IELTS Writing Task 2 Model

In some parts of the world it is becoming popular to research the history of one’s own family. Why might people want to do this? Is it a positive or negative development?

Exploring one’s family background and history is becoming increasingly popular in numerous countries around the world. In my opinion, through research and knowing more about one’s family, people can see common trends passed through generations and useful information which can only be seen as beneficial for people’s future.

Firstly, some people look into their family history in order to discover any common trends with family members of a previous generation. This can be especially so with people who have particular skills, gifts or interests in uncommon fields. In other words, as some gifts and skills are hereditary, it can be interesting for people to learn how many others in their family shared these talents from previous generations.

Another reason for the popularity of finding out about one’s family history is often due to general curiosity of one’s geographical origins. That is to say, some families moved abroad, away from their own country, generations ago which resulted in them losing their original culture and adopting the culture of the country they moved to. Therefore, through research, people can learn more about their country of origin and understand more about the culture that their family originally came from.

Finally, the trend of researching family history is certainly beneficial and can help people find their place in the world. Some people feel a lack of direction in life or are dislocated from others but by learning more about their past family history, it can help them relate to the world and feel more comfortable about who they are. Take, for example, a person who feels nervous about making a certain choice in life, they may feel comforted by knowing that others in their family made the same choice many generations ago.

In conclusion, it can be advantageous for people to learn more about the family’s background and origins. It would be useful for children to learn about their own family history, if this was incorporated into the school curriculum.

Comments

There are two questions to this essay. Make sure you answer each question clearly and explain your ideas sufficiently if you want to get band score 6 or above.

Comments

  1. There is no doubt that many people around the world spending time to research the history of their family. In my opinion, knowing family history and culture is beneficial.
    There are multiple reasons why people want to know their family history, for example, few people would be interested to know their family history out of curiosity. Knowing their family background and history makes them to make decision easily, for example if someone knows that their forefathers were artist, they can easily opt art as their career. Recently one article published in one of major new paper about a man who started learning music after knowing his great grand parent was great musician and to surprise, he also became very successful in music industry.
    In last two centuries, many people migrated from their own country to some other countries and slowly their original culture was lost. These people adopted the culture of their current country and felt like they lost their identity. Now if people could track down their family history, they would be able to know from where they belong and what was their culture. Many of these people would like to go back to their original country and this could provide them inner satisfaction. It is believed that people feel more secure when they are tied to their root.
    In conclusion, people have right to know the history of their family to restore their lost culture, language and many more things. Knowing family history enables them to find their identity. Government should start creating some databases where the family records can be kept forever.

  2. Hello Liz,
    Thank you for this wonderful site. It’s been very helpful.
    I came across your website 6 years ago and I scored my desired band in writing. I recently wrote the test again and it turned out well.

    You’re an exceptional teacher. More power!

    • Great news!! With such a huge gap between exams, it’s great to hear you aced it again 🙂

  3. Saifeddin says

    Nowadays, in some areas around the world, it is becoming common to explore the past of one’s own family. People tend to do this for many different reasons, such as knowing about their origin and history. However, I believe this act has many adverse effects on both individuals and society.
    People are searching about their family origin and history for several reasons. Firstly, the nature of the human race is characterised by curiosity which might encourage people to start a self-discovery. In other words, knowing about your ancestors and the way they lived might reveal an explanation for many things in a person’s behaviour. Secondly, When a person knows more about the hereditary disease, such as some sort of cancer that could be common among his family members, he can start to take preventive measures to ensure a healthier life.
    In my opinion, it is better to focus on the present family members and not to search about the family’s past as it might bring a serious and hugely negative impact on individuals as well as the local communities. One of the main side effects that could arise from doing this, sometimes it reveals some secrets that must be forgotten and could affect or damage the relationships between people in the same family. Another possible issue is that not all hereditary diseases are passed through generations. Excessive thinking about illness might lead people into depression and anxiety, and as a result, they could end up spending a large amount of money doing unnecessary lab tests and checks to ensure they are not affected.
    To conclude, people are exploring and searching for their own family history for various reasons. However, searching for the history of one’s ancestors has a dangerous and serious impact on society.

  4. Nedjmeeddine says

    People searching for their own family history became a growing trend in some countries, putting globalization under the microscope, linking it this phenomenon and stating it as the main reason for the present identity crisis which resulted in a social regression, having negative effects on overall development.

