Gateway skill · Foundation skill 1 of 5
Decode the Question
লেখা শুরুর আগেই প্রশ্নের তিনটা অংশ আলাদা করে চিনুন — topic, operation, আর limiting words।
এখনই ভালো idea বের করতে হবে না। প্রথম কাজ শুধু প্রশ্নটা ঠিকমতো বোঝা।
18–22 min · 3 main drills · Task 1 + Task 2
A good answer begins before the first sentence
Many IELTS Writing problems begin with a small misunderstanding of the question. A learner may write accurate grammar and relevant vocabulary but still lose marks because the response:
- •answers a related but different question
- •discusses only the broad topic
- •misses one instruction
- •ignores an important limiting word
- •describes both sides without making the required judgment
- •adds opinions or explanations that a Task 1 visual does not show
অনেক সময় grammar বা vocabulary মূল সমস্যা নয়। প্রশ্নে ঠিক কী করতে বলা হয়েছে, সেটি ভুল বুঝলে answer off-topic বা incomplete হয়ে যায়।
Official requirement
Your response must address the task you are given.
প্রশ্নের প্রয়োজনীয় প্রতিটি অংশের উত্তর দিতে হবে।
Use TOQ before you plan
Topic
What is it about?
বিষয়টি কী?
Operation
What must I do?
কী করতে হবে?
Qualifiers
What limits it?
সীমা কী?
T — Topic: What exact issue is being discussed?
A broad subject is not enough.
Broad subject: Education → Useful topic: Whether university students should study outside their main field
O — Operation: What must my answer do?
Common operations: give and support a position; discuss both views and give an opinion; explain causes; suggest solutions; explain advantages and disadvantages; weigh both sides and argue which side is greater; answer two separate questions.
The topic tells you what to write about. The operation tells you what kind of answer to produce.
Essay structure topic দেখে নয়, operation দেখে ঠিক করতে হবে।
Q — Qualifiers: Which words limit or narrow the topic?
Examples: all university students; compulsory; in large cities; young people; unpaid; in the future; governments and individuals; more important than.
Qualifier বাদ পড়লে আপনি related topic নিয়ে লিখতে পারেন, কিন্তু আসল প্রশ্নের সম্পূর্ণ উত্তর নাও হতে পারে।
What happens when a learner skips decoding?
Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high-school education.
Weak opening
Community service is very important in modern society. It helps people and makes communities better. There are many reasons why people should help others.
The writing is related to the general topic, but it drops the main qualifiers: unpaid, compulsory, high-school students, part of education.
Learner community service নিয়ে লিখেছে, কিন্তু আসল policy নিয়ে লেখেনি। প্রশ্নটি ছিল এটি unpaid, compulsory, এবং high-school education-এর অংশ হওয়া উচিত কি না।
A worked example
Some people think that the best way to reduce crime is to give longer prison sentences. Others believe there are more effective ways to reduce crime.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Topic: Ways to reduce crime
Operation: explain the view supporting longer prison sentences; explain alternative approaches; give and support my own opinion
Qualifiers: longer prison sentences; more effective ways; crime reduction
“I need to explain why some people support longer prison sentences, explain at least one alternative way to reduce crime, and state which approach I believe is more effective.”
আমাকে দুইটি view আলোচনা করতে হবে — একটি longer prison sentence, অন্যটি alternative method — এবং নিজের opinion দিতে হবে।
Practice 1 of 3
Quick drill
Identify the Topic, Operation and Qualifiers in an opinion question.
See it once first
Children should begin formal education at a very young age. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Topic: The age children begin formal education Operation: Agree or disagree Qualifier: At a very young age
Some people believe that all university students should be required to study subjects outside their main field. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
What is the most accurate topic?
Count the operations in the question
Some questions contain more than one writing job. A job means one separate operation inside the prompt.
In many countries, fewer young people are choosing to become teachers.
Why is this happening? What can be done to encourage more young people to enter the profession?
Job 1: Explain why fewer young people are becoming teachers.
Job 2: Suggest ways to encourage more young people to become teachers.
Signals to look for: question marks; instruction verbs such as explain, discuss or suggest; separate question clauses; evaluative questions (“Is this positive or negative?”, “Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?”).
Questions with two separate instructions are often called two-part questions.
দুইটি আলাদা instruction থাকলে এটিকে two-part question বলা হয়।
Quick drill
Identify every required operation in a multi-part question.
In some cities, increasing numbers of people are choosing to live alone. What are the reasons for this trend? Is it a positive or negative development?
How many writing jobs are there? Explain your reason in one line.
How many writing jobs does this question require?
These questions look similar
Judgment drill
Tell apart two similar-looking operations: explain both sides vs. weigh and judge.
Question A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home? Question B: Do the advantages of working from home outweigh the disadvantages?
What is the key difference between these two questions?
Task 1 needs a different decoding checklist
1. Visual type — কী ধরনের chart, graph, map বা process
2. Subject — কী তথ্য দেখানো হয়েছে
3. Unit — কোন এককে তথ্য মাপা হয়েছে
4. Time — কোন বছর বা সময়
5. Categories — কোন group বা item তুলনা করা হয়েছে
6. Reporting job — কোন main feature ও comparison লিখতে হবে
A Task 1 unit error can affect the entire report.
Unit ভুল পড়লে পুরো report ভুল data describe করতে পারে।
Quick drill
Identify what a Task 1 visual measures before describing it.
Which subject best matches the chart?
Observable or invented?
Select all that apply
Tell apart observable facts from invented explanations in a Task 1 report.
Chart: average weekly hours on five leisure activities, Canada, 2010 and 2025.
Which sentences could be included in a factual report about the chart?
The 60-second decode routine
Task 2
- 1. Box the exact topic
- 2. Circle the operation words
- 3. Underline the qualifiers
- 4. Count the separate operations
- 5. Restate the task in one sentence
Task 1
- 1. Identify the visual type
- 2. Read the title
- 3. Read the axes and labels
- 4. Check the unit
- 5. Check the time period
- 6. Identify the categories
- 7. State the reporting job
This costs around 60 seconds and can save you from writing 250 words that answer the wrong question.
60 সেকেন্ড খরচ করে 250টি ভুল বা incomplete শব্দ লেখা থেকে বাঁচতে পারেন।
Use TOQ twice
Decoding is not only a beginning-of-task activity. After finishing your answer:
- 1. Re-read your qualifiers.
- 2. Find where each qualifier is addressed in your answer.
- 3. Check that every operation has been completed.
- 4. Check that your conclusion or overview matches the task.
লেখা শেষে qualifier এবং operation আবার দেখুন। প্রতিটি qualifier আপনার answer-এ কোথায় আছে, খুঁজে বের করুন। কোনোটি না থাকলে আপনি task থেকে সরে যেতে পারেন।
This check will appear again during the REVIEW stage.
Final knowledge check
Some people believe employers should allow all employees to work from home whenever they choose.
Do the advantages of this approach outweigh the disadvantages?
Task in my own words:
Compare your restatement
Your restatement:
(nothing written)
Suggested restatement:
I need to decide whether giving every employee complete freedom to work from home has greater advantages than disadvantages, and support that judgment throughout my essay.
My answer is: