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ielts writing task 2: the complete guide

eliot friesen

may 31, 2021

ielts writing task 2: academic & general training

for task 2 of ielts writing, you’ll be asked to give your opinion on a social issue. want to know how this section works? read on for our complete guide to ielts writing task 2, with tips and tricks, sample essays, and more!

(note: this guide is a handy supplemental resource for those who use our ielts study schedules. in fact, we specifically recommend consulting this guide on day 4 of our one week ielts study plan!)

click on a section in the table of contents to skip directly to that topic, or continue reading below to start learning all about ielts writing task 2. if you’re looking for ielts writing task 1 tips, click here!

ielts writing task 2: basic information

when you give your opinion on a social issue for ielts writing task 2, you’ll work under the following basic rules and standards:

this task will either be handwritten or completed on computer, depending on what format of the ielts you take. your recommended time limit for this task is 40 minutes, and the task takes up 2/3 (66%) of your score. for a full introduction to formatting, timing, and scoring, check out “the basic facts of ielts writing task 2.”
you need to write a 250 word minimum for your response. if your word count is below the minimum, it will hurt your score. for more information on how this works, see the ielts writing word count penalty for ielts task 1 and ielts task 2.
the good news is that keeping the right word count is one of the simplest ways to aim for a top task 2 ielts writing score! for more guidance on how to do this, check out our post on how many words to write in your ielts essays.
your task 2 ielts writing essay should be formal, reflecting the same tone you’d take in an introductory university academic writing class. for this skill, magoosh has you covered! see our tutorial on formal writing in ielts writing task 2 for guidance.

ielts general task 2 vs. academic writing task 2

this is an ielts task 2 basics question i often get: what is the difference between ielts general task 2 and ielts academic writing task 2? the answer is that there is no significant difference. writing task 2 academic usually looks exactly the second ielts task 2 on the general training version of the ielts.

there is one very small difference: the wording of ielts general task 2 prompts is sometimes slightly shorter and simpler. but even then, the same things are being asked. and your essay will need to meet the same scoring standards no matter which version of the test you take.

ielts writing task 2 essay organization and example

a well-organized essay is your passport to a top score. take a few minutes to plan and outline your essay from the beginning, following a good template. if you can do that, you’ll have a strong introduction, body, and conclusion that will really impress the scorers for the task 2 ielts essays.

how to organize your ielts essay

below are a few resources to help you organize task 2 ielts essay in an efficient, impactful way:

example essay template

the task 2 ielts writing template contains a full model task 9 essay. however, each section of the sample ielts task 2 essay is in a different part of that article, with instructions and explanations between the paragraphs. it may be helpful to also view that sample essay as it would look on a real exam. to see our model essay all in one piece, check out this pdf.

task 2 ielts sample essays

but wait, there’s more! magoosh has one model essay for each of the five most common question types for task 2 ielts writing prompts! click the links below for each sample ielts task 2 essay, with scorer commentary:

improving your score in the second ielts writing task

now that we’ve shown you several model band 9 essays, you may ask yourself: how can i get a top score on my own ielts task 2 essay? to be sure, looking closely at those model essays can help. but it also helps to take a closer look at the four categories in the official rubric for ielts writing task 2.

in brief, the four ielts task 2 rubric categories you’ll be scored on (and their share of the score) are:

task response (25%)
coherence and cohesion (25%)
lexical resource (25%)
grammatical range and accuracy (25%)

these categories actually apply to both ielts task 2 and task 1. for a detailed description on how to get high marks in all four categories across the whole writing section, check out:

last but certainly not least, we have tips and tricks for success in each of the four rubric categories:

task 2 ielts tips and tricks

beyond the advice i’ve given you so far, magoosh offers many other free tutorials for boosting your ielts writing task score, and writing powerful essays within the time limits of the test. here’s a roundup of our best task 2 ielts writing resources to guide you on the road to test day:

tips and tricks from the ielts blog

youtube videos

podcasts

ielts writing task 2 practice resources

in addition to task 2 ielts writing tips and tricks, magoosh also offers you some great resources for practicing ielts questions! earlier in the post, i already showed you the practice set for the five most common types of task 2 ielts essay questions. but wait, there’s more….

task 2 practice material

youtube videos

podcasts

agree/disagree questions

prepare for ielts writing task 2 with magoosh!

if you like what you see here, there is still even more. with a subscription to magoosh ielts you’ll get well over 100 video lessons, more than 600 practice questions, and email tutoring help from our teachers at no extra charge. we also offer a subscription to an ielts essay scoring service that will assign a band score to your ielts essays. you can also try a free one week trial of either service! 🙂

author

eliot friesen

eliot friesen-meyers is the senior curriculum manager for magoosh ielts and toefl. he attended goshen college (b.a.), new york university (m.a.), and harvard university (m.t.s.), gaining experience and skills in curriculum development, esol instruction, online teaching and learning, and ielts and toefl test prep education. eliot’s teaching career started with literacy americorps in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and later, taught esl programs at northeastern university, university of california-irvine, and harold washington college. eliot was also a speaker at the 2019 tesol international conference. with over 10 years of experience, he understands the challenges students face and loves helping them overcome those challenges. come join eliot on youtube, facebook, and instagram. recent blog posts complete guide to ielts writing task 1 complete guide to ielts writing task 2

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112 responses to “ielts writing task 2: the complete guide”

nanda nepal

july 27, 2017

thanks a lot for creating this pretty much useful guiding blog.

