Two-question essays: why people take holidays abroad
You can answer both questions of a two-question essay directly, with a developed paragraph for each answer.
This Task 2 question asks two things: why people go abroad for their holidays, and what the places they visit gain from it.
The band descriptors are strict about this. A band 7 essay deals properly with every main part of the prompt, and at band 5 those parts are incompletely addressed. Here the main parts are the two questions, so each one gets a direct answer and a paragraph of its own.
Warm-up
Which question does it answer?
The second question asks what benefits tourism brings to the places people visit. Which idea answers it?
Which idea answers the second question?
How it works
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Many people now choose to spend their holidays in another country.
Why do people like to travel abroad for their holidays? What benefits does this bring to the places they visit?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Planning in six minutes
- 1Number the questions
Find the two questions and number them 1 and 2 in your plan. Note the words that limit each: why in question 1, and benefits and the places they visit in question 2.
- 2Answer each in one sentence
Before any detail, write a direct answer to each question. These two sentences end your introduction.
- 3Give each question a paragraph
Body paragraph 1 answers question 1, and body paragraph 2 answers question 2. Two points in each, explained, with an example.
- 4Check every idea against its question
Question 2 is about the places. Benefits for the tourist, and problems for the places, answer something else.
- 5Close with both answers
The conclusion gives both answers again, briefly and in new words.
The shape of the essay
The parts, in order
The situation in your own words, then a one-sentence answer to each question.
Question 1: two reasons people go abroad, each explained, with an example.
Question 2: two benefits for the places, each explained, with an example.
Both answers again, briefly and in new words.
Forty minutes
- 6 min: Plan
- 4 min: Introduction
- 12 min: Body paragraph 1
- 12 min: Body paragraph 2
- 3 min: Conclusion
- 3 min: Check
Total: 40 min
Watch me do one
Question 1 asks why people go abroad for holidays. Question 2 asks what the places they visit gain. I number them 1 and 2 at the top of my plan.
For question 1, two reasons. It has become affordable, with budget airlines and package deals. And people want a change: a new climate, new food, a new language.
For question 2, two benefits. Money and jobs, and a reason to look after old buildings and traditions. I check that both are about the places, and they are.
My two answers, one sentence each: People go abroad mainly because it is affordable and a change from daily life. The places they visit gain jobs and a reason to protect their heritage.
Those two sentences end my introduction, and each one becomes a body paragraph. Six minutes, and I start writing.
A model answer
Many people now choose to spend their holidays in another country. Why do people like to travel abroad for their holidays? What benefits does this bring to the places they visit?
Over the last few decades, a holiday abroad has become normal for many families who once spent their summers at home. People travel for several reasons, but the main ones are that foreign travel is now affordable and that it offers a real break from everyday life. The places they visit gain in two ways: tourism brings them income and jobs, and it gives them a reason to protect their heritage. The most obvious reason is cost. Budget airlines and package holidays mean that a week by the sea in another country can cost little more than a week at home, including flights and accommodation. At the same time, people want a change from their routine. A different climate, unfamiliar food and a new language make a holiday feel like an escape, which is hard to find in a town you already know. For the places people visit, the clearest benefit is economic. Tourists spend money on hotels, restaurants, guides and souvenirs, and this spending supports the local economy and creates jobs, often in areas with little other work. In some island and coastal regions, tourism is the biggest employer, so a good season can decide whether young people stay or move away. A second benefit is that visitors give local people a reason to value what makes their home special. When old buildings, crafts and festivals attract tourists, towns have both the money and the motivation to preserve them. In conclusion, people holiday abroad because it has become affordable and because they want a break from ordinary life. Their destinations benefit too: they gain income and jobs, and a reason to look after their traditions and buildings.
- TaskA direct answer to question 1, in the introduction.
- TaskA direct answer to question 2. The reader knows the whole plan before the first body paragraph.
- CoherenceA short topic sentence that shows this paragraph answers question 1.
- CoherenceThe paragraph opens with the subject of question 2, the places, so the reader sees the essay has moved on.
- VocabularyA precise phrase that shows why these jobs matter.
- GrammarA when clause and both ... and, controlled in one sentence.
- TaskThe conclusion answers both questions again, in new words.
Coloured text shows what the examiner is looking for.
Practice with Elita6 questions
Four questions on answering both parts. Then a new question to plan, and its first paragraph to write.
An introduction that answers
Three introductions for the essay above. Which one answers both questions?
Which introduction answers both questions?
Which question? (1)
Decide which question this idea answers, if either.
Hotels and restaurants hire local staff during the tourist season.
Which question? (2)
The same three choices, for a different idea.
Large crowds of tourists can damage old buildings.
The second topic sentence
Pick the sentence that should open body paragraph 2, the one that answers question 2.
Which topic sentence is best?
Plan a new one
Plan this two-question essay in six minutes. Short notes will do, because the plan itself is never marked.
Many young people now spend a year travelling before they start university or work. Why do they do this? How can the experience help them later in life?
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Write the introduction
Write the opening paragraph for that essay: the situation in your own words, then a short answer to each question.
Write the introduction for: Many young people now spend a year travelling before they start university or work. Why do they do this? How can the experience help them later in life?
0 / 40 words
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Words to keep
Cheap enough for most people to pay for. A week abroad is now affordable for many families.
A short time away from your usual life. People want a break from their daily routine.
A person or organisation that gives people jobs. In some island regions, tourism is the biggest employer.
Buildings, customs and traditions from a place's past. Visitors give towns a reason to protect their heritage.
Keep something in good condition, or stop it from disappearing. The money helps the town preserve its old market.
About money, trade and jobs. The clearest benefit of tourism is economic.
Before you go
Number the two questions, and write a one-sentence answer to each before you plan anything else.
End your introduction with both answers.
Give each question its own body paragraph, with two points, each explained with an example.
Test every idea against its question. Benefits for the tourist do not answer a question about the places.
Next: Next, General Training candidates write an informal letter to a friend who will be staying with them. Academic candidates go on to Unit 8, about culture.