to what extent meaning in essay

How to answer a “to what degree/extent” essay question

One of the most popular question types to appear on History assessment tasks is one that starts with the phrase, “To what extent/degree...”.

Despite the fact that it appears so frequently, particularly on exam papers , some teachers and students are not sure how to correctly write a response to it.

Thankfully, "to what degree/extent" questions are relatively easy to understand and to write a sophisticated response to, as long as you know what they are specifically asking you to do.

In this blog post, I will explain what such questions are asking you to do and give you some practical tips on how to write an essay response to a “To what extent/degree” question so that you feel confident in your assessment pieces.

Watch a video explanation:

Watch on YouTube

Understanding the question

First of all, it is crucial to understand the purpose of the word “degree” or “extent” in this kind of question. Regardless of which of the two words are used, they mean exactly the same thing: they are asking you to assign a degree of importance to how influential or important a particular factor is regarding the topic at hand.

A useful way of conceptualising the degree of importance , is to think of a simple scale that you could measure it against:

Most of the time, a "to what degree/extent” question is ultimately asking you to decide a single factor’s importance in comparison to another, potentially equally important factor. In other words, you need to argue which of two things is the most important.

Therefore, you will say that one of the two factors was “ to a greater degree ” important, while the other is “ to a lesser extent ” important.

It is rare that this kind of question will require you to say that only one factor was the only important element in regards to a topic. Any event in history is a complex combination of multiple factors, and it is too simplistic to assign only one factor to any topic.

That is why this kind of question is so popular with essays about historical causation , consequences or significance in History exams. These topics acknowledge that there are multiple factors which contributed to a historical event or idea. 

Example essay questions

Sometimes, the question itself will provide you with the two elements that it wants you to compare. For example:

“To what degree was political ideology more important in Hitler’s rise to power than the economic conditions in Germany in the early 1930s?” 

As you can see in this “to what degree” question, it is asking you to decide whether “political ideology” was “more important” than “the economic conditions in Germany in the early 1930s”. Therefore, in your answer to this question, you need to clearly state which you think was “more important”.

Here is another example: 

“To what extent did the Black Death in 14th century Europe decrease the papacy’s cultural influence in comparison to the political scandals within the curia?” 

Once more, it is easy to identify what you are being asked to decide between: whether “the Black Death in 14th century Europe” or “the political scandals within the curia” was more important in causing the decline of “the papacy’s cultural influence”.

However, sometimes an essay question will only give you one factor, in which case you will need to choose the second factor to compare it against.

For example 

“To what degree was Julius Caesar’s assassination the result of his own hubris?” 

In this example, the question only gives you “his own hubris” as one important element. Therefore, you will need to decide, based upon your own historical knowledge and the sources supplied, something else to compare it against.

It is still important, though, that you still come to a conclusion about which of the two elements was the most important.

How to structure your answer to the question (the hypothesis)

Once you have identified the two elements you are going to compare in your answer, you need to decide which of the two you are going to assign most importance to.

When you write your answer to the essay question (which will become your hypothesis ), you have to ensure that you clearly state which of the two options you have decided is the most important. You can use the following cues to identify the greater and lesser factors:

“[Factor 1] was, to a greater degree , more important in [the Topic] than [Factor 2] because...” 

“[Factor 1] was the main cause of [the Topic] despite the role of [Factor 2] because...” 

“While [Factor 2] did play a role in [the Topic], [Factor 1] was by far the most significant element because...”

As you can see in these example structures, you need to:

• clearly state the two topics you’re comparing
• mention the topic to which they relate
• have a clear decision about which of the two factors are most important to the topic

Also, don't forget to provide clear reasons for your decision after the “because” in your hypothesis.

How to structure your essay

 Once you have decided which of the two factors was the most important and which was the least important, then you can start planning your essay paragraphs .

Since essays typically require you to follow the standard five-paragraph structure ( introduction paragraph , three body paragraphs , and a conclusion paragraph ), you know that you will have three body paragraphs available for arguing your decision.

• In two out of your three body paragraphs, provide two separate reasons for why one factor was the most important  
• In the third of your body paragraphs, talk about the lesser contributing factor  

This helps us to use a simple structure to respond to a “to what degree/extent” essay question:

Here is a visual representation of the structure to help you:

By dividing your three body paragraphs in this way, you devote two-thirds of your essay to the most important of the two factors, and then one-third to the lesser of the two factors.

At the start of each body paragraph, then, you need a clear topic sentence that provides a reason why this factor was important. Ensure that you have two separate reasons to support the factor you’ve chosen as the most important, and one for the lesser of the two factors.