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  july 28, 2017
  
  you’re welcome, nanda! i’m glad you’re finding it so useful. good luck with your studies!
  
  reply
  1. krunal gandhi
    
    april 26, 2018
    
    is paraphrasing is common
    in all types of essays
    
    reply
    1. david recine
      
      april 26, 2018
      
      paraphrasing is definitely common in pretty much every type and topic for ielts writing task 2, for the reasons outlined in this post: you need to paraphrase the question, and the conclusion will paraphrase ideas from the introduction and body of the essay. and ielts academic writing task 1 is pretty much 100% paraphrasing– your job there is to take information form a chart, table, or other graphic, and rewrite the info in your own words.
      
      but even ielts general training writing task 1 has elements of paraphrasing, since you are given a situation that you will address by writing a letter, and you need to write about the situation in your own words.
      
      and of course, paraphrasing is important in non ielts essays, such as the ones you might be assigned in a university course. the skill of paraphrasing is something you’ll use in a variety of ways throughout your university career, really.
      
      reply
2. rruby
  
  june 26, 2018
  
  marvellous tips thanks for this
  
  reply
  1. eliot friesen
    
    june 26, 2018
    
    i’m so glad you found them helpful, nanda!
    
    reply
kaif ahsan

august 2, 2017

very organized and exhaustive article. the writer gave us a meticulous insight into task 2. found it very useful. thank you!!

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  august 2, 2017
  
  thank you for your feedback, kaif! i’m glad you found the guide so helpful!
  
  reply
  1. ugochukwu kalu
    
    may 16, 2019
    
    although i have always thought of possible ways to bring about positive changes to me home town, it has become even more convincing to me because i have so many ideas already concurred to carry this out
    
    reply
sajedah

august 16, 2017

thank you a lot!

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  august 16, 2017
  
  you’re welcome! happy studying!
  
  reply
mari

august 31, 2017

dear eliot,
if the question is: “do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?” do i need to answer in the introduction or i can answer after discussing advantages and disadvantages?
thank you in advance

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  august 31, 2017
  
  hi mari! great question! as a general rule, you should always present your basic idea at the beginning of the essay. some ielts essay questions only ask you to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of something (not your opinion). therefore, in your introduction, you simply need to summarize the advantages and disadvantages that you will discuss in detail in the body paragraphs. however, when a task 2 ielts question asks for your opinion, it’s very important to state your viewpoint in your introduction as well.
  
  reply
  1. mari
    
    september 1, 2017
    
    perfect! thank you very much!
    and thank you for the article, is very useful!
    
    reply
    1. eliot friesen
      
      september 1, 2017
      
      you’re welcome, mari! i’m glad you find the article helpful. happy studying!
      
      reply
sazzad

september 14, 2017

sorry i can’t find the 5th one of your question types.

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  september 14, 2017
  
  hi sazzad! thanks for your question. you can find the 5th task 2 question type on the table with the title “thematic questions.” thematic questions are a task 2 question type that involve answering a set of questions that relate to a theme.
  
  reply
joel

september 24, 2017

thanks a lot. this was very useful.

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  september 24, 2017
  
  i’m glad you found the post useful, joel! good luck with your ielts studies.
  
  reply
shanawaz aalam

october 5, 2017

thanks for this great article.
i would like to ask something. what one should do if someone doesn’t have enough information/points as per word requirements on that particular topic, how one should complete the task?

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  october 5, 2017
  
  thanks for your question, shanawaz! it’s a good one because many ielts-takers struggle with this same problem. here’s a tip that has worked for many of my students: add more details and examples to your body paragraphs. if you go back and look at the sample essay in this blog post (about giving kids freedom to choose their careers), you’ll see that each body paragraph has main point, but there are many details (in this case, reasons) included to explain the main points further. depending on the topic, you can use examples from your life and experience, people you know, or simply from what you have learned somehow. just make sure that every detail in each paragraph relates to the main idea of the paragraph directly.
  
  i hope this helps! happy studying.–eliot
  
  reply
  1. sukhmani oberoi
    
    april 22, 2018
    
    hi eliot, thanks for such an informative blog post. as you have mentioned that one can mention about personal experiences in the task 2. however, i have seen that people have recommended not to use personal experiences while citing the instances. they suggest to use examples on general basis. is it true?
    
    reply
    1. david recine
      
      april 23, 2018
      
      i can take this one for you, eliot! 🙂
      
      actually sukhmani, you can use personal experiences in ielts task 2, as long as a personal example is the best suitable example to explain your point. (eliot mentions this in the comments under this article, and i concur. 🙂 )
      
      reply
kamaljeet singh

october 7, 2017

it’s a phenomenal thing we learn a lot with the help of this
thx a lot sir

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  october 8, 2017
  
  i’m glad you found it helpful, kamaljeet! good luck with your ielts preparation.
  
  reply
angelina

october 15, 2017

eliot, thank you very much for your post, it was really useful!
i would like to ask you a question. when writing body paragraphs, one paragraph represents its own idea. do we need to do give several arguments (clearly dividing them by “first”, “second” and “finally”, for example) and then supporting ideas to each argument for the idea in the paragraph? or can we simply state the idea and then explain it with examples? i’m wondering how strict the structure should be.

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  october 16, 2017
  
  hi angelina! thank you for your question. it’s a good one!
  
  the answer is that you have some flexibility. you do not need to follow the same pattern in each essay. if you have a list of something (for example, two or three supporting reasons in one paragraph), it is a very good idea to clearly state the organization of your ideas with a list. the pattern you used in your example is a good one (first, second, third), but you can also say things like, “the first reason i like this idea is…” and then discuss this reason for a sentence or two. then you can transition, “another reason to support this idea is…” and then do the same as before–provide an example or explain your reason in more detail in a sentence or two.
  
  now, back to your question. can you provide a few examples instead of presenting reasons or arguments in your paragraphs? yes! if you want to explain your main idea with examples instead of reasons, you can use the same strategy as above. introduce your examples so the reader has a clear idea how you are organizing your ideas. you can do it this way:
  
  one example is….[and write a sentence or two to describe your example]. another example is….[and write a sentence or two to describe your example].
  
  however, i would add one important note here: if you write a body paragraph that uses only examples to support the main idea, you should always make sure to say, very clearly, how your examples relate to the main idea of your paragraph. after you provide an example, you can write things like this:
  
  this example shows that…
  this situation means..
  i believe this example shows…
  
  i hope this helps with your question! good luck with your ielts studies!
  
  reply
kalash acharya

november 1, 2017

ooops …wish i found it little earlier because tomorrow is my test. however, i do have a query that could help for next test takers. in the answer sheet of booklet of some cambridge book, i have found sample answer by the examiner which include introduction in the first paragraph followed by explaining the both argument and then giving ones opinion. i found is little bit contradictory as i referred here. how far is it considerable in giving ones opinion just prior to concluding paragraph and on what type of questions?
anyway, really a great job…!!!

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  november 1, 2017
  
  hi kalash! thank you for your comment. i think i understand your question and i will do my best to answer it. however, if i have missed your point, please let me know and i will follow-up!
  
  yes, it is fine to offer your opinion in the final paragraph, especially in task 2 questions where the question says something like “discuss both sides and give your opinion.” actually, there are many ways to organize a clear response to questions like these. the suggestions in this blog post (or any other place you find information about task 2 essays!) are there to help you think of ways to present your ideas clearly.
  
  in this case, you could discuss side 1 in the first body paragraph, side 2 in the second body paragraph, and then you could write a full third paragraph providing your opinion. however, you could also present side 1 and offer your opinion about it in one body paragraph, and then present side 2 and offer your opinion about it in a second body paragraph.
  
  one thing you must do in both cases is present your opinion in your thesis statement (the last sentence of the introduction). no matter how you decide to organize your body paragraphs, this element is essential.
  
  i hope this helps!
  
  good luck on your test tomorrow!!
  
  –eliot
  
  reply
john

november 3, 2017

hey there

i have a question. i took the exam a couple of days ago. i was able to finish both task 1 and task 2. however, i used 2 papers for my task 2, which i forgot to put a page number on top. will that affect my grade? im kinda freaking out hehe

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  november 6, 2017
  
  hi john,
  
  i doubt anything significant will happen to you or your score. we can’t say for sure (it will depend on the rater) but this type of thing happens frequently. good luck! 🙂
  
  reply
gurpreet

november 21, 2017

sir, is there any difference between essay structure asking do you agree or disagree and to what extent do you agree or disagree??

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  november 21, 2017
  
  hi gurpreet,
  
  great question! no, there is no difference between these questions and you can approach them the same way. in other words, you may argue for just one side, or you can make a balanced argument that focuses on the strengths and/or weaknesses of both sides. if you make a balanced argument, keep in mind that you should not argue that both sides are equally good or equally bad. you must take a position and choose the side you think is best. make this argument clear in your thesis statement in the introduction.
  
  happy studying!
  
  eliot
  
  reply
  1. rajneesh kapur.
    
    january 27, 2019
    
    yes, there is a difference. if the word extent is written, it is necessary to write either totally or completely agree/ disagree or partly agree.
    
    reply
    1. magoosh test prep expert
      
      february 1, 2019
      
      hi rajneesh,
      
      eliot’s point here is that there isn’t a major difference between the two essays instructions. in the gre, for example, you must take one side and make a strong argument for it. in the ielts, your primary job is to show that you are able to express yourself clearly in written english. as long as you show that you understood the prompt and respond to it, these nuances are not as important as showing your ability to write clearly in english!
      
      reply
anu

december 12, 2017

hi eliot, thanks for this very helpful article.

my question is, can i make statements like, “in my country, we have the practice of…” will there be an identity-revealing issue or is this an acceptable approach?

thanks,

reply
1. eliot friesen
  
  december 12, 2017
  
  hi anu! i don’t think this statement would cause you a problem. you are free to use examples from your life and experience on task 2, so long as the examples you choose fit the question prompt.
  
  however, it’s possible i don’t fully understand your concern about revealing identity. if so, please say more about what you have in mind.
  
  reply
nana

december 28, 2017

i sent this link to my students that i’m currently tutoring. saves me a lot of time! the explanations are clear and thorough. thank you so much.

reply
yeshaswini

december 29, 2017

hi eliot , your blog really helped me a lot.
i have a question. when we are asked to discuss both sides and give our opinion, can i write my opinion in the conclusion paragraph instead of writing separate paragraph before conclusion.
thanks in advance

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  december 30, 2017
  
  hi yeshaswini,
  
  it is not ideal to end an essay with new information (in this case, your opinion) which is why we recommend the opinion coming before the conclusion. but if you are in a situation where you truly feel this is better, you can definitely pull it off.
  
  reply
manavpreet

january 2, 2018

it is very helpfullthank you so much

reply
vera benitz

january 3, 2018

question:

in your “writing ielts part 2 question types”
“discuss both sides and give your opinion”, you say that there should be 3 paragraphs, but at the free ielts preparation course, they say, that “your opinion” goes into the conclusion.
what is right?
thanks
vera

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  january 4, 2018
  
  hi vera,
  
  if you look at the example essay we provided here, you’ll see that there is a short introduction paragraph and a short conclusion paragraph that both express the author’s opinion. the two body paragraphs allow you to write about both sides of the issue and show your thought process. we should note here that there is no secret ‘formula’ on the ielts–there are guidelines to help you craft your essay. it sounds like our advice matches pretty closely with what you heard from the free ielts preparation course, but the most important thing is to show that you can write well in english 🙂
  
  reply
samitha

january 12, 2018

thanks for the tips! i do have a few questions. when the topic question is about, “to what extent do you agree or disagree?”, do you have to pick a side? if you feel like the topic has both pros and cons, can you write the pro’s in para 1 and cons in para 2?

also, when you are writing different examples to support a claim you make, can the different examples be in the same paragraph?

thanks for your help!

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  january 16, 2018
  
  hi samitha,
  
  there is no one correct answer here–the purpose of task 2 is to show that you can write well in english. the content doesn’t matter that much (you don’t need to convince anyone of anything) but you do need to show that you understand the prompt and can construct a response to it. yes–you can use one paragraph to show how you agree (pros) and another paragraph to show how you might not agree (cons). in the brainstorm example we gave in this blog post, the person mostly agreed with the prompt, but also provided some reasons against the prompt. as long as you write a strong and logical essay, you’ll be fine 🙂
  
  each body paragraph should be a different major idea or claim. if you have time, you can write several examples in one paragraph as long as they all relate to the same claim. if you follow the structure above, you can have several examples for the ‘pro’ paragraph and several for the ‘con’ paragraph–just keep an eye on the time to make sure you can write the entire essay in time 🙂
  
  reply
nouman

january 20, 2018

hi, you have written wonderful article . i have a question for you if you could reply me i would be thankful.my question is that may i learn some essay by heart like 40 or 50 essay ?so it could help to get idea on time and might be possible i get exact same one of them in writing task 2

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  january 20, 2018
  
  hi nouman,
  
  thanks for reaching out! it’s not a good idea to think of trying to memorize essays in order to succeed on the writing test. they could ask you about anything at all in task 2, and there’s no list of questions that you can draw from. instead of spending your time trying to memorize essays, you should use your time to improve your general writing ability, understand the strategy associated with how to write an essay, and practice as much as possible. this is what is really going to help you improve! the templates that we provide you with here are useful because they will help you to organize your essay. good luck!
  
  reply
ranvir

january 24, 2018

i am very much confused about example that is asked to give in task ii. how example can be mentioned?
another question is supposed there is statement related to agree or disagree, can we partial for it? if yes/no then how?

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  january 24, 2018
  
  hi ranvir,
  
  the purpose of task 2 is to show that you can express your ideas clearly in written english. in the second task, you should try to find examples that support your point. you can think of things logically or from your personal life that you can use to make your argument.
  
  it’s ok to partially agree with the prompt and partially disagree, as long as you clearly state both sides. in the example essay, the author agrees in the first paragraph but disagrees in the second paragraph. in the conclusion, the author discusses both sides and makes his point clearly.
  
  the best way to get used to this is just to write as much as possible! the more you practice, the easier it will be to think of examples and write your opinions down 🙂
  
  reply
suvam sigdel

february 3, 2018

thanks for your enormous support. really helped!

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  february 5, 2018
  
  hi suvam,
  
  i’m so glad this was helpful! happy studying 🙂
  
  reply
lakhana

february 4, 2018

hi sir, i would like you to give me a feedback on this introduction of mine which is answer to your example in the video.
“home town is the place that many people, including me love so much. in order to develop it, i would come up with some suggestions in altering it. i believe that these points will benefit to enhance my home land.”
thanks in advance sir!

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  february 5, 2018
  
  hi lakhana,
  
  i’m glad that you found this video and blog post useful! unfortunately, we are a small team with a lot of projects, and we are not able to provide personalized feedback on writing. i’m sorry about that! there are many different forums and other places where you can find people willing to edit your essays. best of luck!
  
  reply
janine

february 11, 2018

good day

i have written the ielts academic test twice and even though i receive good marks for speaking, listening and reading, i have received 6.5 for writing both times. the first time i couldn’t finish my conclusion, which would make sense that i only got 6.5. but the second time i completed it all with the right amount of words and paragraphs. i’m not sure how to go abouts studying for this as i don’t know where my faults are – i wish they could return your test results to help you prepare better.

any advise would be lovely.

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  february 12, 2018
  
  hi janine,
  
  it is definitely frustrating not to get any feedback on your writing for the ielts! however, there are still plenty of ways that you can improve on this score! first, i recommend that you look over any practice essays that you wrote, especially timed ones that you wrote right before the exam. it’s likely that any mistakes you made on the actual exam are pretty similar to the mistakes you made on these practice essays. take some time to analyze these essays according to the band descriptors released by ielts (https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_1_writing_band_descriptors.pdf and https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_2_writing_band_descriptors.pdf). you can also post some of your essays on message boards such as the one on the ielts australia page (https://ielts.com.au/forums/). if possible, have a friend or tutor with a high english level look over your essays and provide some feedback.
  you should also definitely continue to write as many practice essays as possible and analyze each one. this should give you a good sense of what you need to improve and how you can do it. the more you practice and analyze your essays, the more you will improve! good luck 🙂
  
  reply
sasa

march 2, 2018

good day,

i’d like to share my ielts experience, i recently took ielts and i scored less than what i am expecting. i finished both writing tasks on time. after reading your blog, i noticed that each question type should have a specific number of body paragraphs? all i know is, you should have 4 paragraphs in your writing. (introduction, argument 1(pros/cons), argument 2 (pros/cons) and lastly conclusion. i followed these during my actual exam. answering question about “many people today claimed that they have a better quality of life than those who live few centuries ago, how do you agree or disagree in this statement?” first, i made a short introduction and i stated that in the next few paragraphs i will discuss my answer. on my second paragraph, i stretched all the advantages to people living these days in terms of modernisation and globalisation and the negative effect it brings as well. on my third paragraph, i wrote about the claims of older people that life before were simpler and and stress free however there are disadvantages too. finally, on my concluding part, i wrote about my side, that living nowadays offers a better quality of life due to improvised technology and new discoveries. do you think i made a complicated writing? i am planning to take my ielts for second time, although i am still feeling a bit frustrated. i also wish we could take our writing results with comments and corrections from the examiner who checked my paper so that i can diligently improve the parts that i missed.

thank you!

