6 High-Frequency IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics (2026) — With Band 9 Model Essays
Six topics keep showing up across IELTS Writing Task 2 preparation in 2026: media and crime reporting, practical skills versus academic knowledge, technology's effect on daily life, why people don't act on health advice, the widening gap between rich and poor, and why young people spend less time outdoors. Below is each question, exactly what makes a Band 9 answer to it, and a full Band 9 model essay for every one.
Why These 6 Topics Are Worth Practising
These are not invented "textbook" prompts — they are high-frequency topics that recur across IELTS Writing Task 2 in slightly different wording year after year, drawn from what candidates and prep sites are reporting seeing on the exam in 2026. IELTS reuses topics far more than it reuses exact wording, so a candidate who has genuinely practised a topic like income inequality or technology's impact on daily life is well prepared even if the exact sentence on the day is phrased differently.
That is also why every model essay below follows the same disciplined structure rather than a looser, more "creative" one: a clear thesis and outline in the introduction, one fully developed idea per body paragraph, and a conclusion that draws the essay together. Examiners are marking structure and control as much as ideas, and a predictable, well-built essay consistently outperforms a scattered one — even when the scattered one has more interesting content.
The 6 Task 2 Questions
- Society and media: The way crimes are reported by the media has sparked public concern. While some people argue that the media should report all details of a crime, others believe that broadcasting graphic details of crimes causes more harm than good. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
- Education and skills: Some people believe that schools should focus more on teaching practical life skills, while others feel that traditional theoretical knowledge is more important. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
- Technology and modern life: Some people think that technological developments have made our daily lives more complicated. Others believe that modern technology has made life much easier. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
- Health and lifestyle choices: Many people know which habits and lifestyle choices are beneficial for their physical health, yet they still fail to adopt them. Why is this the case? What measures can be taken to encourage people to adopt healthier habits?
- Wealth inequality: The growing gap between the wealthy and poor segments of society is causing significant concerns in many countries. What problems are caused by income disparity, and what solutions can be implemented to reduce this gap?
- Youth and outdoor activities: Young people today spend significantly less time engaging in outdoor physical activities compared to previous generations. Why is this happening, and what steps can be taken to encourage them to spend more time outdoors?
What a Band 9 Answer to Each of These Actually Needs
The four questions above that ask "why is this happening" and "what can be done" invite a common trap: listing two or three reasons and two or three solutions, each in a single rushed sentence. A stronger approach — the one used in every model essay below — is to commit to one reason and one solution, and develop each one fully across a whole paragraph: explain the mechanism, not just name it, and show exactly why the proposed solution follows from that specific cause rather than being a generic add-on.
The two discussion-style questions (media reporting, and practical skills versus theory) need the opposite discipline: genuinely equal treatment of both sides before a reasoned opinion, with the second paragraph explicitly responding to the first rather than starting an unrelated new argument. That connective thread between paragraphs — "yet when accountability, rather than shock value, is the real goal..." or "what practical skills cannot replace, however..." — is what separates an essay that reads as one connected argument from two disconnected mini-essays stapled together.
Full Band 9 Model Essays for All 6 Questions
Every question above now has a complete Band 9 model essay in our [Essay Bank](/essay-bank), along with three key vocabulary items per essay and examiner notes across all four marking criteria — Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
If you would rather write your own attempt first, every essay bank page also has a write your own attempt box where you can draft your response and save it, ready to compare against the model answer whenever you are ready.
How to Use These Model Essays Without Memorising Them
Read the model essay once for content, then read it again just for structure: underline the thesis sentence, the outline sentence, and the sentence that links the second body paragraph back to the first. Those three sentences are the skeleton you can reuse on a completely different topic. Then read it a third time for the key vocabulary — not to memorise the exact phrase, but to notice how a precise collocation like "a check on power" or "entrenched disadvantage" does more work in one phrase than a full sentence of vaguer language would.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these confirmed real questions from a specific IELTS exam sitting?
No — these are high-frequency topics that recur across IELTS Writing Task 2 in 2026, compiled from what candidates and prep resources are commonly reporting, not a verified transcript from one specific dated exam sitting. Treat them as strong, realistic practice material rather than a guaranteed prediction of your exact test.
Why practise recurring topics instead of a random topic list?
IELTS reuses topics far more often than it reuses exact wording. Practising a topic like income inequality or technology's effect on daily life means you already understand the issue and have useful vocabulary ready, even if the exact question on your test is phrased differently.
Do I need one reason or several in a "why is this happening" essay?
Either can work, but one reason developed in real depth — with a clear explanation of the mechanism and a specific example — consistently scores better than two or three reasons each covered in a single thin sentence. Depth beats breadth in Task 2.
Where can I read the full model essays for these 6 questions?
All 6 are published with complete Band 9 model answers in our Essay Bank, filterable by question type and task. You can also save your own attempt at any prompt directly on the page for later reference.
