how to write a how far do you agree essay history

Edexcel History AS/A2 Revision

How to write an A-Level History Essay: To what extent…./How far….

Hiya guys!

So this is my new series of posts helping you write the best essays you can. Whether you hate History or are aiming for an A* and to continue doing this at university, going into an exam knowing exactly HOW to write the entire exam (because it’s all essay unfortunately) will help you secure the grade you want.

So! There are different types of questions you can be given but the most common one (for an non-source question) will probably begin with “to what extent” i.e. “to what extent do bananas increase a monkey’s hyperactive and crazy behaviour {20 marks}” or more seriously (and topic related) “To what extent do you agree that the introduction of the statue of artificers was the most significant improvement to the government of the localities in the year 1485-1603?”

This type of structure applies to “how far” questions as well.

So, here we go:

Like I said in my previous post, the introduction can be argued to be the most important aspect of an essay (to what extent do you agree that the introduction of an essay is the most important part of an essay…. 🙂 )

WARNING: Long post 🙂

Introduction:

Outline the argument of the question. (1-2 lines)
Context (2-3 lines)
Criteria (2-3 lines)
Other significant factors (2-3 lines)

Paragraph 1: Point in the question

Re-phrase the question to answer whether or not the point included in the title was the most significant (1 line).
Explain briefly what/when it was (1-2 lines)
Evidence (1-2 lines)
Analyse by considering the criteria outlined in the introduction. (5-6 lines)
Judgement and link back to question (1-2 lines)

So this paragraph should always be about the factor included in the question, regardless if you agree that it’s the most significant/important.

Paragraph 2-4: Most important point after one in the question

Analyse by considering the criteria outlined in the introduction i.e. successes/failures (5-6 lines)
Judgement/comparison to PIQ and link back to question (1-2 lines)

This paragraph should be about either the second most important OR the factor/event you think is most significant/important if it isn’t the factor included in the question. Don’t be afraid to argue this! One of the best reasons about History is there is no wrong answer to some extent (to what extent is there no wrong answer in history…okay I will stop 😉 ) but seriously, if you can back your point up with evidence and clear reasoning then you’ve got yourself a good essay.

Answer the question (1 line)
Summarize [analysis/explanation] using criteria (1-2 lines)
Summarize significance of key points using criteria (3-5 lines)
Extent you think statement is true using criteria: “To a certain extent” “to a great extent” “To a minor extent”

That’s it! It’s a lot, I know. But don’t worry the more you practice, the better you will become. Quickly, some extra help for the exam:

aim for 4 points – better to have 4 well thought out, well analysed points that 7 hastily written and kinda sucky ones
Prioritize the conclusion – if you’re running out of time and you’re not on your conclusion, move to your conclusion. It’s better to have a conclusion and a half written point than a point and no conclusion. Even if this means leaving a few lines to go back to, prioritize your conclusion.
Plan, Plan, PLAN – I don’t think I can stress this enough. Spending 5 minutes outlining your points, jotting down a few notes on evidence, analysis on links will save you time later in the exam but also stop you from straying from what the question is asking you. I know in an exam you want to start writing ASAP but taking a breather, finding where you stand can ensure you have SUSTAINED judgement all the way through (something examiners are looking for). And the more you practise the quicker you will be. It now takes me approximately 3 minutes to plan my answers in an exam.
Timings – finally, before I do anything in my exams I mark out next to each question when I need to stop and start the next question (I even mark out planning time). So it looks kinda like: Question 1: start plan: 9, start writing: 9:05, finish writing: 9:45. And begin process again.

Anyway! Hope this helps guys, have a nice evening and I hope your mocks go well 🙂

Best Wishes,

History A2 xx

How to structure AQA A-level History Essays

Dr Janet Rose
December 14, 2019

For AQA History , at both AS and A level, you need to know how to write two types of essay – a block essay and a point-by-point essay. To be able to structure AQA history essays you’ll need to know these essay styles and where to use them.

Introductions

You don’t really need an introduction for the source questions. In the exam you will be pressed for time so it is sensible to just start with your analysis of extract A. However, for the essay questions you will need a short, clear introduction that references the question and states your line of argument.

The most helpful tip I can give you is this; write the introduction last . Why do I advise this? Because if you state your line of argument and what you intend to include, you then have to make sure your whole essay and conclusion matches your introduction. Obviously you should have a plan to follow but it is far, far easier to write the body of your essay and your conclusion, then make the introduction fit the essay you have just written. It makes writing the introduction a breeze because you will know exactly what you have argued, which evidence you have used, the order you have presented your material and what you have concluded.

No Surprises

Remember there should be no surprises for your marker or examiner in history. You are not writing a best seller where you build up the tension and then do a dramatic ‘ta da’ reveal. That will only confuse your examiner and lose you marks – potentially a lot of marks. What we want is a nice, clear format where we can see exactly what you are arguing, exactly what evidence you are using, and exactly what you have concluded. Importantly, we want to know this at the start of the essay. If you make your marker or examiner keep stopping, re-reading chunks, and going back and forth to try and understand your argument, you’ll just end up with an unhappy and frustrated reader. And this is the person who is going to award your marks! Be clear. Be concise. Get to the point quickly. Give evidence to back up your points. Reach a judgement.

