Agree-Disagree Essay Structure in IELTS

The IELTS writing task 2 features the essay questions which are based on the Agree-Disagree format and in these questions, there will be two sides offered and you can either agree with the first or the second one which will automatically mean that you are disagreeing with the other side. While it’s important to clearly state in the IELTS essay which side you are agreeing with and a reason for doing so, it’s equally important to clearly state which side you are disagreeing with and record reasons for the same regardless of the fact that disagreement for one side is implied within your arguments for agreeing with the other side.

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Service sector is more important than the Industrial Sector. Do you agree or disagree?

The structure is better understood with an example –

To tackle an essay question like there are three steps that one must follow:

• Formulate your Opinion i.e., Pick a side
• Generate arguments/ideas to back your claims
• Use a Band 9 format for answering the question.

Formulate your Opinion

You must have a very clear position about the choice of sides. An element of ambiguity about your position regarding the sides would ruin your chances of getting a good score.

So, there are two possible options –

Strongly Agree: in the context of the sample question above, strongly agree would mean that service is more important. So, you pick the side of the service sector and discuss that by putting arguments in favor of the service sector and for the sake of highlighting the value of your arguments, a comparison with the industrial sector can be made wherever relevant.

Strongly Disagree: if you strongly disagree with the statement given in the sample question, it means that in your opinion the industrial sector is more important than the service sector. So, it’s important for you to collect arguments in favor of the industrial sector and a comparison with the service sector, if necessary, can be drawn to drive the point further home.

Generate Arguments/Ideas

The formulation of arguments will depend upon the side that you have picked from the first step. So, this also generates two possibilities –

If you strongly agree – this means you think Service Sector is more important and to support this you can use arguments like:

• Service Sector encourages education among the masses
• Service Sector is largely responsible for skill development
• Service Sector ensures better quality of life and workers are less likely to be exploited here which is a regular occurrence in the Industrial Sector.
• For example, India has a thriving Service Sector and it has benefitted India greatly as one of the country's major exports is skilled personnel who are achieving new heights every day.

If you strongly disagree – this means you think Industrial Sector is more important and to support this you can use arguments like:

• The Industrial Sector is labor intensive which is why it has the capacity to resolve mass unemployment issues.
• The masses can’t be equipped with education/skills at the drop of hat as it’s a gradual process until then Industrial Sector can absorb unskilled and semi-skilled labor while Service Sector can’t.
• For example, China has a thriving Industrial Sector and they are the biggest exporters of commodities around the world which has made them the second richest economy.

To move further towards the third step, we will choose the second option [strongly disagree] and incorporate that into a Band 9 essay structure.

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Band 9 Essay Answer Structure

This is where the actual essay writing begins. At this stage you have a clear idea about which side you are on [the industrial sector is more important] and arguments to back your claims.

The Agree-Disagree essay can be written using many different formats but the band 9 structure is widely approved by IELTS examiners so it's highly scoring.

A Band 9 essay structure involves the following –

1. Introduction

Assign two sentences for the introduction –

Sentence 1: This sentence is used to make a comment on the topic of the essay. For example,

It is considered that the Service Sector is more important than the Industrial Sector due to the high wages and employee benefits that come with it.

Sentence 2: this sentence can be used to express agreement/disagreement with the given topic, this is the sentence where you have to clarify your stand for the rest of the essay. For example,

I disagree with the given statement and in my opinion, the Industrial Sector is more important when compared to the Service Sector.

2. Body paragraph 1 – the first reason for agreement/disagreement

This paragraph discusses the first reason for agreement/disagreement in detail and it’s composed of the following –

Sentence 1: this sentence is used for writing the first reason for your agreement/disagreement with the topic as a statement. For example,

To begin with, I am of the opinion that the Industrial Sector tackles the problem of widespread unemployment which the Service Sector is incapable of.

Sentence 2-3: about 2 sentences shall be used to explain the statement made in Sentence 1. For example,

The Industrial Sector is labor-intensive so it can create a lot more jobs than the Service Sector and the Industrial Sector has the capacity to absorb unskilled and semi-skilled labor which forms the major part of the labor force. Due to both these characteristics, the Industrial Sector is the solution that is required for Unemployment problems.

Sentence 4: after the reason has been explained, this sentence is ideal to give an example to further justify the first reason given; examples must be given even if the question hasn’t specifically asked you to provide any. For example,

The unemployment rate in China is about 3% due to its robust network of manufacturing industries which are labor intensive.

Sentence 5: in this sentence, conclude your first reason for agreement/disagreement. For example,

That is the reason why the Industrial Sector is crucial to solving the problems of unemployment.

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3. Body paragraph 2 – the second reason for agreement/disagreement

In this paragraph, the second reason for agreement/disagreement shall be recorded and its is structurally distributed as follows –

Sentence 1: make a statement of your second reason as to why you have chosen to agree/disagree. Make sure that this reason is not something which could have been explained under the first reason and it has its own identity as a claim. For example,

Moreover, the Industrial Sector benefits all other sectors greatly by adding value to their outputs or inputs.

Sentence 2-3: herein, explain why you made the statement in sentence 1. For example,

Industrial Sector adds value to outputs from Primary Sector increasing their monetary worth and making their trade even more profitable. Similarly, the Industrial Sector produces goods that are used within the Service Sector so that it can continue providing services.

Sentence 4: this sentence is to be used for citing examples that justify the explanation made above. For example,

For instance, the Food Processing Industry adds value to agricultural produce, a network of industries operates to produce goods that can be fitted in a Hotel so that the hospitality industry [service sector] can provide facilities of accommodation.

Sentence 5: Finally, conclude all you wanted to convey in the paragraph for the second reason. For example,

Thus, the industrial sector forms the backbone of all the other sectors in an economy making it important.

4. Conclusion

This is the part where the whole essay has to be summarized. Include a short summary of your stand and both the reasons that you have given for taking that stand. Make sure the conclusion does not include anything which you have not discussed above i.e., the conclusion should not contain any brand-new points. For example,

In conclusion, I disagree that the service sector is more important than the industrial sector because the industrial sector can solve unemployment problems and is the backbone of all the other sectors of the economy making it crucial for the development of any economy.