Short answer: A Task 2 essay that scores band 7 has four paragraphs: an introduction that paraphrases the question and states your position, two body paragraphs that each develop one idea with an example, and a conclusion that restates the position. Aim for 270 to 300 words in 40 minutes, of which 5 are for planning. The exact shape of each paragraph depends on the question type, and the four templates below give you a sentence-by-sentence plan for each.
Task 2 asks for at least 250 words in about 40 minutes, and it counts double in the Writing band. A structure does not write the essay for you, but it removes the decisions that cost time under pressure: how many paragraphs, what goes in each, how long each should be. Once those are fixed, the 40 minutes go to ideas and language, which is where the band is decided.
The four-paragraph structure, with word targets
Four paragraphs is the shape that fits the time and the criteria. Longer essays do not score higher; essays with a clear central topic per paragraph do. The targets below add up to 270 to 300 words, comfortably above the minimum and short enough to check.
| Paragraph | What it does | Words | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Read the question twice, decide your position, choose two main ideas and one example for each. | notes only | 5 minutes |
| Introduction | Paraphrase the question, state your position (or announce what the essay will do), in two or three sentences. | 40 to 50 | 5 minutes |
| Body 1 | Topic sentence with the first main idea, explanation, one specific example, a sentence linking back to the question. | 90 to 110 | 12 minutes |
| Body 2 | Same shape with the second main idea, or the other view if the question asks for it. | 90 to 110 | 12 minutes |
| Conclusion | Restate the position in new words, one sentence of consequence or recommendation. Nothing new. | 30 to 40 | 3 minutes |
| Check | Articles, plurals, subject-verb agreement, the word count, the question keywords. | 3 minutes |
The five planning minutes are the ones most candidates skip and most candidates need. An essay that drifts or repeats itself in the second body paragraph is almost always an essay that was started without deciding the two ideas first.
Four question types, four plans
Task 2 questions come in a small number of forms, and each one changes what the introduction promises and what the body paragraphs must contain. Read the instruction words before anything else: "to what extent do you agree", "discuss both views and give your opinion", "what are the causes and what can be done", or two direct questions. The plans below are written sentence by sentence, so that you can copy the shape and replace the content.
Type 1: opinion (agree or disagree)
Introduction. Sentence 1 paraphrases the statement. Sentence 2 gives your position clearly ("I largely agree, for two reasons" or "I disagree, because..."). A partial position is fine as long as it is stated and then held.
Body 1. Sentence 1: the first reason for your position. Sentences 2 and 3: explain the mechanism (why this reason leads to your view). Sentence 4: one specific example. Sentence 5: link back to the question.
Body 2. Same shape with the second reason. If your position is partial, this paragraph can carry the concession ("The one situation in which the opposite holds is...") followed by why it does not change your view.
Conclusion. Sentence 1 restates the position in different words. Sentence 2 names the consequence or what should follow.
Type 2: discuss both views and give your opinion
Introduction. Sentence 1 paraphrases the two views. Sentence 2 says that the essay will consider both and states which one you find more convincing. Leaving your opinion to the conclusion is a common cause of a low Task Response band.
Body 1. Sentence 1 presents the first view fairly ("Those who favour ... argue that ..."). Sentences 2 and 3 explain the reasoning behind it. Sentence 4 gives an example. Sentence 5 notes its limit, in one clause, if you do not hold this view.
Body 2. Sentence 1 presents the second view. Sentences 2 to 4 explain and illustrate it. Sentence 5 says explicitly that this is the view you share and why it outweighs the first.
Conclusion. Sentence 1 summarises the two views in one line. Sentence 2 restates your opinion.
A full model essay for this type, annotated paragraph by paragraph, with the connectors of contrast and the mistakes specific to it, is in IELTS Discuss Both Views Essay: Structure and Band 7 Model.
Type 3: problem and solution
Introduction. Sentence 1 paraphrases the situation. Sentence 2 announces that the essay will identify the main cause (or problem) and propose a solution.
