Writing Task 2 – Session 2 – The Structure of the Introduction

Introduction

In the Introduction, you should introduce the examiners to the topic and establish their “expectations.” Examiners should have a clear understanding of what to expect from your essay after reading the Introduction.

The introduction is often overlooked in IELTS essays. However, the introduction determines how you will build your essay in the following sections. If you make changes to the Introduction, you must make changes to the rest of the essay as well. A good essay begins with a clear introduction.

A clear introduction must include the statement(s) and the core idea.

The statement(s)

You must paraphrase all the statements in the task in the statement section. It is recommended that you use different grammatical structures and synonyms of keywords that are in the original sentences. You are expected to have studied the Paraphrasing Technique before reading this part.

Attention: If you copy the whole given statements to your essay, it is considered “not having the statements”.

A lead is optional before the statements. The lead is a statement that introduces the subject to the examiners. When introducing a lead into your work, though, you must exercise caution. It frequently causes unnecessary information and wastes time. It may also cause you to repeat essay keywords. An example of a lead sentence is, “XYZ has become a contentious issue.”

 The core idea

The core idea is the main idea of the whole essay. Every essay has only one core idea and it must be presented clearly in the introduction, after the statements. In other words, you are saying what you will do in this essay.

There are 2 options for presenting the core idea, depending on the kind of questions in the task.

1. A direct answer to the question: If it is a yes/no question or a choosing question, you must give a clear and direct answer to state your opinion.
2. The aim of the essay: Any other kinds of questions could be answered with “the aim” of the essay or a direct answer. When giving a direct answer in this case, pay attention to the consistency of essay ideas. If you change the core idea in the introduction, you will need to change the body paragraphs as well, and vice versa. If you decide to change the idea or add new ideas while writing the body paragraphs, you must also change the introduction.

Note: There must be consistency in ideas throughout the essay, starting from the core idea of the essay. Do not go beyond what is mentioned in the core idea.

Here are some suggestions to start presenting the core idea of the essay.

Example 1:

In many countries, an increase in crime has been blamed on violent images on television and in computer and video games. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In many countries, the violent visual content on TV and in video games has been perceived as the reason for the rise in crime rates. From my perspective, I profoundly agree with this statement.

Example 2:

In many countries, young people are unemployed despite being educated. What are the reasons? What should be done about it?

In many countries, young generations are unemployed even though they are well educated. This essay aims to discuss the most striking reason behind this situation and propose a solution to tackle it.