how to give examples in ielts essay

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How to Put Examples in an IELTS Essay

Posted by David S. Wills | Feb 12, 2024 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 0

Today, you are going to learn how to put examples in an IELTS essay . Specifically, this will be a task 2 essay because you won’t need examples in a task 1 report or letter.

We will cover a few things here. Firstly, I will explain why you ought to include examples. Then, I’ll talk about picking appropriate examples. Finally, we will look at the language used for giving examples in an essay.

Why do we need examples, what makes a good example for an ielts essay, can you make up examples, can i use personal examples, what language is used for giving examples, common mistakes.

In an IELTS essay, you might want to include examples as a way of better explaining something. Whether you are giving your opinion or discussing an idea, examples are often a handy way of showing development, which is critical for a good Task Response score.

Let’s say you have to write an essay about animal experimentation . You might want to explain that animal testing cannot be justified, so one of your paragraphs might be structured this way:

Sentence	Purpose of sentence	Text
1	State the opposing view	The people who believe that animal testing is necessary tend to say that there are serious benefits to humanity, such as testing medicines before using them on human beings.
2	Explain further	They believe that this will help to figure out the cures to many serious illnesses, which will make the world a better place for humans.
3	Give your opinion	However, this is wrong for several reasons.
4	Main reason supporting your opinion	Chief among them is the fact that animal testing is not as helpful in developing medicines as people think.
5	Clarify this	Medicines that work on animals do not always work on humans, and vice versa.
6	Explain further	As such, these trials are not just unnecessary but also profoundly unhelpful.
7	Give example	For example, if scientists give a mouse diabetes and then try various drugs to cure the problem, they may find that there are twelve drugs that do not work on the mouse.
8	Develop example	However, maybe one of those drugs would have worked on a human.
9	Concluding sentence	As such, animal testing would have caused more problems than it solved.

Look at sentence #7.

Why did I add this?

Well, I had previously explained my perspective in a clear way, but to make it even easier for the reader to understand (as well as making a more convincing argument), I can add an example.

Examples often illuminate a concept in a clear way. They help people to understand abstract or challenging ideas better. In the above case, I had explained my opinion logically but by giving a concrete idea – something that the reader could imagine – I have made it more likely that they will understand and agree with me.

(You can read the full essay and an explanation here .)

Also, let’s consider what the examiners actually want. Note the highlighted part of this sample question from IDP :

This quite clearly shows that you are meant to provide examples. The band descriptors provided by the British Council also show that it is necessary for a candidate to “support” their ideas in order to get a good score. To get band 8, a candidate’s ideas must be:

relevant, well extended and supported.

A good example in an IELTS essay should be:

Intelligent
Carefully placed

Those are the most important facts. Let’s look at each.

Relevant . Above, I gave an example that illuminated my main point. I wanted to show why animal testing can be flawed, so I created a hypothetical mouse being subjected to testing for diabetes drugs. This perfectly illustrated the point, so it is relevant.
Realistic . A lot of people make up examples because of course you cannot do research in the middle of the IELTS exam. This is fine but please keep it realistic . For example, you may be asked about climate change. If you said “a recent study shows that 90% of the world will be underwater in 10 years,” then it is not very credible.
Intelligent . Although your answers for IELTS writing do not need to display any sort of technical expertise, you do need to display some sort of critical thinking ability. Thus, whilst you don’t need to have an in-depth knowledge of history or technology , you should be able to draw upon some reasonable examples or invent one that sounds believable. These should be logically tied to your main idea and fit nicely into your essay.
Carefully placed . Your example should come at just the right point in your essay. Where is that? Well, it depends on your essay. Each one is different. Typically, you would state a main point, explain it, and then add an example but there are other ways to do this. Just be logical and use an example for a sensible purpose. This will help you get a better score for Coherence and Cohesion .

Here, we can see the two body paragraphs of an essay about reliance on technology .

You can see that both paragraphs include an example but they are included differently. The first does not use the words “For example” or “To illustrate.” It just gives the example subtly. The second uses more formulaic language but it introduces the example in a more interesting place. This is because I wanted to incorporate the example in my explanation rather than illustrate the explanation entirely by following it with an example.

As you can see, there are various ways to do this effectively!

Yes, you can use invented examples but keep in mind that they must be realistic. There are two ways to do this:

Make up an example that is easily within the realm of possibility. For example, you might cite a study that does not exist but as long as your claims are realistic, it doesn’t matter. No one is going to check.
State clearly that it is a hypothetical example. Again, you can use my mouse/diabetes example from the above table. I used the word “if” to show that it was an imagined example situation.

Try to avoid saying anything that is obviously fake or unbelievable. This would reduce the credibility of your argument.

You can use personal examples in an IELTS essay, but these tend to be more common in lower-scoring essays. Of course, for these you could easily make up an imaginary brother or friend to illustrate a situation.

