An opinion essay gives you one statement and asks where you stand. You write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes, and Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing score.
The examiner reads for two things. First, a position: IELTS says Task Response checks "how clearly the candidate opens the discourse, establishes their position and formulates conclusions" (key assessment criteria). Second, development: each reason explained far enough that the reader sees why it matters.
How to recognise an opinion essay in 30 seconds
The prompt won't tell you its type. Find the question right after the topic statement, such as To what extent do you agree or disagree? It tells you what your answer must do. An opinion essay asks how far you agree with the statement:
| Question after the statement | Essay type | Your job |
|---|---|---|
| To what extent do you agree or disagree? | Opinion | Say how far you agree and hold that position to the end |
| Do you agree or disagree? | Opinion | The same: one clear answer, defended |
| Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Discussion | Explain both views fairly, then give yours |
| Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? | Advantages and disadvantages | Weigh both sides and say which is stronger |
| Why is this the case? Is it a positive development? | Two-part question | Answer each question in turn |
Then a 30-second check:
- Read the question after the statement first. It decides the type, and the type decides the plan.
- Split the statement into claims. Many statements say two things: X should happen because Y, or X is as important as Y. Your answer has to cover each claim.
- Write your verdict in one line. Yes, no or yes, but. If you can't, you aren't ready to plan.
More on all five types is in our Writing Task 2 guide.
Agree, disagree or partly agree?
All three are allowed. The descriptors check how clear and developed your position is, not which side you pick. Choose the side you can explain best in 40 minutes.
- Fully agree or fully disagree: both body paragraphs support your side, or one raises the other side's best point and answers it.
- Partly agree: one paragraph for what you accept, one for your limit. The limit can be one of two claims (the cooking question below) or a condition:
Working from home is better for employees than working in an office.
I largely agree, as long as employees have a quiet place to work at home.
Body 1 argues the time and money saved by not commuting; body 2 argues the condition: people in small or shared homes may work better in an office.
What you can't do is sit on the fence. Three openings on one question:
Some people believe that cooking should be a compulsory school subject, because it is just as important for young people as mathematics or science.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
No position
There are good arguments on both sides of this question.
This could open any essay. If the reader has to search for your view, that is band 4 wording: "a position is discernible, but the reader has to read carefully to find it".
Half a position
I think cooking is a useful subject for students.
Useful isn't compulsory, and the comparison with maths and science is missing.
A clear position
I agree that cooking should be compulsory, but I consider mathematics and science more important, because they support a wider range of future study and careers.
It answers both claims. Once the body paragraphs develop it, this is the "clear and developed position" band 7 asks for. Band 6 also warns that "the conclusions drawn may be unclear, unjustified or repetitive": your final verdict should follow from the reasons you gave.
Opinion essay structure: 4 paragraphs, one position
IELTS doesn't set a paragraph count, but 4 paragraphs give you a clear frame for 250 to 300 words:
| Paragraph | Its job | Rough length |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Paraphrase the statement (say it in other words), then give your position | About 45 words |
| Body 1 | Your main reason, explained and supported | About 100 to 120 words |
| Body 2 | A second reason, or your limit if you partly agree, or the other side answered | About 80 to 100 words |
| Conclusion | The same position in new words, with your two reasons. No new ideas | About 40 words |
Your position appears in the introduction, in the job of each body paragraph and in the conclusion. If they don't match, the reader can't tell where you stand.
How long are opinion essays at each score?
On GoPrep, the typical opinion essay at 7.0 to 7.5 was 281 words long, and only 4% were under 250. Below 5.0, 73% were under 250 words.
| Score | Essays | Median length | Under 250 words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 5.0 | 429 | 173 words | 73% |
| 5.0 to 5.5 | 1,129 | 257 words | 29% |
| 6.0 to 6.5 | 930 | 270 words | 11% |
| 7.0 to 7.5 | 455 | 281 words | 4% |
| 8.0 and above | 387 | 305 words | 1% |
3,330 opinion essays by 1,490 learners. Median: half the essays are shorter, half longer. Words counted by spaces.
