Simon’s ielts writing task 2

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Simon
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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Wednesday, December 30, 2015 
IELTS Writing Task 2: words from the question 
People often worry about using words from the question in their essays. 
While it's important to show that you can paraphrase the question and explain your ideas in a variety 
of ways, I believe that you 
should
use words from the question somewhere in your essays. But why? 
Here are 3 reasons: 
1. The first reason is easy: some words/phrases are difficult to paraphrase. For example, in 
my 
essay
about 'living alone' I found it difficult to avoid using the phrase 'live alone'. Almost every 
sentence refers to this topic, and nobody expects you to find ten or more different synonyms. 
2. The second reason is more interesting: repeating certain key words or phrases helps to hold your 
essay together. The reader cannot miss the connection between ideas (whereas he/she might miss 

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the connection if you use too many synonyms). Politicians often use this technique in their speeches 
e.g. Barack Obama's famous "Yes we can" speech. 
3. The third reason is equally important: repeating words from the question helps to keep you "on topic". 
Refer to the question to show the examiner that you are answering it. This can help your 'task 
response' score. 
Idea:
Take one of my sample essays, or a sample essay from an IELTS book. Underline key words in the 
question, then highlight those words in the essay. If the writer used words from the question, it was 
probably for one of the 3 reasons above. A good essay is likely to have a nice balance between 
words that are taken from the question and the use of synonyms or paraphrasing.