It all depends on the situation, of course. If you are asked about a broad societal question, an example such as “my brother thinks…” does not really demonstrate any sort of capacity for serious thinking. Thus, you can do it but it’s not a great idea.

On the other hand, if you are asked about families or other daily or personal topics, you could definitely give your relatives as examples.

There are different ways to introduce an example. The most common one is to say “For example…” and then state the example. Many people think this is “too basic,” but there’s no such thing. As long as you don’t use it repeatedly, you’re fine.

Other phrases to introduce examples include:

To give an example
For instance
To give but one example (=this implies that you are giving one but that there are many other possible examples)
As an illustration
To illustrate

It’s also quite possible to just subtly weave an example into the passage without this sort of formulaic language. Let’s take a sample passage:

There are many everyday items that are used once and then thrown away, adding to the pollution in our seas. For example, plastic bags and soda bottles routinely end up flowing from rivers into the oceans.

This passage used “for example.” We could also have just said:

There are many everyday items that are used once and then thrown away, adding to the pollution in our seas. Plastic bags and soda bottles routinely end up flowing from rivers into the oceans.

Now I have included an example but without saying “For example…”

Note that I could also use “such as…” This requires slightly different grammar, though:

There are many everyday items, such as plastic bottles and bags, that are used once and then thrown away, adding to the pollution in our seas.

A final note is that the phrase “For example” can be placed at different points in a sentence:

For example, plastic bags and soda bottles routinely end up flowing from rivers into the oceans.
Plastic bags and soda bottles, for example, routinely end up flowing from rivers into the oceans.
Plastic bags and soda bottles routinely end up flowing from rivers into the oceans, for example.

Let’s now look at a few common mistakes people make when putting examples into their IELTS essays:

Too many examples . Having one or two examples in an essay is fine but you definitely don’t want to include many more than that. Remember that an example is used to illuminate a point but it should not be used as a shortcut. Learn how to explain an idea and then back it up with an example rather than using examples in lieu of a thorough explanation.
Irrelevant examples . I quite often see irrelevant examples in IELTS essays when doing my writing correction service . Basically, there is a logical disconnect between the previous statement and the given example.
Unclear examples . Sometimes people just don’t explain things clearly, so the example given may seem irrelevant or confusing. This is often not because it’s a bad example but rather the example or the previous point had been poorly explained.
Poor grammar . People sometimes make grammatical mistakes when adding an example. This happens because they do not understand the part of speech used to introduce the example or they forget that the example may have to be a full clause.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Structures

April 11, 2017

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March 24, 2020

IELTS Speaking Part 2

October 11, 2018

IELTS Reading Overview

March 17, 2017

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Using Examples In IELTS Essays

In IELTS Writing Task 2 essays, it’s essential to support your ideas. One way of doing this is by using examples, but what makes for good examples in IELTS essays?

In my post about developing your ideas , I said that the 2 best ways to develop your ideas are to:

EXPLAIN what you mean, then
ILLUSTRATE your point with a SPECIFIC EXAMPLE

In this post we’re going to look at point 2 (examples) in more detail:

what is an example?
what makes a good example?
common mistakes

What Is An Example?

An example should PAINT A PICTURE in your reader’s mind, so they can actually SEE what you are thinking. In other words, examples should ILLUSTRATE your main ideas.

Examples in IELTS essays should paint a picture for your reader

So if your argument is that one cause of obesity is overconsumption of carbohydrates, then your example could be that people drink too much beer .

One cause of obesity is the overconsumption of carbohydrates. For example, some people drink too many carbohydrate-rich drinks like beer, and this often means they put on weight.

This example illustrates my main idea. In other words, it paints a picture for my reader, perhaps of an overweight man drinking beer!

Examples in IELTS essays illustrate your main ideas, like an overweight man drinking beer!

So if your argument is that we can reduce traffic congestion by introducing congestion charges, your example could be how it works in a city like London, where cars have to pay an extra charge when entering certain zones in the centre of London .

Congestion charges can be used to reduce high levels of traffic. For example, in London, drivers have to pay an additional fee in order to drive through central London, and this has led to a reduction in traffic levels in these zones.

Again , this example illustrates my main idea, because it paints a picture in my reader’s mind, perhaps of cars driving past Big Ben, or of road signs announcing a congestion charge zone.

Examples in IELTS essays illustrate your main ideas, like congestion charges in London

The first example (beer) comes from my own general knowledge . The second example (London congestion charge) comes from a mixture of my own general knowledge and my personal experience of driving in London.

This is what is meant when IELTS essay instructions tell you to “include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.”

In other words, things you have seen or read about make excellent examples.