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  march 10, 2018
  
  hi sasa,
  
  thanks for sharing your experience! i know it’s frustrating not to get any feedback or other information about your exam–it can make it hard to improve! it’s really hard to tell what happened without reading your essay, but there are a few things you can consider. in some cases, simple is better for the writing section of the ielts. you need to show that you can write well in english, but if you try to do too much you might end up with handwriting that is hard to read, sentences that are long or convoluted, or arguments that don’t quite make sense. i’ve seen students who try to use advanced vocabulary and grammar even though they are not entirely comfortable with them; the result is difficult to read and make sense of for a native speaker. i’m not sure exactly what happened here. based on your description, you set up your essay in a good way, but you may want to analyze some of your practice essays (and ask others to analyze them, perhaps some teachers in your school) in order to get some feedback about what you wrote. i recommend that you keep practicing the essays and keep analyzing your results so that you can continue to improve! good luck!
  
  reply
alozie

april 16, 2018

please is it wrong to use biro(pen) to write the easy .you mentioned the use of pencil.

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  april 16, 2018
  
  hi alozie,
  
  according to this information from the british council, you can use either a pen or a pencil. you should confirm the test-day requirements with your testing center. keep in mind that a pen might be difficult because you won’t be able to erase your work, and the page can get messy if you make mistakes and have to correct them. remember that handwriting and read-ability affect your score, so make sure that you are completely comfortable using a pen if you decide to bring one!
  
  reply
chintan patel

june 30, 2018

greatly simplified article. i want to ask something. should i write more than one points in a body paragraph? for example, in one body paragraph, point 1, its supporting reason/ example, point 2, its supporting reason/ example. same in paragraph 2.

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1. eliot friesen
  
  july 2, 2018
  
  hi chintan! thanks for your question. yes, you may include more than one point in a paragraph in the way you described. however, it’s important to make sure that both points relate to or support the same main idea in the paragraph. if you move to a new idea, you’ll need to begin a new paragraph.
  
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buvana

july 9, 2018

please find the introduction for the essay question you have given in the video. please do examine this and give the corrections or improvements.

given an opportunity, i would bring certain changes to my hometown, thereby adding glory to the glorious city.

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1. david recine
  
  july 11, 2018
  
  thanks for stepping up to the challenge in the ielts writing task 2 video in this post, buvana. 🙂
  
  so, let me give yo my critique. 🙂
  
  first, you want to make sure that you really are paraphrasing the original question. so let’s revisit that question from the video:
  
  if you could change your home town to make it a better place, what changes would you make?
  
  how would these changes improve your home town?
  
  you’ve done a good job at paraphrasing the “if you could change your home town” portion of the original sentence. “given the opportunity” is a good paraphrase of “if i could.” “bring certain changes to my hometown” is a good paraphrase of “change my home town,” too. but you could paraphrase this even more thoroughly and elegantly by eliminating the root word change, and saying something like “i would make some things in my home town different.” finally, we get to “adding glory to the glorious city.” here, your paraphrase “make it a better place” is a little awkward. the use of both “glory” and “glorious” is a bit repetitive. how can you express the idea of making your home town a better place with less repetitive language?
  
  now that we’ve looked at the structure of your paraphrasing, let’s look at overall introduction content. remember, your introduction should actually be two sentences. you want an initial sentence that paraphrases the question, and you have written that. but then you what a thesis statement that previews and summarizes the specific answers you have to the question. so you should add a second, follow-up sentence that briefly explains how and why you would change your hometown in order to improve it.
  
  feel free to revise the first sentence and add a second sentence as i mentioned above. if you put your new, revised introduction in the comments section, my colleagues and i will give you further feedback on it. 🙂
  
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mudita

july 20, 2018

i have tried with an introduction.

“hometown is the place where you are born and have many good memories with that place. this essay discusses the problems and solutions to them on how to make our hometown a better place to live in. in my opinion, the joint efforts of everyone can make it a better place.”

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1. david recine
  
  july 22, 2018
  
  another commenter rises to our video challenge! 🙂
  
  this is a pretty good introduction. but remember, the question is asking you what you’d do to improve your hometown, and how your proposed course of action would improve things. so be sure to include a “what” and “how” in your introduction. the “what” statement could begin something like this: “through our joint efforts, we would all (describe what you’d do). then for the “how,” say something like “this plan would improve my hometown because….” and of course, as you revise, make sure to double check for spelling and grammar errors. 😀
  
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tabassum

july 27, 2018

here is my introduction: there are some crucial things that i would like to alter of my home town to ameliorate the living and environment condition. i would suggest to reduce or eliminate the enormous traffic jam from the street and i believe if the excessive traffic jam is reduced, our precious time to reach destination would be saved as well as environment pollution would be lessen.

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  july 30, 2018
  
  hi tabassum,
  
  in terms of content, this is an excellent introduction. it references the original question; it’s clear what has been asked and what kind of answer you are giving. it also puts forth your main idea and supporting details: you’ll reduce traffic congestion so that people can save time and pollution can be reduced.
  
  in terms of wording, however, there are a few problems you should fix. the vocabulary you’re using seems overly wordy, and a little too advanced. words like “ameliorate” aren’t really used in regular, more conversational writing, and “our precious time to reach destination would be saved” is overly wordy and a little hard to follow. it would probably be better to say something more straightforward there, such as “commuters could save time.” the ielts essay really should have a more plain, conversational tone.
  
  in addition, many of the bigger words you’re using are in the wrong form or grammar. for example, “environment condition” should actually be “environmental condition,” and “would be lessen” should be “would lessen.”
  
  it strikes me that you’re overextending your vocabulary a little, using advanced, highly formal academic words that you understand, but have trouble using yourself in writing. you can actually get a better score if you make your writing simpler, working with the words you’re most comfortable with.
  
