🧠 IELTS Essay Planning Strategy
This page shows you how to plan your IELTS Task 2 essay quickly and effectively using the 5-minute ABC Grid method. You’ll learn how to brainstorm ideas in a structured way, avoid drifting mid-paragraph, and keep control of your essay from start to finish — even under pressure.
What You’ll Learn on This Page
📘 What You’ll Learn on This Page
You’ll learn how to brainstorm ideas quickly and effectively using the ABC grid, choose one clear point for each paragraph, and avoid the biggest mistake students make — writing without a plan.
🗺️ Why You Need a Plan
Before you start writing, you need a map of what you’re going to say and where you’re going to say it.
If you don’t plan, your ideas will drift halfway through. You’ll repeat yourself, forget your structure, and lose marks for Task Response and Coherence.
A short plan means a much better essay.
📊 Use the ABC Grid
The ABC grid helps you generate realistic ideas for both sides of an argument — or for both parts of a question.
Use the same five categories every time:
| Category | Theme |
|---|---|
| A | Work (jobs, income, office life, remote work) |
| B | Health (physical, mental, lifestyle, public health) |
| C | Education (school, university, training) |
| D | Environment (climate, transport, recycling) |
| E | Family / Society (home life, social media, friends) |
✍️ Example Grid
Topic: Working from home — good or bad?
| Category | Side 1 – It’s good | Side 2 – It’s bad |
|---|---|---|
| Work | Less commuting | Harder to disconnect |
| Health | Lower stress | More isolation |
| Education | More time to train | Less team learning |
| Environment | Fewer car journeys | N/A |
| Family | More time with kids | Blurred boundaries |
You don’t need full sentences — just quick notes to jog your memory when writing.
✅ Then Choose Your Points
Pick the strongest idea for each paragraph and plug it into your essay structure (QPEE or PEE).
For example:
Side 1: “Less commuting” → Explain it → Add example → Extend
Side 2: “Harder to disconnect” → Example → Consequence → Wrap up
Once you’ve chosen, you won’t go off-topic — and your paragraphs will stay focused.
🧠 Final Tip
Don’t skip the plan.
It only takes 5 minutes, and it will save your whole essay.
You can delete a bad sentence.
You can’t delete 250 broken words and start again.
Plan first. Then write.