IELTS Writing Task 2 (Revisi I)

Pada penjelasan sebelumnya, saya sudah menjelaskan cara mengerjakan IETLS Writing Task 2. Template yang sebelumnya saya jelaskan sebenarnya sudah cukup baik untuk digunakan. Namun, ada beberapa penyempurnaan yang akan saya lakukan. Memang benar bahwa materi IELTS Writing Task 2 cenderung begitu-begitu saja. Meski demikian, ada banyak case study yang banyak saya temui saat student saya tes. Ada saja kesulitan yang mereka temui saat mengerjakan IELTS Writing Task 2, baik itu soal yang nyleneh, kosakata yang sulit, atau bacaan yang sulit untuk di telaah. Pada postingan kali ini, akan saya jelaskan materi IELTS Writing Task 2 seperti biasa, beserta beberapa penyempurnaan dan contoh kasus beberapa student yang saya anggap cukup menarik Pertama-tama, mari kita ingat-ingat bagaimana IELTS Writing Task 2 disusun. Secara garis besar, tulisan anda akan tampak seperti berikut:


IELTS Writing Task 2 Template

Paragraph 1
  • Gambaran Umum (Overview)
  • Thesis statement
Paragraph 2
  • Argumen berimbang (Balanced Argument)
Paragraph 3
  • Argumen anda
Paragraph 4
  • Kesimpulan



Mari kita gunakan contoh topik dan pertanyaan berikut ini



Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems

To what extent do you agree or disagree?


What other measures do you think might be effective?


Sekarang, mari kita bahas step by step pengerjaan contoh soal tersebut berdasarkan template Writing Task 2 di atas!

Overview
Buatlah pengantar yang bersifat general dengan memperhatikan kata kunci yang ada di topik, lalu jawablah beberapa pertanyaan 5W1H yang berkaitan dengan topik berikut. Misal kita memiliki beberapa pertanyaan 5W1H sebagai berikut:

Kata Kunci 1 - Growing Traffic
  • What is traffic jam/congestion?
  • Why does it happen?
  • Where does it usually happen?
  • When does it usually happen?

Kata Kunci 2 - Pollution Problem
  • How can traffic cause pollution?

Kata Kunci 3 - Price of Petrol
  • How can increasing the price of petrol alleviate the problems?


Misal saya menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut seperti ini:

What is trafic?
Congestion is a state when the road is blocked by a sheer number of vehicles

Why does it happen?
It happens because the road can no longer accommodate the growing number of transportation

Where does it usually happen?
Congestion can be a real problem for people who commute on daily basis, especially those who live in urban areas

When does it usually happen?
Traffic can happen anytime, although it usually gets worse during the peak hours.

How can traffic cause pollution?
Recently, there is a major concern regarding pollution which is caused by gas emission

How can increasing the price of petrol alleviate the problems?
Some people argue that increasing the price of petrol will overcome problems related to traffic and pollution.

Thesis Statement
Setelah menjawab semua pertanyaan di atas, anda harus membuat sebuah thesis statement sesuai dengan pertanyaan yang ada di lembar soal. Ada berbagai pertanyaan dalam IELTS Writing Task 2, diantaranya:

  • Agree - disagree
  • Benefits - harms
  • Positive Impact - negative impact
  • Explains both views/opinions
  • dan lain sebagainya


Untuk contoh soal di atas, pertanyaan yang muncul adalah to what extent do you agree disagree. Sampai disini, anda menjawab pertanyaan ini terlebih dahulu, misalkan:

Thesis Statement
I strongly believe that there are several alternatives to reduce traffic and pollution besides increasing the price of petrol.

