Planning in five minutes
Use a five-step, five-minute plan: decode the question, choose a position, brainstorm with perspective prompts, select your two strongest ideas with specific examples, and map every paragraph before you write a sentence.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Follow a five-step, five-minute planning routine under exam conditions
- Generate ideas quickly with perspective prompts: who, which area, when and where
- Select the two strongest ideas using four filters: relevant, explainable, distinct, supportable
- Attach a specific, believable example to each idea without inventing statistics
- Turn your notes into a paragraph map that guarantees a clear position and full task coverage
What a plan is, and what it is not
A plan is notes, not a draft: 30–60 words of keywords, arrows and abbreviations that only you need to understand. It is never marked, so spelling and grammar do not matter here.
- Paper test: plan on the question paper.
- Computer test: use the paper and pencil provided at your desk.
Five minutes out of forty sounds like a lot. It is not. A planned essay is faster to write, because you never stop in the middle of a paragraph wondering what comes next.
The plan has one purpose: to decide, before you write a single sentence, what you think, why you think it, and what example proves it.
The 5-minute plan
- 1
1. Decode the question (about 1 minute)
Underline the topic words, limiting words and instruction words. Write the job list: ‘view A / view B / my view’ or ‘problems / solutions’.
- 2
2. Choose your position (about 30 seconds)
Pick the answer you can support best with clear ideas and vocabulary you control. It does not have to be your real-life belief. Write it as one line: ‘mostly agree: no personal smartphone, basic phone OK’.
- 3
3. Brainstorm (about 1.5 minutes)
Run through the perspective prompts (table below) and jot down 4–6 ideas as single words or short phrases. Do not judge yet; quantity first.
- 4
4. Select and support (about 1.5 minutes)
Choose the two strongest ideas using the four filters. For each one, note the explanation (why or how) and one specific example.
- 5
5. Map the paragraphs (about 30 seconds)
Write P1–P4 with a few words each. Check the map against your job list: every job must have a home, and your position must appear in P1 and P4.
Perspective prompts: never run out of ideas
| Lens | Ask yourself | Example: ‘Should governments tax sugary drinks?’ |
|---|---|---|
Who? Individuals and families | How does it affect ordinary people’s lives, choices and budgets? | Consumers pay more and probably drink less; parents find it easier to say no to children. |
Who? Society and government | What changes for the community, public services or the state? | Tax revenue could fund hospitals or school sports; health-care costs may fall later. |
Who? Businesses | How do companies, jobs and markets react? | Manufacturers may cut sugar to avoid the tax, as many did after the UK introduced its sugar levy. |
Which area? Economic | Money, jobs, costs, productivity? | Small shops may lose some sales; fewer sick days for workers in the long run. |
Which area? Social and ethical | Fairness, freedom, responsibility, equality? | The tax takes a larger share of poor families’ income; should the state control what adults drink? |
Which area? Health and environment | Physical or mental well-being? Pollution, resources? | Less diabetes and tooth decay; slightly fewer plastic bottles (a minor point). |
When? Short term vs long term | What happens in the first year, and in twenty years? | Short term: complaints and price rises. Long term: children grow up preferring less sugary drinks. |
Where? Developed vs developing countries | Would this work differently in Bangladesh and in the UK? | Diabetes is a growing concern in Bangladeshi cities, but collecting the tax from informal street sellers would be harder. |
Selecting your two strongest ideas
Brainstorming produces more ideas than you can use. Choosing well is the real skill. Run every idea through four filters:
- Relevant. Does it answer the exact question, including the limiting words? An idea about adults is irrelevant to a question about children under twelve.
- Explainable. Can you say why or how in two or three sentences, using vocabulary you control?
- Distinct. Do your two ideas genuinely differ? ‘It saves money’ and ‘it is cheaper’ are one idea, not two. ‘It saves money’ and ‘it protects health’ are two.
- Supportable. Can you attach a specific, believable example?
Why only two? Band 7 Task Response asks for main ideas that are extended and supported. Two ideas give you about 110 words each, enough for a topic sentence, an explanation, an example and a link. Four ideas give you about 55 words each, which is barely enough to state them. Depth beats breadth.
Prompt: Some people think that children under the age of twelve should not be allowed to own a smartphone. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
1 Decode. Topic: children and smartphones. Limiting words: under twelve, own (not just use), not be allowed (a ban). Job: one position + reasons.
2 Position. Mostly agree: no personal smartphone under 12; a basic phone or a supervised family device is fine.
3 Brainstorm.
- health: sleep, eyesight, less outdoor play
- social: cyberbullying, social media pressure
- education: distraction vs learning apps
- family / safety: parents need to contact children (counter-argument)
- ethics: who enforces a ban? parents’ rights
- Bangladesh: cheap phones; busy parents hand phones to children to keep them quiet
4 Select.
- Idea A (concession): safety contact → met by a basic keypad phone. Example: a child travelling by school van in Dhaka can carry a basic phone to call home.
- Idea B (main): unsupervised internet → lost sleep, cyberbullying, addictive apps. Example: a ten-year-old watching videos past midnight and falling asleep in class.
5 Map.
- P1: paraphrase + mostly agree (personal smartphone no, basic phone yes)
- P2: safety concern is real, but a basic phone meets it
- P3: main danger = unsupervised internet + example
- P4: restate the same position
- Position decided earlyThe position is written before any body content, so it cannot drift while writing. It is also precise: it separates smartphones from basic phones.
- Ideas rejectedEyesight (hard to develop without medical knowledge), enforcement (interesting, but leads away from the main line), learning apps (weak, because children can use them on a shared family device).
- A concession becomes a paragraphStrong opinion essays often answer the best counter-argument. Here the safety argument is accepted and then neutralised, which makes the writer’s position more convincing.
- Perspective prompts at workHealth, social, education, family, ethics and a Bangladeshi angle produced six ideas in about ninety seconds.
Check: the planning routine
6 questions- 1
Put the five planning steps in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Choose your position
- 2Decode the question and write the job list
- 3Brainstorm with perspective prompts
- 4Select two ideas and an example for each
- 5Map the paragraphs and check them against the job list
- 2
How long should planning take in a 40-minute Task 2?
- 3
Which pair of ideas is NOT distinct enough for two separate body paragraphs?
- 4
Prompt: Should governments tax fast food? Choose TWO ideas that come from the short-term vs long-term lens.
Select 2.
- 5
Your plan is marked as part of your essay, so it must be written in correct, complete sentences.
- 6
Your honest opinion is ‘disagree’, but you have much clearer ideas and examples for ‘agree’. What should you do?
Answer every question to check.
Prompt: Some people believe that the best way to reduce plastic waste is for governments to ban single-use plastic products, while others think individuals should be encouraged to change their habits voluntarily. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
1 Decode. Topic: reducing plastic waste. Two views: government bans vs voluntary change by individuals. Jobs: view A, view B, my opinion (three jobs).
2 Position. Bans are more effective, but only with enforcement and affordable alternatives; voluntary change supports them.
3 Brainstorm.
- bans: fast, apply to everyone, force businesses to find alternatives; need enforcement
- voluntary: respects freedom, lasting when people understand why; slow, convenience usually wins
- economic: cost to small shops; opportunity for alternatives such as jute bags
- Bangladesh: banned thin polythene bags in 2002, yet they are still widely used → a law alone is not enough
- long term: habits learnt through campaigns can last a lifetime
4 Select.
- View B (voluntary): genuine understanding creates lasting habits. Example: students carrying refillable water bottles after a campus campaign. Limit: slow and dependent on goodwill.
- View A + my view (bans): only regulation changes behaviour at the scale needed. Example: Bangladesh’s 2002 polythene ban shows a ban must be enforced and backed by affordable alternatives such as jute.
5 Map.
- P1: paraphrase both views + my view (bans, properly enforced, work better)
- P2: the voluntary approach: why people support it + example + its limit
- P3: bans: why more effective + Bangladesh example + what makes them work
- P4: conclusion with the same view
- Three jobs, three homesView B lives in P2, view A in P3, and the writer’s opinion appears in P1, P3 and P4. Nothing in the job list is left without a paragraph.
- The less-favoured view goes firstEnding the body with the view you support leads naturally into the conclusion, just as in an ‘outweigh’ essay.
- One example, two jobsThe polythene ban supports the case for bans and also shows their limits, which gives the writer’s opinion nuance: bans, yes, but only with enforcement and alternatives.
- Accurate, not inventedBangladesh did ban thin polythene bags in 2002, and weak enforcement is widely reported. Use well-known facts like this; never invent precise statistics.
Prompt: In many large cities, traffic congestion is becoming worse every year. What problems does this cause, and what measures could be taken to reduce it?
1 Decode. Topic: traffic congestion in large cities. Jobs: problems (plural → at least two) + measures (plural → at least two).
2 Position. No opinion required, but decide your main recommendation: reliable mass transit first, supported by road pricing.
3 Brainstorm.
- economic: hours lost in traffic, late deliveries, higher business costs
- health: air pollution, noise, stress
- social: less family time; ambulances delayed
- environmental: wasted fuel, emissions
- measures: metro and bus systems, congestion charges, flexible working hours, cycle lanes, moving offices out of the centre
4 Select.
- Problem 1: the economic cost of lost time. Example: a Dhaka commuter can spend two hours or more each way in traffic.
- Problem 2: health damage from fumes and stress in slow-moving traffic.
- Measure 1: fast, reliable mass transit. Example: Dhaka’s Metro Rail, opened in 2022, offers a journey between Uttara and the city centre that is far quicker than the road.
- Measure 2: road pricing. Example: London has charged drivers to enter its centre since 2003.
5 Map.
- P1: paraphrase + preview (time and health problems; mass transit and road pricing)
- P2: problems: economic cost + health, with the Dhaka example
- P3: measures: mass transit first, then congestion charging, with Dhaka and London examples
- P4: conclusion
- Solutions match problemsMass transit tackles both lost time and pollution; road pricing directly reduces the number of cars. Matching solutions to problems is what makes a problem–solution essay coherent.