For example: 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 1: 

“[Factor 1] was the most important element in [the Topic] because...” 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 2: 

“Another reason that [Factor 1] was the most important element in [the Topic] is because...” 

Topic sentence for body paragraph 3:  

“To a lesser degree, [Factor 2] was important to [the Topic] because...”

Some rare exceptions

The advice provided above will serve you well in replying to almost all “to what degree/extent” essay questions. However, here are some rare exceptions which you might need to watch out for, along with some quick advice for how to deal with them.

Some questions may ask you to compare three separate factors. On these occasions, the question is probably guiding you to argue that all three factors were of equal importance. Typically, you can assign each factor to a body paragraph and provide one reason why each element was a contributing factor.

Some questions may ask you to only assign a degree of importance to only one factor, without expecting you to provide a second alternative. In short, if this happens, it is probably a poorly written question.

Essay questions that require the analysis and explanation of only one factor should probably be a “how” or “why” question, rather than a “to what degree/extent” question. Firstly, check with your teacher about if they really do only want one factor considered and ask how they intend for you to answer the question.

Additional resources

For additional resources on how to write all the elements in a History essay, please check out the following scaffolding guide , which has examples of full paragraphs to help you out. 

For advice on other kinds of exam questions, read over the exam question advice section .

Write a comment

Kim Brett ( Tuesday, 01 September 2020 23:32 )

As always, you've got your finger on the pulse, Michael. My students at Our Lady's College Annerley really appreciate your posts. Best wishes

History Skills ( Wednesday, 02 September 2020 02:13 )

My absolute pleasure, Kim. So good to hear that your students are finding the information helpful. Please say 'hello' to them for me and tell them I wish them all the best for their upcoming assessment.

Jeffery ( Friday, 18 December 2020 16:41 )

Hello, I am unsure how to formulate a thesis to this question, can you help me. "To what extent were the American colonists justified in revolting against England?"

Mutsawashe (Tuesday 15 June) ( Tuesday, 15 June 2021 15:29 )

please help me answer this question,"how far did the Germans benefit from the social policy ".My answer should start with ,the Germans benefited from the social policy to a lesser extent. So what comes next.

sharon odawa ( Thursday, 02 September 2021 01:12 )

my question is."to what extent does common and equity law a source of kenya"please help

maddison ( Sunday, 07 November 2021 03:06 )

this has literally saved me so much time on my assessments.

Karina Doherty ( Wednesday, 10 November 2021 17:26 )

It is possible to ask a well written 'to what extent' question that does not require a comparison, but only asks students to provide a judgement about a degree of success. There will naturally be a discussion about factors that limited the success or impact of a particular event or policy, but this is not really a comparison. The question could still be a perfectly valid and well-written.

Christina ( Monday, 13 June 2022 02:19 )

Great advice! Would be great if you correct the reference to a hypothesis. The correct word hers is "thesis".

Queenest ( Wednesday, 12 October 2022 17:41 )

Thank God I came across this article. It has been a blessing to me. Thank you so much

Ishmael ogechi ( Wednesday, 28 June 2023 10:59 )

Can an extent be used in questionnaire construction to elicit responds from respondents? Please may I know the firs scholar that used this term or introduced it in research work and when? Thank you.

Joy ( Wednesday, 18 October 2023 08:32 )

Can a ''to what extent'' question be used for the prevalence of the disease in two different parts of the world?

What do you need help with?

Download ready-to-use digital learning resources.

Copyright © History Skills 2014-2024.

Contact  via email

• Have your assignments done by seasoned writers. 24/7
• Contact us:
• +1 (213) 221-0069
• [email protected]

How to Answer “to what Extent” Question in Research & Examples

Answering 'to what Extent” Question

In the real world, deciding which factor is more important than another may seem impossible. However, when answering a question such as “what is ‘to what extent question, they are ultimately asking you to decide a single factor’s importance in comparison to another.

It is a good idea to be upfront about your approach and how you plan to answer it. Read on.  

How to Answer the ‘to what Extent” Question

First, you must determine what “extent” you want to measure. If it’s the extent of your knowledge about something, then you need to know how much you know about it.

If it’s the extent of your experience with something, then you need to know how much time and energy you’ve invested in it .

Second, you must determine what kind of “to what extent” question you’re asking.

If the question is about what extent this has on me (i.e., how does it affect my life), then use an absolute term such as “a lot,” or “much.” 

If the question is about how much this leads me toward some goal (i.e., how do I benefit from this), then use a comparative term such as “more,” or “less.”

