7 WritingDiscuss both views and give your opinion and Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? are often taught together, because both ask you to compare two sides. But the tasks are different. A discussion essay asks you to evaluate two views and then give your own. An advantages-and-disadvantages essay asks you to decide first which side is heavier, then arrange the two body paragraphs around that decision. Keep the paragraph layout, the position of your stance and the two most common ways to lose marks separate, and you will be less likely to mix the two types up.
- DiscussionView A, view B and your own opinion: three tasks in total
- Advantages and disadvantagesFirst decide whether the benefit or the harm is bigger
- Paragraph layoutOne paragraph for the weaker side, one for the stronger side
- StanceRuns through the whole essay, not only in the conclusion
Discussion: miss one task and you lose marks
A Discuss both views and give your own opinion question contains three tasks: present view A, present view B, and give your own position. If any one is missing, Task Response usually struggles to go above 5. A common layout looks like this:
| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Paraphrase the two views and say which side you support |
| Body 1 | Give the reasons for view A, then evaluate it in one sentence |
| Body 2 | Give the reasons for view B and explain why it is more convincing |
| Conclusion | Restate your position and acknowledge what is reasonable on the other side |
One habit is worth keeping: at the end of each body paragraph, add a sentence of your own evaluation, so that your position runs through the essay instead of appearing only in the conclusion. For example, after the reasons for view A you can write This benefit, however, applies mainly to .... The reader immediately knows which way you lean.
Advantages and disadvantages: decide where the balance tips first
This type is asked in two ways. One is Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?, which requires you to state an opinion. The other asks you to write about advantages and disadvantages. For the second form, it is still wise to announce in the introduction which side you think is heavier.
| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Paraphrase the trend in the question and state clearly whether the advantages or the disadvantages are bigger |
| Body 1 | Write about the weaker side |
| Body 2 | Write about the stronger side and show why it weighs more |
| Conclusion | Restate your judgement |
Writing the weaker side first and the stronger side second puts your strongest argument last, where the reader reads it last.
Example: one paragraph from an advantages-and-disadvantages essay
One drawback of remote working is that employees may feel isolated from their colleagues. Without daily contact, it becomes harder to build trust or ask quick questions, and newcomers can find it difficult to learn how a team actually works. However, this problem can be reduced by scheduled video meetings, so the drawback carries less weight than the benefits discussed below.
This paragraph does three things. It names one disadvantage, explains a concrete consequence of it, and then uses one sentence to put the disadvantage back into the overall judgement that the benefits are greater.
The two most common ways to lose marks
- Listing without comparing: the essay becomes two separate lists, and the examiner cannot see which side you think is heavier.
- Using the wrong layout for the type: writing a discussion essay as "advantages, disadvantages", or writing an advantages-and-disadvantages essay as "view A, view B". The paragraphs then do not match the question. Before you write, count the tasks in the question, and only then decide what each paragraph does.
How to write the stance
In a discussion essay, if you "partly agree", say which part you agree with, for example both approaches have merit, but I believe ... is more effective. This is more convincing than I think both are good. In an advantages-and-disadvantages essay, your judgement must match the two body paragraphs: if you write that the advantages are bigger, the stronger side needs enough space to prove it.
For opening paragraphs that state a position for both types, see How to write the introduction of an IELTS Writing essay.
For more paragraph techniques, read how to write an opinion essay. Short guides to these two types are on the discussion page and the advantages and disadvantages page.
Check before you hand it in
- Have you answered all three tasks (or the comparison of benefit and harm)?
- Is your stance consistent across the introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion?
- Does each body paragraph have one main idea, with an explanation and a concrete situation?
- Is there any paragraph that only lists without evaluating?
These checks connect to the difference between Band 6 and Band 7 in How to move from Band 6 to 6.5 in IELTS Writing.
Our course content is compiled from materials by a Band 8 Writing teacher. Each question type is broken into its own practice, and after you write, AI feedback marks it. The first two chapters are free, so you can try the course now.
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