History Essay: How to write an A-Grade Essay

Block Essays

For AQA you use these for the extract questions; the two sources for AS and the three sources for A level. You write the essay in blocks of text which are focused on one area.

For the source questions you don’t need to get too clever with hopping back and forth between sources and points. Decide and plan what you need to say and then write it clearly, with a clear assessment of each source, in big chunks of work. Do not worry about an introduction– just get straight into the analysis. First address Source A in a block, then Source B in another block and (for A level) Source C in a final block.

Remember that you need to assess the sources. Keep doing that all the way through. Assess each source as you write the block and do a mini summary at the end of each section. You can then bring the sources together in a very short conclusion at the end (no more than a couple of lines) where you can summarise your convincing/valuable assessment of the sources. It is very important that you make a clear judgement for each source, as that is what the question asks you to do.

By the way, when we talk about blocks it does not mean you have to cram everything into one enormous paragraph. If you have plenty to say (and hopefully you will) you should use a sensible paragraph structure. The reason it is called a block essay is that you deal with one section completely, in this case each source, before moving on to the next section.

Point-by-point essays

Point-by-Point essays are much trickier to master but are well worth the effort as, done properly, they tend to achieve higher marks. For AQA you can use this style for everything that is not a source question. The key to an excellent point-by-point essay is all in the planning; it will only come out well in the writing if you know exactly what you are going to argue and the order in which you are going to introduce evidence and points. So it is crucial that you make yourself a good plan!

Essentially, all the AQA essay questions at both AS and A level ask you to argue ‘for or against’ a hypothesis. They will look something like this:

‘Victorian governments in the years 1867 to 1886 had little interest in social reform.’ Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.

‘Henry VII had successfully established monarchical authority by 1509.’ Assess the validity of this view.

Your job, therefore, is to find evidence from your course for both sides of the argument i.e. both ‘for’ and ‘against’ the hypothesis. You absolutely must have evidence for both sides – not just one side. The evidence goes down on your plan, divided into ‘for’ and ‘against’ the hypothesis. Whichever side you end with more evidence for, or more convincing evidence for, that is the side you will conclude is most persuasive.

History Exams – How to avoid being narrative

Imagine it like a tennis match

Imagine it like a tennis match, where the ball starts on one side of the tennis court, is played and then sails over to the opposing side. A point-by-point argument is like this – it is oppositional, with two opposing sides. You should aim to bounce back and forth between the points and the two sides of the argument. Begin with one of the points from your plan, either for or against the hypothesis. Deal with the point in detail, using clear examples as evidence and linking it firmly to the question. That’s your opening shot.

Next, pop straight over to the opposing view and deal with that point, again using clear examples and linking to the question. Repeat this ‘back and forth’ technique until you have covered all the points and evidence in your plan.

To do this really well it is usually better to put up the side of your argument that you will oppose first. You outline the ‘other’ side of the argument and show that you understand the opposing view. Then you switch over to the other side of the hypothesis, i.e. ‘your’ argument, and use powerful evidence to back it up. Remember this is all about argument and analysis.

Back to our tennis match analogy; the ball is your argument, which bounces back and forth between the players, but you need ‘your’ side to end each point with the big shot – the one that wins the game.

How to use Provenance in History Exams

The Conclusion

You must conclude in line with the most persuasive and convincing evidence you have included in your plan. This sounds really obvious, but I have lost count of how many A-level history essays I have marked that argue effectively for one point of view, but then conclude in favour of the other side. The most common reason for this happening is that the student has moved off their plan when writing up the essay. Follow your plan!

At the end of the essay your conclusion should sum up all the main points of argument and then should reach a judgement. Don’t sit on the fence, no matter how tempting it is. You need to make a judgement. The conclusion should mirror your introduction and the main points of argument in the body of the essay, so the work ends up as a coherent, clear argument from introduction to conclusion.

The point-by-point essay takes practice, so it will help if you can get some feedback from your teacher or tutor, or even a parent who will be able to tell you if your argument is clear and makes sense to the reader. Do persevere, however, because when you get the technique right it will gain you more marks in the end.

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How to Write a Good History Essay. A Sequence of Actions and Useful Tips

Before you start writing your history essay, there is quite a lot of work that has to be done in order to gain success.

You may ask: what is history essay? What is the difference between it and other kinds of essays? Well, the main goal of a history essay is to measure your progress in learning history and test your range of skills (such as analysis, logic, planning, research, and writing), it is necessary to prepare yourself very well.

Your plan of action may look like this. First of all, you will have to explore the topic. If you are going to write about a certain historical event, think of its causes and premises, and analyze what its impact on history was. In case you are writing about a person, find out why and how he or she came to power and how they influenced society and historical situations.