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sonal

august 10, 2018

hi eliot,

many thanks for such excellent guidance.

i would like to ask about the preferable word limit in ielts writing task gt essay? is it fine if word limit exceeds 300 words or should it be kept below 300?

also, i am not sure about which examples can be quoted… should it be related to real life experiences or mentioning of any anonymous survey can suffice the purpose.

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1. eliot friesen
  
  august 10, 2018
  
  hi sonal,
  
  good questions. when you write, “task gt,” i believe you are talking about general training task 1, for which you write a letter. please let me know if you had something else in mind. for task 1 (academic and general training), you should not write a lot more than the requirement. writing too much will use valuable time you can spend editing your composition. it also steals time you could use to work on your task 2 response, which counts more towards your overall writing score. i suggest shooting for 180 – 200 words for task 1. you should be able to cover the required information very easily if you hit that mark.
  
  regarding examples, i believe you are asking about task 2 here. you can include examples from your life, the lives of people you know, things that occurred in your city/country, etc. you may also use data even if you don’t remember the precise details. for example, you could write, “a recent study revealed that roughly 60% of the residents in my city…” it’s fine to use anything that supports your point well. however, here is the important point about examples: they must be appropriate to the topic. some ielts topics have a more personal angle, such as discussing the qualities of a good friend or a good teacher. other topics are much less personal, such as discussing the environment or social changes over time. use examples that fit the essay topic and support your main points well.
  
  i hope this helps. happy studying!
  
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komal

august 11, 2018

modifying our own native place to make it the most liveable place is always accepted by people. though difficult, few changes can lead to boost the place to be more liveable for instance, good infrastructure, establishment of better educational institutions, emphasising in house production which can prompt to escalate the overall growth of the home town.

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1. david recine
  
  august 11, 2018
  
  your paraphrasing of the original question is a bit weak. “native place” for example, is not really a phrase that’s used in english, and it doesn’t mean “home town.” also, “a more livable place” would probably work better than “the most livable place,” since we’re talking about improving the town, not perfecting it. there are a number of other problems here: “few changes” mean “almost no changes,” so “a few changes” (some changes) might be better. and “emphasizing in house production” also sounds strange. less awkward wording could be “focusing on home construction.”
  
  those are just a few examples of odd wording that could hurt your ielts writing score. with that said, the basic structure of your introduction is good. you start by paraphrasing the question and giving your opinion, and then you go on to give specific examples. keep that excellent structure as you revise your wording.
  
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pranav singh

august 17, 2018

the sample essay is pretty good, but to address the child possessive pronoun should be fixed (his or her), in the essay it keeps on changing.

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  august 17, 2018
  
  hi pranav,
  
  this is actually a very common convention in english writing, since there is no gender nonspecific pronoun. some people will write “his or her” every time, but that is cumbersome and difficult to read. it’s also becoming more widely accepted to use “they” as a singular pronoun, but we don’t recommend that you do so in academic writing. instead, it’s common to switch between gender pronouns in different examples. in this sample essay, you’ll notice that the author uses “she/her” for an entire paragraph, and then switches to “he/him”–that is completely acceptable in english writing! remember that we aren’t talking about a specific person or child here, so there’s no issue with switching the pronoun. in fact, it shows even more clearly that the example is general and applies to an entire group!
  
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sara

august 20, 2018

is there any online writing evaluation? i need someone to score my writing to check my level

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  august 23, 2018
  
  hi sara,
  
  we don’t provide essay grading services here at magoosh. sorry about that! we are a small team with thousands of students, and in order to keep our prices affordable we decided not to provide essay grading.you can share your ielts speaking and writing for online feedback at various ielts internet message boards, including the official ielts australia forums. it is also useful to get feedback from a tutor, or a friend, classmate or teacher who has good english. you can use our resources in this guide to help you grade your essay accurately 🙂
  
  reply
brij

august 28, 2018

in body 1 & 2, if i write only main points with explanation using complex sentence and don’t give an example, so what happened? i got good score or not?

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  august 31, 2018
  
  hi brij,
  
  on the ielts, you are graded on the quality of your writing. you can certainly score well without specific examples, as long as you answer the question presented by the task and develop your ideas in each paragraph. examples help you to do this, but you can also do this logically.
  
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giuseppe di siena

september 3, 2018

every place could became a better place thanks to some improvements. if i could i rebuild the city where i live adding more parks and green area, but i also would establish some more stringent parking and traffic rules to discipline residentds.

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1. david recine
  
  september 7, 2018
  
  your ideas and basic structure are very good here. remember, though, a good introduction also gives a few reasons for the claims you’re making. i advise adding a sentence or two explaining why you feel that more parks, more green areas, and more stringent parking/traffic rules would make your town a better place to live in. also remember that if you use the phrase “if i could,” you should follow it with “i would.” as in “if i could rebuild the city… i would add more parks….”
  
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sanjiv maharjan

october 25, 2018

“to what extent do you agree or disagree”
do we have to discuss on both points?

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  november 3, 2018
  
  hi sanjiv,
  
  no, if you get a question that says “to what extent do you agree or disagree?” you need to assess the strength of your stance as well as what that stance is. you might be strongly on one side or maybe weakly. i hope this helps!
  
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sagar thapliyal

november 15, 2018

here is my intro please feddback this.

changes always are good makes life better and comfortable. while i agree it is unwise to leave a place imperfect, however we have many things that should be changed in my hometown.

