Cambridge IELTS 14 Academic Writing Test 2 opens with a Task 1 table and closes with a Task 2 discussion essay, so it stress-tests both data description and discursive argument in a single hour. Task 1 asks you to summarise the value of one country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: Some people say that the main environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals.
Round large numbers when comparing — '£12.4 million, almost double the 1999 figure' beats four decimal places. Use two body paragraphs, one per view, then a balanced concluding paragraph that explains why both perspectives have merit. Use evaluative connectors — 'while it is true that', 'a stronger case can be made for' — to keep the discussion analytical rather than purely descriptive.
Twenty minutes on Task 1 means committing to your groupings within the first five — do not change your structure halfway through. Task 2 needs forty disciplined minutes: ten to plan and outline, twenty-six to write, four to edit. On a discussion essay, the conclusion is the only place the examiner reads your final position with full attention, so write it last and write it deliberately.
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