Top 10 Most Common IELTS Writing Task Topics By Christopher Pell 38 Comments The post will give you the 10 most common IELTS Writing Task topics IELTS Writing Topics A question my students keep asking, again and again, is ‘What are the most common IELTS writing part topics?’ They are worried that they won’t be familiar with the topic and will not have any relevant ideas This is especially true for students from ‘developing’ countries, because most of the questions are ‘first world’ problems and issues Let’s turn that disadvantage into an advantage To answer the question I have asked my students over the last few years to send me the topics on their exams A big thank you, to those students, who were kind enough to send me their questions I have built up a huge amount of questions and I think it is about time to analyse them Are the same Writing Task topics repeated? The answer is yes and no There are a huge amount of topics that come up in writing task At last count there were around 50 different topics (based on collecting data over the last few years) and if you would like all 50, please let me know, but I’m more concerned about the topics that come up again and again If you have time to familiarise yourself with over 50 topics then please do, but I think must people have to be smart with their time and it therefore makes more sense to prioritise the most common topics I try to encourage my students to be efficient when it comes to learning However, I don’t agree with the saying ‘Work smart, not hard’ as this implies you can very little work and still achieve your goals My motto is work hard and smart IELTS Essay Topics 2015 There are 10 general topics that come up more often than all of the rest put together They are: • Health • Environment • Education • Development • Globalisation • Public Transport • Criminal Justice • Youth Crime • Technology • Government Spending So what can I with this information? Now you know the common topics there are things you can do: Develop a vocabulary list for each topic Having relevant vocabulary for each topic will give you a big advantage Many students fail to provide relevant vocabulary and their band score suffers When looking at new vocabulary try to guess the meaning from context first and then look up the meaning to make sure your idea matches the actual meaning Also, be sure to look at the word within a sentence to be aware of the way it relates to other words When recording vocabulary it in a way that will help YOU remember it Everyone learns in a different way and everyone learns vocabulary in a different way Some people like to draw pictures beside the word, some people like to write synonyms or antonyms, others prefer to write a few sentences and some people like to use the phonemic chart to write the word that way Whatever works for you, it It is also very important to review words regularly This is the most effective way to remember the words So many people learn lots of words and a week later they can’t remember them I would recommend reviewing them one day after learning them for the first time, then one week later and then finally one month later After that they should be firmly stuck in your head for good I am developing a vocabulary list for each of the topics above which you can access here Practice reading and listening within these topics To well on your IELTS test you should practice at home Even just 60 minutes per day can make a big difference This will not only improve all four skills but familiarise you with the common topics at the same time Why waste time listening or reading something, if it is about something that probably won’t come up on the test? Unless of course you are listening or reading for pleasure, in that case, be my guest If you are reading an English newspaper, look for articles on the common topics and highlight any good vocabulary If you like listening to the radio or podcasts, find ones on the common topics Please check out my 25 online language learning tools for lots of ways you can study at home for free Study within the common topics This method is so effective that some of the best IELTS schools are starting to adopt this approach If you are going to study or practice anything then it within the context of one of the common topics For example, if you are practicing speaking with a friend on Skype, why not discuss one of the issues above? If you are practicing writing essays, find a question about one of the most popular or repeated IELTS topics This method allows you to practice both the skills and learn about these crucial topics They also come up quite a lot in the speaking test Can I just focus on these topics and get a high band score? Obviously, there is much more to achieving a high score than just focusing on the repeated topics but this will allow you to study and prepare in a smarter and more efficient way, giving you a huge advantage However, I would like to add that it is also important to study things you have a passion for If you are genuinely interested in a topic then it is much easier to study and you are less likely to quit Please also make time to read, listen, talk and write about your passion If you love football, read about your team everyday on www.goal.com Love fashion?- find some fashionista blogs Have a passion for photography?- why not blog about it? Have a passion for astrophysics? Listen to star talk radio Update- September 2015 I looked at 15 Writing Task papers over July, August and September of 2015 to see if the same common topics were coming up Here are the topics: Traditional Culture Government Spending Technology Technology Education Health Technology Traditional Culture Education 10 Health 11 International Aid 12 The Environment 13 Economics 14 Education 15 Health As you can see, Technology, Health and Education are still prominent Task topics It was interesting to see Traditional Culture popping up twice in such a short period of time, but that doesn’t mean that it will definitely feature again soon I still think that Technology, Health, Education and the Environment are important topics and will feature regularly in the future Reading within these topics will help you and you will also pick up other vocabulary just by reading about them The important thing is to read actively When you see a word you don’t know, note it down and find out the meaning, collocation and synonyms Soon you will have a notebook full of new words and you review them regualelry until they become part of your vocabulary Next Steps I would recommend looking at our IELTS task page for lots more lessons, tips and sample task answers Need help writing essays? Check out our ESSAY CORRECTION SERVICE The best way to keep up to date with our latest posts is to like our page on Facebook There are also daily practice activities on our Facebook page As always, if you have a question about this post or anything else, please let me know in the comments section below For more help check out the IELTS Preparation Ultimate Guide