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  november 21, 2018
  
  hi sagar,
  
  we currently don’t offer speech or writing feedback. we are a small team with a lot of students, and unfortunately can’t offer this sort of personalized support. i recommend that you check out the official ielts australia forums.. a lot of students give and receive feedback there!
  
  reply
kavya

december 10, 2018

changes do matter in the present upgraded world. if am allowed to take some measures in the place where i live or in the place where i have stayed before, could be a thought to have discussion.

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abhilasha negi

december 28, 2018

hi – i am responding to the task 2 introduction as per the video.
it was related to the changes i would like to bring about in my hometown.

introduction only –

with the growth of commercialization, i certainly believe it’s time to stop and think about the improvements and modifications we can bring about in our local communities, societies, cities and towns to build an eco-friendly atmosphere.
i belong to a small town of nanital, in the state of uttrakhand, india. one of the major changes that we need to focus on is for the famous ‘nani’ lake to resolve the issue of depleting lake water.

thanks,
looking forward to hearing back from your soon.

reply
1. david recine
  
  december 29, 2018
  
  hi abhilasha,
  
  let’s take a closer look at this introduction. i like the good range of vocabulary you have here. the grammar is perfect too! with all that said, there are also a few improvements you could make.
  
  remember that the question is about “hometown” and not local society in a broader sense. your reference to “local communities, societies, cities and towns” is a little too broad. you want to keep the focus on the idea of a hometown. and you can actually use the exact term “hometown” from the prompt. while paraphrasing the prompt is important, the most important specific terms from the original question should be repeated as-is.
  
  so i would make the opening sentence simpler, just referencing hometowns. i also recommend adding some information to the second sentence. what specific change would you make in relation to the lake? you obviously don’t want to go into too much extra detial, but getting more specific, summing up the change in perhaps 5-10 words, would help make your introduction meaningful and impactful.
  
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soumia abdelli

january 27, 2019

hello,
i wanna thank you for this amazing article, that i found very handy indeed.
i have one question in mind and i hope you will provide with me with sufficient feedback. is it okay!! to write in task 2 such phrases as: this essay will discuss, this essay agrees …..
best regards

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  february 1, 2019
  
  hi soumia,
  
  the phrase “this essay will discuss” should be fine as an introduction/overview, though it’s not really necessary. if you clearly state your thesis statement, then this sentence may just be repetitive.
  
  the phrase “this essay agrees,” on the other hand, just sounds strange! an essay can’t agree or disagree with anything–you, the writer, are agreeing or disagreeing. i would recommend that instead of using a sentence like that, you just clearly state your thesis.
  
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swati

february 11, 2019

helloo!! dear
i have a query if you could answer it please.
i took my ielts gt recently and was asked to discuss both sides and give your opinion.
i gave intro and then discussed both views and gave my opinion in conclusion.
b8ut here you have suggested to write a seperate parah for opinion before conclusion.
m little worried that will i loose bands for not doing it this way ?

if so, then how this will effect my score?
i require 7 bands in it.

reply
1. david recine
  
  february 19, 2019
  
  that’s a great question, swati. if you didn’t express any opinion at all until the very end of the essay, that could definitely affect your score. the instructions say you should state the extent to which you agree or disagree with a position or positions. so that should be the main focus of your essay, and some expression of agreement or disagreement should be happening throughout the essay.
  
  however, if you expressed parts of your opinion in the body paragraphs, and then summarized your opinion in full int he final paragraph, you still might be able to get a good score. ideally, your opinion should be mentioned in some way in every paragraph. but if your introduction was very brief and you expressed at least parts of your opinion in each body paragraph, you might still get a good score.
  
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dudley kamal

february 12, 2019

my home town is a small city with bustling streets.there are lot of improvements has to be made to uplift the city and bring to the standard of rest of the cities.

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prakhar kapoor

march 6, 2019

hi elliot,’

here is the introduction to the above-mentioned question. kindly give it a read and let me know your feedback.

making alterations to their hometown in order to make it a wonderful place is like a dream for a majority of people nowadays. given an opportunity, i would like to make advancements in my town. this will include the use of metros which will solve the traffic issues to a great extent. in the below paragraphs, i intend to delve into some other improvements that i want to do and the impact these will have on my city.

i have my exam in the next two days. kindly let me know your valuable feedback

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1. david recine
  
  march 7, 2019
  
  hi prakhar! let’s take a closer look at your introduction!
  
  i like the way you start with broader statement that introduces the topic (your first sentence). you also did a good job of including one specific point that will be in your essay (“use of metros”). and you gave a specific way in which that change would improve your town (“solve the traffic issues”). this is excellent as well.
  
  with that in mind, let’s also talk about things you could do to make this introduction even stronger. 🙂
  
  be careful of your word choices. “alterations,” for instance, is a kind of awkward word choice here. “alterations” usually refers to changes made to clothing or other product designs. this word does not fit well when you are talking about changes to an entire city. similarly “advancements” usually refers specifically to modernization and the use of new inventions and technology, which doesn’t clearly match your intended meaning. and “metros” can mean meany different things (a “metro” can refer to a city area that includes suburbs, or can refer to a local bus, a local train, or a number of other local services). so it would be better to use a more specific example than that.
  
  it also might be good to briefly describe specific traffic issues that need to be solved. and you should be more specific about the “other improvements.” if you’re going to write about other improvements besides traffic in your essay, you should also briefly mention those other improvements in your introduction.
  
  i hop all of this helps, but let me know if you have any questions about the feedback i’ve given you here. 🙂
  
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soroya janmohamed

april 22, 2019

i often envisage of making my city modern with less pollution and eco friendly. this can be achieved by reducing the cars on the roads and creating alternative modes of transport like building underground tubes, railways and using electric cars.

