IELTS Writing Task 2: How to Answer a TO WHAT EXTENT Do You Agree or Disagree Question
How to answer this essay question in your IELTS Writing Task 2 correctly and get your desired band score
When you see a TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE question in your IELTS Writing Task 2, what crosses your mind?
Can you quickly decide on the best approach to answering this type of essay question?
This post shows you how to interpret questions like this and structure your essay to achieve the exact requirements of the examiner.
Step 1: What Type of Essay is the TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE Question?
See the IELTS Writing Task 2 sample question below:
When you see a question like this, the first thing to do is ask yourself, “What type of essay is this?”
The ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree question’ is one of the eight forms of the Opinion essay in the IELTS writing Task 2.
Usually, the Opinion Essay can take on any of these forms:
- What is your view?
- Do you agree?
- Do you agree or disagree?
- Is this a positive or negative development?
- To what extent do you agree or disagree (with this statement?
- Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
- Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
- In your opinion, is it important or not?
Another interesting thing about this type of essay question is the module where it occurs.
Usually, you would find the ‘to what extent do you agree or disagree question’ in the IELTS Academic test.
This means that if you are taking the academic module of the IELTS test, you can expect to come across a question like this.
Next, what structure should you follow when answering this kind of IELTS Writing Task 2 question?
Step 2: What is the Structure of this Essay?
The IELTS Writing Task 2 ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree question’ requires you to share your opinion.
And like most essay questions, you should have the following parts:
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs
- Conclusion
Now, the question on your mind is probably this:
Should I agree in full or disagree in full?
For an essay question like this, the phrase “To what extent…” implies that your opinion can have a limitation.
Your response to the question does not have to be completely straightforward.
In other words, when an opinion Essay question in the IELTS Writing Task 2 includes the keywords EXTENT, your essay will be INCOMPLETE if you focus on just one side of the question.
Using the example above, we see that the question statement talks about the aim of science. See the question below:
Question: The most important aim of science is to improve people’s lives.
What this question means is that the primary goal of science is to make people’s lives better.
Now, ask yourself, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Your tasks at this point are to:
- Interpret the question
- Decide on your response or position
- Brainstorm points
- Choose your best points
- Plan your essay structure
If you say you STRONGLY AGREE or STRONGLY DISAGREE with the statement, you will not answer the question sufficiently. Why?
A complete band 8 or band 9 response will look at more than one side of the question.
And to do this, you have to PARTIALLY AGREE or PARTIALLY DISAGREE.
Let’s go practical and study a model essay response to this question.
IELTS Writing Task 2 To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree Model Answer
Science has a primary goal of making people’s lives better, and this includes advances in technology that enhance work performance and research in medicine that helps people live longer. However, I disagree partially because research is sometimes conducted to increase knowledge.
Technological advancements have improved how people work and produce excellent results. What this means is that people are able to utilise tools and software that support their company goals and make their work more efficient. To illustrate this, many companies around the world now leverage artificial intelligence in their branding, research and marketing to connect better with their audience and provide solutions to existing problems in their industries.
Research in medicine is another way that science is impacting the world. This is evident in the findings relating to treatments for illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. In recent times, many individuals who experience these illnesses can now opt for high-intensity treatments that provide long-term solutions. Such medical care reduces a patient’s medical bill and leads to more effective health benefits.
Nonetheless, science sometimes commits to discoveries for the sake of acquiring new knowledge and understanding the world. This means that when scientists embark on an exploration, their goal is not always connected to humanity. If NASA decides to investigate other planets, for example, the goal could be to find out if other creatures exist on those planets.
In conclusion, science focuses on making positive changes in the world, and this can be seen in how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and research in medicine is leading to longevity. Becoming more knowledgeable about the world is another significant objective of scientists, which means that science does not always focus on people alone.
How does this IELTS Writing Task 2 Example Help You?
Looking at this sample response to the IELTS Writing Task 2 To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree Question above, you can see that I chose to PARTIALLY DISAGREE.
Why?
Yes, I believe that science should focus on making people’s lives better.
Nonetheless, this is not always the case.
And this is why I agreed with TWO points and disagreed with ONE point.
These were the points I came up with before writing the essay:
- Agree - technological advancements make work life easier; research in medicine improves longevity
- Disagree - some research is committed to increasing knowledge
With a position like this (65% agreement and 35% disagreement), you cannot have less than a band 7.5 or band 8 in your IELTS Writing Task 2.
Reviewing an Examiner’s Feedback on an IELTS Writing Task 2 To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree Question
Now, I’ll show you a model answer that an examiner wrote for this kind of IELTS Writing Task 2 question.
Next, I’ll share the feedback which another examiner wrote for this essay.
Read more here:
However, note that this is just one out of MANY ways to answer a question like this.
But from the model answer and the second examiner’s comments, can you see what I explained earlier?
Considering both sides of the question statement in an IELTS Writing Task 2 To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree Question is CRUCIAL.
How do IELTS Examiners Assess Your IELTS Writing Task 2?
Your IELTS Writing Task 2 is worth 100%, and examiners follow these 4 criteria:
- Task Response
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Each criterion is worth 25%. So they’re all equally important.
Take a look at the full breakdown of the IELTS Writing Band Descriptor for bands 7, 8 and 9:
In short, when you answer any essay question with these criteria in mind, you’re sure to impress the examiner and get your desired band score.
Wrapping Up
Answering the IELTS Writing Task 2 To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree Question requires attention to detail.
You need to know exactly what the question requires.
And this entails addressing both sides of the question statement (but not equally).
Listen to this blog post on my podcast to get a better context.
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