Why you run out of ideas in IELTS Writing Task 2
Most learners try to think of ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2 by asking "What do I know about this?" On water recycling, river flooding or sign language, the answer is "nothing", and the clock keeps running. Others write down every point that comes to mind and then cannot decide which ones to use.
Ask instead: "Who does this affect, and how?" Every Task 2 prompt describes a change, a rule or a choice, and each one helps some people and costs others. You already know how families, workers, pupils and taxpayers live, so you can always answer it.
So you need two ideas you can extend: a specific group, a specific change for them, and a reason. That is what the grid produces.
How to generate ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2: the grid
The who-gains, who-loses grid (BandLadder method)
| Who? | Now | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Who gains? | Who benefits as soon as this happens? | Who benefits in five, ten or twenty years? |
| Who loses? | Who pays, waits or gives something up straight away? | Who pays or suffers once the novelty wears off? |
Four cells, one group of people in each. Sketch it in your planning space.
Two minutes, four moves (BandLadder advice)
- 1
Name the change. Write the change in the prompt in a few words, such as "grey-water rule for new homes". It keeps every idea on the question, not the general topic.
- 2
Fill the four cells. Run through individuals, families, workers, businesses, taxpayers, the local area and the next generation. Put one group in each cell with a few words on what changes.
- 3
Pick two cells. Choose the two that fit the question type (see the table below). They become your two body paragraphs.
- 4
Test each one. Can you say what changes for this group and why, in one breath? If not, swap to a more specific group.
If a topic is so abstract that you cannot name a group at all (space, art, knowledge), first bring it down to a decision someone makes with the ladder in how to handle difficult Task 2 topics. Then fill the grid.
IELTS Writing Task 2 ideas example: a topic you know nothing about
In some countries, every new houseWho must now be built with a system that reuses water from sinks and showersTechnical bait to flush toilets. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantagesTask?
- → You do not need to know how the pipes work. "Every new house" already gives you buyers, builders and the families who will live there.
The grid, filled in about a minute
| Who? | Now | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Who gains? | Plumbers and builders: new installation work | Households: smaller water bills every year. The region: less pressure on reservoirs in dry summers |
| Who loses? | First buyers: a higher price for each new house | Owners: a pump and filter to service, or the system stops working |
To weigh advantages against disadvantages, take one cell from each row: households, later and first buyers, now. The time columns give you the verdict: the extra cost is paid once, while the saving returns on every bill. No plumbing knowledge needed.
The main advantage reaches families slowly, but it lastsGains, later. Because the water that flushes their toilets has already been used onceWhy in the shower, a household in one of these homes buys less clean water, and the saving appears on every billWhat changes for as long as they live there. Repeated across a whole new estate, the same change means the local reservoir has to supply noticeably less in a dry summer, which makes water restrictions less likely for everyone in the areaWider result.
- → One cell, extended: who, what changes, why, then a wider result.
- → The second paragraph would develop the buyers' extra cost, then explain why a one-off cost weighs less.
How to develop ideas for each Task 2 question type
Which two cells to pick (BandLadder advice)
| Question type | Cells to pick | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Agree or disagree | Two cells on your side | Both paragraphs support one position; answer the other side inside a paragraph. See to what extent do you agree. |
| Advantages and disadvantages | One gain cell, one loss cell | The time columns show which side weighs more. |
| Discuss both views | One cell for each view | The people who hold each view are usually the ones who gain or lose. |
| Problem and solution | Loss cells are the problems | A solution moves a loser into the gains row. |
| Positive or negative development | Compare the Now and Later columns | Many developments hurt first and help later, or the reverse. |
Some governments now pay farmersWho pays? to let their fields flood in winter so that towns further down the riverGains, later stay dry. Is this a positive or negative developmentTask?
- → Loses now: taxpayers fund the payments, and farmers give up a winter crop.
- → Gains later: riverside families avoid flooded homes and ruined furniture, year after year.
- → Verdict: positive, because one recurring payment is cheaper than repairing a flooded town, and the farmer is compensated.