The next step is to make research and collect all the available information about the person or event, and also find evidence.

Finally, you will have to compose a well-organized response.

During the research, make notes and excerpts of the most notable data, write out the important dates and personalities. And of course, write down all your thoughts and findings.

It all may seem complicated at first sight, but in fact, it is not so scary! To complete this task successfully and compose a good history essay, simply follow several easy steps provided below.

Detailed Writing Instruction for Students to Follow

If you want to successfully complete your essay, it would be better to organize the writing process. You will complete the assignment faster and more efficient if you divide the whole work into several sections or steps.

Introduction

Writing a good and strong introduction part is important because this is the first thing your reader will see. It gives the first impression of your essay and induces people to reading (or not reading) it.

To make the introduction catchy and interesting, express the contention and address the main question of the essay. Be confident and clear as this is the moment when you define the direction your whole essay will take. And remember that introduction is not the right place for rambling! The best of all is, to begin with, a brief context summary, then go to addressing the question and express the content. Finally, mark the direction your essay about history will take.

Its quality depends on how clear you divided the whole essay into sections in the previous part. As long as you have provided a readable and understandable scheme, your readers will know exactly what to expect.

The body of your essay must give a clear vision of what question you are considering. In this section, you can develop your idea and support it with the evidence you have found. Use certain facts and quotations for that. When being judicial and analytical, they will help you to easily support your point of view and argument.

As long as your essay has a limited size, don’t be too precise. It is allowed to summarize the most essential background information, for example, instead of giving a precise list of all the issues that matter.

It is also good to keep in mind that each paragraph of your essay’s body must tell about only one issue. Don’t make a mess out of your paper!

It is not only essential to start your essay well. How you will end it also matters. A properly-written conclusion is the one that restates the whole paper’s content and gives a logical completion of the issue or question discussed above. Your conclusion must leave to chance for further discussion or arguments on the case. It’s time, to sum up, give a verdict.

That is why it is strongly forbidden to provide any new evidence or information here, as well as start a new discussion, etc.

After you finish writing, give yourself some time and put the paper away for a while. When you turn back to it will be easier to take a fresh look at it and find any mistakes or things to improve. Of course, remember to proofread your writing and check it for any grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. All these tips will help you to learn how to write a history essay.

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History is not just about writing lots of essays! It is also about discussion, debate and evidence. However, there will be, as with many other subjects at A-Level, some essays to write - but it is not as tough as it looks. Essay writing is a skill that you will get better at over time, but you might find the guide below useful to help you along.

How to Write a History Essay

Are you new to the 6th form?
Are you already in the 6th form but worried about your essay writing skills?
Are you moving on to study history at university?

Then this could be just what you need! This guide will not help you to get outstanding grades - that is up to you, but it will prepare you with the skills that you need to produce that masterpiece!

Key Features: The Must Haves

A-Level/Undergraduate essays should contain the following features; although it depends on the type of essay you are writing as to how far you go; for example, a personal study or dissertation will require a great deal of historiography and referencing, whereas class essays may require less. If you are unsure as to how much your teacher will expect, it is best to ask!

A well considered argument - This is VERY important to get right. It means that you will need to make sure that you clearly state your line of argument and do it convincingly. At the same time, you will also need to give full coverage to other factors/opinions/arguments that are at play - even if it is to rubbish them!

Reference to the question

An introduction

A middle - the substantive part of the essay, where you present the evidence and arguments

A conclusion

Footnotes and bibliography

Before You Start...

The key to success in any history essay is preparation. This not only includes focussed and wide reading around the topic, but also your preparation of your thoughts and arguments. Richard Harris, experienced history teacher and now lecturer in education at Southampton University provides a very good starting point for essay writing. His plan is designed to get you thinking and planning your structure before you write. You can find a copy of this planning sheet at the end of the guide.

1) Considered Argument

The key to providing a considered argument is to read widely! What is the historiography (views of different historians) surrounding the topic? What evidence is there to support different lines of argument? Your job is firstly to present these lines of argument.

Secondly, you should critically evaluate these views and evidence as you explain them. Is there evidence to counteract? By providing a considered argument - what we don't mean is that you sit on the fence! Every essay MUST have an argument, but by considered, we simply mean that you should be prepared to consider other arguments/factors, other than your own view, even if it is to critically evaluate them and dismiss their importance! But you must be convincing and be prepared to examine them fully.

At A level, the mark-schemes tend to be stepped into 5 different levels; you cannot progress beyond level 2/3 if you do not provide a well considered argument! The examiner wants to see what your opinion is, but they also want to know that you have not just "plucked" this opinion from nowhere - they want to see that you have considered the topic fully, taken account of all of the views and arguments before making your judgement. Therefore, you should stick to your line of argument throughout, but you should clearly evaluate other points of view, showing your reader how and why they are less valuable arguments than your own.