Jika anda telah melakukan langkah-langkah di atas, maka anda sudah memiliki satu paragraf dalam essay anda, yang dapat ditulis sebagai berikut:


Paragraph 1
Traffic is a state when the road is blocked by a sheer number of vehicles. It happens because the road can no longer accommodate the growing number of transportation. Congestion can be a real problem for people who commute on daily basis, especially those who live in urban areas. Traffic can happen anytime, although it usually gets worse during the peak hours. Recently, there is a major concern regarding pollution which is caused by gas emission. Some people argue that increasing the price of petrol will overcome problems related to traffic and pollution. I strongly believe that there are several alternatives to reduce traffic and pollution besides increasing the price of petrol


Balanced Argument
Setelah menyelesaikan paragraf pertama essay anda, sekarang saatnya kita beranjak ke paragraf kedua, yang berisi beberapa opini berimbang. Disini, kita akan menjelaskan bagaimana kenaikan harga bahan bakar minyak secara tidak langsung akan mengurangi kemacetan dan juga polusi. Misal kita menulis seperti ini:


Paragraph 2
It is true that increasing the price of petrol can be one of many ways to deal with congestion. This will discourage the people from buying more than one private transport. However, this method cannot be used without giving burden to the citizens. Rising petrol price will definitely affect people who live under the poverty line, since it often results in the soaring price of other commodities. Therefore, there have to be some other alternatives when it comes to reducing traffic and pollution.

Lihatlah frasa yang diberi highlight merah! Kalimat terakhir paragraf kedua tersebut sekaligus menjadi pengantar kita untuk menjelaskan paragraf ke-tiga, yang menjelaskan beberapa alternatif cara untuk mengatasi kemacetan dan juga polusi.

Your Own Argument
Sebelum menulis paragraf ke-tiga yang menjelaskan beberapa alternatif lain pemecahan masalah kemacetan dan polusi, anda dapat melakukan brainstorming terlebih dahulu, dan menulis beberapa contoh serta penjelasan. Misal kita akan memberikan tiga alternatif untuk mengatasi kemacetan dan polusi, maka bisa menyusunnya sebagai berikut!

Some other alternatives to cope with traffic and pollution
  • Improving the quality and safety of public transport
  • Increasing tax on private vehicle
  • Increasing the parking tariff
Sekarang, mari kita kembangkan ide-ide di atas dengan memberikan beberapa informasi tambahan beserta contoh. Misal kita menulis seperti berikut:


Paragraph 3
First of all, government can always encourage the people to use public transportation. To do so, there has to be significant improvement on the quality and safety of public transport. For example, there is now women-only carriage in trains in Jakarta. Women used to be concerned with several cases of sexual harassment and crimes committed on trains. But now, they have a special carriage which in turn, makes them feel a lot safer. The kind of policy will encourage more people to use public transport and thus, will reduce the number of private vehicle. Secondly, the government can also raise tax on private vehicle. People will have to think twice if they want to own more than one cars, since they have to spend much more money on tax. Lastly, traffic and pollution can also be reduced if parking fee is raised. This method is actually quite similar to tax raise, and has been applied in some developed countries. The fee can be made  higher during the peak hours, so people will prefer walking or using the public transport when they want to travel short distance. By applying these methods, it is hoped that the number of private vehicles will be reduced and problems related to congestion and pollution will be solved.


Conclusion
Setelah anda menyelesaikan paragraf 3, anda bisa membuat sebuah kesimpulan. Kesimpulan biasanya berisi rangkuman dari pembahasan pada paragraf dua dan tiga. Satu hal yang perlu anda ingat adalah, saat membuat kesimpulan, hindari membuka sebuah topik baru yang akan mengharuskan anda membuat penjelasan lagi. Anda hanya perlu menyimpulkan dari penjabaran masalah yang ada di paragraf dua dan tiga anda, misal seperti ini:


Paragraph 4
It can be concluded that overcoming congestion and pollution problems can be done in many different ways. There is always a downside of increasing petrol price and thus, some more effective alternatives will be necessary.


Secara keseluruhan, tulisan anda akan menjadi ini:


Traffic is a state when the road is blocked by a sheer number of vehicles. It happens because the road can no longer accommodate the growing number of transportation. Congestion can be a real problem for people who commute on daily basis, especially those who live  in urban areas. Traffic can happen anytime, although it usually gets worse during the peak hours. Recently, there is a major concern regarding pollution, which is caused by gas emission. Some people argue that increasing the price of petrol will overcome problems related to traffic and pollution. I strongly believe that there are several alternatives to reduce traffic and pollution besides increasing the price of petrol.


It is true that increasing the price of petrol can be one of many ways to deal with congestion. This will discourage the people from buying more than one private transport. However, this method cannot be used without giving burden to the citizens. Rising petrol price will definitely affect people who live under the poverty line, since it often results in the soaring price of other commodities. Therefore, there have to be some other alternatives when it comes to reducing traffic and pollution.


First of all, government can always encourage the people to use public transportation. To do so, there has to be significant improvement on the quality and safety of public transport. For example, there is now women-only carriage in trains in Jakarta. Women used to be concerned with several cases of sexual harassment and crimes committed on trains. But now, they have a special carriage which in turn, makes them feel a lot safer. The kind of policy will encourage more people to use public transport and thus, will reduce the number of private vehicle. Secondly, the government can also raise tax on private vehicle. People will have to think twice if they want to own more than one cars, since they have to spend much more money on tax. Lastly, traffic and pollution can also be reduced if parking fee is raised. This method is actually quite similar to tax raise, and has been applied in some developed countries. The fee can be made  higher during the peak hours, so people will prefer walking or using the public transport when they want to travel short distance. By applying these methods, it is hoped that the number of private vehicles will be reduced and problems related to congestion and pollution will be solved.


It can be concluded that overcoming congestion and pollution problems can be done in many different ways. There is always a downside of increasing petrol price and thus, some more effective alternatives will be necessary.



IELTS Listening Section
IELTS Writing Task 1

IELTS Speaking SectionIELTS Reading Section

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample (Package 7)


Topic
Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employer.

In your opinion, what should be the main function of a university?

Give reasons for your answer


Sample Answer

The main purpose of higher education is to help the graduates gain knowledge and prepare them for the future career. Some people believe that attending college should be for the sake of learning and learning only. However, it is inevitable that graduates will need more than just a knowledge to be able to compete in the job market. I strongly believe that there are many things we can learn in university, and this essay aims to explain both views by explaining some of the advantages of having a tertiary education.

First of all, university is a place where people can truly find their passion and focus their energy on scientific discovery and innovation. People learn some knowledge and practical skills so that they can tackle certain problem and make a real contribution to the society. For example, someone graduated from medical school do not only learn the knowledge and skill, but also developing a passion and commitment to improve public health and help other people. Hence, universities really have to design their curriculum which enables the students to pursue knowledge and is relevant to professional setting.

Secondly, people are pursuing higher education so that they can get better career opportunity. Some people might think of them as a person with ruthless pragmatism, who only cares about money and personal advantage. This is not necessary true, since having a good job and being able to fulfill professional responsibilities are part of being a good member of society. Working is not only about earning money and enjoying privilege an security. In fact, many people are working in order to implement their knowledge and skill they learn from university to handle difficult problems. A lawyer, for example, can help people deal with legal problems. This set of skills is having major importance in society and can only be acquired in university level. In this case, universities should focus only on academic aspect of education, but also other things like moral and social awareness.

Lastly, students can always build a good networking with peers or other scholars. Building good network and connection with other people is very important nowadays, because being an extremely bright and remarkable is sometimes just not enough. As life becomes more and more complex, task becomes more and more skill-based and knowledge-specific that colaborating with others becomes the best way to succeed. For example, the founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin had met at Stanford during student orientation. Not only did they become close friends, Larry and Sergey became intellectual-soulmates who developed PageRank algorithm and built google search engine. Universities really need to accommodate students' need for autonomy and enable them to explore passion outside extracurricular activities.

In conculsion, learning is not the sole purpose of attending university. There are other essential skills that students can develop, some of them being networking, social and professional skills. University is a place where learning these three abilities is made possible and thus, students must take every opportunity to maximize their potentials.