    It’s quite clear in nowadays society, how much people lost their sense of belonging leading them to dig in their family history in order to fill the void caused by globalization, which resulted in a gradual disappearance of most traditions, dispersing communities and spreading a culture of individualism, pushing people to a state of disorientation as they can’t belong to something as vague as humanity. A clear example of that, is the popularity of DNA test in developed western nations in contrast with third world countries where nations are still trying to and relatively succeeding at preserving their culture in the face of globalization.

    This appearance of such phenomenon is considered negative, due to dissatisfaction being it’s core motive, as having people spending money on unneeded services, will pave the road to the birth of other industries that will exploit human vulnerabilities to generate interest, which is, for instance, the case in most of western countries, facing a huge growth in industries that consider costumers wellbeing as their last concern.

    To conclude, the research people do to learn about their history is an indication of a bigger underlying problem, proving the inefficiency of globalization as a global policy, owing to the negative effect it had on human development.

  5. Zain Hamid says

    Recently, curiosity leads people to explore the historical background of their families. In my perspective, the reason why this activity becomes popular nowadays is that acknowledging the history of their families can raise their dignity, self-esteem, and sense of belonging to their families. As the awareness of historical background rises, this activity can also give positive impacts on the preservation of cultures.

    People often underestimate their family background, as they do not know how great their family is. Even sometimes this can bring anxiety to some people from different backgrounds, especially in younger generations. For instance, students from Asia countries in western schools often feel unconfident because of their distinctive backgrounds. Fortunately, people are recently interested to research their family history. By exploring history, people might find out that their grandparents were great influential figures in the past. Hence, they become proud of their families as it raises their self-esteem and dignity.

    Secondly, in modern days, people tend to try hard to fit themselves into modern lifestyles. . As a result, they often forget their cultural backgrounds which might lead to cultural extinction. Family history exploration might lead them to acknowledge that they have amazing cultures from their roots. Therefore, the awareness of the conservation of their culture can raise significantly.

    In conclusion, family history research can be seen as a positive development as it brings a lot of benefits to individuals and communities, especially in terms of self-dignity and culture preservation.

  6. In recent year people are so busy with their work thus almost forgot about to know their family more. While there are few country where to know the family deeply become famous in trend. Such trend had both negative and positive effect which will be discuss further in ensuring paragraph.

    On the one side of the trend, it is beneficial for the nation as a whole. If individual study properly about their culture of own family give them more knowledge about the history of it,which help to improve the identity of the nation. To know more about the root of the join family allow people to respect the value as well as it encourages them to follow it. Many families in India belong to royal families in past and today also they now carry forward the ritual as it used to before.

    In addtion, people are more aware of their culture and origin make them more enthusiastic to sustain the same value. Moreover, it enhance the culture of the nation and value addition to it.

    On the other hand, there are a few negative aspects of the trend. Firstly, exploring their own family make them more family-oriented person in result they almost forgot to explore the new advanced world. Secondly, it make people more stubborn to follow the other culture.

    Overall, it is a positive development if people search about their families. As a whole it help both individuals as well as the nation.

  7. Exploring one’s family ancestry is gaining popularity among the people from across geographic locations. The interest in history can be attributed as a mechanism to identify the person’s roots as well as in understanding their culture at deeper levels. In my opinion, this is certainly a positive development towards a better relationship with their loved ones while sometimes reconnecting with a long lost member of the group.
    Although in recent times, nuclear families have inadvertently taken over the traditional structure, this has also induced curiosity, among the younger generations, in associating to one’s history and past culture. As a result, most parents are increasingly being questioned about their family traditions which are then inculcated slowly by the youngsters. For instance, In Japan, most children refer to old photographs to recognize different members of the clan, while dressing up in traditional Kimono during role-playing and game.
    But, Does knowing their ancestral principles help the people in the long term? In my view, it has been seen to have advantageous effects on one’s life. First of all, due to the society essentially leading a singular life with workplace as the primary nucleus, family is the one thing which brings the people together. Higher knowledge of one’s history will prove to be vital in such cases, as more collaboration between the members will be demanded, which will lead to contentment in individuals. Furthermore, occasionally, extended family members namely uncles or cousins are often found by people, who are residing in the same or nearby cities, that enables them for reconnecting and be celebrating important family events.
    In conclusion, investigating one’s previous generation has been favorable as it reintegrates a person back into the family principles and specific traditions, if avoided, would be on the verge of extinction. Moreover, this also aids in meeting and connecting with your loved ones where special occasions are celebrated to the fullest.