Examples in IELTS Essays: Common Mistakes

However, some test takers make mistakes when using examples in IELTS essays. And these mistakes can limit your band score. Here are 4 of the most common mistakes.

Mistake #1: Writing a sentence that is too personal

Some test takers write example sentences that are about their own personal experiences, and this can limit your band score, especially for Task Response.

For example, I wrote above that one cause of obesity is that some people drink carbohydrate-rich drinks like beer. But what if I talked about myself, rather than “some people”?

One cause of obesity is the overconsumption of carbohydrates. For example, I used to drink too much beer, and I put on a lot of weight.

This example is TOO personal. It’s only about ME, so it makes my arguments weak. If your examples are too personal, they can be seen as “lacking focus” by IELTS examiners, which can limit Task Response to Band 7. (This is not terrible, of course, but it’s always a good idea to aim for Band 8 in Task Response if you want a Band 7 overall in IELTS Writing)

Too Personal (unfocused)	Just Right (focused)

When IELTS asks you to use “relevant examples from your own…experience”, they don’t mean things you have done. They mean things you have seen.

Personal experience means things you have seen, not things you have done.

So try to make your examples a little more general. Write about “some people”, not yourself!

Mistake #2: Writing a sentence that simply repeats the main idea

I often see ‘example sentences’ that simply repeat the main idea.

Look at these 2 sentences:

One cause of obesity is the overconsumption of carbohydrates. For example, high amounts of carbohydrates are consumed by many people. “

My “example sentence” simply repeats the main idea using different words. This means it’s too general.

Examples should include specific details which illustrate my main idea. The 2nd sentence does not do this. So it’s not an example!

(By the way, simply writing “for example” at the start of a sentence DOES NOT make it an example!)

Mistake #3: Writing a sentence that does not support the main idea

Another common problem I see in “example sentences” is that the information in it does not support the main idea.

Congestion charges can be used to reduce high levels of traffic. For example, there is a lot of traffic in London.”

The 2nd sentence does NOT support my claim that congestion charges can reduce traffic. It just states a fact about traffic in London.

One cause of obesity is people consuming too much sugar. For example, there is a lot of sugar in chocolate.

The 2nd sentence does NOT support my claim that people consume too much sugar. It just states a fact about sugar.

Good examples in IELTS essays should provide specific details which illustrate your main idea. In other words, why you think what you think.

Mistake #4: Using Fake Research Studies

Another REALLY common problem is test takers using ‘fake’ or ‘fictitious’ research studies in their essays. But this can cause problems.

One cause of obesity is people consuming too much sugar. For example, a recent study by Oxford University found that 78% of people consumed too much sugar.

In this paragraph, the ‘example’ simply repeats the main idea in different words. So it makes mistake #2 above. This would limit your band score.

Here’s another use of a fake study:

Congestion charges can be used to reduce high levels of traffic. For example, a recent study by London University found that congestion charges reduces the amount of traffic on London’s streets by 42%.

This is better: it shows that congestion charges reduce traffic.

But the problem with both of these fake studies is this: they don’t extend my main ideas.

I DON’T think more people are becoming obese because of a research study. I think more people are becoming obese because they drink too much beer.

And I DON’T think congestion charges reduce traffic because of a research study. I think congestion charges reduce traffic because I’ve seen it work in London.

I think many test takers use fake studies because they believe they need to ‘prove’ that their ideas are ‘correct’. That is not your task!

Your task is to say WHAT you think, and then say WHY you think this.

Another problem with fake research studies is that they can allow you to make crazy claims .

I could, for example, claim that the Moon was made of cheese! You might think I was crazy, but I could just throw in a research study to ‘prove’ that I’m correct:

The Moon is made of cheese. For example, a research study carried out by the University of Toronto found that the Moon was made of cheese.

In other words, fake research studies allow you to make crazy claims. You could literally claim anything is true – all you need to do is use a fake study!

One cause of obesity is people consuming too much broccoli. For example, a recent study by Nairobi University found that broccoli was one of the main causes of obesity.

But perhaps the biggest problem with fake studies is this:

They ANNOY IELTS Examiners!

Many IELTS Examiners hate to read these fake research studies. They see them as bad writing, and totally inappropriate for an essay. So if the examiner thinks you are on the borderline between Band 6 and Band 7, they may give you a Band 6, simply because of those horrible fake studies.

So don’t use fake research studies!

Examples in IELTS Essays: Summary

A good example sentence illustrates your ideas, illustrates your thinking. It ‘paints a picture’ for your reader, so they can SEE what you are thinking. This means they should include specific details.

Good examples in IELTS essays are often things you have seen or read about.

But bad examples in IELTS essays are common. The four main mistakes:

writing very personal experiences (things you have done)
repeating your main ideas
not supporting your main idea
fake research studies

I hope this helps! Please share using one of the buttons below, and add any comments you have.

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