- Plurals respected, lists avoidedTwo problems and two measures cover the plural wording without turning the paragraphs into lists.
- Excess ideas are normalTen ideas were generated and six were dropped. Choosing is the skill; unused ideas are not wasted time.
- No position? Still a directionEven when no opinion is required, deciding your main recommendation gives the essay a clear line of argument.
Planning your examples
The prompt invites ‘examples from your own knowledge or experience’. You have four good sources:
- Your own country or city. Dhaka traffic, the Padma Bridge, mobile banking such as bKash, the garment industry, HSC exams, monsoon floods.
- Well-known international cases. London’s congestion charge, Singapore’s strict rules on litter, the growth of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A typical scenario. A student who works twenty hours a week in a café may have little energy left for revision. Realistic, safe and easy to build.
- Personal observation. At my own college, … This is allowed in IELTS; keep it brief and tie it to the general point.
Rules for examples:
- Specific beats general. ‘In Dhaka’ is better than ‘in many places in the world’.
- Believable beats impressive. Many, a growing number, millions are safe words.
- Never invent precise data or fake research (‘A 2021 study found that 87.3% of…’). Examiners recognise invented statistics, they earn no extra marks, and they make your argument look less reliable.
- Keep it short and link it back: one or two sentences, then show what the example proves.
A vague example vs a useful one
Vague (band 5–6)
For example, many people in the world have this problem and it is very bad for them and also for the economy of the country. So we can see that traffic is a big problem nowadays.
Specific (band 7–8)
In Dhaka, for instance, a commuter travelling across the city can easily spend two hours or more in traffic each way, time that could otherwise be spent working, studying or with family. Multiplied across millions of workers, these lost hours represent a serious drain on the national economy.
The left ‘example’ is not an example at all; it repeats the general claim (‘this problem’, ‘very bad’) and adds a filler conclusion. The right version names a place, describes a concrete situation, and then **links** it to the paragraph’s point about the economy. It uses no invented statistics: ‘two hours or more’ and ‘millions’ are reasonable general knowledge.
Writing Task 2 practice
80+ words · 10 minUse the five-step routine to plan this essay in note form, then write the introduction in full (at least 80 words in total).
Many people now work from home for some or all of the week instead of travelling to an office.
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Self-check before submitting
- ☐ Step 1: topic, limiting words (e.g. ‘some or all of the week’) and three jobs listed: advantages, disadvantages, verdict
- ☐ Step 2: a one-line position that says which side outweighs the other
- ☐ Step 3: at least five brainstormed ideas from different perspective prompts
- ☐ Step 4: two selected ideas that are relevant, explainable and distinct, each with a specific example
- ☐ Step 5: a P1–P4 map in which the verdict appears in P1 and P4
- ☐ The introduction paraphrases the prompt and states the verdict clearly
- ☐ The introduction is 40–60 words and contains no memorised opener
Final quiz: planning under pressure
9 questions- 1
Which is the most useful ‘position line’ in a plan for ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree?’
- 2
Prompt: Some people think that schools should ban junk food from their canteens. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Which brainstormed idea should be dropped because it is NOT relevant?
- 3
Choose TWO examples that are specific and believable.
Select 2.
- 4
In a problem–solution essay, the solutions you propose should respond to the problems you described.
- 5
Prompt: Should cities build more high-rise housing? Match each lens to the idea it produced.
EconomicSocialEnvironmentalLong termDeveloping countries - 6
Put the paragraph map for a discussion essay in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Body 2: the view I support, with an example
- 2Introduction: paraphrase both views and state my opinion
- 3Body 1: the view I support less, with an example
- 4Conclusion: restate my opinion and main reason
- 7
In a 40-minute essay, aim to fully develop main ideas, one per body paragraph.
- 8
While writing Body 2, a strong new idea comes to mind that contradicts your position. What should you do?
- 9
What does a good plan usually look like?
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Useful words for developing ideas
Saved as flashcards with a free accountenforcement
noun/ɪnˈfɔːsmənt/
The process of making sure that people obey a law or rule.
আইন প্রয়োগ
Without strict enforcement, the ban on polythene bags had limited effect.
incentive
noun/ɪnˈsentɪv/
Something that encourages a person to do something.
প্রণোদনা, উৎসাহ
Lower fares would give commuters a strong incentive to leave their cars at home.
regulation
noun/ˌreɡjuˈleɪʃn/
An official rule, or the act of controlling something with rules.
বিধিনিষেধ, নিয়ন্ত্রণ
Stricter regulation of advertising could protect young children.
consequence
noun/ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/
A result or effect of an action or situation, often a bad one.
পরিণতি, ফলাফল
One consequence of long commutes is that parents spend less time with their children.
congestion
noun/kənˈdʒestʃən/
A situation in which a place is too crowded with traffic or people.
যানজট, ভিড়
Traffic congestion in Dhaka costs workers hours every week.
stakeholder
noun/ˈsteɪkhəʊldə/
A person or group affected by, or involved in, a decision or project.
সংশ্লিষ্ট পক্ষ
Parents, teachers and students are all stakeholders in school reform.
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