IELTS Writing Task 2 Vocabulary by Essay Type

A learner memorizes an opinion-essay introduction and sees this prompt:

What problems does excessive car use cause, and what measures could address them?

They begin: "Some people contend that cars are beneficial, while others disagree. This essay will discuss both views."

The grammar is acceptable. The response is not. The prompt asks for problems and measures, not two opinions. No advanced vocabulary can repair a paragraph that performs the wrong task.

IELTS officially describes Writing Task 2 as an essay responding to a point of view, argument, or problem. The questions vary. You may need to justify an opinion, compare views or implications, evaluate advantages and disadvantages, explain causes, present solutions, or answer two questions. IELTS itself warns against forcing a learned formula onto a prompt.

Treat essay types as routing labels, not as five templates. First identify the decisions required by the exact wording. Then choose vocabulary that performs those decisions.

A vocabulary route for five common prompt families

The same prompt can combine these jobs. An advantages question may also ask for your opinion. A two-part question may ask for causes and effects. The wording outranks the label.

1. Opinion essays: contend that, then support the contention

Contend that + clause formally presents a position as something a person, group, or text argues for.

"This essay contends that city-centre parking should be priced according to demand."

The verb reports or advances a claim. It does not prove the claim, and it does not imply that the writer is dishonest. Its normal assertion frame is contend that + full clause, not contend about the policy or contend the policy.

In a timed essay, a direct I argue that... or In my view... may be lighter. Use contend only when its formal claim-reporting function fits. It is especially useful for presenting another source’s position neutrally:

"Supporters contend that variable pricing reduces unnecessary journeys."

Your next sentence must provide the reason or evidence. A formal reporting verb is not support by itself.

Routing question: What exactly is my position, and which reasons will justify it?

2. Discuss-both-views essays: concede a point without surrendering the argument

Concede that + clause accepts that a disputed point or limitation is valid, often while preserving a broader position.

"I concede that free parking can help some small businesses; however, unlimited provision encourages more peak-time traffic."

That sentence genuinely gives ground: the benefit is accepted as valid. Acknowledge is more neutral; it can simply recognize that a concern exists. Admit often fits owning an unwelcome fact or error. Concede is more argument-shaped, so avoid using it for an uncontested fact.

A concession must remain compatible with what follows. Do not write I concede that the policy is effective; however, it is not effective. Narrow the accepted point: effective in the short term, but costly to sustain.

Discussing both views does not mean leaving your own position hidden. State what you accept from each side and then show how you weigh it.

Routing question: Which part of the opposing view is genuinely valid, and what broader judgment remains?

3. Advantages and disadvantages: outweigh ranks the sides

A outweighs B means A has greater importance, value, or effect than B in the decision. The weaker side still exists.

"For dense cities, the accessibility benefits of public transport outweigh the inconvenience of fixed routes."

The stronger consideration is the subject. There is no than: not outweigh than the disadvantages. Exceed compares quantities or limits, as in costs exceeded the budget. Surpass compares performance or achievement. Outweigh evaluates competing considerations.

Qualify the judgment when necessary: may outweigh, on balance outweigh, outweigh in the long term. Do not mechanically pair two lists and declare a winner. Explain the criterion: reach, severity, duration, reversibility, or number of people affected.

Routing question: By what criterion does one side matter more?

4. Problem–solution essays: stem from diagnoses; mitigate limits harm

Outcome stems from source traces a condition or problem to an origin.

"Congestion often stems partly from jobs and services being concentrated in one district."

The direction matters. X stems from Y means Y is the source of X. Do not use the passive is stemmed from. If the diagnosis is uncertain or mixed, write may stem from, stems partly from, or stems from a combination of....

Mitigate + negative object means reduce the likelihood, severity, or consequences of harm without necessarily eliminating it.

"Staggered work hours may mitigate peak-time congestion, although they do not change where jobs are located."

Mitigate risk, harm, impact, pressure, or consequences. Do not write mitigate against congestion as the taught default; use the direct object. Most importantly, do not imply that mitigation fixes the underlying cause. A bus lane may mitigate delay even if concentrated employment remains.

This prompt family deserves deeper treatment than a routing guide can provide; the dedicated problem–solution article below separates diagnosis strength from solution strength.

Routing question: What evidence supports the proposed origin, and does the measure control the cause or only reduce harm?

5. Two-part questions: identify the salient issue in each part

Salient describes a point that stands out from a larger set because it is particularly relevant to understanding the question.

Suppose the prompt asks: Why are more people living alone, and what effects does this have on cities?

"The most salient cause is delayed family formation, while the most salient urban effect is greater demand for small homes."

The word performs selection. It does not mean obvious. A cause may be salient after careful analysis yet not obvious at first sight. Nor does salient automatically mean urgent or universally important; it is the point that earns attention in this particular answer.

