A Real IELTS Writing Example: Discussion Essay, Structure and Sample Answer

Quick Answer

Key Takeaways

• IELTS Writing Task 2 requires a minimum of 250 words, written in roughly 40 minutes.
• Task 2 counts for twice the marks of Task 1 toward your overall Writing band.
• Four criteria decide your score, each worth exactly 25%: Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
• "Discuss both views and give your own opinion" is the exact instruction line IELTS lists for a discussion essay in its own question-type guide.
• Your overall band is an average of four skill scores, rounded to the nearest half band. An average of 6.25 rounds up to Band 6.5.
• An IELTS Test Report Form stays valid for 2 years from the test date, not the day you receive your result.

Introduction

You open the Task 2 booklet and read: "Discuss both views and give your own opinion." Forty minutes on the clock. A blank page needing at least 250 words. If you searched for an IELTS writing example to land here, you probably don't want another list of grammar tips. You want to see what a complete, real discussion essay looks like before you write your own, and what separates a strong one from a weak one on the same prompt. That's what Study From UAE built this guide to do. It's a full sample answer, shaped around IELTS's own published question format and checked against the four criteria examiners actually use. It also names the specific mistakes that hold discussion essays at Band 6 when they could sit at Band 7.

Not sure your IELTS score lines up with what your target UAE course actually needs? Study From UAE's counsellors can check your target band against real course requirements and map out a study plan around it. Book a free consultation

What Counts as a Discussion Essay in IELTS Writing Task 2?

A discussion essay gives you two opposing views on one issue. Your job is to cover both fairly, not pick a side and argue only that one. British Council's own Task 2 writing guidance lists the discussion essay as one of five recognised essay types, alongside opinion, advantage/disadvantage, problem/solution, and two-part essays. The standard instruction line for this type is "Discuss both views and give your own opinion," per IELTS's own guide to understanding Task 2 prompts.

Here's a prompt in that exact style:

"Some people think schools should focus only on academic subjects. Others believe schools should also teach practical life skills. Discuss both views and give your own opinion."

Notice what the instruction is not asking. It isn't "to what extent do you agree," which signals an opinion essay, where you argue one position from the start. A discussion essay wants both sides explained fairly, in roughly equal depth, before you say where you land. Miss that distinction, and you're answering the wrong question type. No amount of polished grammar fixes that. For the full breakdown of every Task 2 format IELTS uses, the IELTS exam pattern and syllabus page covers each one.

How Examiners Actually Score a Discussion Essay

Four criteria decide the mark. Each one is worth exactly a quarter of your Task 2 band. Nothing counts more than anything else, which surprises students who assume vocabulary matters most.

This table tells you where to spend your revision time. If your Task Response is strong but grammar drags you down, more vocabulary won't fix that. Work on the weakest of the four first.

Your final overall band isn't a simple average of Writing alone, either. IELTS takes your four skill scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) and averages them. That average then rounds to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band. One ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. Here's an example: a candidate scoring 6.5, 6.5, 5.0, and 7.0 averages to 6.25. That becomes a reported Band 6.5. A weak Writing score doesn't vanish into the average, but it also doesn't sink the whole result by itself. See exactly how the rounding plays out on the IELTS band score chart.

Note: Band descriptors and scoring guidance are reviewed by IELTS from time to time. Confirm the current version on IELTS's official Writing pages before you build a study plan around any single source, including this one.

How to Structure an IELTS Discussion Essay, Step by Step

Here's a structure that covers both views without letting one side crowd out the other.

1. Paraphrase the question in your own words. Don't copy the prompt's exact wording.
2. State both views in one sentence each, neutrally, before you take a side.
3. Give your thesis. Say which view you lean toward, or whether you see merit in both.
4. Develop the first view in a full paragraph, with one reason and one example.
5. Develop the second view in a paragraph of similar length, same pattern.
6. Return to your opinion in the conclusion. Restate it; don't just repeat it word for word.
7. Check your word count. Under 250 words costs you Task Response marks automatically.

Two body paragraphs. Not three, not one. Students who squeeze in a third "compromise" paragraph usually run short on depth in the two that matter most. Task Response marks drop as a result. It's better to develop two arguments properly than to gesture at three.

Sample IELTS Writing Example: Full Discussion Essay With Notes

Prompt: "While some people are of the opinion that schools should concentrate only on teaching academic lessons, there are others who think schools must include life skills education too."

Education systems worldwide are increasingly asked to do more than teach mathematics and literature. Some argue that schools exist purely to build academic knowledge. Others believe practical skills deserve equal space in the timetable. This essay will look at both positions before explaining why a balanced curriculum produces better-prepared graduates.

Those who favour an academic focus argue that schools have limited hours. These hours, they argue, would ensure the teaching of subjects that nurture critical thinking, including science and mathematics. According to this line of reasoning, an individual proficient in algebra or chemistry can apply his/her skills in almost any profession. Adding cooking classes or financial literacy, they claim, weakens the academic rigour that universities and employers still reward.

On the other hand, supporters of practical education point to a widening gap. What schools teach and what adult life requires don't always match. Many graduates leave school unable to file a tax return or manage a monthly budget, despite years spent on calculus they rarely use again. Some schools already run short life-skills lessons alongside their standard subjects, without cutting time from core teaching. That suggests the two goals aren't opposites.

In my view, the second position is more convincing, though not because academic subjects matter less. A curriculum that includes practical skills alongside core subjects better reflects the reality graduates step into. Financial literacy and basic life management aren't a distraction from education. They're an extension of it.

Consequently, schools need to impart knowledge and skills equally without considering either of them as competing forces. If a student knows physics but fails to handle a bank account, then he is still unprepared for life in the outside world.