Brainstorming mistakes that cost Task Response marks
✗ Gains: society. Loses: the economy.
✓ Gains, later: households with lower water bills. Loses, now: first buyers who pay more.
"Society" gives you a slogan, not a sentence. A group you can picture tells you what changes for them.
✗ Using all four cells, one or two sentences each.
✓ Using two cells, each extended into a full paragraph.
Four thin ideas look "insufficiently developed" (band 6). Two developed ones do not.
✗ Water is essential for life, and many countries face shortages.
✓ A household in one of these homes buys less clean water every year.
The first is about water in general, not the rule in the question, so it does not answer the prompt.
The third mistake costs the most. The off-topic check for Task 2 shows how to test each paragraph against the prompt's key terms.
To build speed, fill a grid for each prompt in the IELTS Writing Task 2 samples before you read the answer. When you write a full essay from your grid in BandLadder practice, BandLadder AI gives a band for each criterion with feedback.
Your turn: fill the grid
Decide each answer, then reveal it.
- Prompt: a city replaces its night buses with shared electric scooters. Idea: "Cleaners who finish work at 2 a.m. lose a safe, cheap way home from the first night." Which cell is this?
- A. Gains, now
- B. Gains, later
- C. Loses, now
- D. Loses, later
Show answer
Loses, now
They lose something, and "from the first night" places it at the moment the change happens.
- The question asks: "Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" Which cells should your two body paragraphs use?
- A. Two gain cells
- B. One gain cell and one loss cell
- C. Two loss cells
- D. All four cells, one sentence each
Show answer
One gain cell and one loss cell
You must weigh both sides, so each paragraph takes one, and the time columns help you decide which weighs more.
- Prompt: a rural area closes three small primary schools and opens one large one. Which grid entry is ready to develop into a paragraph?
- A. Gains, later: society
- B. Gains, later: the environment
- C. Loses, now: pupils who now ride a bus 40 minutes each way
- D. Loses, now: people
Show answer
Loses, now: pupils who now ride a bus 40 minutes each way
It names a specific group and a specific change, so you can explain why it matters. The others are too vague to extend.
- Prompt: every secondary school should teach sign language. You completely agree. Your gain cells are hearing pupils (now) and deaf pupils (later, once classmates can sign); your loss cell is another subject losing hours (now). What happens to the loss cell?
- A. It gets its own body paragraph
- B. It is raised and answered inside one of the two gain paragraphs
- C. It replaces one of the gain paragraphs
Show answer
It is raised and answered inside one of the two gain paragraphs
A completely-agree essay keeps both paragraphs on its side; an objection is answered, never given a paragraph of its own.
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
How do I get ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2?+
Ask who gains and who loses from the change in the prompt, now and later. Fill the four cells with specific groups, pick the two that suit the question type and develop each into a paragraph.
What if I know nothing about the Task 2 topic?+
You do not need to. ielts.org says your examples may come from your own experience. Write about the people the change affects, which needs no specialist knowledge.
How long should I spend brainstorming for Task 2?+
BandLadder advice: about two minutes to fill the grid and pick your cells. ielts.org suggests about 40 minutes for Task 2 in total.
How many ideas do I need for IELTS Writing Task 2?+
Usually two main ideas, one per body paragraph, each well extended. The descriptors reward developed and supported ideas, not a long list.
Should I memorise an idea bank for Task 2?+
Ready-made paragraphs rarely fit the exact question, and the descriptors allow band 0 where an answer is proven to be totally memorised. Learn a method for producing ideas instead.
Sources
- IELTS Academic Writing test format (ielts.org): Task 2 and Marking sections: about 40 minutes, at least 250 words, examples from your own experience
- IELTS General Training Writing test format (ielts.org): Task 2 and Marking sections: the same Task 2 wording on time, length, own-experience examples and marking
- IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2 (ielts.org, updated May 2023): Task Response, bands 8, 6 and 5 (PDF pages 7–8); band 0 note (PDF page 9)
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