2) Reference to the question

Where possible you should show how the evidence you are presenting links back to the question. You should refer back to the question wherever a link or piece of evidence provides some clues to help formulate an answer. This should help you to avoid going off track. Always think as you are writing "does this paragraph help to present the evidence to support my line of argument or help me to answer the question?"

3) The Introduction

The introduction should set the scene. It should be short and snappy, no more than a few lines, but they are very important as you need to hook your reader in. There should be some very brief background detail to the question. You should also include some brief historiography - what is the main debate among historians about this issue? Who is saying what? You should also at this point wish to state what YOUR argument is going to be.

You should then refer back to the question by stating how you are going to measure/argue your case; a good way to do this is by referring back to the question itself. It should help you to get the question straight in your own mind too and give you some direction. For example, if you have a question asking you how significant an event was, you need to explain what is meant by significance and how you will measure this.

E.g. 'How significant was the Reichstag Fire in the Nazi revolution?'

When this question is analysed, bit by bit it helps us to explain to our reader what the essay intends to cover.

4) The Middle

This is the substantive part of the essay. This is the bit where you have to present the evidence and arguments. It should predominantly contain your analysis/argument but you must also look at the counter-arguments and the views of historians.

Present evidence in a balanced way: You should present your argument/response to the question clearly and effectively, using the views of historians and other evidence to back up the points you make. On the other side, you should also consider the arguments against your own and critically evaluate them in order to show why they are less important/plausible than your own.
Present your evidence in a logical order : Try to avoid jumping around. Make a plan before you write that organizes your evidence logically. This could either be in themes or in chronological order.
Include analysis: You must make sure that you don't just fall into the trap of presenting evidence without analysis. This reads more like a list! When presenting a piece of evidence or the view of a historian, don't forget to critically analyse. Is the evidence reliable? Is the view of the historian reliable or are they writing from a specific viewpoint? Are there different interpretations? What do you think? Is it a valid point?
Refer often to the title: Don't forget to link your points back to the question where possible. It will help your essay and your reader stay focused on the answer to the question!

How to Structure Paragraphs:

It is important to structure your points within the scaffolding of the paragraph well. A good way to do this is to PEE all over your paragraphs!!!

Of course, don't take this literally and ruin your essay - what we mean is to use the PEE formula:

E - Example

E - Explanation.

This is a good habit to get into and a good way to provide structure. Simply make your point, give an example or piece of evidence to back it up, then explain it. What is the context? How or why is it significant/insignificant? How does it fit into the topic? How does it help to answer the question?

Test yourself:

See if you can spot the PEE on this paragraph which forms part of an answer to the question "Was Edward IV a new monarch?"

"Edward's power did not increase at the expense of the nobility; a key criteria for new monarch status. Edward continued the tradition of letting powerful magnates rule the peripheral regions of the country, such as the North and Wales. This resulted in the creation of a number of large power bases including the Herberts in Wales, Gloucester in the North, the Percys in the eastern marshes and the Woodvilles in London. This was largely due to the small number of noble creations in his reign - he only made nine promotions to high nobility. On the one hand this shows that he was in form control as he had sufficient power and stability without having to make lots of noble creations to gain support, yet on the other hand he was creating a volatile situation as rivalries built up between powerful factions and Edward was cresting a potentially explosive situation which only he could control."

5) Conclusion

This is the end of the essay. This is the bit where you are expected to answer the question! Here you should sum up in a couple of sentences what your argument is, and why it is the most plausible explanation, being careful to remind the reader of supportive evidence. Finally, you should put the essay in context. Explain the wider context to the question. It might be that there are longer-term or under the surface issues that need further exploration, or it may be that there is a bigger picture in play. By putting your answer in context, we don't mean just adding some extra facts about the period at the end - your setting in context should display your broader understanding of the period. A good example of this is when a student was writing about the Golden Age of Spain:

"In conclusion, the extent to whether this period can be deemed as a "Golden Age" ultimately rests on the context of the time. Although it is true to say that Spain was making advances in several areas, in terms of power, unity, wealth, economy, culture, empire and discovery. The extent of religious and racial persecution however, could be deemed as less golden in terms of morality, even if both policies were successful in terms of strengthening Spain's power base. In the wider context of the time, Spain's achievements seem less golden than they may at first appear. We have to remember that this period saw the Renaissance. The Renaissance affected practically every area of life at the time, and was a new dawn of discovery and thinking - Leonardo Da Vinci, William Harvey, Martin Luther, Copernicus and Galileo were but a few of the characters that shaped the time; therefore, if Spain had a golden age, so too did many other countries."

Re-state your argument using the key words from the title
Be confident in your argument
Hint at a broader context
What other issues would you explore, given more time?

6) Footnotes and Bibliography

At A-Level and undergraduate level, you will be expected to footnote your essays. Because you are not expected to do this at GCSE, this may be a new skill for you, but it is very easy!

What are footnotes?

When you quote evidence or the views of a historian from a book or periodical, you are expected to let your reader know where you got this evidence from, so that if they wished (very few would) they could go and check your evidence. You can do this by including citations or footnotes.

How to Footnote

The process of footnoting is slightly different on different computer programs and may differ again if you are using a MAC, but the process is the same, even if you are handwriting.

Footnotes should be numbered and should either appear at the bottom of the page on which they are cited or in a list at the end of the essay. They should include the following information:

1.) Author's name (surname first)

2.) Date and place of publication (found on the first page of the book usually)

3.) Title of book (in italics)

4.) Page reference.

How to footnote on the computer

If you have Microsoft Office, the simplest way to insert a footnote is by going to the references section on the tool-bar and then following the instructions above. If you are using an earlier version of Office, you should click on insert and then select footnote from the list.

Below is an example to illustrate what a footnote should look like:

"Leo, the holy pope in Rome, passed away; and in this year there was a great pestilence among cattle than man could remember for many years..." [1]

Footnote extras

If the book is a collection of articles or a reproduction of primary source material, it will not have an author, but an editor instead. If the main name on the book is an editor, you need to write the letters (ed.) next to the name.
If your next footnote in the sequence is from the same book, but a different page, you do not need to write out all of the information again, you can simply write the word "Ibid" which means same source and then cite the page number. However, you should only do this once in any given sequence. If you have 3 quotes in a row from the same book, the third time, you should write out the information again.

What is a bibliography?

A bibliography is the list of books that you have used to help you write your essay. This may include books that you have quoted from or used as part of your reading.

You should always include a bibliography at the end of your essay which lists the books that you have used. You can use the same format as you would for footnotes. Below is a sample to show you how it should look.

1.) Campbell, J (ed) Cambridge 1982 - The Anglo-Saxons

2.) Swanton, M (ed) J.M Dent 1997 - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Harvard Footnote System

Another option to make sure you have referenced correctly is to use the simpler Harvard system. This may be a preferred method for the writing of normal class essays, although for a personal study, the use of traditional footnoting is still recommended. Harvard referencing uses the author and the date of the work in the main body of the text, and then has a reference list at the end of the essay which contains the references cited in alphabetical order by author. The reference list contains the full details of the book or journal cited. Because you only refer to a shortened form of works in the main essay (author, date) your essay doesn't get filled with too much reference material. The use of the author/date shorthand does make it easy to locate works in the reference list.

An example from the main body of a text:

Within the last ten years, teachers who have attended INSET courses have reported that the courses have helped to increase their competence and confidence in using IT (see, for example, Higham and Morris, 1993; ESRC 1990), yet despite the fact that the passing years have presented opportunities for more teachers to increase their skills in IT, weaknesses identified by McCoy (1992) seem to be still evident (Gillmon, 1998; Goldstein 1997). This suggests that we need to look for explanations other than attendance at INSET courses for the reasons for the apparently poor state of teachers' competence and confidence in IT.

In this text the author is citing entire works by other researchers to support her argument. Notice the use of brackets and the author/s and dates of all works.

Another example from the main body of a text:

One resource provided in the secondary speech genre is the "posited author" (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 312).

Here the quotation is a direct one so a page number has been added. Quotations of no more than two sentences can be incorporated into the main text and marked off with quotation marks, but if you quote a longer passage it must be placed in a separate paragraph and indented from the left and right margins of the main text.

_______________

[1] Swanton, Michael (ed), J.M Dent 1997, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pg. 185

Attached files:

Essay Planning Sheet 54.5 KB Word document
How to write a synoptic essay
A-level 'how to' guides

Written Essays

How to write source-based history essays

The biggest assessment task you will be required to complete is a written research essay which develops an argument and uses a range of sources.

All types of assessment tasks will need you to use essay-writing skills in some form, but their fundamental structure and purpose remains the same.

Therefore, learning how to write essays well is central to achieving high marks in History.

What is an 'essay'?

A History essay is a structured argument that provides historical evidence to substantiate its points.

To achieve the correct structure for your argument, it is crucial to understand the separate parts that make up a written essay.

If you understand how each part works and fits into the overall essay, you are well on the way to creating a great assessment piece.

Most essays will require you to write:

1 Introduction Paragraph
3 Body Paragraphs
1 Concluding Paragraph

Explanations for how to structure and write each of these paragraphs can be found below, along with examples of each:

Essay paragraph writing advice

How to write an Introductory Paragraph

This page explains the purpose of an introduction, how to structure one and provides examples for you to read.

How to write Body Paragraphs

This page explains the purpose of body paragraphs, how to structure them and provides examples for you to read.

How to write a Conclusion

This page explains the purpose of conclusions, how to structure them and provides examples for you to read.

More essay resources

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Agree or disagree essay for IELTS writing task 2

Home » IELTS academic task 2 » Agree or disagree essay for IELTS writing task 2

What is an “agree or disagree” essay?

