IELTS writing topics: twelve themes for the General Training letter and essay
IELTS General Training Writing topics are everyday and general-interest: IELTS says the letter situations are common and the essay topics are of general interest. IDP says you can never predict the question, but certain themes recur. Practise twelve everyday themes, each with a letter and an essay, so what you learn pays off in both tasks.
This page covers what the test owners say about General Training topics, then gives twelve everyday themes of our own, each with a letter situation and an essay question, a way to build idea cards using IDP's own questions and a six-week plan. It is a study guide, not a forecast, and the owner's page decides every rule.
What the owners say about writing topics
Common everyday situations for the letter, and general-interest topics for the essay.
The test owners do not tell you the topic in advance, but they describe the kind of subject you will meet. For the letter, IELTS says the situations are common and everyday.
"The situations you need to write about are common, everyday situations such as:"
- writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation.
- writing to a new employer about problems you are having with managing your time.
- writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport.
- writing to a renting agency to sort out problems with the heating system in your house.
"You will be given a common, everyday situation such as writing to apologise for missing a friend’s party, complaining to a company about bad service, writing to give advice to a friend about where to go on holiday, or writing to express your interest in a new job."
For the essay, IELTS says the topics are of general interest.
"You will need to write about a topic of general interest, such as:"
- whether children’s leisure activities should be educational.
- how environmental problems can be solved.
- whether smoking should be banned in public places.
IDP adds that the General Training essay tends to be broader than the Academic one.
"The question type is the same, but the difference is in focus. General Training questions tend to be broader and touch more on social issues, while an Academic question looks at a topic more specifically or with a narrower focus."
IDP also says no one can predict the question, but certain themes recur.
"While you can never predict the questions you will encounter in Writing Task 2 of the IELTS test, certain recurring themes are worth exploring when practising sample questions. Here is a compilation of common Writing Task 2 topics and some strategies to familiarise yourself with the test."
"While the specific topics can vary, the content generally revolves around real-life situations."
"Common themes include education, technology, health, environment, society, work and travel."
Our reading: every one of these subjects belongs to ordinary adult life: home, work, study, health, travel, money, neighbours and leisure. You do not need special knowledge. You need a stock of ideas, words and examples on each of those everyday subjects, and the skill to apply them to the exact question.
Twelve themes, each with a letter and an essay
Home, work, study, health, travel, technology, the environment, community, money, food, leisure and family.
Every theme below has both: an essay question and a letter situation. We have paired them on purpose. Words, ideas and examples you collect for a theme will pay off twice, once in each task. Everything in the tables is ours. None of it comes from a past test, and none of it is a forecast.
Home, work, study and health
| Theme | Angles for the essay | A letter situation (ours) | An essay question (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home and housing | Renting or buying; living alone or with family; noise and neighbours; help for young buyers | A neighbour's building work is keeping you awake. Write to the neighbour, whom you know a little. | Governments should help young people to buy their first home. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Work and careers | Job security; hours and flexibility; training; retirement | You want your manager's permission to attend a training course in work time. Write to your manager. | Some people prefer to work for a large company and others for a small one. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. |
| Education and learning | Lifelong learning; cost; school subjects; learning online and in person | You missed a lesson because you were ill. Write to your teacher, ask for the notes and suggest a time to catch up. | All adults should keep learning throughout their lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Health and fitness | Prevention; cost; sport in schools; sleep and stress | A friend has hurt their back and wants to start exercising again. Write giving advice. | Doctors should spend more time on advice about healthy living than on treating illness. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
Travel, technology, the environment and the community
| Theme | Angles for the essay | A letter situation (ours) | An essay question (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport and travel | Fares; congestion; cycling; short flights | A visitor is coming to stay and asks how to get around your town. Write recommending the best ways. | People should be discouraged from taking short flights when a train journey is possible. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Technology and screens | Privacy; children and devices; work; false information | A relative has just bought a first smartphone. Write to give advice about using it safely. | Schools should teach children how to spot false information online. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Environment and waste | Recycling; packaging; energy use; local action | A local park is full of litter after weekend events. Write to the council and suggest what it could do. | Households should be fined if they do not sort their rubbish for recycling. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Community and neighbours | Volunteering; local events; safety; shared spaces | You want to start a weekly street clean-up. Write to your neighbours and invite them to take part. | Local communities were closer in the past than they are now. Why is this, and is it a problem? |
Money, food, leisure and family
| Theme | Angles for the essay | A letter situation (ours) | An essay question (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money and shopping | Saving; credit; online shopping; advertising | A friend asks you how to save money each month. Write to share your ideas. | Advertising encourages people to buy things they do not need. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Food and eating | Cooking at home; fast food; cost; school meals | You are organising a meal for a group. Write to a restaurant to book and ask about special diets. | Schools should be responsible for teaching children to cook. To what extent do you agree or disagree? |
| Leisure, sport and the arts | Public funding; taking part or watching; team or solo; free time | You went to a concert you loved. Write to a friend, describe it and invite them to the next one. | Public money should be spent on sports facilities rather than on museums. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. |
| Family, friends and celebrations | Time together; generations; traditions; gifts | A friend could not come to your graduation. Write to describe the day and say what it meant to you. | Families spend less time together than they used to. What are the reasons, and what can be done about it? |
The letter situations leave out the three bullet points on purpose, so you can write your own. Some of them already name a job or two. Keep those and add more, so you end with three jobs in all, for example describe, explain and suggest. For how to turn a situation into three bullets, see the General Training letter guide.
