“I can’t think of any examples to write.” “What’s wrong with giving a personal story as an example?” “Is it okay if I just make up an example?” “I use ‘for example’ and ‘for instance’ all the time, are there any other ways of giving examples?”

These are among the most common comments and questions I receive from my students, so today’s post aims to address such concerns and probably more.

How to think of examples

If you look at the assessment rubric for Writing Task 2 you notice that in order to achieve a band 9 in Task Achievement, you must present “a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas.”

Task 2 questions ask you to “include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience” (although the wording may vary, the general requirement stays the same.) “Your own knowledge and experience” here does not mean you should insert events that happened to you personally or your family or friends. Rather, it means facts that you have read about in the media, or that you observe in your surroundings, or that you know from your own education.

In most cases, it is often easier to illustrate a complex issue with examples than to try to explain its nature. That being said, examples must be done properly if they are to be effective.

So the question is: If personal stories are inappropriate, what are the kinds of examples that should be included, and how to think of one?

A quick solution to this problem: create them. While you should never do this in school or college, it is workable in the IELTS exam. The examiners will not check the authenticity of your examples. They rarely care if your example is proven or not, just that you know how to write one.

It is always better to write about a real example, but if you cannot think of one, use one of the suggestions below:

• A government opinion poll/ survey

Governments often ask their citizens for their views on various issues and you can use this to support your opinion. In case you want to back up your idea that it is better to live in rental accommodation than private houses, you might say:

For instance, a recent poll by the US Government found that 65% of middle-income people would prefer to live in rental accommodation rather than invest in private housing. 

• A university study/ research

Universities do research all the time and you can use this to invent a study that supports your main point. Suppose your main point is that exercising on a regular basis can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, you could say:

For example, a recent study by Macquarie University shows that exercising on a regular basis can reduce the risk of chronic diseases by 30%.

• A newspaper article

You can also use newspaper reports to support your main idea. Let’s say you want to illustrate your point that violent content in video games is the main culprit for rising levels of juvenile delinquency.

The BBC News reported in July 2019 that criminal offences committed by adolescents, namely assault, rape and murder, were closely correlated to playing violent video games.

• Personal experience

Again, ‘personal experience’ here does not necessarily suggest stories or events that happened to you personally. However, you can use experience or observations in your own culture or the place you live.

In my country, the government has allocated budgets for the express transit network as well as introduced road tax, encouraging thousands of people to stop commuting by cars.

Notes:

• • Effective examples should not only illustrate your view, but they should also be very specific. You can make an example specific by adding dates, university/ newspaper names, places and statistics. You do not have include all of these details, one or two will suffice.
  • You do not always have to use statistics or data in your examples. In other words, you can replace specific numbers with language. For example, instead of saying “a recent study by Macquarie University shows that exercising on a regular basis can reduce the risk of chronic diseases by 30%”, you might as well say “a recent study by Macquarie University shows that exercising on a regular basis can reduce the risk of chronic diseases significantly.” However, if you prefer having statistics or data, make them believable.

Different ways of presenting examples/ evidence

By now, you should have a better idea of how to think of examples to write. So let’s look at some possible ways to cite evidence or examples.

You might notice below is quite a long list of alternatives, but rest assured that you do not have to use all of these phrases. Chances are you are going to have time to include only 2 or 3 examples in your Task 2 essay, so you can choose a couple of expressions that suit your style and apply them in your practice.

• Such as / Namely

Explanation: You use ‘such as’ and ‘namely’ when examples are short words and phrases rather than full sentences.

Example: Children who experience excessive gaming might be afflicted with health issues, such as obesity and impaired eyesight.

Notes:

• • You do not have to use a comma before ‘such as’ or ‘namely’ if there is only one example that follows. (Ex: Countries such as Sweden have a long record of welcoming refugees from all over the world.) If there is more than one specific example, however, make sure to put a comma before ‘such as’ or ‘namely’. (Ex: The shop sells tropical fruits, such as pineapples, durians and papayas.) Also note that if the ‘such as’ or ‘namely’ phrases are put in the middle of the sentence, you must include a comma after the examples. (Ex: There are now a few low-cost airlines in Vietnam, namely Jetstar and Vietjet, that offer affordable flights.)
  • Do not use ‘like’ as a linking device for giving examples in essay writing. It is an informal connector which should be used in conversations only. Use ‘such as’ or ‘namely’ instead.

• A and B are typical examples of …

Explanation: Sometimes, you can put the examples at the beginning of the sentence and make them a subject as such.

Example: Obesity and impaired eyesight are typical examples of the health issues that might afflict children who experience excessive gaming.

• For example, …/ For instance, …/ To illustrate, …/ As an illustration, … / To give a clear example, …

Explanation: These linking devices are interchangeable. If you find yourself constantly repeating ‘For example’, you can opt for equivalents without changing any grammar of the sentence.

Example: For instance, Cambridge University found in a recent study that about 70% of men and women who paid for an annual gym membership failed to go entirely after just one month.

Note: Make sure to leave a comma after these linking devices. Also, remember that what follows the comma must be a full sentence (subject and verb).

• This is exemplified (illustrated) by the fact that …

Explanation: This is a variation for the previous option, in which you have to change the grammar in some way.

Example: This is exemplified by the fact that about 70% of men and women who paid for an annual gym membership failed to go entirely after just one month, according to a recent study published by Cambridge University.

Note: You can rewrite this sentence without the statistics. As mentioned in section 1, you do not have to always use statistics or data as an illustration. Therefore, an alternative might go like this: This is exemplified by the growing number of men and women who paid for an annual gym membership failed to go entirely after just one month, according to a recent study published by Cambridge University.

• Examples can be seen in …

Explanation: This expression should be followed by a noun phrase, which is then accompanied by a relative clause.

Example: Some people argue that not all children live in a situation where pet keeping is advisable, or even possible. Examples can be seen in less affluent countries, where the expense of maintaining a pet may be exorbitantly high.

• A good illustration of this is …/ A case in point is …

Explanation: This expression is also followed by a noun phrase.

Example: Shoppers tend to equate high prices with high quality. A case in point is electrical goods.

Note: You can also put the example at the beginning, making it the subject of the sentence. You could say, “Electrical goods are a case in point.”

 

References

IELTS Band 9 Grammar Secrets (published by Cambridge IELTS Consultants)

Online Cambridge Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org