Longer essays scored higher, but length alone may not raise the score: stronger writers also develop more. And you don't need 350 words for band 7: about 270 to 300 developed words is a realistic target. Writing more is not penalised, but it costs time: see how to split the 60 minutes of IELTS Writing.
The GoPrep AI examiner also splits Task Response into smaller scores (GoPrep's own breakdown, not official IELTS). In opinion essays scored 6.0 to 6.5, the position scored about 6.5 on average and the development of ideas about 6.0. Across these score groups, the AI examiner rated idea development lower on average than the position. In learners' first scored opinion essays (1,255 learners whose first one fell in the same period), development was at least half a band below the position in 46% (576 of 1,255) and above it in 2%. Before you write, check that each reason has a chain, not just a label.
Plan in 5 minutes: the method on one question
Here is the full cooking task in exam format:
Some people believe that cooking should be a compulsory school subject, because it is just as important for young people as mathematics or science.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Five minutes of planning leaves 30 for writing and 5 for checking.
- Minute 1: type and claims. Opinion essay. Two claims: cooking should be compulsory; it is as important as maths and science.
- Minute 2: verdict. Partly agree: yes to compulsory, no to equal importance.
- Minutes 3 to 4: one reason per body paragraph, tested. Ask "so what?" until the chain stops. Students can cook → less fast food → less salt, sugar and fat → better health over years. Four links: enough for a paragraph. Cooking is fun stops after one link, so drop it.
- Minute 5: outline in short notes:
| Paragraph | Plan notes | Target length |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Paraphrase + agree compulsory; maths and science more important | About 45 words |
| Body 1 | Health: fast food → salt, sugar, fat → weight, illness. Plus budgeting. Why for every student | About 100 to 120 words |
| Body 2 | Limit: maths and science open more courses and careers; weak foundation hard to repair later; cooking can be learned later | About 80 to 100 words |
| Conclusion | Same verdict + health, money; maths and science matter more | About 40 words |
Model answer: a partly-agree opinion essay
Written by the GoPrep team as a practice example. It isn't an officially marked script, so we don't give it a band (290 words).
Some people argue that cooking should be a compulsory school subject because it matters to young people as much as mathematics or science. I agree that cooking should be compulsory, but I consider mathematics and science more important, because they support a wider range of future study and careers.
The main reason to make cooking compulsory is that it gives young people control over their own health. A teenager who can prepare simple meals does not have to rely on fast food or ready meals after leaving home, and these are often high in salt, sugar and fat. Over the years, such a diet can affect weight, energy levels and the risk of illnesses such as type 2 diabetes. Cooking also teaches budgeting: a student who plans a week of meals soon learns that rice, eggs and vegetables cost far less than takeaways. Because these benefits matter for every student, not only for those whose parents cook at home, the subject should be required.
However, I disagree that cooking is as important as mathematics or science. These subjects build knowledge step by step over many years, and they are needed for many university courses and careers, from nursing to engineering. Basic cooking skills, by contrast, open fewer doors, and a young person can still learn them later from family or a short course. A weak foundation in mathematics or science is much harder to repair as an adult, so these subjects should keep more time in the timetable.
In conclusion, cooking should be a compulsory part of school life, because it protects students' health and teaches them to manage money. Even so, mathematics and science matter more, as they prepare young people for a wider range of study and work.
What to notice:
- The same verdict opens and closes the essay.
- Each body paragraph has one job: compulsory, then not equal.
- The limit is argued, so "partly agree" reads as a decision, not as doubt.
Band 6 vs 7 vs 8: one body paragraph
Body 1 of the model, written three ways. These are practice examples: the examiner scores the whole essay, so a paragraph alone shows the features of a band, not a band.
Features of band 6
Cooking is very important for students health. If students can cook, they will eat healthy food and they don't eat fast food. Also, cooking is useful for save money. Moreover, it is fun and students can be more confident. So cooking lessons should be compulsory in all schools.
Features of band 7
The main reason to make cooking compulsory is that it helps young people stay healthy. Students who can prepare simple meals are less likely to depend on fast food, which is often high in salt, sugar and fat. Cooking also teaches them to manage money, because meals made at home usually cost less than eating out. For these reasons, it should be a required subject.