One theme, worked with IDP's questions
Six questions per theme turn a topic into notes you can use in both tasks.
IDP's advice on building a vocabulary and idea bank is to make a mind map for each topic area, and it gives the questions to ask.
"Mind maps are a visual representation of a topic area including words and phrases connected to this topic."
- What are the common words connected to this topic?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of this topic area?
- What does the government do to support this topic area?
- Are there any future developments that might happen in this topic area?
- What other topic areas might be linked to this topic area?
- Are there some good (recent/famous) examples of this topic area?
IDP gives a list of topic areas to practise these on, including those below.
- learning and education.
- leisure and entertainment.
- crime and punishment.
- sport and competition.
- modern lifestyles and societal changes.
- traditions and customs.
- fashion and advertising.
- tourism and travel.
- health and diet.
- the environment.
- the internet.
- hobbies and interests.
A worked example
Here is one theme, community and neighbours, filled in. The notes are ours. The last column shows how the same note can feed a letter and an essay.
| Question to ask | Notes | Where it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Common words | neighbour, community, local council, noise, volunteer, street, tidy, event | Both tasks. |
| Advantages and disadvantages | Closer ties, shared safety; less privacy, disagreements | Essay: both sides of a question about communities. |
| What government does | Funds local events, runs libraries, clears litter | Letter: suggesting what the council could do. |
| Future developments | More online neighbour groups, fewer shared spaces | Essay: a prediction or a solution. |
| Linked topics | Safety, the environment, housing, leisure | Essay: a second angle for a long answer. |
| Examples from my own life | The street clean-up I joined; the neighbour who looked after my plants | Letter: a real detail. Essay: a safe example. |
"Support your ideas with relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience (not made up statistics and research)"
How to practise with the themes
Six weeks, two themes a week, a letter and an essay for each.
IDP says to use the themes to build confidence and vocabulary.
- Stay informed by reading the news to become familiar with these recurring themes and associated vocabulary.
- Develop a vocabulary bank specific to each topic and practise using it in various contexts.
Here is a plan that does that with the twelve themes. It is ours.
| Week | Themes | Letter | Essay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home and housing; Work and careers | Write the letter for each theme in 20 minutes. | Plan the essay for each theme in 5 minutes. Write one in full. |
| 2 | Education and learning; Health and fitness | Write one letter in a formal tone and one in an informal tone. | Write one essay in 40 minutes and plan the other. |
| 3 | Transport and travel; Technology and screens | Write the letter for each theme. | Write both essays, then count the parts in each question. |
| 4 | Environment and waste; Community and neighbours | Write one letter and extend each bullet once. | Write one essay and check one idea per paragraph. |
| 5 | Money and shopping; Food and eating | Write both letters under the clock. | Plan both essays and write one in full. |
| 6 | Leisure, sport and the arts; Family, friends and celebrations | Write one letter in each tone. | Write both essays. Review the error list. |
When a theme feels unfamiliar
Not every theme will feel natural. For any theme, ask three things and answer each in a sentence: who is affected, what does it cost or risk, and what could be done about it. Then add one example from your own life. These three questions and one example are enough to make a short, clear paragraph on almost any subject.
Keep a theme notebook
One page per theme. Put on it your six idea-card boxes, ten words you can spell, three phrases you like and one example from your own life. Reread a page before you write on its theme.
Where the owners publish real prompts
IELTS.org and the British Council publish real sample tasks.
The owners publish real sample tasks. They show how a General Training letter and essay are phrased, so use them alongside our themes.
"In Part 1, you are asked to respond to a situation by writing a letter, for example, requesting information or explaining a situation."
"In Part 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem."
"General Training Writing sample scripts and examiner comments (PDF 362 KB - 3 pages)"
"Get ready for your IELTS General Training Writing test with free practice tests from the British Council. Practise different question types and become familiar with the test format before test day."
"develop your essay-writing skills for a wide range of General Training topics"
"practise writing formal, semi-formal, and informal letters for Task 1"
For more of our own material, see IELTS Writing Task 1 General Training, IELTS Writing Task 2 questions, IELTS writing tips and letter and essay samples. This page is not immigration advice, and the owner's page decides every rule.
Common questions
IELTS says the letter situations are common, everyday situations, and the essay topics are of general interest, such as whether smoking should be banned in public places. IDP says common themes include education, technology, health, environment, society, work and travel.
No one can. IDP says: While you can never predict the questions you will encounter in Writing Task 2 of the IELTS test, certain recurring themes are worth exploring when practising sample questions.
IELTS gives examples such as writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation, and writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport. IDP adds writing to apologise for missing a friend’s party and complaining to a company about bad service.
IDP says the question type is the same, but the difference is in focus. General Training questions tend to be broader and touch more on social issues, while an Academic question looks at a topic more specifically or with a narrower focus.
Make a mind map or idea card for the theme using IDP's questions, then write a letter and an essay on it under the clock. IDP's advice includes developing a vocabulary bank specific to each topic.
IDP says to support your ideas with relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience, not made up statistics and research.
IELTS.org and the British Council publish General Training sample tasks. IELTS.org lists General Training Writing sample scripts and examiner comments (PDF 362 KB - 3 pages).