  8. Haiat Fattal says

    I am confused bout why the word “curriculum” was mentioned in the conclusion. May you please clarify is it is alright to introduce a new idea in the conclusion?

    • The last sentence in the conclusion in this essay is a final comment. It is not a new point. You should not write final comments in such a way unless you have been trained by a professional how to do that. There is a big difference between a final comment and a new idea.

  9. SURYASH KUMAR says

    Hi Liz,
    I hope you are doing well!
    I purchased your Grammar E-book. I am going through the book and have a few doubts. Can you please share your email address so that I can ask my doubts there?

    Best regards,
    Suryash

    • Sorry, I don’t provide additional tuition or private support for e-books. It is not possible for my to provide such services.

  10. Su Cui says

    Studying one person’s own family history is gaining traction these days. This essay will discuss the main reason persuading people to do this and explain why it is a positive development in general.

    The major driving force behind this phenomenon is that more and more families migrate to new places and their offsprings want to know their family’s origin. The populations of countries such as America and Australia are largely formed by immigrants from all over the world. As a result, children from a migrant family have the common urge to discover their parents’ or grandparents’ lives since they lived in a different world. For example, there was an influx of Italian migrants in the U.S. after the WWII and their second generation looked into their family lineages and realize how different the life was for their parents and relatives. In sum, researching the family history is largely propelled by the offsprings of immigrants.

    In terms of the impact of this trend, people overall receive positive outcome as they develop researching skills. Uncovering the past history of a family is not an easy job since there is few first hand materials. A learner has to resort to various ways such as checking history documents from a library and interviewing relatives. The process of collecting information, raising questions, and applying knowledge to solve problems will greatly train one person’s researching skill. I personally studied my family history as part of a research study and the experience assisted my college study later on. Therefore, this positive learning outcome means that family history studying is worth the effort.

    In conclusion, the popularity of understanding family history is strongly boosted by the people who want to know more about their families coming from the foreign lands. As people gain valuable researching skill during the process, this phenomenon should be treated positively.

  11. Alla Tyunina says

    Oh my God, I hope I won’t get any topic like that on the exam, it seems so difficult to discuss it properly in just 40 mins 🙁

    Nevertheless, thank you very much for this wonderful web-site, Liz! Especially for Writing Task 2 section. The most important thing here is that you help to understand the logic of the writing task, so now I feel more confident. Even if I get an unusual topic or question, I know now how to tackle it!

  12. This sounds great

  13. Ayodya Karunanayake says

    Hello Liz,

    This essay appears to be more than 300 words. I’ve heard that there will be penalties if someone exceed more than 10% of the word limit (27-280). I’m from Sri Lanka, but I’m willing to know whether the marking regulations are different to different parts of the world.

    Cheers,
    Ayodya Karunanayake

    • There are no upper word limits for IELTS – not in any part of the world. It is advisable to keep your essay under 300 words to avoid too many language errors and to keep the essay more focused with less irrelevant information. However, it is possible to write over 300 words and get band 9. But I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have flawless English and you are 100% familiar with the marking criteria and band score requirements.

  14. Hello Ma’am,
    Words cannot actually describe my appreciation for your immense contribution towards my IELTS prep. May God continue to strengthen your efforts and bless your family.
    Pls ma’am, can I write my introduction as below, and is it allowed to have 3 full stops, I mean 3 sentences in the introduction.
    “Research on the history of a person’s own background is becoming more common in some regions around the globe. In my opinion, people do this in order to keep track of their family lineage, as well as to safeguard it, and it is certainly a positive development that can help reduce some communal clashes. ”

    Thanks.

    • There are no rules about how many sentences an introduction can contain. However, it should be short and concise without too much detail. When you have two questions to answer, it is possible to have to sentences to create the thesis (the answer). Most other essay types have only one sentence for the thesis.

  15. Mojtaba says

    Dear Liz,

    Your book ‘Ideas For IELTS Essay Topics’ is a great help. It’s concise and very useful to get familiar with the language appropriate for each topic.

