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IELTS Writing Topics

1
st
of June in 2002
Soon people who cannot work with computers will be disadvantaged. To what extent
do you agree or disagree with this idea?

12
nd
of Sep in 2002
Task 1: Write a letter to a bus company saying you have left something valuable on
the bus and tell them what to do if they find it.
Task 2: Nowadays, radio is being replaced by TV and the Internet. To what extent do
you agree or disagree with this idea?

3
rd
of November in 2002
These days, schools introduce behaviour of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. This
responsibility is not only parents’. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

13 Feb 2003
Education is a lifelong task. Do you agree or disagree?

14 Feb 2003
Young people are encouraged to travel or work for one year after high school and
before university studies. Write the advantages and disadvantages of this matter.
OR
Young people are encouraged to travel or work for one year after high school and

before university studies. Do you think it is a good idea to do so?


March 3 2003
Task 1: You have recently moved to a new house. There has been damage after you
have moved into the house. Write a letter to your landlord explaining what has
happened and ask him what you can do.
Task 2: Nowadays, people care about their appearance more than before. Do you
agree or disagree?

7 March 2003
Governments should spend more money on education than on recreation and
sports. Do you agree or disagree?

9 March 2003
Technology has facilitated our lives so much and given us a lot of freedom. Some
people, however, believe that it has caused more problems for us. What is your
opinion?
April 25 2003 (General)
Task 1: You have asked for accommodation to do a course in a country; your plan has
changed and you would like to ask for new accommodation. Write the agency and
explain your situation and ask for your new accommodation.
Task 2: Shopping has become a favourite pastime among young people. Why do you
think it is like that, and do you think they must be encouraged to do other things
rather than shopping?

April 23 2003
Task 1: Write a letter to a company you worked for and say what you think about
good or weak points of the company; say whether you think some changes should be
made.

Task2: Nowadays, some people still prefer to ride bicycles. To what extent do you
think this will help us in today’s life?

May 8 2003 Academic Task 2: Governments have to place the same number of men
and women in different fields of study in universities. To what extent do you agree or
disagree with this statement?
May 18, 2003
People’s character is influenced by environment rather than genetics. Do you agree
or disagree?

May 21 2003
Task 1- a table showing difference between two African countries was given, and it
was asked to compare them from different points of view. Task 2- in the 21st
century, there is no use to pay expenses for wild animals protection. What’s your
idea about this matter?

31 May 2003
Task 2: Is technology time-consuming or does it save time?
Task 2: The elderly people of over 50 years of age should be retired and be replaced
by the young. Do you agree or disagree?

30 May (Abu Dhabi)
First task: write a letter to the sports center manager complaining about some
problems you face when you go to his sports center. Second task: write whether you
support that employees’ salaries are not enough to make them happy. Benefits like
health insurance etc. should be given to make them happier.

7 June 2003
Task 1: You have been going to a sport club. Recently there are some problems with
the club. Write a letter to the club, mention the problems and make suggestions.

Task 2: In the world today, how can the companies keep their employees happy?
Express your idea and bring reasons, for example how salary, health care and holiday
can make employees happy.
Task One: A company has invited you for a job interview, but the train that you have
taken was delayed. Write a letter to the railway company and explain the situation.
Write what they can do for you. (What you want them to do for you?)
Task Two: People follow interests and have hobbies (e.g. collecting or making things)
Do you think it is pointless? How can people learn from hobbies?
14th June 2003 (Academic)
Smoking tobacco like other dangerous drugs should be made illegal. Agree or
disagree?

15 June 2003 (Academic)
Task one: A table comparing economic and social features of two Indian Ocean
countries.
Task two: Wild animals have no place in the 21st century and trying to preserve
these animals is a waste of resources. To what extent do you agree or disagree?


July 6 2003
Task 1: A friend has written you a letter and offered you help in your forthcoming trip
to a foreign country. He has offered you to help you find suitable accommodation.
Write him a letter and tell him what you have in mind for accommodation.
Task 2: Education is sometimes considered as something for the youth. Some people,
however, consider it as a lifelong task. What is your opinion? Give reasons and
support your ideas with specific supports.
Task 2: It is good for school and university students to take part in part-time jobs. Do
you agree or disagree?