Use it sparingly. If you call three causes and four effects salient, you have stopped selecting. More importantly, answer both questions. A polished first half cannot compensate for an absent second half.

Routing question: What is each question asking me to explain, and which one or two points best answer it?

The same topic routed five ways

Topic: universities offering more online courses.

Opinion

Prompt: To what extent do you agree that most university courses should be online?

"I contend that online delivery should remain an option rather than the default because practical and discussion-based courses depend on forms of participation that are difficult to reproduce remotely."

The vocabulary advances a position. The reason begins its support.

Discuss both views

Prompt: Some people prefer online courses; others believe students should attend campus. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

"I concede that online courses widen access for working students. Nevertheless, campus teaching remains more suitable where equipment, live practice, or sustained group interaction is central."

The concession is real, but the writer’s criterion remains clear.

Advantages and disadvantages

Prompt: Do the advantages of online university courses outweigh the disadvantages?

"For students who live far from a university, lower travel and housing costs may outweigh reduced informal contact, although the balance changes for laboratory courses."

The judgment is bounded by population and course type.

Problem and solution

Prompt: Online students often feel isolated. Why does this happen, and what can universities do?

"Isolation may stem from courses that provide recorded content but few recurring interactions. Small, stable discussion groups can mitigate that isolation, though they cannot replace every form of campus contact."

The diagnosis is qualified; the measure claims partial improvement.

Two-part question

Prompt: Why has online study grown, and how might this change cities?

"The salient driver is flexibility for students with work or family commitments. One salient urban effect may be lower demand for housing immediately around large campuses."

Each sentence answers a different question. A developed essay would support both rather than adding unrelated benefits.

Why memorized templates fail

A template can help with paragraph control, but it becomes dangerous when it decides the argument before you have read the prompt. Watch for these mismatches:

• This essay will discuss both views when the prompt asks for causes and solutions.
• The advantages outweigh the disadvantages when the prompt asks only to describe both, not rank them.
• I completely agree followed by a paragraph that concedes so much that the stated position changes.
• a solution paragraph that never diagnoses the problem it is meant to solve.
• two strong paragraphs answering the first question and one sentence answering the second.

The repair is a prompt audit. Underline each instruction verb and noun: discuss both views, give your opinion, why, what effects, what measures, outweigh. Turn each into a question your essay must answer. Only then choose useful lexical frames.

Quick check

1. Which sentence uses contend in its claim-reporting frame?

A. "The report contends that the change reduced access." B. "The report contends about reduced access." C. "The data contends the change."

2. Which sentence makes a genuine concession while retaining a broader position?

A. "I concede that remote study saves travel time, but practical courses still need shared equipment." B. "I concede that remote study is useful, but it is not useful." C. "I concede about remote study."

3. Which frame correctly ranks competing considerations?

A. "The benefit outweighs than the cost." B. "The benefit may outweigh the cost." C. "The benefit is outweighs the cost."

4. In low participation stems from irregular contact, what is the source?

A. low participation B. irregular contact C. neither; stem from has no direction

5. A measure reduces the harm but leaves the root cause in place. Which claim fits?

A. it eradicates the problem B. it mitigates the harm C. it proves the cause

6. A factor was hard to discover but best explains this prompt. It is:

A. salient but not necessarily obvious B. obvious because it is salient C. irrelevant because it was hidden

Answers: 1-A, 2-A, 3-B, 4-B, 5-B, 6-A. Contend takes a claim-like clause. A concession accepts a bounded point. Outweigh takes a direct object. In X stems from Y, Y is the source. Mitigate allows residual harm. Salient selects for relevance, not obviousness.

Fresh practice item

Prompt: Some cities charge drivers to enter crowded central areas. Why are these charges introduced, and do their benefits outweigh their disadvantages?

Before writing, make a two-row plan:

1. diagnosis: one problem the charge addresses and what that problem may stem from;
2. evaluation: one benefit, one disadvantage, and the criterion by which one may outweigh the other.

Write six sentences. Use salient only if you select one issue from several. Use mitigate only if the charge reduces a harmful effect without claiming to remove it. Do not add contend or concede unless your paragraph actually reports a position or accepts a disputed point.

If you want to practise matching vocabulary to the exact work an IELTS prompt requires, try Lyra Practice.

Sources

• IELTS Academic Writing test format — IELTS
• How to understand IELTS Writing Task 2 question prompts — IELTS
• IELTS Writing band descriptors — IELTS

Related

• IELTS Vocabulary Practice
• Exam English Vocabulary Practice
• IELTS Vocabulary for Opinions and Arguments
• IELTS Vocabulary for Advantages and Disadvantages
• IELTS Vocabulary for Cause and Effect

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