    I have a question about that book: Are all the words and phrases in the book appropriate to be used in IELTS writing task 2? I’ve faced some phrasal verbs and idiomatic language such as “They get off very lightly. On the beat. Foot the bill.” in the book. Is it ok if I use them in my essay?

    Regards,
    Mojtaba

  16. I Just took the computer-based ielts today. This is exactly the question I received for Task 2.

  17. Shruti says

    Hi Liz,
    Your blog is indeed a big help for those who are sincere but need direction. Great work.
    I would like to ask a generic question. For writing task 2, is it okay to write ‘his/her’ for referring to the people/person in general, or is it not recommended?
    Thank you!

    • It is best to refer to people in general and write about “they” or “them”. You definitely never write “his/her” it would be considered grammatically incorrect to write in such a way.

  18. Gabriel says

    Hi Liz,
    Is it possible to answer this question type with a less strong position?
    For example, can I say “whereas this may have some benefits, I think that, overall, it is a negative development”
    In this case, can I plan to write the first paragraph about the positives and a second one that explains why I think it is a negative development?

    Thanks

    • Be more precise – in what way is it positive and in what way negative? Be exact, not vague. Try the thesis again.

  19. Majed says

    Thanks for the essay.
    My question is that you mentioned that it is not recommended to use “Firstly,Secondly,thirdly” in the beginning of paragraphs.
    is that true also in the same paragraph ? because I thought that it is good thing to use them in one paragraph when I ‘m listing the reasons or the causes for example ??

    • It is fine to use them inside one paragraph to highlight each supporting point.

  20. Iman Heydari says

    There has been a tendency among people to conduct numerous researches on their family backgrounds. This trend has caught on of late, and more and more people are trying to follow suit. I believe that searching in family history will be to the benefit of the whole family and one can benefit from the outcomes in varieties of fields, such as decision-making and medics.

    One reason to explain why people are inclined to learn about the history of their families is that they are curious to know the people of their acquaintances and examine how they were like and what they did. There is even a chance, though a little, to find ancestors who are still alive. Numerous stories have been told in which a family chanced upon the father or mother of their grandparents via their determined searches in history. Furthermore, with the growth of genetics-based knowledge, people tend to perceive of the origins of their behaviors and understand how their grandparents have formed their demeanor and habits. A man, for instance, can search for his family history and unexpectedly realize that his unpleasant habit of being untidy around house comes from his father’s attitude, who always had uncluttered room.

    Even though some people believe that searching in history is futile, there can be numerous benefits in it. For one, by searching in the history of their families, people can learn about their families’ decisions and opinions about life and events. They can pick up how to react to current issues and tackle problems by carrying out a simple search in the history and weigh up the pros and cons of each course of action. Secondly, doctors can benefit greatly from the history and origin of diseases in people who have conducted researches on their forefathers. For example, if a person finds out that his grandfather has been suffering from diabetes for quite a long time in the past, he will keep a wary eye on his own health and take safety measures into consideration in order to avoid being infected.

    All summed up, people are believed to be enthusiastic in finding about their history due to their curiosity and their own good in rooting out their habits and attributing them to their relatives. I think this is a worthwhile and beneficial approach and should be encouraged.

    • sarwar sulthana says

      A perfect essay
      I would appreciate you if you could provide me some tips for effective writing.

    • Tehniyat khadija says

      Excellent answer. I wish i would write exactly like this .

    • nishreen says

      ” take safety measures into consideration in order to avoid being infected”
      being infected is wrong usage i believe, as diabetes is a non communicable diseaase; one cannot be infected with diabetes. i think it would be more appropriate to say “in order to avoid developing diabetes”

  21. Simran johal says

    In many parts of the world ,children have more freedom than in the past. Is this positive or negative development

  22. Ashly Abraham says

    Hi Liz,
    Your tips and model essays are really good and useful. Thanks a ton.

    In the model essay, you have mentioned ‘previous generation’ twice in the second paragraph. Similarly, in paragraph 3, you have used the word origin in different forms (geographical origins, original culture, country of origin, originally) and in paragraph 4, family history has been used twice. Is it okay to repeat words within a paragraph and also in an essay or do we need to paraphrase them?

    • There is a limit to paraphrasing. If you try to paraphrase all words, all the time, you will produce more errors and lower your score.

