Video Summary - 5 tips for finishing your essay in less than 40 min

Main ideas / lessons from the video

The video teaches an IELTS Writing Task 2 strategy for a “discuss both views” essay about whether professionals should work in their training country or have freedom to work elsewhere. The goal is to write quickly (under ~40 minutes) while maintaining quality.

Method / step-by-step instructions

1) Plan the two body paragraphs before writing (in your head)

Plan Body Paragraph 1 and Body Paragraph 2 before you start the essay.
Aim for speed: the speaker claims about ~5 minutes of planning, plus time to check the essay.
Planning is especially important for discuss-both-views because:
- You may rethink your stance halfway through.
- You must still argue both sides in the correct structure.

For each paragraph, plan the required components:

When outlining the side you disagree with:
- State why that side believes their position is valid (give a reason).
- Then add the counterpoint: why that argument is not convincing.
- The speaker notes that not every paragraph needs an example—if you can fully support only one side, that can be enough.
When outlining the side you agree with:
- Include:
  - a benefit/justification for the agreed view, and
  - a reason that ties directly to the paragraph’s main idea.

Example content the speaker suggests:

Disagreeing side example reasons:
- Free movement → can lead to “work fulfillment,” and access to certain work only available in certain countries (e.g., rocket technology/SpaceX in the US).
- Counter: fulfillment isn’t a strong justification for the policy being discussed (the exact wording matters less during planning).
Agreeing side benefit:
- Career fulfillment → “fulfilled workers are more likely to reach their full potential.”
Brain drain idea:
- Without restrictions, skilled workers may move for better pay.
- With restrictions, a country may retain talent and minds.

Time-saving planning approach

Plan mentally, not on paper (faster).
This requires practice so you can remember your plan.

2) Write the two body paragraphs first (especially for computer-based tests)

If doing a computer-based IELTS test, write:

Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2

before spending too long on the introduction and conclusion.

Reason: it prevents wasting time on the ending if you run out after writing the body paragraphs.

3) Don’t fear using the original wording (paraphrase accurately)

Key point: Changing word forms is often the best paraphrase because it stays accurate and saves time.

Strategy: transform the original word while keeping meaning. Example with “training”:

as a noun: “where they did their training”
as a verb form: “the country that trained them”
as a participle structure: “the country where they were trained”
alternative structure: “the country where they trained”

Caution: paraphrase must preserve style and grammar, not just correctness.

Avoid clunky/overlong paraphrases:

Turning words into longer noun phrases (e.g., turning verbs into “making it a requirement”) can become bad style—too wordy and harder to follow.

If you need an alternative word, “mandating” can work, but the speaker emphasizes it’s often fine to keep the original wording if it’s best.

4) Put the main idea in the topic sentence (and use correct structure)

Every body paragraph must have one main idea in its topic sentence.
Do not write topic sentences that just restate the whole argument without a clear controlling idea.

The speaker contrasts bad vs good examples:

Brain drain belongs in Body Paragraph 1’s topic sentence.
Career fulfillment belongs in Body Paragraph 2’s topic sentence.

Transition tip:

Use phrasing that links the paragraph logically (e.g., describe the other side’s idea and how it connects to fulfillment).

Disagreement/agreement precision:

If Body Paragraph 1 is about brain drain (the side you plan to discuss/disagree with), then the “disagree” explanation must return to brain drain, not drift into unrelated moral arguments (like personal freedom as a general human right).

5) Don’t be afraid of repetition; use coherence deliberately

Repeating key meaningful words can improve readability and coherence.
The speaker recommends repeating “fulfilled” rather than switching to weaker near-synonyms like “satisfied/content,” if it breaks the connection to the paragraph’s main idea.

Purpose: repetition can create “flow” and help the reader track the same concept.

Additional “flexibility” rules the speaker insists on

Even though you can be flexible in some places to write faster, you must still follow the must-do elements:

Maintain a clear viewpoint throughout the entire essay.
Ensure each paragraph has only one main idea.
Be flexible with everything else to speed up while still aiming for quality.

Recommended essay components (as described)

Intro paragraph (how the speaker simplifies)

Normally, the speaker would:

paraphrase the question,
give opinion,
state both main ideas.

But to save time, the suggestion is:

state only the opinion/main idea related to the side they agree with (skip stating both main ideas explicitly in the intro).

Also:

Avoid overly challenging rewrites—sometimes the original wording is hard to paraphrase accurately without producing awkward phrasing.

Conclusion (quick alignment with main idea)

Summarize:
- the brain drain idea on one side, and
- the speaker’s belief that freedom of movement is best due to career fulfillment / full potential.

Language precision note (important grammar/preposition)

The speaker highlights a nuance:

“feel fulfilled by their work” (adjective “fulfilled” needs “by” to indicate what fulfills them)
vs.
“find fulfillment in work” (noun “fulfillment” works naturally with “in” to indicate the activity/context)

Speakers / sources featured

Speaker: Lilie (the instructor/author of the strategy; referred to as “Lilie’s here”).

5 tips for finishing your essay in less than 40 min - ielts writing task 2 discuss both views

Key takeaways