IELTS Cause, problem, solution essays - summary

OK, IELTS has a lot of essays that ask you to discuss a problem or current trend in society. The key thing to understand is that you can be asked to do 1, 2 or all 3 of the following things:

1. Describe the causes of the situation
2. Describe the problems themselves
3. Recommend ways to solve the problem


You have to read the question carefully to understand how many of these you are being asked to do. For example:

• Many animals today are being hunted to the point of extinction.
What can be done to tackle this problem? = solutions only

• In many countries today, the average weight of people is increasing.
What has led to this situation? What can be done to solve it? = causes and solutions…