What earns marks here, criterion by criterion: Task Response covers both views in paragraphs of near-equal length, roughly 95 and 100 words, before the writer's opinion appears. It is precisely what "discuss both sides" requires. Coherence & Cohesion applies different linking ("On the other hand," "though not because," "therefore") rather than repetition of a single linking device. Lexical Resource rephrases "academic subjects" as "core subjects" and does not copy the prompt word by word. Grammatical Range mixes short and longer sentences, including one built around an extra clause dropped into the middle ("despite years spent on calculus they rarely use again"), which is the kind of sentence variety examiners look for at Band 7.

Estimated band: 7.0–7.5. Task Response is well-balanced and comprehensive, Coherence flows seamlessly without seeming mechanical, and there is a good variety in the use of vocabulary and grammar, instead of a memorized pattern. The essay fails to reach Band 8 since although the ideas are correct, they do not extend to the level of idiomatically accurate expression and nuanced development to distinguish between Band 7 and 8. This is a hypothetical estimation based on the four criteria mentioned above; only a qualified IELTS examiner marking the test can give an official band.

What a Band 5–6 Version of the Same Essay Looks Like

Here's the same prompt, answered the way most Band 5–6 scripts actually handle it. One side gets almost all the attention. The other gets a token gesture and nothing more.

"Education must concentrate on academic subjects because they lay the basis for university education. Mathematics, science, and language subjects provide a way for students to learn how to think, and employers prefer individuals that excel in such areas. Cooking is a good skill to have, but not as essential as the aforementioned academic disciplines. There are those that believe schools should teach life skills, but I disagree with this notion. In conclusion, academic subjects are the most important thing in school."

That's roughly 75 words, and the second view gets a single sentence before the essay moves on. Task Response caps out around Band 5 here, and it isn't a grammar problem. The essay never actually discusses the second view; it mentions it exists, then dismisses it. Coherence suffers too, since there's nothing to organise once one side of the argument never gets developed. Count the words on each side of your own draft before anything else. That imbalance is usually the first thing worth fixing, and it's free with no new vocabulary required.

Where Discussion Essays Lose Marks

IELTS's own guidance on Task 2 question types names the traps students fall into with this format. Most of them are structural, not grammatical. The most common failure is only listing one side and never properly addressing the other. A close second: presenting both views, then never actually giving a personal opinion. That leaves the essay technically incomplete, even if every sentence is grammatically flawless.

Here's the honest problem with most low-scoring discussion essays. It isn't vocabulary. It's imbalance. A student writes 180 words defending one view and 60 words gesturing at the other, then wonders why Task Response caps the whole essay at Band 5. The fix has nothing to do with learning fancier words. It means timing your two body paragraphs so neither one runs short.

Memorised templates cause the second most common problem. A pre-written introduction that doesn't match the specific prompt reads as exactly what it is. Examiners are trained to catch it. Shape your essay around each new question instead of pouring a fixed answer into whatever prompt appears.

Discussion Essay or Opinion Essay? Telling Them Apart Under Pressure

Students confuse these two formats more than any other pair in Task 2. That confusion costs marks before a single sentence gets written. The question asked in an opinion essay is “to what extent do you agree or disagree?” This means that in your introduction and body paragraphs, you are supposed to discuss just one perspective on the matter at hand. In a discussion essay, you need to give two perspectives on the topic before stating yours.

Reread the last sentence of the prompt at least twice to determine the type of essay. In case the prompt includes "to what extent do you agree," it is possible to state your opinion from the very beginning. Even in such cases, mentioning the opposite opinion might be preferable to disregarding it entirely.

What UAE Universities Actually Check: Per-Skill Minimums and the One Skill Retake

An overall band score can hide a weak Writing score behind a strong Speaking one, which is exactly why this matters for UAE admissions specifically.

One Skill Retake: fixing Writing without resitting everything

If Writing is the one score dragging down an otherwise solid result, IELTS on Computer allows a One Skill Retake: candidates can resit a single component- Listening, Reading, Writing, or Speaking- within 60 days of the original test, instead of sitting the full exam again. The test can only be conducted if it was taken previously via the computer and there must be a need for a test center where this facility can be availed. The person who has obtained the score of 7.0, 6.5 and 5.5(Writing) and 7.0 is not required to take again those tests that he has already passed. It should be confirmed with your test center whether it is provided there.

How to Practise With Real IELTS Writing Examples Before Test Day

Reading sample essays helps, but it isn't practice. Set a 40-minute timer. Write a full response, by hand or on-screen depending on how you plan to sit the real test. Only then compare it against a sample. The gap between what you produce under time pressure and what a polished example shows you is exactly what needs fixing. No amount of passive reading closes that gap on its own.

For students applying to universities in the UAE, IELTS Writing sits inside a bigger score requirement your target university sets. It doesn't stand alone. Before committing weeks of practice to Writing specifically, check what your chosen course actually needs. Study From UAE's IELTS preparation tips and resources hub is a reasonable place to plan a full study schedule across all four skills. Speaking often gets neglected in the same way Writing structure does, so a full IELTS Speaking test walkthrough is worth doing alongside your Writing practice, not after it.

Note: English proficiency score requirements vary by university, course, and intake year. Confirm the current IELTS requirement directly with your shortlisted UAE university before you settle on a target band score. Once your test dates are set, the UAE student visa guide covers what comes next.

Conclusion

Reading one more sample essay won't move your band score. Writing a timed one and checking it against the four criteria above will. Pick a discussion prompt, set a 40-minute timer, and write the full 250 words before you look at another example. If your two body paragraphs come out uneven in length, that's your Task Response problem solved before an examiner ever sees it. And once your score is where it needs to be, Study From UAE can help with the part that comes next: run it through the University Finder Quiz to see which UAE courses your band actually clears.