Below is a list of the 20 most common IELTS essay topics that appear in writing task 2 with subtopics. Although the essay questions change, the subject of the essays often remains the same. Each topic is divided into subtopics which you should prepare.
You should practice developing ideas for all common essay topics used by IELTS so that you can write your essay within the given time limit. Follow this link to get over 100 IELTS essay questions for the topics below.
Common Essay Topics with Subtopics
- Art
- censorship of art and artists
- creativity
- art at school
- the benefits of art for individuals and society
- funding
- Business & Money
- small vs large business
- international business
- family run business
- management and leadership
- success in business
- business and technology
- skills vs knowledge for business
- materialism and consumerism
- Communication & Personality
- technology and communication
- family and communication
- face to face vs long distance communication
- types of communication
- the development of character and personality
- innate or developed personalities
- female / male characters
- Crime & Punishment
- prisons vs rehabilitation
- capital punishment vs other types of punishment
- criminals what makes a criminal
- major vs minor crime
- crime and technology
- teenagers and crime
- role of policemen
- men and women in law enforcement
- Economics
- cash vs credit cards
- saving vs spending
- globalisation and economy
- world economic issues
- economic progress and success
- Education
- children and education
- relevant subjects
- education and technology
- role of teachers
- discipline and rules in school
- single-sex schools
- uniforms
- funding
- educational aid to poorer countries
- Environment
- animals
- protection of endangered species
- zoos
- environmental problems
- saving the environment &solving problems
- government vs individual roles
- Family & Children
- family roles
- family size
- the generation gap
- discipline
- role models
- family and education
- Food
- health diets
- education of diet
- traditional vs modern diets
- fast food
- children and diet
- Health
- prevention vs cure
- funding
- health and education
- poor countries and rich countries
- health aid
- dealing with global epidemics
- hospitals and treatment
- obesity
- exercise and health
- Language
- having only one language in the world
- methods of language learning
- travel and language
- the disappearance of languages
- language and culture
- Media & Advertising
- censorship, control and freedom of speech
- advertising methods
- children and advertising
- media and technology
- news & reporting
- Other Common Essay Topics
- Space Exploration
- Water and Oceans
- Change or Moving vs Stability and Constancy
- Reading
- paper books vs ebooks
- children and reading
- books in education
- libraries
- reading and leisure
- Technology
- controlling the internet
- socialising online
- children and technology [safety]
- the change in society
- letter vs email
- storing data
- safety of personal information
- hacking
- Transport
- development of infrastructure
- comparing forms of transport
- problems with modern forms of transport
- environmental issues
- Travel
- culture and travel
- understanding people and travel
- living in a global world
- Society
- overpopulation
- poverty
- homeless people
- crime on the streets
- modern life styles
- budget spending
- public services
- Sport
- professionals vs amateurs
- salary
- equipment
- sport and learning
- sport as a school subject
- men vs women in sport
- types of sport
- Work
- shift work
- women in work
- types of jobs [blue collar / white collar]
- children and exploitation
- part time work
- work and technology
- employment
- salary
- equality
IELTS Recent Exam Topics
To get a list of recent essay questions as well as recent topics and question from all other sections of the IELTS test, follow this link: Recent IELTS Exam Questions & Topics
IELTS Writing Task 2
Get model essays, tips, free video lessons and practice exercises for IELTS writing task 2: IELTS Writing Task 2
100 IELTS Essay Questions
Get over 100 IELTS essay questions for free. The essay questions are organised into topics and also into different types of essays: 100 IELTS essay questions
IELTS Vocabulary
Develop your vocabulary for some of the above topics: IELTS vocabulary page.
Main IELTSPages
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- IELTS Reading
- IELTS Writing Task 1
- IELTS Writing Task 2
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