Before you start writing, stop! Take some time to think. It will help you later when you begin writing.
This lesson shows you how to plan your writing to save you time and give you a better quality essay.
The 3 steps in the writing process are Planning, Writing, and Editing. You need to dedicate time to each. For the IELTS essay, you have 40 minutes. Break your time down as follows:
Planning | 10 minutes |
Writing | 25 minutes |
Editing | 5 minutes |
Don’t skip any steps because you are worried about the time limit. A good plan makes it easier to write, and good editing makes your essay stronger.
Planning
Dedicate time to plan your essay. The process is 3 steps:
- Thesis
- Brainstorm
- Outline
Thesis
First, decide on your opinion about the question. Next, form this opinion into a sentence called the thesis. Do not wait to decide. It should take less than 20 seconds to choose an opinion. Pick the side you can support most easily. Write this into a thesis statement using words from the question.
Here is an example:
- Question: Should countries provide aid to other nations, or focus only on helping their own people?
- Thesis: Countries should not send aid to foreign countries.
Thesis Strategies
- Make your thesis directly related to the question.
- Use the words from the question in your thesis statement. For example:
- Question: Does technology make life easier or more challenging?
- Thesis: Technology makes life easier.
- The Thesis statement should have 2 main characteristics:
- Arguable
- Specific
Arguable
You must be able to argue either side of the thesis statement. Ask yourself if someone could disagree with your thesis. If not, it is probably not arguable.
The thesis cannot be a fact, quotation, or question. Take a look at the following examples:
- Television is very popular.
- Television should be prohibited in schools.
In the first example, there is nothing to argue. Everyone agrees that television is popular. The second is arguable because people can disagree with that statement. People could believe television should be in schools. Take a look at another example:
- Most people enjoy watching soccer.
While someone may disagree with that sentence, it is still not arguable. A simple statistic will provide the answer. An arguable thesis is one that a person can agree or disagree with.
Specific
A good thesis sentence should be specific, not vague or broad. Be careful using vague adjectives like “good”, as in this example:
- Studying in the morning is good.
How is it good? Using vague adjectives leaves you with a weak thesis. A good thesis is specific and direct. For example:
- Studying in the morning is more effective than studying at night.
Brainstorm
Next, brainstorm as many possible supporting ideas as possible. Remember, no idea is bad when brainstorming. The purpose of brainstorming is to think of as many ideas as possible. Later, you will decide which ideas are good and which ideas are bad. You should be able to think of 5-10 ideas.
When brainstorming, ask yourself two questions:
- Who is involved?
- What is involved?
Who
Consider the people involved in the topic. For example, if the question is about university, consider students, parents, classmates, professors, and administrative staff.
What
Think about all the topics that may apply to your question. Here is a list of possibilities:
Money/Economics | Health | Environment | Psychological |
Education | Time | Communication | Crime |
Knowledge | Relationships | Emotional | Entertainment |
These examples don’t cover everything, but they show you how you can use categories to think of ideas.
Consider the sample chart below for the following thesis:
Thesis:
- University students should live in their own apartments rather than with roommates in dormitories.
People Involved | |
Student | Can have privacy in an apartment |
Roommates | Problems with roommates in dorms |
University | No trouble caused from parties on campus |
Parents | Prefer to visit apartments rather than dorms |
Factors | |
Money | Apartments are cheaper |
Health | Student needs to walk to school (exercise) |
Educational | Easy to study in private apartment |
Relationships | Can build stronger friendships with only a few roommates |
Environment | Apartments are cleaner |
Brainstorming Strategies
- Brainstorm as quickly as possible.
- You don’t have a lot of time to plan, so think as quickly as possible about your ideas. Use the categories above to help you.
- Don’t reject ideas.
- In a brainstorm, there are no bad ideas. Think of everything you can. You will reject bad ideas when you make your outline.
Outline
After creating a thesis and brainstorming, organize your ideas into 3 main arguments that support your thesis. This is your outline.
When grouping ideas, take your brainstorm and make 3 groups. These are your 3 body paragraphs. Each paragraph should have 2 points. Here is a chart to help you organize your ideas:
Reason 1 | Reason 2 | Reason 3 |
Point A | Point A | Point A |
Point B | Point B | Point B |
Sample Outline
Here is a sample outline for the previous thesis:
- Students should live in apartments on their own rather than in dormitories.
Sample Outline | ||
1 | 2 | 3 |
Living in apartments is cheaper than living in dorms. | Living in apartments is better for studying. | Living in an apartment is healthier than living in a dorm. |
Cheaper rent | More privacy for studying | Dorms are dirty and unsanitary |
Cheaper food (no meal plan required) | Apartments are quieter for studying or sleeping before exams | Students must walk to school from an apartment |
With this outline, you are ready to write the essay. Next, take your ideas and insert them into the essay format listed in the next section.