Agree Disagree Type IELTS Essay Questions

by Alex
(Ziimbabwe)

When answering a question which requires your opinion like "To what extent do you agree?" is it correct to look both sides?

Like to a greater extent I agree but to a lesser extent, I disagree?

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Mar 17, 2017
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Agree Disagree IELTS Essay Questions
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

No you don't have to look at both sides. You can completely agree or disagree (making sure of course you state clearly that you 100% agree or disagree).

That is usually the easiest way to answer those types of questions of course and that's also usually the best thing to do if your writing skills are not so good.

Personally, if someone wants a higher score, say band 7 and above and they have better writing skills I will advise to discuss both sides just because it will look like a more sophisticated answer and so could potentially make a better impression on the examiner for things such as Task Response.

You can of course 100% agree or disagree with one side and still consider the other side i.e. present someone else's views that are not the same as yours.

But as I say, there is nothing in the marking that actually says you must look at both sides, so you don't have to.

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Help to Understand a Question

by Krish

Here is the question:

Foreign visitors should pay more than local visitors for cultural and historical attractions.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Shall I focus on should, shouldn't or both sides on these types of questions. Help will be greatly appreciated thanks.

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Nov 29, 2013
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Help to understand an IELTS essay question
by: IELTS buddy

Hi,

It is up to you how you choose to respond. I'm simplifying things a bit here, but you basically have three options:

1) Agree 100% and argue why they SHOULD pay more throughout your essay

2) Disagree 100% and argue why they SHOULD NOT pay more throughout your essay

3) Examine both sides, looking at why they SHOULD pay and why they SHOULD NOT pay

Have a look at some of the model essays on the site and lessons to see some examples. This should help you.

Aug 27, 2015
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sarwar
by: Anonymous

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Sep 16, 2015
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Nov 04, 2015
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Good
by: Jaunita Keat

That's good one post.

Mar 21, 2017
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hy..
by: Anonymous

If I completely agree or disagree on the statement, how many points must I explain in 100% agree or disagree essay on main body?

Must a paragraph contain only one idea? Or can I add linking words like 'furthermore', 'in addition' and add another idea in one paragraph?

Mar 24, 2017
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Using Transitions
by: IELTS buddy

It's quite difficult to fully answer your question in a forum post so I recommend you look at some of the writing lessons and model essays on this site so you can see the options of how the paragraphs in agree / disagree essays can be organised.

Model Essays

The point is each paragraph must have one controlling idea, but that controlling idea could be 'The death penalty must be used for murder'. You could provide several reasons why in your paragraph and therefore have the transitions you mentioned.

Then again you may have one idea and expand on that with a specific example, then have another paragraph with another idea and an example. So in that case you may not be using those transitions (the transition is more likely to appear in the topic sentence of the second body paragraph).

So yes it is ok but it really would depend on the way you are structuring your essay and there are usually a few ways you can do it.

Having one controlling idea for each body paragraph is important though.

I'd really recommend you look through the model essays.

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Agree or disagree question

by Stavros

In an essay about "If mothers have to get salary from government" It was an 'agree/disagree' question.

Not 'To what extent do you agree'.

But I approached the theme as partially agreeing from both sides.

Will loose a lot of grades?

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Dec 09, 2014
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agree disagree question
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Stavros,

Don't worry, that would not really make any difference.

Having a clear opinion is what is important. If you did that, then your score should not be affected.

Jun 03, 2015
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Agree or disagree question
by: Long Vo

to my knowledge, you can convert agree/disagree into discuss both view but make sure that you have a clear thesis. In this case my suggested thesis could be "I believe it is better for mother to receive financial support from both sides". Hope this would help.

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What is the difference between these agree / disagree IELTS prompts?

by Shaon Paul
(Sydney NSW Australia)

Hi,

i would like to know the difference between the questions "do you agree or disagree?" and "to what extent do you agree or disagree?"

Some experts say that i have to just support one aspect in the first one and both aspects in the 2nd question. So i am little confused.

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Apr 22, 2015
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Agree / Disagree IELTS Prompts
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Shaon,

If you read them exactly as they are, you could say that.

But I would not worry about the difference too much and approach them in the same way - agreeing, disagreeing, or partly agreeing/disagreeing and examining both sides.

If someone asked you whether you agreed or disagreed with a point, there is no reason why you could not say - well actually I partly agree.

I think it's doubtful that someone marking it would be pedantic enough to pick up on that if you wrote a good answer that tackled the question.

May 08, 2015
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Difference existed
by: Abbosbek

Yep, of course there is a difference between 'Do you agree or disagree' and 'to what extent do u agree or disagree'. As we know, there are 3 types of essay forms.

First one is called Argumentation and second one is Proposal and last one is Discussion essay.

So argumentation essay is based on arguments and facts which should be based on your points and sides so you must prove your claim with some degree so it means you must stay on your point to some extent!

Extent as we know means degree of your position. So you have to write degree such as 'I partially agree/disagree' and 'i totally agree' and etc.

In proposel essay you have to write your side between two points.

May 13, 2016
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Doubts
by: Anonymous

Can u make it little elaborate?

Because I write all these argumentative or proposal or opinion essays in one format only.

I introduce my clear opinion in the introduction while my body paragraphs support on both views ..

That question types r agree or disagree, to what extent agree or disagree, to what extent u agree with, discuss both views and give your opinion

Is my format correct of do I have to change ??

May 15, 2016
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Doubts
by: IELTS buddy

I'd say it's unlikely you can answer all opinion essays using one essay format but it's really difficult to judge what you may be doing specifically without seeing some examples of your answers to the essay questions.

In theory you could support both sides in an 'agree / disagree' type essay but you would have to make it clear in your introduction when you give your opinion that rather than falling on one side you can see the merits of both.

As I say, it's really difficult to know exactly what you are doing in your essays without seeing some examples.

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