Are you looking for a template to help you write an IELTS essay?
Look no further! We have some of those below, together with a growing collection of model essays and video courses.
But first, let’s discuss what you should not do.
IELTS Writing Templates That Don’t Work
Many test candidates memorise and follow essay templates that give them 50+ words of their essay before they even enter the exam room.
Often, they write sentences like these:
This essay will discuss both sides of the argument before I give my opinion in the conclusion.
In a nutshell, both points of view have merit, but I am in favour of the latter point of view.
Hammering in the last nail…
I pen down saying…
Essays that use these kinds of sentences will receive a score from Band 5-6. In rare cases, they may go as high as a 6.5 – but never any higher.
Why? For one thing, thousands of other candidates will write near-identical essays. The sentences also contain intermediate-level vocabulary which lack a direct connection with the topic.
Some of the expressions just sound strange in English, and some sound archaic – for example, I pen down saying.
IELTS Writing Essay Templates That Will Work & Improve Your IELTS Score
Instead of following the kind of detailed templates outlined above, you should follow a plan which gives you a general outline of your essay.
An outline template does not suggest the kind of vocabulary you should use. Instead, the essay question and topic should guide your vocabulary.
However, this kind of IELTS essay template will show you how to organise your essay.
Below you will find some general templates that work well with each kind of IELTS Writing Task.
At the bottom of this page, we link you to model essays we have written that follow these templates. We also link you to video courses that walk you through the writing of a Band 9.0 essay.
This collection will grow over time, so keep checking back.
IELTS Essay Template for Task 1 General
Salutation (e.g. Dear Sir)
PARAGRAPH ONE
2-3 sentences answering the first bullet point
PARAGRAPH TWO
2-3 sentences answering the second bullet point
PARAGRAPH THREE
2-3 bullet points answering the third bullet point
Closing sentence.
Sign off (e.g. Yours faithfully)
Writing Task 1 Academic Template
INTRODUCTION
1-2 sentences with paraphrase the question
MAIN BODY PARAGRAPH
6-8 sentences summarising the data
OVERVIEW
1-2 sentences which give a clear summary of the main trends, differences or stages
IELTS Sample Essay Template For Task 2
INTRODUCTION
Sentence 1 –> Introduce the topic area – take one step backwards
Sentence 2 –> Rewrite the question prompt in your own words.
Sentence 3 –> State your position
BODY PARAGRAPH ONE
Sentence 1 –> Topic Sentence for “Part 1”
Sentence 2 –> Give reason/s
Sentence 3 –> Give example/s
Sentence 4 –> Conclude Side 1 [and lead into the next paragraph]
BODY PARAGRAPH TWO
Sentence 1 –> Topic Sentence for “Part 2”
Sentence 2 –> Give reason/s
Sentence 3 –> Give example/s
Sentence 4 –> Conclude Side 2
CONCLUSION
Sentence 1 –> Paraphrase question [from the introduction]
Sentence 2/3 –> Paraphrase position [from the topic sentence of each body paragraph]
Note
You will need to adapt this template to take account of different question types.
To show you how to do this, we will be writing model essays that follow the above template but which make small changes.
We will also be creating video courses that walk you through how to use this kind of template.
Free Gift
Click here to download the above templates in PDF form.
If you haven’t seen them, you might like to download a copy of the public descriptors for Task 1 and Task 2 as well.
IELTS Essay Samples
Below you will find links to model essays that follow the above formats.
Check back when you can as we will continue adding to them…
IELTS Video Courses
Check our video course page for video lessons walking you through the creation of Band 9.0 essays.