📺 Media13 questionsReal reported + Cambridge
IELTS media
essay questions.
13 Task 2 questions on media. Click any question to open the full breakdown, examiner watch-outs, and a 40-minute mock.
About this theme
Television, social media, advertising, news bias, celebrity culture, regulation of online content. Media prompts test whether you can separate the medium from the message. Avoid the trap of arguing that "social media is bad", the band-7 move is to specify which behaviours on which platforms produce which outcomes for which users.
Task 2📰 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)🔥 Hot
“Misinformation on the internet is becoming a serious threat to democracy. To what extent do you agree?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2💬 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)🔥 Hot
“Social media has changed the way people debate politics. Are the effects mainly positive or negative?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2🆕 MediaTwo-part question
“In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some way. Why is this? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2📸 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“Many young people now trust influencers more than traditional advertising. Is this a positive or negative trend?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2📺 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“News programmes increasingly resemble entertainment. Is this a positive or negative development?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2🎙️ MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“Podcasts have largely replaced traditional radio for many listeners. Is this a positive or negative development?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2🎧 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“Streaming services have changed how musicians earn money. Has this been good or bad for the music industry?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2🎬 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“More people watch films at home via streaming services rather than at the cinema. Is this a positive or negative development?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2📸 MediaTwo-part question
“Magazines and websites devoted to celebrities are everywhere. Why is this so popular, and is it a positive or negative trend?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2📣 MediaDiscuss both views
“Some people say that advertising is extremely successful at persuading us to buy things. Other people think that advertising is so common that we no longer pay attention to it. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 2📰 MediaOpinion (Agree / Disagree)
“In the future, nobody will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything they want online without paying. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 1 · Academic📰 MediaPie chart
“The pie chart shows the main sources adults use to access news in 2022.”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
Task 1 · Academic🎬 MediaTable
“The table shows the number of feature films produced and box office revenue in five countries in 2019.”
Prep ⏱ Attempt
❓ FAQ
About media in IELTS
- How often does media come up in IELTS Writing Task 2?
- It's one of the most-tested themes. Examiners draw on it because it generates strong opinions while remaining accessible to candidates from any background. You can reasonably expect to encounter a media question in practice tests and on the real exam.
- What question types should I expect on media?
- All five Task 2 shapes are fair game: opinion (agree/disagree), discuss both views, problem-solution, two-part, and advantages-and-disadvantages. The same theme can appear in any of these shapes, so practise the same idea across multiple question types rather than memorising essays.
- How specific do my examples need to be?
- Specific enough to be falsifiable. "Many studies show X" is empty; "a 2019 OECD report on X found Y in Z country" is concrete. You don't need a real citation. Examiners reward the specificity of the claim, not the accuracy of the source. Naming a country, a year, or an industry counts.
- Can I use the same vocabulary across all media essays?
- Topic-specific lexis matters. Each of the 13 questions below hides a slightly different angle, and Band 7+ vocabulary depends on naming the precise mechanism: "carbon-intensive industries" beats "polluters", "screen-mediated communication" beats "talking online".