43 IELTS Writing Sample Essays for Band 9 Score

In IELTS writing task 2, you need to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. You will face questions from a wide range of topics such as education, health, social environment, language, media and advertising, etc. Your essay or responses to task 2 will be assessed based on the four performance descriptors - task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. 

IELTS writing task 2 essays are categorised into the following five types,

1. Agree or disagree
2. Discuss both views and give your point of view/opinion?
3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages
4. Two questions, for example: Why is this happening? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
5. Discuss the problems and provide solutions (OR) discuss the causes and what problems it causes?
6. IELTS Writing Task 2 Band 9 Essay Structure
7. 5 Tips to Write a Band 9 Essay
8. Conclusion
9. FAQ

Our 43 IELTS band 9 sample essays cover all of the five IELTS writing task 2 essay types. Use these sample essays for your IELTS preparation to achieve a band 9 score.

1. Agree or Disagree ?

1. Parents should encourage children to spend less time studying and more time doing physical activities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2. Some people think that having a set retirement age (e.g. 65 years) for everybody, regardless of occupation is unfair. They believe that certain workers deserve to retire and receive a pension at an earlier age.
3. Today people are surrounded by advertising. This affects what people think is important and has a negative impact on people’s lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
4. People will never be alone and will always be able to find new acquaintances with the rise of internet communication. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
5. With an increasing population communicating via the internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past."To what extent do you agree?
6. The responsibility to prevent global environmental damage is on politicians rather than individuals. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
7. Every year several languages die out. Some people think this is not important because life will be easier if there are fewer languages. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
8. Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve traffic and pollution problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What other measures do you think might be effective?
9. Creative artists should always be given the freedom to express their own ideas in words, pictures, music, or film in whichever way they wish. There should be no government restrictions on what they do. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this option
10. Without capital punishment (the death penalty), our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to controlling violence in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

2. Discuss both views and give your point of view/opinion?

1. Nowadays, many families have both parents working. Some working parents believe that other family members like grandparents can take care of their children, while others think childcare centers can provide the best care. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
2. Computers are now the basis of the modern world. They should therefore be introduced into classrooms, and their programs used for direct teaching purposes. However, dependence on computers in teaching may carry a certain degree of risk to students. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.
3. Many animal species in the world are becoming extinct nowadays. Some people say that countries and individuals should protect these animals from dying out, while others say we should concentrate more on the problems of human beings. Discuss both views and give your opinion.  
4. Nowadays, many families move overseas for job opportunities. Some people think this is beneficial for the children of these families, while others think children will find it difficult. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
5. In many countries, good schools and medical facilities are available only in cities. Some people think new teachers and doctors should be required to work in rural areas for a few years, but others think everyone should be free to choose where they work. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
6. All parents want the best opportunity for their children. There are some people who think that schools should teach children specific skills but others think that having a range of subjects is better for a child’s future. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.
7. Discipline is an ever-increasing problem in modern schools. Some people think that discipline should be the responsibility of teachers, while others think that this is the role of parents. Discuss both the views and give your opinion.
8. Some people think that schools should select students according to their academic abilities, while others believe that it is better to have students with different abilities studying together. Discuss both views and state your own opinion
9. Museums and art galleries should concentrate on local history and culture instead of work from different countries. Discuss both views and give your opinion

3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages

1. Modern technology has promoted easy and fast access to information. Do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?
2. At present time the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people. Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages?
3. New technologies have changed the way children spend their free time. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages
4. Solar energy is becoming more and more popular as a source of household energy in many countries around the world. Why is this? What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy?
5. Some teachers think that international student exchange would be beneficial for all teenage school students. Do you think its advantages will outweigh the disadvantages?
6. Some students take one year off between school and university. Do advantages outweigh disadvantages?
7. Companies spend millions each year on advertising online, in magazines and on billboards. These adverts can encourage people to buy products that they do not really need. What are the positive and negative effects of consumerism?
8. More and more businesses, as well as individuals, are choosing to communicate either professionally or socially using technology rather than being face to face. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using technology for communicating

4. Two questions, for example: Why is this happening? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

1. Some sports are considered extremely dangerous, but many people still like them. Why do people take part in dangerous sports? Give some suggestions on how to deal with these dangers
2. Many offenders commit more crimes after serving their first punishment. Why is this happening and what measures can be taken?
3. An increasing number of children are overweight, which could result in many problems when they grow older, both in terms of their health and health care costs. Why do you think so many children are overweight? What could be done to solve this problem? 
4. Bullying is a big problem in many schools. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?
5. Some sports are considered extremely dangerous, but many people still like them. Why do people take part in dangerous sports? Give some suggestions on how to deal with these dangers
6. The dangers of smoking are well known, yet many people continue with this habit. What are the causes of this? How can we reduce smoking in society? 
7. Many crimes are often related to the consumption of alcohol. Some people think that the best way to reduce the crime rate is to ban alcohol. Do you think this is an effective measure against crime? What other solutions can you suggest?
8. Many parents today organise extra classes for their children after school and at the weekends. Do you feel that this is a worthwhile thing to do or do you feel children have enough education at school?
9. Consumers are faced with increasing numbers of advertisements from competing companies. To what extent do you think consumers are influenced by advertising? What measures can be taken to protect them?
10. Nowadays football supporters behave violently. What is the cause? How can we solve it? 

