6.3. Advantages and Disadvantages Essays
Find the word that asks for a verdict, cover one advantage and one disadvantage, then say which side wins and for whom.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
More people now work from home for at least part of the week.
Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
The short version
What are the advantages and disadvantages? wants both sides. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? wants both sides and a verdict.
You write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.
A verdict names which side wins, and for whom.
One body paragraph of advantages, one of disadvantages, one idea each, explained with an example.
What you have to do
The test shows a development or a trend, then one of two task lines. What are the advantages and disadvantages? asks you to explain one side, then the other. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? asks the same and then for a verdict. That is a sentence saying which side is stronger, and for whom. You write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. It is marked on whether it covers the task, on organisation, vocabulary and grammar.
What a verdict looks like
A verdict says which side is heavier: the savings outweigh the loss of contact for most office staff. It is not there are both advantages and disadvantages, which weighs nothing. Name the winner, then name who it wins for: a kind of worker, a kind of family, a kind of town. That second half makes the verdict arguable rather than a slogan.
Step by step
- 1Read the question and find the task line
The task line is the words after the statement. In the task above it is Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? Pick out outweigh. It is the one word that changes what you must write. Then pick out the development itself, work from home for part of the week. Every paragraph is about that, not about home life in general.
- 2Decide what the task demands: both sides, and a verdict if asked
Both wordings want one paragraph of advantages and one of disadvantages. Outweigh wants a verdict as well, in the introduction and the conclusion. Decide it in the plan: the advantages win for established staff, not for new recruits. With what are the advantages and disadvantages, a verdict is allowed but not required.
- 3Paraphrase the question in your introduction
Sentence one restates the development: Many employees now spend some of the working week at home. Sentence two, for an outweigh task, gives the verdict: I believe the benefits are greater for most established staff, though not for people in their first job. For the other wording, sentence two says the essay will look at both sides.
- 4Decide what to leave out
Leave out a third advantage: one advantage explained with a because and an example fills a paragraph. Leave out your own routine. Leave out a plan for fixing the disadvantages, because proposing measures is a problem-solution essay's shape. And leave out any essay that argues one side only, as an opinion essay would: both sides must be there.
- 5If you are stuck, use the fallback plan
Write four paragraphs. Introduction: the development paraphrased, then your verdict. Body 1: one advantage, a because, an example. Body 2: one disadvantage, a because, an example, then one sentence saying why it weighs less, or more, than the advantage. Conclusion: the verdict again, naming who it applies to.
Quiz time5 questions
Each drill gives you the task line or the sentences it needs, so nothing has to be looked up. Practise one judgement at a time.
Name the type from the task line
Ignore the topic. Read the words after the statement and choose the essay type they set.
Read thisIn many countries, people are choosing to have children later in life. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Which essay type does this task line set?
Which wording needs a verdict?
Read both lines, then decide which one requires you to say which side is stronger.
Read thisLine A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of children owning a smartphone? Line B: Do the advantages of children owning a smartphone outweigh the disadvantages?
Which line requires a verdict on which side wins?
Which sentence gives a verdict?
Read the task, then choose the introduction sentence that answers outweigh.
Read thisTask: More families now keep a pet in a small city flat. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Which sentence gives the verdict an outweigh task needs?
Spot the paragraph that answers the wrong type
Each line is the first sentence of a paragraph. One paragraph belongs to a different essay type. Choose it.
Read thisTask: Many universities now teach some courses entirely online. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Which sentence contains the error?
Pick the plan that covers the task
Read the task, then choose the plan that covers both sides and gives a verdict.
Read thisTask: More people now travel abroad for medical treatment. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Which plan covers the whole task?
The full model
Below is the thesis and one disadvantage paragraph for a second outweigh question, written the way the five steps produce them. Read the thesis first, then check that the paragraph still serves the verdict it states.
More people now work in shared workspaces rather than a private office. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Shared workspaces can cut rent and help freelancers meet clients, but I do not think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for staff who need quiet or who handle confidential files.
Both sides will appear. The verdict is in the thesis before either side is developed.
A shared desk is a poor place for confidential files, because a client call or a medical record can be overheard two seats away. For those roles, the cheaper rent does not outweigh the risk, so a private room is still the better default.
- TaskA concrete disadvantage, not “it is bad”.
- TaskThe verdict word is here. The paragraph is still on shared workspaces.
Coloured text shows what the examiner is looking for.
Your turn to write1 question
Write the thesis only
One or two sentences. Name both sides and give a verdict. Keep shared workspaces. Use a different reason or verdict from the example above.
More people now work in shared workspaces rather than a private office. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
0 / 20 words
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Tips
- Put the losing side second
If your verdict is that the advantages win, write the disadvantage paragraph first and the advantage second. The essay then ends on the side the conclusion restates.
- Use the word *outweigh* once in the body
A sentence such as for these workers, the saving does not outweigh the risk shows the examiner you are weighing, not listing. Once is enough.
Recap
Find the task line. Outweigh means both sides and a verdict; what are means both sides.
One advantage and one disadvantage, each with a because and an example, in their own paragraphs.
A verdict names which side wins and for whom, in the introduction and again in the conclusion.
Next: essays that ask for problems and solutions.