Features of band 8: body 1 of the model answer above.
| Criterion | Band 6 version | Band 7 version | Band 8 version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task Response | Four ideas named, none explained: some ideas "may be insufficiently developed" | Two ideas extended and supported, but stay healthy is general: "a tendency to over-generalise" | One idea followed to its effect (salt, sugar, fat → weight, illness), plus why it must be compulsory: "well extended and supported" |
| Coherence and Cohesion | A linker glued to each sentence (Also, Moreover, So): cohesion can be "mechanical" | Linking follows the logic: which, because, For these reasons | Reference words carry ideas forward: such a diet, these benefits |
| Lexical Resource | Restricted range: very important, healthy food, fun | "Some flexibility and precision": depend on, manage money | Precise words: ready meals, budgeting, takeaways |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Errors that don't block meaning: students health, useful for save money, will eat … don't eat | Error-free sentences with who and because clauses: "error-free sentences are frequent" | Varied complex sentences under control: "the majority of sentences are error-free" |
In these examples, the stronger paragraphs develop fewer ideas more fully and use more precise support. These changes illustrate selected descriptor features, not a formula for an overall band. The full wording for all 4 criteria is in our Writing band descriptors guide, and linking that shows real connections is in linking words for Task 2.
Now try it. Take the general idea Cooking saves money. Write two sentences: a concrete situation, then what it leads to. Then compare with ours:
A student who cooks dinner twice a week learns what a meal really costs. By the time they live alone, they can plan a week of food on a fixed budget instead of spending much of it on delivery apps.
What the examiner flags as scores rise
The GoPrep AI examiner lists up to three priority fixes for each essay. In opinion essays, here is how often each kind was among them:
| Priority fix | Essays at 6.0 to 6.5 | Essays at 7.0 to 7.5 | Essays at 8.0 and above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject-verb agreement | 41% | 19% | 2% |
| Word choice and collocation | 52% | 71% | 84% |
| Cohesion and reference | 42% | 57% | 77% |
| Position and conclusion | 7% | 13% | 32% |
926, 454 and 381 opinion essays with priority fixes. A percentage shows how often the issue was among the top three fixes, not how often it occurred. Counting only one essay per learner in each group (their earliest in the period) changed the figures by no more than 3 percentage points.
Basic grammar drops out of the top three as scores rise, and other issues take its place. At 8.0 and above, feedback on the position or the conclusion was among the top three priorities in about 1 in 3 essays: check it at every level. For the word choice and collocation fixes, see Task 2 vocabulary grouped by meaning.
Practice: pick the stronger answer
FAQ
How do I write an opinion essay in IELTS?
Check that the question asks whether you agree, decide your position and plan for about 5 minutes. Then write at least 250 words. A practical starting point is 4 paragraphs: an introduction with your position, two body paragraphs that each develop one reason, and a conclusion that repeats the same position.
How can I get 7+ in an IELTS opinion essay?
At band 7, Task Response asks for a clear and developed position, with main ideas extended and supported. In practice: answer every claim in the statement, explain each reason until its effect is clear, and keep the same position from the introduction to the conclusion. The other 3 criteria count equally.
Can I partly agree in an IELTS opinion essay?
Yes. The descriptors check how clear and developed your position is, not which side you take. A partly-agree answer needs a clear verdict, such as yes to one claim and no to the other, with reasons for both.
Do I have to discuss the other side in an opinion essay?
No. Both body paragraphs can support your side. If you mention the other side, answer it and show why your position still holds.
How many paragraphs should an IELTS opinion essay have?
IELTS doesn't set a number. 4 paragraphs (introduction, two body paragraphs, conclusion) give a clear frame for 250 to 300 words; 5 can work if each has a clear job.
Can I use "I" in an IELTS opinion essay?
Yes. The task asks for your opinion, so phrases like "I agree" or "In my view" are natural. Keep the rest of the essay in a neutral, semi-formal style.
Where to go next
Next, compare the discussion essay, where you explain two views before giving yours.
To spread Task 2 practice over 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.
P.S. The full opinion essay lesson, with more practice prompts, is in the GoPrep Writing course.
GoPrep Team
GoPrep guide authors
We write about IELTS preparation using platform data and official exam materials.
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