Body 1, the problem. Sentence 1 names one main cause or problem, not three. Sentences 2 and 3 explain how it operates. Sentence 4 gives an example of its effect. Sentence 5 says why it matters.
Body 2, the solution. Sentence 1 proposes one solution that answers the problem in Body 1. Sentence 2 says who should act (governments, employers, individuals). Sentences 3 and 4 explain how it would work and give an example of where it has. Sentence 5 admits a limit or a condition.
Conclusion. Sentence 1 restates the problem and the solution together. Sentence 2 gives the expected outcome.
The same plan applied to a full model essay on household waste, with the three wordings of the prompt and the cause and solution vocabulary, is in IELTS Problem Solution Essay: Structure and Band 7 Model.
Type 4: two-part question
Introduction. Sentence 1 paraphrases the topic. Sentence 2 answers both questions in one line each, briefly ("This essay argues that the trend is driven mainly by ... and that it is, on balance, positive").
Body 1, first question. Sentence 1 gives your answer to question one. Sentences 2 and 3 explain it. Sentence 4 gives an example. Sentence 5 links to the second question.
Body 2, second question. Sentence 1 gives your answer to question two. Sentences 2 to 4 explain and illustrate it. Sentence 5 states a nuance or condition.
Conclusion. Sentence 1 repeats both answers in new words. Sentence 2 gives a closing consequence. Missing one of the two questions is the most expensive mistake in this type, because Task Response is scored on whether all parts were addressed.
A full band 7 essay, annotated
The essay below answers a classic question: "Some people think governments should spend money on public transport rather than on building new roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree?" It follows the opinion plan and is written to the band 7 descriptors: a clear position throughout, one central topic per paragraph, some less common vocabulary used with care, and frequent error-free complex sentences. It is a model to imitate, not an official sample.
Whether public money should go to buses and trains or to new roads is a recurring question in growing cities. While roads remain necessary in rural areas, I largely agree that investment in public transport should take priority, because it reduces congestion more durably and benefits a wider range of people.
Task Response: the question is paraphrased, the position is stated ("largely agree") with a concession that will be held later. Coherence: the two reasons announced here become the two body paragraphs.
The strongest argument for prioritising public transport is that it addresses congestion at its source. Building a new road tends to attract additional cars, so the relief it provides is temporary, whereas a reliable metro or bus network removes vehicles from the road permanently. When a new tram line opened in my home city, commuters who had previously driven switched to it within months, and journey times on the parallel road fell noticeably. Roads, in other words, expand the problem they are meant to solve, while public transport shrinks it, which is why the latter deserves the larger share of the budget.
Coherence and Cohesion: one idea (congestion), a topic sentence, an explanation, an example, a link back. Cohesion works through "whereas", "in other words", "the latter", not through numbered connectives. Lexical Resource: "at its source", "reliable", "commuters", "deserves the larger share". Grammar: a past perfect inside a relative clause, a "whereas" contrast, a "which is why" result clause, all error free.
A second reason is fairness. New roads mainly benefit those who already own a car, while affordable buses and trains serve students, older people and lower-income workers who cannot drive or cannot afford to. Public spending should favour the option that the largest number of citizens can actually use. The exception is rural regions, where population density is too low to sustain frequent services and a decent road is the only realistic link to hospitals and schools. In those areas road funding remains justified, but this does not weaken the general case in cities, where most of the money is spent.
Task Response: the second reason is developed and the concession from the introduction is dealt with explicitly, so the position stays clear. Lexical Resource: "population density", "sustain frequent services", "realistic link". Grammar: "those who", "where ... too low to", a contrast with "but", no run-on sentences.
In conclusion, although roads cannot be abandoned everywhere, public transport offers the more lasting answer to congestion and serves a broader public, so governments should direct the greater part of their transport budgets towards it.
Task Response: the position is restated in new words, with the concession kept. Nothing new is introduced. Total: 289 words.
