A two-part question (sometimes called a direct question) asks two related questions you must both answer fully. The examiner penalises essays that address only one part, so give each its own developed paragraph. The prompts below each contain two distinct questions; plan an answer to both before you start writing.
The one rule
Two questions, two developed answers. Leaving either half thin caps your Task Response score.
On test day
It's one of the recognised Task 2 formats, so it's fair game on test day — but you can't reliably predict which one you'll be given. Treat every format as likely and practise across all of them rather than betting on a single type.
Templates
Learn the shape, not a script. A reliable structure for two-part question questions saves planning time, but a memorised essay bolted onto the wrong prompt is penalised. Adapt the structure to the exact question in front of you.
Marking
Against the four official IELTS Writing criteria — task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Getting the format right mainly protects your task response score; the other three come down to your language.
Practice volume
Enough to make the format automatic, then stop drilling it in isolation. Once you can structure a two-part question response without thinking, your time is better spent on the language criteria that actually move your band.
More Task 2 types
Attempt any two-part question question in the exam workspace — 40 minutes on the clock, then a band for all four criteria in about 60 seconds. Starts with a 3-day free trial.
“In some countries, more and more people are becoming interested in finding out about the history of the house or building they live in. What are the reasons for this? How can people research this?”