  23. BIJAY KUMAR PARIDA says

    Mam,This essay does not mention about negative developments of such research like inferiority complex development,increase in disparity and like- heritage groupism.Will it be better if this is added with
    opinion a positive development,however a word caution that we as human beings stand together.
    In conclusion,proud heritage,satisfaction of curiosity and formation of a subgroup for coherence are attractive developments everyone must cherish this research.

    • You don’t get better marks because you add more ideas. Brainstorm ideas, choose your opinion and then select your best ideas. Don’t flood your essay with lots of ideas – choose two or three and no more.

  24. Mallikarjun says

    Hi Liz,

    I have gained enoug knowledge from your tips and models.
    Thank you

  25. Thank you

  26. Sadia says

    Hello Liz,
    Can I use the term “genealogy” in this essay ?
    Regards,
    Sadia.

  27. hi
    in conclousin could i write (from what we has been discussed above might we can draw the conclousion )

  28. Dear mam,
    thank you for providing the great knowledge related IELTS
    I have a doubt to clear that in the case of task 2 positive or negative development essay,1st person and second person(I and we) can be used?

  29. Nestoras says

    Good afternoon Liz! Thank you very much for your help!
    I have a question. In IELTS book 7, in the third test, in writing task 2 (direct questions essay) where prompt asks “How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?”, do they ask for our opinion?
    Thank you in advance!

    • Yes, it’s your opinion. Do you think job satisfaction is realistic or do you think it is unrealistic? Always try to rephrase the essay question so that you answer it fully.

  30. Abdul Jalil says

    Miss, are we allowed to add extra words to the introduction, while paraphrasing it, so to get the our introduction more precise for example; adding (People think or people believe etc ) ” when it’s not available in the question itself ?

    • Yes. This is normal in paraphrasing as long as you don’t change the meaning of the sentence.

  31. Mushfka Ahmed says

    hello Liz,
    This is the first time i m writing to u. You r my only IELTS teacher as I m not admitted to any other IELTS couching. I have a question to ask.
    Often I don’t get time to write 5 para in task 2 as above mentioned.Is this important to write 5 para (including “Finally”) for getting above 7?
    and how much I need to write for getting band score 7 to 8?

  32. Kallis says

    Hi Liz

    I am gratitude to thank for your posts ,
    I have seen several videos in the blog and task 2 essay written samples
    One of the video you are suggested to avoid to use this kind of words ” Firstly” &” Finally”, but i noticed that the same word used in the name of essay “The history of one’s own family” is that correct way to wrote academic language.

    • Usually we avoid “Firstly, Secondly, Finally” being used together to start paragraphs in one essay because they don’t show flexibility. But you can certainly use one or two of them – just not all three together.

  33. T A Sheikh says

    Amazing stuff. One query though , wouldn’t it be better to write “This can be especially true with people … ” rather than ““This can be especially so with people … ” . Use of word ‘so’ seems unnatural to me. Please comment. Thanks

  34. I feel glad to read your easy model.. Your blog/tips/ideas are really helpful.
    I hope it will help me in my upcoming G test after 10 days

    My bad, I visited your site lately. Hence, I am keep reading comments etc now. Hope it will help me.

    Thanks
    Sandy

  35. How to plan your essay effectively before you start writing it ?
    In other words, how to choose your topic sentence (idea) in your body paragraph ?

    Thank you
    All best

  36. Hey Liz

    Are all the essays shown in the “Model essays” have 9 band score ? I estimated that it is but when I read this essay’s comment , I felt that it is not true ? I will be glad if you give information about this situation. Thank you.

  37. prove says

    Hello
    Thanks a lot for usefull information

    Sometimes it is difficult or hard to find some ideas about the topic in writting task 2, especially in uninteresting one , which leads to waste a lot of time during the exam
    Do you suggest any hepfull way or tip for this problem ?
    Thank you.

    • It is part of your preparation. You need to prepare a lot of ideas that cover the main topics. If you look at the 100 essay questions, it is useful to plan ideas rather than only writing full essays.
      Liz

  38. Krish says

    Hi Liz,

    Hope you are well. Firstly thanks a bunch for your massive effort in making all these videos and model essays. I really appreciate your help.

    I was wondering if you could clarify me on something.

    Can I use ” To recapitulate, ………” instead of ” To conclude or To summarize ..”?

    If I can, can you please let me know the correct syntax for this.

Leave a Reply to Sandy Cancel reply

*

error: Content is protected !!