How to Write an IELTS Two-Question Essay: One Question, One Paragraph, Two Points (Part 2 of 3): Body Paragraphs, the Conclusion and Three of My Essays

IELTS · Task 2 Structure中文版　Updated 2026/11/09

In this post: Body paragraphs that answer one question each with exactly two points, a conclusion that answers both questions, and three of my essays compared: Essays 41, 23 and 25.

4. Body paragraphs: one question per paragraph, exactly two points each

The topic sentence must answer the question directly

The first sentence of each body paragraph should let the reader see at a glance which question the paragraph answers:

The topic sentence of Body 2 in Essay 41 is especially worth learning from. The prompt asks “is this positive or negative?”, and the first sentence of Body 2 answers directly: this is a negative development. Both points that follow (it is unfriendly to young people; it widens the gap between rich and poor) are reasons supporting “negative”.

How much weight each point gets

Because each paragraph holds two points, each point gets about 50–60 words: the point (1 sentence) + an explanation or example (2–3 sentences). Here is the second point in Body 2 of Essay 23:

Point (running your own business is risky) → example (the pandemic) → inference (without funding, it is hard to survive a crisis): the structure is complete. But the last sentence contains a small, fatal error: do have ability should be do not have the ability. One missing not reverses the whole meaning. This is exactly the kind of error you must catch when checking. Also, small and median should be small and medium.

Problems + solutions: the two paragraphs must match

For problems + solutions (or causes + solutions) questions, I made a special note: Body 1 and Body 2 must match. Whatever two problems Body 1 describes, Body 2 must offer one solution for each, ideally in the same order. Here is a matching table (a demonstration; the prompt is “people released from prison soon reoffend”):

If the solutions in Body 2 do not match the causes in Body 1 (for example, the cause is financial pressure but the solution is harsher sentences), the reader will feel the two paragraphs are separate lists rather than one complete analysis.

When you cannot think of points: common angles for each question type

For causes and effects questions, it is best if the two points sit at different levels (one individual, one society). The paragraph reads with more depth and the points are less likely to repeat each other.

5. The conclusion: answer both questions

The most common problem in two-question conclusions is summarising only one of the questions. Ideally, the two sentences of the conclusion are “the answer to Q1” and “the answer to Q2”, one sentence each:

Both conclusions follow “first sentence answers Q1, second sentence answers Q2”, and both use only arguments already made in the body. In Essay 23, face with should be face (face is transitive and takes no with).

6. Comparing six of my essays

Essay 41: an example that brings the argument to life (7.5)

The second cause in Body 1 is “a house represents social status”, and the example comes from traditional Taiwanese culture:

The example is very concrete. An examiner does not need to know anything about Taiwan to picture the scene, and it directly proves that “home ownership is tied to social status”. The two negative reasons in Body 2 (young people cannot afford homes; the wealth gap widens) also echo the causes in Body 1, so the whole essay reads as one complete argument.

One warning: a spelling error that changes the meaning completely. Body 1 says motivate individuals to own their poverty. I meant property; written as poverty, it becomes “encourage everyone to own poverty”. When you check spelling, pay special attention to look-alike words.

Essay 23: the cleanest causes + disadvantages (7)

This essay has no especially impressive sentences, but every paragraph’s job is clear. Body 1 has two causes: traditional jobs have fixed hours, while running your own business gives you flexibility (The first reason…); and the pursuit of a sense of achievement (The second factor…). Body 2 has two disadvantages: unstable income (First and foremost…) and vulnerability to external shocks (Secondly…, with the pandemic example). The four points cover four different angles (lifestyle, personal fulfilment, money and risk) and do not overlap.

What could be better: create empire building in industries in Body 1 was meant to say “build your own business empire in an industry”, but the collocation is unnatural. build their own business empires, or the simpler expand their businesses, would do. Together with the missing not mentioned above, this kept LR and GRA at 7.

Essay 25: losing the key word when paraphrasing (6.5)

Q1 in this prompt is “are entertainers paid too much?” My first sentence paraphrased it as:

“Paid a lot” is a fact; “paid too much” is a judgement, and the prompt asks you to agree or disagree with the judgement. By changing too much to extremely high, I quietly shifted the focus of the question. The two reasons in Body 1 (distorting public values; making young people lose interest in studying) then read more like “the negative effects of celebrity culture” than “whether their pay is unreasonable compared with their contribution”. Against the TR descriptors, this counts as “responding to the task only partially”, and I think it is the main reason TR was only 6.

Q2, on the other hand, was answered well: two categories, highly qualified professionals (doctors, professors, lawyers) and high-risk jobs (police officers, firefighters, soldiers), each with a clear reason. This essay reminded me: if one of the two questions is off target, it drags down the TR of the whole essay.

Also, the preposition is in the entertainment industry, not on; and Polices should be policemen or police officers, because police is already plural and never takes an s.