points are separated, the reader needs to see that they are. Put an “angle signal” in the topic sentence, and the examiner will see at a glance that you have switched perspective rather than repeating yourself.
Paragraph openings (the skeleton I often use)
There are some reasons why … seems to be beneficial. The primary one is that … Another factor is that …
However, … is sometimes disadvantageous. First and foremost, … Secondly, …
The purpose of this essay is to analyze both merits and demerits of this phenomenon. (second sentence of the introduction for pure pros and cons)
Angle signals
On a personal level, … / For individuals, …
At a broader level, society as a whole may also benefit, since …
In the short term, … ; in the long run, however, …
Financially, … / In terms of health, … / From an educational perspective, …
Apart from the financial cost, another drawback is that …
A less obvious disadvantage is that …
Conclusions (by question type)
Pure pros and cons: In conclusion, … can bring A and B; nevertheless, it may also lead to C and D.
Pros and cons + opinion: In conclusion, although … may cause C, I believe the benefits are greater because A and B have a longer-lasting impact.
Outweigh: In conclusion, the benefits of A and B outweigh the drawback of C, which is only temporary and can be reduced by …
Sentences like Apart from the financial cost are especially useful: they tell the reader plainly “I have finished with money; next is a different angle”, which effectively proves that your two disadvantages do not repeat each other.
Continue reading · Part 3 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Task 2 Structure (post 5 of 9)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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