20 July 2003 (Academic)

Task 1: A graph comparing the value of videos for sale and rental in the U.S and EU
between 1992 and 2000 (It consisted of 4 graphs in one). Task 2: Some people argue
that governments should spend money only on medicine and education and that
things like theaters and sports stadiums are luxurious. Agree or disagree?
25 July 2003 (Academic)
Task 1: A diagram about some forest which has burnt out and started to grow again.
After 50, 100, 150, and 300 years of time, the forest has reached its pre-fire status.
Task 2: Nowadays, the gap between countryside and cities has increased in many
countries. Is it the same in your country? What can governments do to reverse this?
OR
There is a gap in standards of living between countryside and cities. How true is this
in your country? What measures should be taken to reduce this gap?

28 July 2003 (Academic)
Task 1: Rainfall and temperature changes in two different countries (Nigeria and
Brazil) _ the graph included in the group files. Task 2: Young people are encouraged
to travel or work for one year after high school and before university studies. Write
the advantages and disadvantages of this matter.
9 Aug 2003
Task 1: You are invited for a job interview recently, but the train that you have taken
delayed. Write a letter to the railway company and
a. Explain your journey
b. Write what you want them to do

Task 2: Some people follow interests have hobbies (collection, making things), but
some people think that it is pointless. Why do people need hobbies? How can they
learn from hobbies?

9 Aug 2003 (Academic)
Task one: A table showing the increasing number of elderly aged more than 100, by

gender in UK in four consequent different years in 20th century. Task two: With the
advent of computers the role of teachers are going to be faded in classrooms. Agree
or Disagree?

OR
Task1: A table with 12 numbers giving information about UK residents who are aged
over 100 between 1941 and 2001.
Task2: As computers are more and more used in education, some people argue that
in future there will be no role for teachers. Agree or disagree?
16 Aug 2003 (Academic)
Language and culture are respected less in comparison with the past. Do you agree
or disagree?

25th March 2004 (mine)
Some people say all these advertisements are making people buy things they donot
really need. Discuss.



Writing Essays
1. Sample essay:
Every week millions of people buy lottery tickets, hoping their small investment will
make them rich. They often believe that if they won a million dollars, their troubles
would be over. If they actually got the money, would their dreams come true?
Whether people live "happily ever after" when they win the lottery probably
depends on what their dreams are. Money can buy some things but not others.
Cash buys houses, cars, and college educations; it pays for medical treatment and
clears up overdue bills. Money also purchases travel and new experiences. A million
dollars could allow someone to quit a tough, boring job and try for something better.
It could provide a feeling of security.

On the other hand, winning so much money could actually cause some problems. A
person who quit working might eventually become bored or lose some self-respect.
Family members might squabble over what should be purchased. Long-lost friends,
relatives, and even complete strangers are likely to want a handout. The winner must
then decide whom to help and whom to offend.
Despite all these drawbacks, I would rather win the money than not. The difficulties
of having to manage a million dollars are troubles I would like to have.
2. Sample essay:
"After the baby is born, things will never be the same." People say that to expectant
parents-and they are right!
It will be a long time before those parents can again sleep late in the morning. A baby
wakes early, screaming for food. The toddler thinks 6 a.m. is the right time to start
the day. After that come early school mornings.
It will be years before the parents can go anywhere together on the spur of the
moment. Every outing must be planned ahead so that a baby-sitter can be found.
The budget will be stretched, the work load will get heavier, and by the time parents
can be alone, they may be too tired to talk.
Still, people want children. Why?
One reason is that children are a link to the future. They will probably be here after
the parents are gone. In addition, their children will live after them.
A deeper reason for wanting children, perhaps, is that the more people we have to
love, the more fulfilled our lives can be. By giving to a child, people enrich their own
lives. In the end, we live not only for ourselves, but for others.
3. Sample essay:
It hurts to look at a paycheck and see how much of it was taken out for income tax.
That money could have paid some important bills. It is easy to dream of doing away
with the income tax and keeping all that money for ourselves.
If there were no income tax, however, the government would have a lot less to
spend. The money we send to Washington seems to fall into a black hole and
disappear. Actually, though, many people depend on it. The money pays the salaries

of government employees, who provide services from drug control to highway
building. It supports our military defense. Also, much of the money is returned to
people in the form of student loans, veterans' benefits, and payments to farmers, for
example. The government has been working to cut its budget lately. With every cut,
someone complains loudly.
So if the income tax were eliminated, other taxes would have to make up for it.
Paying those other taxes would also hurt. Sales taxes fall most heavily on poor
people. Taxes on manufacturers only result in higher prices to consumers.
Income taxes are not fun to pay. But doing without them would be worse. In my
opinion, income taxes should be made as fair as possible. Then we each must "bite
the bullet" and do our share.
4. Sample essay:
Television has changed both the way we spend our time and what we know about
the world. Some of the changes brought by television have improved our way of life,
but others have made it worse.
People today on the average spend several hours a day watching television. In times
past, they would sit on their front steps and visit on nice evenings. This neighborly
visiting built close friendships, but it seldom takes place any longer. Even though
families may all watch TV together, they may not communicate much. Some women
have called themselves "sports widows" because their husbands spend every spare
minute watching televised football, baseball, and other sports.
On the other hand, people have learned more about the world because of television.
People in small towns know more about the city, and people in cities have learned
about the country. Politicians, celebrities, wars, and disasters appear in the living
room. Programs take viewers to the bottom of the sea, the tops of mountains, and
even outer space.
Some people think television leads to violence, immorality, and greed for
possessions. I am not sure whether this is true. However, good or bad, TV is here to
stay. It is up to each of us to make the most of its opportunities and avoid its
problems.

5. Sample essay:
When lack of money prevents us from having something we want very much, it is
tempting to dream of being rich. It is hard to keep in mind that Americans are
already wealthy compared with people in many other parts of the world. Our
modern conveniences would have been the envy of kings in times past. Just the
same, most people would like a larger. Whether most people are capable of making a
lot of money is another question.
People in average circumstances can often get ahead through education, hard work,
and careful money management. But getting ahead is not the same as actually
becoming rich.
Only a small percentage of Americans could be called truly wealthy. Some people
joined this group from ordinary beginnings. Usually they have done it by carefully
riding some major development in the economy on its way up. In the past, great
fortunes have been made in oil, steel, and railroads. Recently, some people have
made millions in computers and real estate.
Usually, though, it takes money to make money. Big investors often start rich and
then get richer.
Most of us cannot strike oil or start the next new technical breakthrough. Most
people are not born into wealthy families, either. In America it certainly is possible to
become more prosperous. But unless someone wins the lottery, real wealth is not
very likely to come along.
6. Sample essay:
You come home alone after a long day at work. You open the door to your home. No
one is there. Is it blessed silence you hear - or echoing emptiness?
The millions of people who live alone today may have either experience. Some love
living alone, yet others wish they didn't have to.
When they open that door at night, people who live alone do not have to put up with
demands or listen to someone's noise or meet anyone's dinner deadlines. They do
not have to debate about which TV program to watch or stay off the phone because
someone else is expecting an important call. No one else messes up their kitchen.

But when they are sick, no one else will bring them an aspirin or call the doctor.
Preparing dinner for one can be difficult, and eating dinner for one night after night
can be very lonely. Perhaps no one really cares what they did all day. If they are
feeling sad, there may be no one to cheer them up. Some people who live alone say
the worst times come when something very good happens because there is no one
to share the joy.
During the course of a lifetime, one may sometimes live with others and sometimes
live alone. Each way of life has its advantages. Learning to take advantage of them is
one key to contentment.
7. Sample essay:
Sports includes both national teams and the teams for the rest of us. The national
teams are mainly concerned with winning and with money. The other teams are
mainly concerned with winning and with money. The other teams provide different
satisfactions.
Being on a team helps people learn teamwork - to rely on others and to do their own
part as well. Players learn both to win and to lose. When the team loses, the
members learn that they can come back from a loss. They look for the reasons they
were beaten, work on their weaknesses, and try again. When the team wins, the
members can learn to be gracious winners and good sports.
Sports are also for play. Most of us have work to do most of the time. Now and then
we need to have fun. Sports can provide the time to relax.
If a team helps people learn to work together, lose win, and have fun, it's a winner
regardless of the score. But if players on a winning team have not worked together, if
they feel that winning makes them better than others, if there was no joy in the
sport, those winners are losers.
Having the winning score is important. Being a winner as a person is worth even
more.
8. Sample essay:
Advertisers who directly attack their competitors may amuse me if they do it
cleverly. However, they have probably lost me as a customer.

Companies who attack their rivals remind me of people who boost their egos by
criticizing others. When people do this, I often suspect they have little to offer and
may even have something to hide. I would rather find out what is good about a
person, not what is bad about someone else.
Similarly, I like advertising that lets me know about products that might meet my
needs. I don't place much faith in ads telling me what may be wrong with a rival
product. I tend to suspect that the information could be biased.
I also believe advertisers are foolish to name their rivals because by doing so they
give the competing product free publicity. If the competition is worth attacking, I
tend to think it may actually have something to offer.
In advertising, as in life, I believe we should try to be the best we can be, without
belittling the next person - or the rival product.
9. Sample essay:
Three generations living together can have both financial and personal advantages.
On the other hand, it can also have personal disadvantages.
In years past and today, three generations have probably lived together mostly out
of economic necessity or advantage. Sometimes a young family moves in with the
older generation because the husband and wife can't afford a place of their own.
Sometimes grandparents move in because they aren't well enough or can't afford to
live alone anymore. Occasionally, grandparents come to take care of the children so
both parents can work. In times past, and sometimes today, three generations have
lived together because they all depended on the same farm or business.
Usually these arrangements do help solve financial and practical problems. Everyone
has a roof over his or her head. Children and old people in need of care are likely to
get it. Often a family can get ahead financially by sharing the work and the bills. In
addition, a strong sense of family and of belonging can develop in everyone.
What may be harder to work out are questions of who's in charge. If grandparents
don't let go of some authority, the middle generation is likely to resent it. On the
other hand, ailing grandparents may force their children to be parents to them and
to their own children as well. If parents and grandparents disagree on discipline,

children may be confused or angry.
The personal disadvantages can be overcome. For three generations to live together
successfully, everyone's needs must be respected.
10. Sample essay:
Television news shows are dramatic and interesting. Watching them is pleasant and
does not require the effort of reading. If television did not cover the news, some
people would know nothing about what is going on in the world.
However, television newscasters cover only the events that they have time for, and
they prefer stories that include some dramatic pictures. Viewers are quickly bored
with reporters who sit and talk into the camera. As a result, a complicated story is
often cut short.
Newspapers and magazines do a better job of explaining complex events. They can
include details, and a person with a special interest can take the time to read them.
Others can stick to the headlines.
Reading allows more freedom of choice than television. The TV audience cannot
decide which stories to watch. In broadcasting, "one size fits all". However, a person
who reads newspapers and magazines can choose to spend time on business, sports,
health, or the school board election, depending on special interests.
Television provides a useful glance at what's happening. However, a person who has
individual interests and who wants the whole story needs newspapers and
magazines as well.
11. Sample essay:
Some people live in one community all their lives, while others move around almost
as much as nomads. Both experiences have their advantages and disadvantages.
People who stay in one spot can develop lifelong friendships, and such friends may
lend a hand if trouble comes. They know each other's life history, and they judge
each other for the kind of person each is, not for the image each projects.
Yet spending a lifetime in one location can also lock a person into a limited way of
life. Personal change may become very difficult. People with few experiences may
develop a narrow outlook and find it hard to understand those who have different

ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds.
On the other hand, moving to different parts of the country is usually stressful. A
person may feel lost and uprooted in a place where streets, stores, schools, and
churches all are different. At first there are no friends to help.
However, those who do move learn that people in other places have a variety of
outlooks. There is a chance to appreciate different ways of life and even to choose
the way one likes best.
For a person who moves to a different place year after year, the disadvantages of
moving probably outweigh the advantages. But a few moves are probably worth the
effort. By staying in each place for a length of time, people can broaden their outlook
but have enough time to make adjustment and form friendships.
12. Sample essay:
The automobile has probably changed people's way of life more than any other
invention of the last century. More than electric lights, television, air travel, or even
computers, automobiles have changed where people live and work, how they make a
living, and even how they find a mate.
Before there were cars, people generally traveled on foot or by horse and buggy over
unpaved roads. Whether they lived in the city or the country, they rarely went
farther than a few miles from home. They saw the same people and places year after
year.
The car opened up whole new worlds. Roads were paved, and motorists went to see
different parts of the country. Some decided to stay. People with cars could live
farther from their jobs, and so the age of commuting began. New suburbs sprang up
around the cities. The auto industry boomed, and millions of Americans made a living
manufacturing, selling, servicing, or insuring cars.
As more people got cars, your people began driving them. No longer was courtship
confined to the girl's front porch, under the watchful eye of her parents. The
automobile began the sexual revolution.
Some people believe that commuting, suburban life, and courting in cars are mixed
blessings. Whether the changes are good or bad, they seem to be here to stay.

13. Sample essay:
Many people complain that modern society is too materialistic. Other people, they
say, place too great an importance on material property. Rather than value values,
these critics insist, people today value things.
There is no doubt that we live in a material, consumer-oriented society. In economic
terms, consumers use products; in everyday language, they acquire things: TVs, cars,
clothes, furniture. This kind of materialism can actually be good for a society since it
helps create jobs. When people have jobs, they acquire self-respect along with the
money they need to provide the material things they and their families require.
It is true, on the other hand, that many people have taken healthy consumerism too
far. Materialism is evident when an otherwise intelligent person goes into debt
charging things that he or she cannot pay for. Materialism is evident when people
insist on buying a particular designer label even though the same quality can be
found in a cheaper product. Materialism is evident when people are judged and
admired for what they own rather than what they are or can do.
Even if society has gone too far in the direction of materialism, as some say, the
individual person doesn't need to surrender. He or she can still value honesty,
integrity, freedom, talent, quality, and all the other values there are to value and
leave the materialism to others.
14. Sample essay:
People spend a great deal of time, money, and energy to see or read about movie
stars, TV actors, singers, and athletes. Such celebrities often become idols. Posters, T-
shirts, fan clubs, and attendance at live performances prove that. What do celebrities
do to merit this attention?
Celebrities create excitement. They create excitement because they have done
something or can do something that supposedly not everyone else can do. Raising a
child, waking early to go to work each morning, building a home and a place in the
community-these achievements actually deserve more admiration than rolling
through Beverly Hills in a limousine or jetting across the Atlantic to star in a new
movie. Yet because these achievements are part of many people's everyday lives,

they are not considered special. Celebrities help us dream by lifting us out of our
everyday lives and imagining ourselves doing other than everyday activities.
Celebrities also set styles. They become models for behavior, clothing, and hairdos.
Just consider Elvis Presley or the Beatles, for example. Celebrities also influence
politics, as Bob Hope and Robert Redford have done.
Celebrities' roles as "special people" and trendsetters, then, are the reason for the
attention many of us lavish on them. In many ways, the celebrities of today have
merely replaced the kings and queens of old.
15. Sample essay:
Most people want to be successful in life, but success can come about in four ways:
fame, money, knowledge, and pleasure. Success is also usually characterized by the
word more; to be successful, people feel they have to be more famous, have more
money, absorb more information, or enjoy life more.
Success does not need to be characterized by quantity, however. Instead, you can
measure the success of your life by its quality. It is not important, for example, how
many people know you but who knows you and for what. Working in your
community or on good relationships with family and friends can bring quality fame.
Earning less money but spending it wisely and learning the joy saving is another way
to succeed. Learning more so that you can turn around and teach someone else
produces quality knowledge. And finally, all the above will most likely bring you
quality success in enjoying the pleasures of living.
Success, in conclusion, can be seen in different ways by different people. Only one
thing is sure. No matter what other people see, the only one who knows whether
you're succeeded is you.
16. Sample essay:
Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising. Many approaches are used to
persuade consumers to buy a product. Some seem to work better than others.
One approach, for example, is to try to make the reader or viewer identify with the
people shown using the product. These people seem to be glamorous, loved,
successful, elite, clever, or sexy. Supposedly, anyone who uses the product can

expect the same reward. Another approach is to let the product speak for itself;
people are attracted to scrumptious food, beautiful clothing, and sleek new cars.
Sometimes good prices and special deals are the focus. Ads for complicated
products, such as computers, may provide a lot of information. Endorsements by
celebrities are especially common.
In general, many of the ads succeed. People do tend to buy what they see
advertised. However, some advertising can backfire. People may be offended, for
example, by ads that are overly sexy or ones that viciously or sarcastically attack
competitors' products.
Advertising can be a useful aid for the consumer. It helps a person learn what is new
or in style or handy to have around, what things cost, and where to buy them. To use
this information effectively, however, a person must learn to look past the emotional
appeals and find the facts.
17. Sample essay:
Some animals are pets, some are wild, and many of them provide us with food. All
have a different - and important - role in our lives.
It is easy to forget that the steak at the supermarket once formed part of a steer. But
without domestic animals such as chickens and cattle, we would all be vegetarians,
or a great deal of our time would need to be spent hunting.
Wild animals attract sport hunters. For some people they are even an important
source of food. When urban people visit the wild, deer, bears, and other wild animals
remind them of an older way of life.
Pets, however, are the animals that are especially significant for most of us. They are
undemanding companions; they love us when we are not at our best. A pet can be a
great comfort when life seems hard.
For children, pets can be both fun and instructive. If a child cares for a pet, he or she
learns to take responsibility for another being. Watching kittens or puppies being
born can be a natural form of sex education. For children, as for adults, pets are
loving companions and a help in tough time.
As I recall, an Indian chief once said, "Without our brothers, the animals, we would

all be very lonely." I believe he was right.