5. Discuss the problems and provide solutions (OR) discuss the causes and what problems it causes?

1. In many places, prisons are overcrowded and expensive for governments to maintain. Yet, when offenders are released, they end up back in prison a short while later. Do prisons work? Should law breakers be rehabilitated or punished? 
2. Finding job satisfaction is considered to be a luxury in many developing countries. Why do you think that is? Do you think job satisfaction is important?
3. Today family members eat fewer meals together. Why is this? Is this a positive or negative trend?
4. Many old buildings are protected by law because they are part of a nation's history. However, some people think old buildings should be knocked down to make way for new ones because people need houses and offices.  How important is it to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way of progress? 
5. Some employers reward members of staff for their exceptional contributions to the company by giving them extra money. This practice can act as an incentive for some, but may also have a negative impact on others. To what extent is this style of management effective? Are there better ways to encourage employees to work hard?
6. Weddings are more expensive in many countries nowadays when compared to the past. What is the reason behind this? Is this a positive or negative development?

IELTS Writing Task 2 Band 9 Essay Structure

We have used the following band 9 essay structure for our IELTS writing task 2 sample essays. The structure is important to bring out the ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner. 

Introduction

• Paraphrase the given question
• Emphasize the opinion or solution along with the major ideas

Main Body

• Give the topic sentence in a precise manner
• Explain the topic sentence with supporting details
• Provide examples to justify your position

Conclusion

• Summarize the main points and tell your position

Read IELTS writing task 2 essay structure to structure your essay in an effective way

5 Tips to Write a Band 9 Essay

Having the tips and strategies to write your essay can help you to attain a good band score. We have given the top 5 IELTS writing task 2 tips provided by our experts to write a band 9 essay. 

Tip 1: Understand the scoring system of IELTS writing task 2

IELTS writing task 2 essays are scored based on the four parameters - task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Each band descriptor contributes to the overall band score. So, practicing the essays on the basis of those descriptors will be really helpful to get a band 9 score.

Tip 2: Understand the Question Clearly

You can’t develop your opinion, arguments or position without understanding the question distinctly. Giving time to analyze the question is an important thing to get a good band score. The students fail to understand the question properly and develop the essay in the wrong way and get poor band scores. 

Tip 3: Know about the Essay type

There are five essay types as we already mentioned in the article, agree or disagree, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, discussion essay, and direct question essay. You need to have the ability to understand the essay type with the question itself. Then only, you can develop the essay in the proper and right way.

Tip 4: Ideas Generation

Generating the ideas is the first step to writing an essay. Using the techniques of brainstorming, mind mapping, and free flow writing can help you to come up with ideas. It is useful to be familiar with some of the common topics such as family, environment, home, society, technology, education, weather, government, and population.

Tip 5: Expand your vocabulary range

Lexical resource is one of the four factors that determine your band score. So, having a good range of vocabulary is essential to obtain a high band score. Read newspapers, magazines, and books to improve your vocabulary range before getting into the IELTS test. Use the thesaurus, dictionaries as well. This practice will help you to perform well in the IELTS writing test. 

Also read: IELTS writing task 2 tips

Conclusion

It is easy to get a band 9 score with consistent practice, and better tips. Our sample essays and other IELTS writing task 2 resources serve you the best preparation materials. Understanding the scoring pattern, writing more essays, getting feedback and sharpening your ability can help you to get a high band score in the IELTS writing test.

FAQ

1. How do you write a band 9 essay?

Understand the essay type and question clearly. Develop the essay with sufficient arguments and examples. Add more vocabulary with grammatical accuracy. These are some of the ways you can write band 9 score essays.

2. What is the IELTS band score 9 essay?

An IELTS band 9 shows that you are an expert user of English to the examiner. The official IELTS scale describes the expert user in the following way, “The test taker has fully operational command of the language. Their use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and shows complete understanding”

3. How can I get IELTS band 9 in writing?

You can get the IELTS band 9 in IELTS writing by meeting the following factors:

• Understand the essay type and question
• Meet all the four band descriptors
• Have clarity about your answers
• Structure your essay well
• Write clearly without grammatical errors

4. Is it possible to get 9 band in writing?

Yes, it is possible to get a band 9 score on the IELTS writing test. You need to meet the expectations of the examiner and showcase the abilities that define the expert user of English.