An advantages and disadvantages essay asks you to weigh the good and bad sides of a trend. As in any Writing Task 2 answer, you write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.
The topic is rarely the problem. The last line of the question is. The same topic can end with What are the advantages and disadvantages? or with Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?, and those are two different jobs. Below: how to tell them apart in 30 seconds and plan each one in 5 minutes.
Two versions, one word apart
Task Response, one of the 4 equally weighted criteria, checks whether you answered the question you were given. The official assessment criteria say Task 2 asks you to "formulate and develop a position", and the band descriptors mark a limit at band 5: "The main parts of the prompt are incompletely addressed." If the question asks which side is stronger and you never say, a main part is missing.
So read the last line first and look for a judging word: outweigh, positive or negative, your own opinion. It tells you what you owe the examiner.
| The last line says | Version | What you owe the examiner |
|---|---|---|
| What are the advantages and disadvantages of this? | Plain | Both sides, each explained and developed, with a clear thesis. No winner needed. |
| Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion. | Plain, plus your view | Both sides, then your own view of the trend, stated in the introduction and the conclusion. |
| Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? | Verdict | Which side is stronger, said in the introduction and held to the end. |
| Is this a positive or negative development? | Verdict | Positive or negative, with the same rule: say it early and keep it. |
Two look-alikes belong to other types. If the task asks two questions, such as Why is this happening? Is it a positive or negative development?, it is a two-part question: answer both. Discuss both views is about two opinions, not two sides of a trend: that is a discussion essay.
What outweigh really means
Outweigh means is more important than, not has more points than. Three small advantages don't beat one serious disadvantage. Show why one side weighs more: who it affects, how often and how badly.
One topic, three last lines
We'll use one prompt, written by the GoPrep team, for the rest of this guide:
In many countries, a growing number of shops, cafés and transport services accept only card or phone payments, and cash is used less and less.
Here is the thesis (the sentence that tells the reader what your essay will show) for each possible last line.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?
Going cashless saves time and makes payments safer, but it can shut out people who rely on notes and coins.
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Although going cashless creates real problems for some people, I believe its advantages clearly outweigh them.
Is this a positive or negative development?
On balance, I see this as a positive development, as long as people who cannot pay digitally are not left behind.
The first names both sides with no winner. The other two give a verdict, and a verdict with a condition is still a verdict.
What GoPrep data shows for each version
Average first scores on the three versions were similar in this GoPrep sample. That doesn't show the versions are equally difficult: the groups are different learners (some are in two groups), and the plain group comes from only 3 prompts. Length and position fixes differed more:
| Question version (learners) | Average first band | Under 250 words | Position or task among priority fixes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? (242) | 6.0 | 15% | 12% (28 of 241) |
| What are, or discuss, the advantages and disadvantages (125) | 6.0 | 14% | 5% (6 of 125) |
| Is this a positive or negative development? (144) | 6.0 | 26% | 12% (17 of 144) |
In this sample, first essays on the two verdict versions got a position or task fix more than twice as often as plain ones. The numbers are small and don't show why.
Across learners' first scored advantages and disadvantages essays, "positive or negative" prompts included (377 learners, same period), 18% were under 250 words and 20% got 7.0 or higher from the GoPrep AI examiner. For comparison, 23% of first scored essays across all five types were under 250 words (3,609 first attempts at a type).
Where do these essays lose points? The GoPrep AI examiner lists up to three priority fixes for each answer in a Band Contract. Here is how often each kind of fix appeared:
| Priority fix | Advantages and disadvantages | All Task 2 types | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word choice and collocation | 51% | 50% | Words that go together: cause problems, not make problems |
| Cohesion and reference | 45% | 47% | What this, it and they point to, and whether each linker fits |
| Subject-verb agreement | 39% | 39% | The advantages are, each payment leaves |
| Word form | 21% | 19% | safety or safe, economy or economic |
| Position or task | 10% | 9% | The same verdict in the introduction and the conclusion |
792 advantages and disadvantages essays ("positive or negative" prompts included) and 8,010 Task 2 essays of all types with a Band Contract. A share shows how often a fix was among the three priority fixes, not how often the mistake occurred.
The pattern is the same as in Task 2 as a whole: most priority fixes are about language. For word choice and collocation, see Task 2 vocabulary grouped by meaning. A position fix appears in about 1 in 10 answers, but it sits on Task Response, a quarter of your task score. A 30-second check of the last line can help you avoid answering the wrong version.
How to plan it in 5 minutes
A workable split of the 40 minutes: about 5 to plan, 30 to write and 5 to check. Here is the plan for the outweigh version.
- Minute 1: read the last line. Circle the judging word. Here: outweigh, so you owe a verdict.
- Minute 2: write the verdict in one sentence. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, if essential services still let people pay without a bank account. If you can't say it in one sentence, the essay will drift.
- Minutes 3 to 4: one or two ideas per side, each traced. Ask who is affected, how, and what follows: people without a bank account or card (who) can't pay at a card-only pharmacy (how) and may go without medicine (what follows).
- Minute 5: write the four topic sentences. Then start the essay.
| Paragraph | Job | On the cashless prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction (about 50 words) | Paraphrase the trend, give the verdict | Card-only shops are spreading; the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, with one condition |
| Body 1 (about 80 words) | The weaker side, treated fairly | People without a bank account or card are shut out; a network failure can stop a city |
| Body 2 (about 110 words) | The stronger side, developed further | Faster and safer payments; a payment record makes tax harder to avoid; cash or free prepaid cards for essentials |
| Conclusion (about 40 words) | The same verdict in new words, no new ideas | The costs are real, the daily gains are bigger, if essential services keep a way to pay without a bank account |
Model answer: the outweigh version
A complete answer written by the GoPrep team as a practice example (about 280 words). It is not an officially marked script, so we don't give it a band.
The task: the cashless prompt above, ending Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
In many countries, paying by card or phone has become so normal that some shops, cafés and even buses no longer accept cash. Although this shift creates real problems for some people, I believe its advantages clearly outweigh its disadvantages, provided that those who cannot pay digitally are not left behind.
The main drawback is that a card-only system shuts out people who have no bank account or no card they can use, and some of them are elderly or on low incomes. When a pharmacy or a bus refuses notes and coins, these people may be unable to buy medicine or get to work. A second risk is technical: if the payment network fails, a whole city may be unable to buy food or fuel.
The benefits, however, come with almost every purchase, while network failures are rare and usually brief. A phone payment takes seconds, so queues move faster, and a café no longer has to count notes after each shift. Digital payments are also safer: a stolen card can be blocked in minutes, whereas stolen cash is usually lost for good. Most importantly, every electronic payment leaves a record, which makes it harder for businesses to hide income from the tax authorities and gives governments more money for public services. These gains need not exclude anyone if pharmacies and public transport keep accepting cash or offer free prepaid cards that require no bank account.
In conclusion, going cashless can shut out people without bank accounts and leaves cities dependent on payment networks. Even so, the daily gains in speed, safety and tax fairness outweigh these costs, provided that essential services keep a cash option or offer free prepaid cards.
Note the verdict in sentence 2, and the last sentence of body 2: it explains how the condition in the verdict can be met.
The same essay for the plain version
If the question asked only What are the advantages and disadvantages?, three parts would change:
| Part | Outweigh version (the model) | Plain version |
|---|---|---|
| Thesis | I believe its advantages clearly outweigh its disadvantages | Going cashless saves time and makes payments safer, but it can shut out people without a bank account. |
| Body paragraphs | Weaker side shorter; stronger side longer, with reasons it weighs more | Similar space for both; no side argued to weigh more |
| Conclusion | Even so, the daily gains... outweigh these costs, provided that... | Going cashless makes payments quicker and safer, but it can leave some people unable to pay for essentials. |
Band 6, 7 or 8: the same paragraph
The second body paragraph at three levels: practice examples that show the direction, not marked scripts. The examiner scores the whole essay, not one paragraph.
Around band 6
Firstly, paying by phone is faster and more comfortable, because people do not need to wait for change. Secondly, it is more safe, since thieves cannot steal money from a phone easily. Moreover, the government can control taxes. Therefore, in my opinion the advantages is more important than disadvantages.
