Task 2 gives you 40 minutes and asks for at least 250 words, and it counts for twice as much as Task 1 in your final Writing band. A clear structure will not save a weak argument, but a weak structure will bury a good one, examiners are reading dozens of essays and a predictable shape helps them find your ideas fast.
Read the question twice before you plan
Most lost marks on Task 2 come from answering the wrong question, not from weak English. Task 2 prompts fall into a few recurring types: give your opinion, discuss both views, weigh a problem and its solution, or answer a two-part question. Underline the instruction words before you write a single sentence, an essay that discusses both views but never states your own opinion will lose marks on Task Achievement even if the English is excellent.
A structure that holds under time pressure
Four paragraphs is the safest shape for 40 minutes: an introduction that paraphrases the question and states your position, two body paragraphs that each carry one main idea with a specific example, and a conclusion that restates your position without introducing anything new. Spend the first five minutes planning, not writing, deciding your two main ideas before you touch the introduction saves you from an essay that drifts or repeats itself.
Each body paragraph should open with a topic sentence that names the idea, then support it with one concrete example rather than three vague ones. A specific example, a real policy, a personal case, a clear cause and effect, does more for your Coherence and Cohesion score than a longer paragraph full of generalities.
What the structure is actually for
Structure is not decoration, it maps directly onto Task Achievement and Coherence and Cohesion, two of the four official criteria examiners score you against. For what those four criteria are and how they combine into your band, see our band descriptors guide.
The short version: read the question twice, plan for five minutes, four paragraphs, one clear idea per body paragraph. Free, no sign-up.
Paste a finished essay into the Writing Checker and you get feedback tied to your own structure, not a generic checklist, so you can see exactly where a paragraph lost focus.