I nte r nati o nal e n g LI s h lan g uag e testi n g syste m

what the rest of the essay will look like.

Review the four sentences that appear in an argument essay’s introduction para-

graph: 

•  Background sentence

•  Detailed background sentence

•  Thesis

•  Outline

To illustrate these sentences in action, this same essay question will be used:

Technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world today. In the 

not too distant future, technology will completely replace the teacher in the 

classroom. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

The background sentence of the introduction paragraph declares something general 

about the essay question’s topic. Typically, this sentence will paraphrase the mes-

sage delivered by the keywords and qualifying words. For example:

The use of technology is increasing rapidly in the modern world.

Here, a general sentence has been written about the nature of one of the main key-

words in the essay question: technology. The second sentence in the introduction 

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IELTS Academic Task 2: How to write at a band 9 level

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paragraph needs to narrow the focus of the essay further. In this instance, the can-

didate would connect the idea of increasing technological adoption with the class-

room. For instance: