How to Plan & Write ielts double Question Essays

How can we conserve these resources?

What are some alternatives to fossil fuels?

By highlighting these words, it’s easy to identify the topics. Your essay must only include ideas relevant to these ideas.

 

The instruction words are the questions themselves. These tell you exactly what type of information is required and each will become the topic for one of the two main body paragraphs.

How can we conserve these resources?

What are some alternatives to fossil fuels?
The first body paragraph will answer the first question (How?) and the second body paragraph will answer the second question (What?).

# 2  Generate ideas

The next task is to generate some ideas to write about.

There are several different ways to think up ideas. I cover them fully on the IELTS Essay Planning page.

We’re going to use the ‘friends technique’. This is the method I prefer as it allows you to take a step back from the stress of the exam situation and think more calmly.

Here’s how it works. Imagine that you are in a casual conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee and they ask you this question. What are the first thoughts to come into your head? Plan your essay around these ideas.

Doing this will help you to come up with simple answers in everyday language rather than straining your brain to think of amazing ideas using high-level language, which isn’t necessary.

You might want to try this yourself before reading on for my ideas.

Here are my ideas as I thought of them: