IELTS Band 8 Plan Week 2: Task 2 Depth and Nuance

This week's sessions

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Day 1 · ✍️ Writing · about 25 minPosition, development and concessionRead this week's lesson, then do the practice set below. For each wrong option, name the band 8 feature it's missing.
Day 2 · ✍️ Writing · about 35 minEssay 1: plan for depthPlan for 6 minutes using the depth plan in the lesson, including one objection and its answer. Write for 34 minutes, then compare with the model essay.
Day 3 · ✍️ Writing · about 25 minRewrite essay 1Paste your essay into the writing checker. Rewrite each body paragraph so the example is specific and the consequence links back to your position, then check it again.
Day 4 · ✍️ Writing · about 35 minEssay 2: concede and answerWrite a full essay in 40 minutes. Include one concession that you answer in the next sentence, and a conclusion that restates your position with its condition.
Day 5 · ✍️ Writing · about 25 minRewrite essay 2Check essay 2 in the writing checker, rewrite the weakest paragraph, and add your repeated errors from both essays to your error log.

This week's lesson: a well-developed position, not just a clear one

Band 7 Task 2 needs a "clear and developed position". Band 8 needs a "clear and well-developed position", with the prompt "appropriately and sufficiently addressed". In practice, three things separate the two: how exactly you answer the prompt, how far you take each idea, and how you deal with the other side.

1. Answer the exact question, all of it

Many band 7 essays answer the topic, not the question. Read the prompt for its limits:

Some people say that international tourism does more harm than good to local communities. To what extent do you agree?

The essay must weigh harm against good, for local communities. A band 8 position defines its scope:

While tourism can push up housing costs and dilute local traditions where it is poorly managed, I believe it usually does more good than harm, because it brings income and work to places with few other sources of either.

That sentence takes a side, says what it depends on and previews the argument.

2. Develop ideas to their consequence

The band 7 plan used claim, explanation, example and consequence. At band 8, the difference is specificity: the example is concrete, and the consequence is one the reader may not have thought of.

Band 7: Tourism creates jobs, for example in hotels and restaurants, which helps the economy. Band 8: Tourism creates work that doesn't require a degree or a move to the city: a family can open a guesthouse, or a school leaver can train as a guide. In regions where young adults would otherwise leave to find work, this can decide whether a village survives or slowly empties.

A precise, believable example is worth more than a statistic you've made up.

3. Concede, then answer the concession

Band 8 writers show they understand the other side and explain why it doesn't change their view. A concession with no answer weakens your position.

Admittedly, popular destinations can become so crowded that residents are priced out. However, this is an argument for regulating tourism, through limits on short-term rentals, for instance, rather than for discouraging it.

The second sentence turns the objection into support for your position.

4. Hedge accurately, not constantly

Nuance means each claim is as strong as your evidence: no stronger, no weaker.

Too strong: Tourism always destroys traditional culture.
Too weak: It could perhaps be possible that tourism might sometimes have some effects.
Accurate: Tourism can dilute traditions when they are performed mainly for visitors.

One hedge per claim is usually enough: can, tends to, in most cases, arguably.

5. A conclusion that resolves

Restate your position with its condition: On balance, the benefits outweigh the harm, provided that growth is managed locally.

Plan for depth (6 minutes)

Write your position in one sentence, including what it depends on.
Choose two body ideas. For each, note the specific example and the consequence.
Write the strongest objection to your view and one sentence that answers it.
Check each paragraph against the exact words of the prompt.

Two deep paragraphs score better than three thin ones, and length alone doesn't raise your band.

Practice for this week

Position, development and concession

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Weekly check: Writing practice 3

Task 1 and Task 2 in 60 minutes, then press Mark my writing for each. Check your Task 2 against the depth plan.

Start the weekly check

When you finish, come back to your plan home: your dashboard updates with the new score.

Answers, explanations and transcripts

Finish the test first, then open each section to check your answers. Every answer has an explanation.

Position, development and concession

Answer key (7 answers)

#	Question	Answer	Why
1	'In many countries, people are living longer. Some think the retirement age should be raised. To what extent do you agree?' Which thesis is closest to band 8?	I agree that the retirement age should rise gradually, but only if people in physically demanding jobs can still retire earlier, since longer lives do not always mean longer working lives.	C takes a side, says what it depends on and previews the argument: a well-developed position. B is clear, but 'everyone' ignores an obvious objection. A sits on the fence, and D doesn't answer the question.
2	'Why do many young people now rent rather than buy a home? Is this a positive or negative development?' Which plan addresses the prompt sufficiently?	Body 1: rising prices and job mobility as causes. Body 2: why it is largely positive for flexibility, with the risk of insecure tenancy answered.	B answers both questions and takes a position on the second. A ignores the second question, C never explains why and doesn't commit, and D answers a different question.
3	Which sentence extends this idea most effectively? 'Raising the retirement age would reduce pressure on pension systems.'	Each extra year of work means a year of tax paid rather than a pension drawn, which would allow governments to protect pensions for those who genuinely cannot keep working.	C explains the mechanism and adds a consequence that links back to the position. A is general, B starts a new idea, and D adds a statistic you can't support, which adds nothing to the argument.
4	Which sentences best concede a point and then answer it?	Admittedly, some older employees may struggle with physically demanding roles. This, however, argues for flexible duties in later years, not for keeping the same retirement age for everyone.	B accepts the objection, then turns it into support for the writer's position. A concedes and stops, which weakens the essay. C uses although and however together, a common grammar error. D ignores the other side completely.
5	Which claim is hedged most accurately?	For many people, staying in work can help maintain social contact and a sense of purpose.	C is as strong as the evidence allows: 'for many people' and 'can'. A and D are too absolute, and B stacks so many hedges that it says nothing.
6	Which example best supports this claim? 'Flexible retirement can benefit employers too.'	An experienced nurse who moves to part-time hours at sixty-five can keep training junior staff, so the hospital keeps her knowledge without asking her to work full shifts.	B is specific and believable, and it shows exactly how the employer benefits. A is vague, D is an opinion, not an example, and C is an invented figure that a reader has no reason to trust.
7	Which conclusion best resolves the essay's position?	In conclusion, raising the retirement age is justified, provided it rises gradually and people in physically demanding work have a route to retire earlier.	B restates the position together with its conditions, so it matches the thesis. The others don't state a position at all.

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