How can I develop my ideas into paragraphs in IELTS Writing Task 2 essays?

Thinking of ideas to respond to Task 2 doesn't come naturally to anyone - It takes practice! Remember that you don't need to have any special knowledge about the topic in the question; your ideas will be based on general life knowledge and do not need to be complex. So, the first step is to think of a point you want to use to respond to the question.

In terms of developing your point, you should try to imagine your point as a 'step' in a 'sequence of logic'. The final 'step' should be related directly to the question. Here is an example to show you what we mean:

I've decided that I'm in favour of a universal basic income (UBI) for this essay (a UBI is money that a government gives to every citizen in a country). So, I'm going to think of reasons why I'm in favour of this:

1. moral reasons: No one should die of starvation, regardless of their situation.
2. economic reasons: If you give people on a low income money, they spend it, they don't save it.
3. social reasons: It reduces crime.

There are other reasons, like environmental, convenience etc...., but I don't think they apply here. So, let's take point 2. and try to develop it. To do this, I need to connect the steps of the sequence of logic:

My point is: (A) Poorer people spend; they don't save. However, in my argument, I need to reach this point: (B) Governments should give citizens a UBI, because this is the answer to the essay question that examiner wants to see.

Clearly, I need to add a few steps, because at the moment, it doesn't make sense! What's the connection? It's in my head, so I need to plan how to write it. I'm going to start to think of some causes and effects. This means I'm going to explain why my point is true, and how it answers the question:

(A) Poorer people spend; they don't save, so (B) governments should give citizens a UBI.

Causes/Reasons:
(C) Low income families don't have all their wants/needs met (heating, quality food, leisure).
(D) As soon as they receive money, it immediately gets spent on these things.

Effects:
(E) The money spent by these people enters the economy, paying for goods and services.
(F) The more that citizens spend, the healthier the economy is in general.

Okay so that's good, right? Yes, but I still haven't explained why this means governments should give citizens a UBI. It might be obvious, but let's say it:

(G) Part of the government's role is to ensure the economy is healthy.

Now I've linked my points ('benefits to the economy') to the question ('government').

Now I have all the steps in my chain of logic, so let's put them together. I've changed the order of my points (A-G) so the sequence of logic is easier to follow. I've also added a topic sentence (the first sentence) and some linking phrases:

One point to consider is that citizens who don't have a lot of money would benefit the economy by spending this basic income, not saving it. The reason for this is that (C) low income families don't have all their needs or wants met so (D) as soon as they receive money, it immediately gets spent on necessities. What this means is (A) poorer people spend; they don't save. As a result, (E) that money enters the economy, paying for goods and services. Most people would agree that (G) part of the government's role is to ensure the economy is healthy. Therefore, (B) governments should give citizens a universal basic income, because (F) the more that these poorer citizens spend, the healthier the economy is.

I had to think for some time to get this order of logic, and the more you practise, the faster this process will be. What I found most helpful was writing down the steps in logic (A, B, C, D etc...). It allowed me to consider how best to connect them.

I chose a complex example. You can do the same thing with much simpler ideas. Remember - show the connections! It's clear in your head, but it might not be to the reader.

To learn more about Developing Paragraphs in Writing Task 2, follow our Guided Skills courses for IELTS Writing. You can access these by going to the Study area, selecting Topic and then Writing Task 2. Watch the classes on different task 2 writing topics, especially the class on Developing paragraphs, and then do training and practice to improve.

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