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1. david recine
  
  may 9, 2019
  
  nice introduction. remember, thought– paraphrase the prompt fully and clearly in your introduction. an added phrase such as “if there is one way i would improve my home community….” could be a helpful extra paraphrase. be sure to also explain in your intro why alternative modes of transport would be helpful, something like “these changes would reduce pollution and be more eco-friendly because….” also, here, the word should be “envision,” not “envisage.” again though, great ideas and setup for an intro to this essay. 🙂
  
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asmaa

june 3, 2019

everyone would like his country to be the most perfect place in the world, and so do i. this essay will explain my point of view of how would using renewable energy and internet influence my home town to develop.

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  june 5, 2019
  
  hi asmaa! nice intro 🙂 are you looking for feedback? this is good, though i might suggest that you make an even clearer connection between your opening sentence and your thesis. i do like how clear your thesis is!
  
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moumita dhar

july 27, 2019

hi eliot,

here is an introduction to the prompt in the video.

i have been staying away from my hometown for quite a few years, and when i look back, i really want to bring in some changes to my native to make it a better place to live. given an opportunity, i would introduce multiple institutes to learn martial arts and/or self defense. the dynamics of safety will be highly impacted by this change in a positive way, offering a higher sense of security among parents, kids, women in general, and older people as well.

i would request you to take a look and let me know of your valuable feedback and suggestions, if any.

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  august 23, 2019
  
  hi moumita,
  
  thanks for responding to this prompt! i’m afraid that we don’t provide feedback for ielts speaking tasks–we are a small team with a lot of students, so it would be difficult to provide this service for everyone! there may be other readers who can give you feedback 🙂
  
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hajra rafique

august 9, 2019

introduction:
the topic of the essay is the possible amendments that might be made to beautify my home town and to develop its living conditions.the modifications will add up to the betterment of my town in numerous ways.
replacement of old, out of ordered transformers with new ones would the first step to be taken.secondly,i will try to provide enough amount of water supply to every house in town.trash dumping system and improvisation of poor conditions of roads would be third in my target list.like any well-established area my home town would also turn into a place with all fundamental facilities.

reply
1. david recine
  
  august 20, 2019
  
  the structure of your introduction is good. you open up with a good overview,a nd then you outline each idea that will appear int he body of your esay. nice work!
  
  to make this introduction even stronger, carefully double-check your word choices. to give just two examples, “amendment’ usually means a written change to a document rather than an infrastructure change to a town, and “improvisation” refers to an unrehearsed stage performance, not an improvement.
  
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ranjan surianarayanan

august 20, 2019

my introduction

i’ve frequently imagined how beautiful,healthy, happy and peaceful my community would appear if i was able to make some radical changes to benefit every member of the community and the community itself.this essay will elaborate on three major
changes that if made would in my opinion significantly improve the quality and standard of living in the community. the three major changes are, road repairs, removal of stagnant water and garbage
collection and disposal.

body #1: road repairs(explanation, reasons, benefits)
body #2: removal of stagnant water(explanation, reasons, benefits)
body #3: garbage collection and disposal(explanation, reasons, benefits)

conclusion

really look forward to a feedback.

thanks
ranjan

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1. david recine
  
  august 20, 2019
  
  great structure and a really good introduction, ranjan. there is one change i’d suggest, though. at times, your writing is a bit too wordy. having four adjectives to describe your community int he first sentence is a little more complex than ideal. similarly, “on three major changes that if made would in my opinion significantly improve…” is also quite wordy. consider eliminating at lease one or two inessential words. “in my opinion” could be omitted, and/or you could get rid of adjectives such as “significantly.”
  
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  1. ranjan surianarayanan
    
    august 20, 2019
    
    hey david !
    
    i really appreciate the feedback. i agree that i had used a lot of objectives in the first sentence and that the introduction is pretty wordy.
    
    i guess concise choice of words and phrases are the way to go eh ?
    
    cheers !!
    
    ranjan.
    
    reply
readingisfun1

december 3, 2019

i think that your article helped me a bit although i’m still a somewhat stumped. thanks anyway!

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shafiqa iqbal

june 27, 2020

the essay enquires about the possible modifications you’d consider making in order to improve your hometown. there are numerous changes that i would consider implementing, but the most important ones will be as following: constructing playgrounds in each neighbourhood, defining proper traffic lanes and an improved transport facility. i believe these are the most essential and rudimentary necessities for everyone and such changes improvements can make lives easier.

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anshuman bhardwaj

september 27, 2020

is it mandatory to write ielts task 2 in three paragraphs?

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1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  october 28, 2020
  
  hi anshuman,
  
  no, there is no required organization to the ielts task 2 essay. some people might write 3, 4 or even 5 paragraphs. it is important to organize your essay well, however, and ensure that your use of paragraphs makes sense for the content of the essay.
  
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fredy

october 29, 2020

very useful guide. many thanks

reply
anil agarwal

august 1, 2022

hello,
i wanna thank you for this amazing article, that i found very handy indeed.
i have one question in mind and i hope you will provide with me with sufficient feedback. is it okay!! to write in task 2 such phrases as: this essay will discuss, this essay agrees …..
best regards

reply
1. magoosh test prep expert
  
  august 5, 2022
  
  hi anil,
  you’re so welcome, we’re so glad you found it helpful!
  
  in regards to your question, since for task 2 you’re asked to give your opinion on a social issue, it’s better to say “i will discuss” or “i agree…” that will help make your writing more clear. i’d advise you to look as several task 2 example essays to get a good idea of how they’re written and the types of phrases they use. we have several linked towards the bottom of this article, and that should really help to make it clear in your mind!
  
  happy studying! 😀
  
  reply