Cambridge IELTS 13 Test 2 Writing Task 2: Too Many Choices
Cambridge IELTS 13 · Test 2 · Academic Writing Task 2Opinion (agree or disagree)Culture & lifestyle
The question presents the belief that people today have too many choices. Candidates must say to what extent they agree or disagree with this view and support their position with reasons and examples.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Some people believe that nowadays we have too many choices. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Write at least 250 words.
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How to read the question
- This is an opinion essay: To what extent do you agree or disagree means you need a clear position in the introduction that stays the same throughout.
- The key phrase is too many, not many: the question is whether the amount of choice has become excessive and harmful, not whether choice is good in general.
- Choices is very broad. Select two or three areas to make the essay concrete, such as products in shops, online entertainment, careers, education or relationships.
- Nowadays signals a comparison with the past, so you can contrast today's range of options with the more limited choices of previous generations.
- A partial position works well, for example agreeing that choice in trivial consumer goods is excessive while arguing that choice in important life decisions is valuable.
- Avoid writing only a list of things people can choose; explain the effects of choice on people, such as stress, wasted time, satisfaction or freedom.
Suggested position
I partly agree with this view: the endless range of consumer products and entertainment often causes stress and wastes time, but greater freedom to choose how we live, study and work is a valuable development that should not be reduced.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the view that modern life offers an excessive number of options, then give a partial position: too much choice in trivial consumer matters, but valuable choice in major life decisions.
- 2
Body paragraph 1: where choice is excessive
Use examples of supermarkets, online shopping and streaming platforms. Explain decision fatigue, the time spent comparing options and the regret people feel when they wonder whether another option would have been better.
- 3
Body paragraph 2: where choice is valuable
Argue that choice in careers, education, where to live and whom to marry gives people freedom that previous generations lacked, especially women and people from poorer backgrounds. Explain that such choices allow people to match their lives to their talents and values.
- 4
Conclusion
Restate the partial position and suggest that the answer is not to reduce choice, but to use filters such as trusted reviews or simple personal rules for minor decisions.
Ideas and arguments
- Supermarkets stock dozens of versions of the same product, so a simple purchase can take a long time and leave shoppers unsure they chose well.
- Streaming services offer thousands of films, and many viewers spend more time scrolling than watching.
- Too many options can cause decision fatigue and anxiety, and people often feel less satisfied because they imagine a better alternative.
- Marketing creates artificial choice: many products differ only in packaging or brand, not in quality.
- Freedom to choose a career or field of study allows people to follow their abilities instead of inheriting their parents' occupation.
- Choice in personal life, such as whom to marry and where to live, is a hard-won freedom, particularly for women in many societies.
- Competition between many suppliers keeps prices down and drives innovation, which benefits consumers.
- People can manage choice with personal rules, trusted reviews or by sticking to familiar brands for minor purchases.
Band 8+ model answer
292 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
It is often claimed that modern life offers people an overwhelming number of options. I partly agree with this view: in everyday consumer matters we are certainly given more choice than we need, but in the major decisions of life, greater freedom to choose is a valuable development.
When it comes to consumer goods and entertainment, choice has arguably become excessive. A supermarket may stock dozens of almost identical breakfast cereals or shampoos, and online stores offer thousands more, so even a simple purchase can involve a long comparison of marginal differences. Similarly, streaming platforms provide so many films that viewers sometimes spend longer scrolling than watching. As a result, people suffer from decision fatigue, and having made a choice they often second-guess it, wondering whether another option would have been better. In these areas, more choice tends to bring less satisfaction rather than more.
By contrast, choice in the important areas of life is something to be valued. In the past, many people simply followed their parents' occupation, married someone their family selected and spent their lives in the town where they were born. Today, most young people can decide what to study, which career to pursue and where to live, which allows them to match their lives to their talents and values. This freedom has been hard-won, particularly for women, and it would be a serious loss if it were restricted.
In conclusion, although people are spoilt for choice when it comes to trivial products, I do not believe we have too many choices overall. The solution is not to reduce our options, but to deal with minor decisions quickly, perhaps by following a simple rule of thumb, and save our energy for the choices that truly shape our lives.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Response
- The answer takes a clear partial position, distinguishing trivial consumer choices from major life decisions, develops each side with concrete examples, and ends with a conclusion that matches the introduction.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- The essay is organised around one clear distinction, with each body paragraph opening with a topic sentence and ideas linked by devices such as similarly, as a result and by contrast.
- Lexical Resource
- Less common items such as decision fatigue, second-guess, marginal differences and hard-won freedom are used naturally and accurately, and choice is paraphrased in several ways.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- A wide range of structures is used, including conditional sentences, relative clauses, passive forms and comparative structures, with consistent accuracy.
Useful vocabulary
- an overwhelming range of
- so many options that it is hard to cope
- decision fatigue
- tiredness and worse judgement after making many decisions
- consumer goods
- products that people buy for personal use
- trivial
- of little importance
- spoilt for choice
- having so many options that it is difficult to decide
- second-guess
- keep doubting a decision after you have made it
- freedom of choice
- the right to decide for yourself between options
- hard-won
- achieved only after a long struggle
- personal autonomy
- the ability to make your own decisions about your life
- marginal differences
- very small differences that hardly matter
- previous generations
- people who lived before the current generation
- career path
- the jobs a person does over their working life
- narrow down
- reduce the number of possibilities
- rule of thumb
- a simple practical guide for making a decision
Common mistakes
- Writing about whether choice is good or bad in general instead of whether there is too much choice nowadays.
- Discussing only shopping, which makes the essay narrow; a strong answer shows awareness that choices also exist in work, education and personal life.
- Listing many areas of choice with no explanation of the effects on people.
- Sitting on the fence without stating clearly how far you agree.
- Relying on invented statistics, such as 90% of shoppers feel stressed, instead of logical reasoning and realistic examples.
- Repeating choices and too many again and again instead of using options, alternatives, variety and an excessive range.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This question about whether people nowadays have too many choices is Writing Task 2 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic, published in 2018.
- What kinds of choices should I write about?
- Choose two or three areas you can explain well, such as shopping, entertainment, careers or education. Contrasting minor consumer choices with major life choices gives the essay a clear structure.
- Is it acceptable to partly agree?
- Yes. A partial position is fine if you state it clearly in the introduction and explain exactly where you think choice is excessive and where it is valuable.
- How many words should I write for this Task 2?
- Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is usually enough to develop two or three body paragraphs in 40 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.