s3006 transcript

TRANSCRIPT

EPISODE 6: QUESTION TASKS AND TOPICS IN WRITING

Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I’m Margot Politis.
Today we’ll look at question tasks and topics in the essay section of the IELTS test.

Both IELTS tests - the academic and the general - require you to write a short essay.

What are the questions likely to be about?
Media: censorship; privacy; or the influence of advertising.
Education: testing; computers; public and private education.
Environment: eco-tourism; global warming; pollution.
Health: obesity; alternative medicine; exercise; diet.
Communication: the internet; mobile phones.
Society: youth issues; juvenile delinquency; ageing populations.

There are two parts to an essay question.
First, there is the question topic, a statement like this:
Internet access should be under government control to avoid any
potential harm to children.
And second, there is the question task, which will be something like:
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
OR
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of government
controlling Internet access.
OR
What are the reasons for government control? What other measures could be
taken to deal with this problem?

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The purpose of the different question tasks is to test a range of writing skills.
They can test your ability to identify causes and effects. You could be asked "What
are the causes …" or "What are the effects …"
Or they are designed to see how well you can present a solution to a problem. For
example:
What measures could be taken to deal with this problem?
Here you would need to say what can be done to stop children being harmed by
material on the internet, such as using software that prevents children accessing
harmful sites or keeping computers out of children’s bedrooms where they are not
supervised by a parent.
Often the question task tests whether you can present two sides of an issue,
compare opinions and justify your view, such as these:
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
OR
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of government control.
OR
What is your opinion?
Here’s the question topic again:
Internet access should be under government control to avoid any
potential harm to children.
Let’s look more closely at some question tasks for it. First:
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Here you would need to decide how much you agree or disagree with the
issue of governments controlling Internet access and give your opinion.
Your ideas would need to be supported with reasons and appropriate
examples.
Why should the government control the internet? Try to think of situations that
support what you think.

A very similar style of essay would be required if you were asked:
What is your opinion?
With this question task you must still consider other points of view. And remember
the instruction to give reasons and provide examples still applies.

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What about this question task?
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of government control.
Here you’re not required to directly give your opinion, but to present and
explain both sides of the issue. But by saying what you think is good and
bad; your view of the issue should be obvious.
The question task can be more direct, like this:
What are the reasons for government control? What other measures could be
taken to deal with this problem?
You should give reasons why governments need to control the Internet and then
suggest what else could be done to protect children. This task tests how well you
can identify causes and suggest solutions.
Let’s look at some more sample questions.
In some countries there are fewer doctors and teachers taking up jobs in rural
areas. As a result, communities in these remote areas are being poorly served.
What are the effects of this and what measures could be taken to improve it?
The main topic is teachers and doctors not working in remote areas. Here
you would need to write about the negative effects that a community
experiences when there aren’t enough teachers and doctors.
For the second part of the task - what measures could be taken - you
should suggest some ways of improving the situation. This question tests
your ability to write about the effects of something and provide some
solutions.

Let’s look at another question.
Children’s eating habits and lifestyles today are more likely to be harmful than
beneficial.
Discuss both these views.
The main topic is what children eat and how they spend their time.
The task asks you to discuss two views - both these views.
What are the 2 views?
The question topic says "more likely to be harmful than beneficial", so the 2 views
are:
The more likely, according to the statement, that children’s eating habits are
causing harm.
And the opposite, that "children’s eating habits" are beneficial.

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The task requires you to compare the negative effects of what children
eat these days with the positive effects. So it’s the sort of question task
that tests if you can compare 2 sides of an issue. And it gives you the
opportunity to challenge the question topic.
You could argue that children these days eat very well and exercise a lot
and that the idea that they don’t is exaggerated. Remember though that
you can’t do this without giving good reasons and providing examples.
Computers have changed the way children are taught. Some believe
this means that children are missing out on a well-rounded
education.
What is your opinion?
Here the main topic is the use of computers in children’s education.
You need to decide what you think about computers in classrooms and
whether they might stop children getting a well-rounded education. In

forming your opinion, you should also write about what other people might
think.
So we’ve looked at questions in the general areas of education, technology,
society and health.
The essay question consists of a statement called the question topic, which can be
about any topic of general interest and a question task, which determines the style
of essay you need to write. Remember that the same topic can be looked at from
different perspectives. Include not only causes, effects and solutions but also
advantages and disadvantages when building a bank of ideas for a topic.
That’s all for now.
Go to our website if you want to watch any episode of Study English again. You’ll
also find plenty of extra material there to keep you busy. The address is:
australianetwork.com/studyenglish
I’ll see you next time on Study English.

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