An “agree or disagree” essay offers a statement and invites you either to agree or disagree with it.
For this type of task 2 essay, you are expected (1) to state your opinion clearly (2) to address all parts of the statement with which you are agreeing or disagreeing (3) fully to support your opinion with reference to further knowledge or experience

Sample “agree or disagree” questions

Here are some examples of agree or disagree essay questions.

1. “Modern life is increasingly chaotic.” Do you agree or disagree?

2. “The death penalty is barbaric and should not be legal anywhere.” Do you agree or disagree?

3. “Libraries are irrelevant in the age of the internet and should not be publicly funded.” Do you agree or disagree?

As an illustration, I’m going to discuss the third of these examples.

I’m going to argue that libraries are not irrelevant in the age of the internet, partly because (as a scholar and teacher of English) that’s what I believe.

It is possible to argue a case opposite to your own real opinion, but you are more likely to argue convincingly if you argue for a case in which you yourself believe.

Always read the question carefully!

Remember our cardinal rule: always read the question carefully. This is a vital point and expanded on in the online IELTS course .

“Libraries are irrelevant in the age of the internet and should not be publicly funded.” Do you agree or disagree?

Here, it’s essential to note that the view with which you’re being asked to agree or disagree actually consists of two views:

“Libraries are irrelevant in the age of the internet”;

“Libraries should not be publicly funded.”

The two questions are linked, but not identical.

Stating your opinion clearly and decisively

Let’s consider an unclear statement of opinion.

“I suppose libraries are in some ways irrelevant, you can find most things you need on the internet, but after all it is good to have a place to go and study, and many libraries also offer other facilities like cafes etc.”

What is the problem with this way of stating an opinion?

First, the statement of opinion is indecisive, because it is prefaced with “I suppose”.

It is usually a bad idea to preface your statement of opinion with “I suppose”, or “it is my opinion that”, or even “I think that”.

The reader already knows that it is your opinion, because you are stating it!

Every time you are tempted to write “I think that” or “It’s my opinion that”, try simply deleting those words.

The sentence will usually be greatly improved without them.

The other problem with this way of opening your argument is that it is unclear which side you are on.

After the reader has finished reading the opening sentence, it is not fully clear whether the writer agrees or disagrees with the statement offered.

This is not to say that there is no room for subtlety or qualifications to an argument in your essay.

But the main line of your argument needs to be clear because you don’t have much space. Let’s try to find a better opening for the essay.

“Libraries are very far from irrelevant. The experience of reading a printed book is very different from that of reading a text on a screen, and much more is lost than is sometimes supposed when reading electronically.”

This is clear and decisive statement of opinion. A single line of argument is given, followed by a single main supporting reason for it.

Addressing all parts of the question

Let’s move on to the second main criterion, addressing all parts of the question.

Remember that you’re being asked not only whether libraries are irrelevant, but also whether they should receive public funding (vocabulary like this is great for your essay) .

Obviously, these two questions are linked: if libraries were irrelevant, there really would be no point in funding them.

Yet it does not follow that, if relevant, they must be funded. It’s good to demonstrate your awareness that the question has more than one aspect to it.

Here is an example of how you might do this.

“We have seen that libraries are very far from irrelevant. Clearly, this fact does not, by itself, show that they deserve public funding. Nevertheless, a good case can, in fact, be made for public financial support for libraries.”

With this transition between the first and second aspects of the question, you have done a number of things.

You have shown that you have read the question attentively, and have understood that it consists of two distinct parts.

You have also shown that you understand the need to provide support for your opinion on each part of the statement asked about.

Supporting your argument

Finally, let’s move on to the third criterion, the need fully to support your opinion.

Evidently, you are not expected to be an expert on any topic about which you might be asked to give your opinion.

You are not expected, for example, to have precise facts and figures about library use at your fingertips!

But you are being asked to show that you understand the general principle of the need to support opinions with reasons , with evidence of some kind.

Let’s consider what might count as supporting the argument that libraries are not irrelevant in the internet age. You would need to be able to show what it is that libraries provide that a computer screen can’t.

Here, “supporting” your argument might simply mean describing some of the valuable features of reading a book which can’t be reproduced by a computer.

Let’s consider an example of how this might be done.

“Not all the merits of books are replicable on a computer screen. Not only are books one of the simplest technologies ever invented, and therefore extremely easy to use, but they are also physical sites of memory. Many readers remember what they have read in a book by remembering the look, feel and even smell of a book as they have read it.”

Watch this tutorial on how to give examples, then click here to subscribe to the Youtube Channel.

This series of supporting arguments has a number of virtues. It points to a number of different specific ways in which books do things which can’t be done by computers; each of these features of books constitutes an implicit reason for valuing libraries.

It draws on the experiences of readers to support a more abstract general point about libraries.

In this tutorial, we have considered some of the main criteria for success in an “agree or disagree” essay.

We have understood the importance of:

addressing all aspects of the question;
stating one’s opinion clearly and decisively
offering full support for all aspects of one’s opinion.

More resources

Take a look at some more IELTS task 2 essay questions to help you practice for your IELTS exam .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to write agree disagree essay in ielts.