Connectors by function, and the over-use trap
Cohesive devices are scored under Coherence and Cohesion, and the descriptors for band 7 mention both under-use and over-use. An essay that opens every sentence with "Moreover" or "Furthermore" reads as mechanical and is marked as such. Use one connector per idea shift, and let referencing words ("this", "such a policy", "the former") carry the rest.
| Function | Connectors | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Adding | in addition, a second reason is, equally, besides this | "Moreover" and "Furthermore" are correct but over-used; one per essay is plenty. |
| Contrasting | whereas, while, although, by contrast, on the other hand, nevertheless | "On the other hand" needs a real other hand: use it only after presenting a first side. |
| Cause and result | because, since, as a result, consequently, which is why, so | "So" inside a sentence is fine; "So," at the start of a sentence reads as spoken English. |
| Example | for instance, for example, a case in point is, as happened in | One example per body paragraph, specific rather than general. |
| Sequencing | first, second, finally, the first of these, a further point | "Firstly, secondly, thirdly" signals a list, not an argument; prefer it in plans, not in essays. |
| Concluding | in conclusion, overall, on balance, taken together | Only in the final paragraph, and only once. |
If your essays already have this shape and still come back at band 6, the difference is in control rather than structure. What changes on each of the four criteria between the two bands, shown on four paragraphs written twice, is in IELTS Band 6 vs Band 7 in Writing: What Actually Changes.
The five structural mistakes that cost the most
- No position in the introduction. In an opinion or discussion essay, the examiner needs to know your view from the first paragraph. Saving it for the conclusion reads as a position that is "not always clear", which is band 5 language for Task Response.
- Two ideas in one paragraph. A body paragraph with two topic sentences has no central topic, and Coherence and Cohesion drops for that alone. Split it, or cut the weaker idea.
- Ignoring one part of the question. A two-part question answered on one part, or a "discuss both views" essay that presents only the view you hold, is scored as partially addressing the task, whatever the quality of the English.
- New material in the conclusion. A fresh argument or example in the last paragraph cannot be developed and breaks the progression. The conclusion restates; it does not add.
- Padding to reach the word count. Repeating the introduction, restating the question in full, or writing a fourth body paragraph of generalities adds words and removes clarity. If you are short, extend an example, not the frame.
The first mistake is the most common and the easiest to see. Here is an introduction to the public transport question that makes it, followed by the band 7 introduction from the essay above for comparison.
Nowadays, transport is a very important issue in many countries around the world. Some people think that governments should spend money on public transport, while other people think that they should build new roads. This essay will discuss both sides of this argument and give some examples.
Three sentences, no opinion, and a last line that promises a discussion when the question asked for a view. The reader reaches the body paragraphs without knowing what the essay argues, and Task Response cannot go above band 6 for a position that is not stated. Compare the band 7 introduction above: the same two sides in one sentence, then "I largely agree" and the two reasons that will follow.
When you have a finished essay, the Task 2 checker on this site returns an estimated band per criterion with the correction, so you can see whether the problem sits in the structure (Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion) or in the language (Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy). The band is an estimate to guide practice, not an official result.
Quick answers
How many paragraphs should a Task 2 essay have?
Four: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Each body paragraph develops one idea with an example. A fifth paragraph is only worth it when the question genuinely has three parts, which is rare.
Do I need a conclusion?
Yes. An essay without a conclusion reads as unfinished and loses on Task Response, because the position is not confirmed. Two sentences are enough: restate your position in new words, then one consequence. Never introduce a new idea there.
How long should the essay be?
At least 250 words, which is the stated minimum; answers below it are penalised on the task criterion. Aim for 270 to 300 words, as in the table above. Longer essays do not earn more and leave less time to check.
Is the AI band official?
No. The band from the checker is an estimate produced by an AI model against the four official criteria, to guide your practice. Only a certified examiner gives an official IELTS band. This site is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge English.
The short version: five minutes of planning, four paragraphs, one idea per body paragraph, 270 to 300 words, and a check of the question keywords before you stop. Paste the result and see which criterion needs work.