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Get Ready for IELTS Writing (Unit 11: Health)

Skills development

Exam information | A cause and effect essay

For Task 2 you might need to write about the causes and effects of a problem or issue. Use conditional sentences and linking words such as because, so, therefore, as a result (of) to describe causes and effects clearly

1. Read the essay paragraph and underline the cause and effect sentences. Then label each cause (C) and each effect (E).

A country which has free healthcare has a healthier population. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Healthcare should be free in every country because it helps improve the health of the population. Some things such as computers, cars or holidays are luxuries which people should pay for themselves, but healthcare is a necessity not a luxury. (C) If people do not have access to free healthcare. (E) minor health problems may become much worse. Also, the cost of healthcare should not stop people from going to the doctor. If poor people have to pay for healthcare, they might not visit the doctor when they are ill. If healthcare becomes more expensive, there may be some negative effects in the future. For example, if only rich people can afford healthcare, they may be much healthier and may live longer than poor people. The result of this could be an unequal and divided society.

Model Answer

Healthcare should be free in every country because it helps improve the health of the population. Some things such computers, cars or holidays are luxuries which people should pay for, but healthcare is a necessity not a luxury. (C) If people do not have access to free healthcare. (E) minor health problems may become much worse. Also, the cost of healthcare should not stop people from going to the doctor. (C) If poor people have to pay for healthcare. (E) they might not visit the doctor when they are ill. (C) If healthcare becomes more expensive. (E) there may be some negative effects in the future. For example, (C) if only rich people can afford healthcare. (E) they may be much healthier and may live longer than poor people. The result of this could be an unequal and divided society.

Exam tip | A cause and effect essay

Only use will / would in the result clause of a conditional sentence if you are stating a well known fact. In an essay, it is usually better to use indefinite language such as may / can / could/ might to describe opinions or possible, rather than definite, results.
If you smoke, you will become very ill. ✘
If you smoke, you m ight/m ay become very ill. ✓

2. Complete another paragraph from the same essay using the phrases from the box.

if people have unhealthy lifestyles
they should pay for it themselves
free healthcare might not help them

However, free healthcare does not always result in a healthy population. For example, if people choose to have an unhealthy lifestyle, (1) Some people believe that (2) , they should not receive free healthcare. In addition, healthcare comes in many forms and some of these forms of healthcare may not be essential. Most doctors think that if people want cosmetic surgery just to improve their appearance, (3) However, doctors think that the government should pay for some forms of cosmetic surgery.

3. You can use other structures to describe causes and effects. Notice the order of the causes and effects and the blue words in the sentences below.

effect		cause
Many people die from smoking	due to	lung damage and diseases such as cancer.
cause		effect
Due to lung damage and diseases such as cancer,		many people die from smoking.
effect		cause
People can become fat	because	they eat too much bad food.
cause		effect
Because people eat too much bad food,		they can become fat.

Complete the sentences for the essay below using the phrases from the box, then mark each cause (C) and each effect (E).

Obesity is a common problem in many societies. What are the main causes of obesity and what are the effects?

1. People have become accustomed to junk food (), so ()

2. Because young children spend too much time watching television (), ()

3. Many people have office jobs which do not involve any physical activity. () As a result, they ()

4. Because () children do not know how to cook for themselves.())

5. Due to the availability of cheap fast food (), ()

6. Governments earn a lot of money from fast-food companies () because ()

their parents do not teach them
~~they do not eat enough vegetables.~~
aren't active enough.
people do not shop for fresh food,
they do not get enough exercise.
they tax them heavily.

4. Underline three mistakes with linking words in this text.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. If people don't exercise, they will become unhealthy. Nowadays, many people don't get enough exercise ~~due to~~ because they have jobs where they sit down all day. Additionally, life is easier. In the old days, people had to wash clothes by hand or make their own bread. Result, they were more active in their lives. Also, people didn't have cars in the old days, because they had to walk everywhere. This meant that people were active in their daily life. Now, due cars and machines which make life easier, people don't do as much. As a result, they become more unfit.

Model Answer

Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. If people don’t exercise, they will become unhealthy. Nowadays, many people don’t get enough exercise ~~due to~~ because they have jobs where they sit down all day. Additionally, life is easier. In the old days, people had to wash clothes by hand or make their own bread. ~~Result~~ As a result, they were more active in their lives. Also, people didn’t have cars in the old days, ~~because~~ so they had to walk everywhere. This meant that people were active in their daily life. Now, due to cars and machines which make life easier, people don’t do as much. As a result, they become more unfit.

5. Read the essay title, then match the causes to the effects in the table. Write the headings ‘Causes’ and ‘Effects’ in the correct places.

Modern technology is a threat to the health of people all over the world. What are the main effects of modern technology on our health?


1. Children spend too much time sitting playing video games.	a. People can develop wrist problems or back pain.
2. Using social media is a common hobby for many people nowadays.	b. They cannot hear cars coming and may get run over.
3. Ready meals are easy to buy.	c. They do not move enough so they become overweight.
4. Office jobs involve too much time working with computers.	d. People don't cook fresh food any more.
5. People in the street listen to music through headphones.	e. Face-to-face activities such as sports are less popular.

6. Use some of the causes and effects from the table above to write a paragraph for the same essay. Write approximately 60-80 words. Start your paragraph like this:

Exam tip | Building your argument

A good way of building your argument is to write the topic sentence of a paragraph, then add a cause and effect sentence to explain the topic sentence:
An inactive lifestyle is bad for people. If people don't exercise and move around, they may become ill.

Model Answer

Many health problems today may be caused by modern technology. For example, if children spend too much time playing video games, they may not do enough exercise and may become overweight. Also, people who use computers at work can develop health problems, such as wrist problems or back pain, because they spend all day sitting in the same position. Finally, people spend less time playing healthy sports because they prefer to use social media.