Rephrase the question in the introduction, say whether you agree or disagree and will explain why in the following paragraphs. Then you need 2 body paragraphs with a main reason for your view and supporting arguments in each, and a conclusion which summarizes these main reasons.

Is an opinion essay the same as an Agree Disagree essay?

Yes, generally it is although the question might be phrased differently. You need to say clearly whether you agree or disagree with the statement and give at least two reasons why (that’s the opinion part).

Audio tutorial

You can download or listen to the audio version here:

Tutorials and Tips to Prepare for Task 2

How to Get Ideas for Task 2
Extremely Useful Sentences for Task 2
Five Powerful Sentence Structures to use in your IELTS Writing test
How to use comparisons in Task 2
Concession Paragraphs for “do I agree/disagree essays”
How to write an IELTS Essay Conclusion
IELTS Cohesion and Coherence
3 ways to paraphrase for your Task 2 introduction
Marking Criteria for IELTS Writing
Topics Sentences for Your Essays
7 Ways to Improve your Sentences in Your IELTS Essays
Grammar for IELTS Writing
Academic Collocations for Task 2

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A Beginner’s Guide to IELTS
Common Grammar Mistakes [for IELTS Writing Candidates]

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Free IELTS Resources
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How to Write “Agree or Disagree” Essays for IELTS

Posted by David S. Wills | Jan 15, 2021 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 1

There are various types of essay that you may be asked to write in task 2 of the IELTS writing test, but one of the most common ones is the “agree or disagree” question. This will provide some kind of statement and then ask you whether (or to what extent) you agree or disagree.

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about writing an agree or disagree essay .

What is an “Agree or Disagree” IELTS Question?

There are various kinds of questions in IELTS writing task 2, and one of them is called “agree or disagree” because that is precisely what you are asked to do. The question will normally contain those words although there are slight variations:

Do you agree or disagree?
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

This question will follow a statement and your task is to give your reaction to that statement. As long as you can understand the precise nature of the statement, this question is quite to understand.

Note that some people would call this an “opinion essay” but I would disagree with that label. Whilst it is certainly a type of opinion essay, there are other question types that require your opinion, so this is a problematic label. Here’s my guide to opinion essays.

How Should I Answer an “Agree or Disagree” Question?

The important thing about this sort of IELTS question is that you answer the question directly . In other words, you should state whether you agree , disagree , or neither agree nor disagree .

Some people wonder whether it is possible to give a balanced answer and others seem to think that you must always give a balanced answer, but the truth is simple:

You can agree, disagree, or neither agree nor disagree. Any of these is acceptable.

Just pay attention to the exact wording of the question. If it asks “to what extent…?” then you should clearly state the extent to which you agree/disagree:

Completely agree
Partially agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Partially disagree
Completely disagree

If it just says “Do you agree or disagree?” then you don’t necessarily need to give the degree and you could just say “I agree” or “I disagree.” However, it is better to provide more explanation and detail.

If you want a more in-depth discussion of the issue of balanced answers, you can read this article .

Structuring “Agree or Disagree” Essays

Some kinds of IELTS essay are easy to structure. For example, “ Discuss both views ” and “ Advantages and disadvantages ” questions can easily be answered with a predictable four-paragraph structure. However, “agree or disagree” questions require a little more thought. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to find the right structure.

Generally, I recommend writing four or five paragraphs and preferably just four. As such, here are two possibilities for structuring your “agree or disagree” essay:

As you can tell, the second structure is more complicated and thus there is more scope for mistakes in terms of Task Response or Coherence and Cohesion . However, if you do this right it can provide a more interesting and developed answer.

In any case, the important thing to know is that your structure should be coherent and logical. Your reader should never feel confused. If you make a plan before writing, this will really help you to stay on topic and deliver your views effectively.

Let’s look at an example:

Some people argue that the government should give every unemployed person a mobile phone and should make sure they have access to the Internet. They believe this is the best way of using public money to reduce the problem of unemployment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

To answer this question, I would firstly decide the extent to which I agree or disagree. I disagree that it is the best use of public money, so I would structure my essay thusly:

Now let’s look at how I would write that essay:

Sample Band 9 Answer

It has been suggested that governments should give jobless people phones and internet access to alleviate the unemployment problem. This essay will argue that, whilst this may be a good idea, it is certainly not the best way of using public money to solve the problem.

To begin with, it could be seen as a positive step to give unemployed people phones and internet access. This would certainly help improve their lives in a small way and may give them the ability to hunt down job leads. However, it is not a guaranteed method of finding employment. For one thing, phones are severely limited in comparison with computers, which would be far more useful for jobseekers. A computer is more appropriate for writing CVs and scrolling through lists of adverts. As such, perhaps public funds would be better spent on computers rather than phones.

In addition, the idea of just giving unemployed people technology in order to solve their problems seems a little wishful. The fact is that most people have phones and internet access in 2021, suggesting that this is not what prevents them from finding work. Perhaps the money would be better spent on job fairs, counselling, benefits, or even investment in local businesses to spur the hiring process. Indeed, whilst none of these is a perfect solution, they all seem rather more realistic and preferential than buying thousands of phones and internet contracts.

In conclusion, while it may be a good idea to give all jobless people a phone and internet access, it is almost certainly not the best use of public funds in terms of tackling unemployment.

Language for Agreeing and Disagreeing

Once you have figured out the structure for your essay, you need to have the right language to accurately and effectively express your ideas. Most of the grammar and vocabulary you need will be dependent upon the topic , but there are some useful words and phrases to know for all “agree or disagree” essays.

Giving Purpose and Position

In your introduction, you need to clearly state your position vis-à-vis the question. You can also state what you will do in this essay.

Here are some great phrases:

This essay will…

To avoid being overly personal or informal, you can speak as though your essay is writing itself. This might seem a little strange, but it is perfectly normal. It is a great idea to use this for the overview section of your introduction to say “This essay will argue that…” or “This essay will agree with the idea that…”

Alternatively, you can include yourself:

In this essay, I will…

The use of the personal pronoun is a little informal but these questions are directly asking for your opinion and so there is nothing really wrong with it. This is a good way of stating your intentions clearly from the offset.

Just be careful to avoid redundant phrasing here, like “In my opinion, I think that…” It is not necessary to say both “In my opinion” and “I think” because they both express the same basic meaning.

It is also worth making sure that you completely understand how to use the words “agree” and “disagree.” This probably sounds very easy, but many people make mistakes. I have a full article on it here .

One of the biggest mistakes is saying, “I agree to the idea.” Instead, you need to say “I agree with the idea.” The preposition here is a huge difference and completely changes the meaning of “agree.”

Language for Structuring your Ideas

You can use some cohesive devices when explaining your ideas but be careful not to over-use them and make sure that each one is used accurately. For example, the phrases “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” are really useful here but many people make mistakes by saying “On one hand” or “One the other hand.”

You can also use words like “Firstly” and “Finally” to order your ideas but remember that having every sentence start with the same sort of word sounds repetitive, so don’t use these too much.

Some other useful phrases are:

The first reason why I think/believe that [summarise view] is…”

In this case, we are directly communicating to the reader that this is the first (and therefore most important) reason to support our opinion. To remove the personal pronoun, simply change to:

The first reason why [summarise view] is…

Here are two examples:

The first reason why I think that families should take care of their elderly relatives is that it allows more freedom for the individual.
The first reason why families should take care of their elderly relatives is that it allows more freedom for the individual.

Should You Totally Avoid Personal Pronouns?

personal pronouns for agree/disagree essays

For IELTS, some people say that you should always avoid personal pronouns but other people suggest that they are acceptable. It is true that they are acceptable because some questions directly ask for your opinion and experiences. However, it is also true that an advanced writer can answer these questions without personal pronouns, thereby increasing the level of formality .

Take a look at this question:

Rich countries often give money to poorer countries, but it does not solve poverty. Therefore, developed countries should give other types of help to the poor countries rather than financial aid. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is clearly asking for your personal opinion, so it would be fine to say “I think…” or “I believe…” However, we could definitely answer it in a more detached, formal sense.

To give my opinion, I will say:

this essay will argue that giving money is not simply enough and that more nuanced, long-term solutions are necessary

Later, in the conclusion, I will use similar language to affirm my view:

whilst it may seem reasonable to donate money to poor countries, it would be far better to help them through education

Here is the full essay:

The topic of international aid is incredibly controversial and there are no simple solutions. However, this essay will argue that giving money is not simply enough and that more nuanced, long-term solutions are necessary.

To begin with, it is important to acknowledge that poor countries need some form of aid and that money is better than nothing. Wealthy countries give vast sums of money, but there are numerous problems that emerge. Firstly, this money usually has strings attached, meaning that the poor countries often end up owing favours or debts, which exacerbates their problems. Secondly, poor countries are typically poor because of endemic corruption, and money donated is usually embezzled immediately after receipt. As such, giving money is understandable but problematic, and other forms of aid are thus preferable.

Nowadays, many people realise that it is better to provide poor countries with the means to help themselves. This can be done in various ways, including education. As such, perhaps the best way to help these nations is to provide them with teachers and educational facilities. This can allow them to raise a generation of intelligent, motivated people who will shape the future. It can clearly be seen that the education of women is of particular importance, as this lowers the fertility rate, further stopping other problems that contribute to poverty. Therefore, the education of young women should be made a top priority.

In conclusion, whilst it may seem reasonable to donate money to poor countries, it would be far better to help them through education.

Writing an essay for an IELTS “agree or disagree” question is probably a little more difficult than writing one for other question types. However, it is not much more difficult and if you follow the advice above, you can definitely create a wonderful essay that will get a high score. Just remember to answer the question directly and also to use appropriate language throughout.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.