Around band 7
On the other hand, the advantages are more significant. Paying by phone takes only a few seconds, so queues in shops and on buses move faster, and small businesses do not need to count cash every evening. Digital payments are also safer, because a lost card can be blocked immediately, while lost cash is usually gone forever. As a result, cashless payments make life easier and safer for almost everyone in society.
Around band 8: body 2 of the model answer above. Compared with the band 7 version, it adds a third idea developed to a result (the payment record) and ends on the condition in the verdict.
| Criterion | Band 6 version | Band 7 version | Band 8 version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task Response | Three ideas, one short reason each: some "may be insufficiently developed" | Two ideas "extended and supported", but the last line over-generalises: almost everyone in society | Ideas "well extended and supported"; the last sentence develops the condition in the verdict |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Firstly, Secondly, Moreover, Therefore: cohesion "may be faulty or mechanical" | Linking inside sentences: so, while, as a result | Reference carries the ideas: These gains, which makes it |
| Lexical Resource | A wrong form (more safe) and a vague phrase (control taxes) | Precise enough: queues move faster, blocked immediately | Precise wording: hide income from the tax authorities, lost for good, prepaid cards |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Errors in simple sentences: the advantages is | Varied sentences, mostly error-free | Complex sentences under control: while, whereas, which makes it harder |
In these three versions, band 7 adds reasons and results, and band 8 adds exact wording and ties each point to the verdict. The examiner weighs all four criteria across the whole essay; more in our guide to the Writing band descriptors.
Mistakes that cost Task Response
Most come from answering the wrong version.
Practice: your turn
A new prompt, written by the GoPrep team. Give yourself 5 minutes and plan only: circle the judging word, write your verdict in one sentence, then write the four topic sentences.
More and more companies let employees choose their own working hours. Is this a positive or negative development?
Then check: did you choose positive or negative, have you clearly explained why your chosen side is stronger, and does each body paragraph trace one idea to its result?
Two plans that both answer the question, with opposite verdicts:
- Positive. Verdict: positive, as long as teams agree on a few shared hours. Body 1: meetings are harder to arrange. Body 2: people can work when they focus best and fit work around childcare, which can reduce stress and staff turnover.
- Negative. Verdict: negative for most workplaces. Body 1: some staff gain freedom and avoid rush hour. Body 2: when colleagues start and finish at different times, questions wait for hours and team projects slow down.
Both work because each picks a side, treats the other side fairly and explains why its own side weighs more. The descriptors ask for a clear and developed position, not a particular opinion.
FAQ
How do I write an advantages and disadvantages essay in IELTS?
Read the last line first. If it asks what the advantages and disadvantages are, explain both sides in two developed body paragraphs. If it asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, say which side is stronger in the introduction, argue it in the body and repeat it in the conclusion.
Do I need to give my opinion in an advantages and disadvantages essay?
Only when the question asks for it: "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?", "Is this a positive or negative development?" or "give your own opinion". A question that only asks what the advantages and disadvantages are needs both sides explained, not a winner. It still needs a clear thesis: a sentence that tells the reader what the essay will show. A short overall view in the conclusion is a safe addition, but it is not an IELTS rule.
What are the 5 types of IELTS essay?
Teachers usually name 5 types of Task 2 question: opinion (agree or disagree), discussion (discuss both views), advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two-part questions. IELTS describes 7 common types in its own guide, counting multi-part and positive/negative questions separately, and advises answering the exact question rather than forcing a template. All of them are marked on the same 4 criteria.
How do I write 250 words in an advantages and disadvantages essay?
Plan 4 paragraphs: about 50 words for the introduction, 80 and 110 for the body paragraphs and 40 for the conclusion, about 280 in total. 250 is the minimum, so this plan leaves a margin. Develop one or two ideas per side with a reason and a result instead of listing many; that adds words and meaning at the same time.
Where to go next
The other types are in our Writing Task 2 guide; the closest is the opinion essay, which also needs one position held to the end. To connect your two sides without a Firstly, Moreover chain, see linking words for Task 2.
The full advantage-disadvantage lesson in the GoPrep Writing course adds a timed practice essay with a self-check. To fit essays like this into the weeks before your exam, tell the quiz your target score, exam date and hardest part of IELTS, and GoPrep will build a personal study plan around your answers.
GoPrep Team
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