Structuring a Two-Part IELTS Essay: From Diagnosis to Solution

“What is a Direct Question Essay?”

A two-part essay has two questions about one topic.
Question types include “Is this positive or negative?, Why is this happening?” And “What are the reasons for this?”
You need to answer them both with a similar number of words and depth. (That part is simple, but make sure you do!)
To get a high band, you need to directly answer each question and find the details: the “who, what, where, when, how and why?”. If you can think critically about the question and answer, you’ll score even higher.
There are four names for this kind of question: direct question, two-part question, double task question and multi-question essay.

Structure:

Introduction: background and thesis (your point-of-view)
Body paragraph 1: Question 1
Body paragraph 2: Question 2
Conclusion: summarise the questions and both body paragraphs

Paragraph

Background (Omit if you don’t have space. Useful academic tool for saying who, what, where, when and how things are happening surrounding this question)

Topic/reason: what is the direct reason that makes your thesis true?

Explain: 2-3 sentences to explain the details of why that reason makes sense.

Results/Summary: now that we know this reason, what is the outcome?

Examiners, and university lecturers, are looking for:

Essentially, you need to not only answer both parts, but you need to critically evaluate them, for a band 7+.

At university, this means that you don’t just say ‘I think people should….’, but you say “I think people should…..because reason 1 and reason 2”. Then, “These are important because………” Then, “However, when ………, the situation might change and …… will become….(negative part of the situation).

We will cover this in detail in further pages.

Checklist:

The biggest mistake students make with this kind of question is not answering the question!

Mention both questions in the introduction/thesis

Your reason directly answers the question.

There Is nothing too general. The answer becomes increasingly detailed.

From simple thinking to high-powered university arguments

Basic ielts thinking clown vs academic strength

Sometimes Teachers get it wrong: how to assess essays critically

Question: “In education and employment, some people work harder than others. Why do some people work harder? Is it always a good thing to work hard?”
Advice: “The first part is actually a lead-in statement. It is not particularly important. The parts that you need to address in your essay are the two questions.“
The issue: The first sentence frames your answer by restricting it to education and employment. If you start talking about families and housework, you have gone off topic and will lose task response marks.
The academic approach: You should define who these ‘some people’ are before you talk about why ‘some work harder’.