To answer a ‘to what extent question, you need to explain what the situation is like. If you can’t do this in your first response, you should think about how to answer the question again before responding with a second response.

If you are unsure how to answer the question, you haven’t thought about how to answer it enough. In this case, try researching the topic and coming up with some ideas for responses that would be relevant to the test context.

Finally, once you’ve determined what kind of question it is and how much each answer will help give it context, answer based on that context!

Tips to Note when Approaching the ”to what Extent” Question

The “to what extent” question is a great place to start because it allows you to discuss the relationship between the two things.

When approaching these question , ensure you understand how each item functions within your overall goal. These are just some general tips:

1. Make Sure you have a good Understanding of what the Question is Asking

The first step in answering this type of question is understanding what you are being asked. The answer will depend on the context and the nature of your response. 

For example, if you are asked ”to what extent the student understands the concept of Pythagoras,” then it is not enough for you to say that he knows about Pythagoras. 

You will need to elaborate on how much he understands this concept. If you have difficulty explaining how much your student understands about Pythagoras, then he may not understand it well enough for your purposes.

Once you have established what question is being asked, think about how best to answer it based on your knowledge of that topic or area of study. 

In most cases, however, there is no right or wrong way to answer such questions; rather, it depends upon whether or not your answer will help clarify the main point made by your instructor or professor.

2. Ask Someone else to Help Interpret the Question if you Need Help Understanding it

To be able to answer this type of question, you need to be clear in your mind about the meaning of the word ‘to what extent. This means that you need to be able to define clearly what you mean by it. You also need to be able to explain how much is enough and too much.

The best way of doing this is by asking someone else who knows better than yourself about these things. If you have a friend or colleague who can help, this can be done by asking them for their advice on how to answer the question.

They may not always agree with your interpretation of what they say, but they will likely give examples that will help show why they think it’s right or wrong.

3 . Be specific

When describing how one item relates to another, be as specific as possible. Avoid using vague statements such as “it’s important” or “it’s essential.” Instead, give examples from your own experience and knowledge.

Use concrete examples to explain your answers. For example, instead of saying, “I’m good at planning,” say, “I helped my boss plan his trip last year.”

If possible, include documents or visual aids showing how you’ve demonstrated your skills.

4. Don’t be Boring

Don’t just say yes or no; make sure your answer is interesting enough to catch the interviewer’s attention. Saying “yes” has its place in an interview.

However, don’t be afraid to add some color with some personal anecdotes about how you’ve demonstrated those skills in the past that may not directly relate to what they’re looking for.

5. Don’t rush Through an Answer

Take your time! Read through each choice carefully before choosing the most relevant and appropriate for your answer. This will save time and improve your chances of answering correctly (if you make errors from rushing through, there may be little time left on the paper). 

Examples of ‘to what extent” Questions

1. To what extent have you been able to learn Chinese?

2. To what extent do you feel that your English skills have improved?

3. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “I don’t enjoy learning languages.”

4. To what extent do Chinese people learn from the Japanese during the war?

5. To what extent is it true that most people do not know how to swim?

6. To what extent should a student be able to speak a foreign language?

7. To what extent should the government try to limit immigration?

9. How much does the price of gasoline affect the average American family’s disposable income?

10. What is your name? -To what extent do you agree/disagree with the statement “I am a good person”?

11. How many times have you been to the cinema? -To what extent do you agree/disagree with the statement “I enjoy going to the cinema”?

12. Which of these books do you like most? -To what extent do you agree/disagree with the statement “I like reading books”?

With over 10 years in academia and academic assistance, Alicia Smart is the epitome of excellence in the writing industry. She is our chief editor and in charge of the writing department at Grade Bees.

Related posts

How To Write A 4000 Words Essay

How to Write a 4000-word Essay: Score A Fast in 1 or 2 Days

zoom random questions

Zoom Exam cheating and Prevention: Is it Proctored on Camera

How to Write a NJHS Essay

NJHS Essay: How to Write a Winning Piece from Ideas to end

Join us at My IELTS Classroom today for our video courses, marking service, 1-2-1 lessons and so much more…

IELTS To What Extent Essay Introductions

Hey! When students prepare for IELTS writing, they often learn “chunks” of language – these are groups of words or certain sentence structures that can be used in any essay. I encourage this. For example, I tell my students to always use an “although” sentence in the conclusion of an Advantages / Disadvantages essay as this is the best way to summarise both sides. In the same way, it can be great to use a cleft sentence when you are writing topic sentences for an IELTS To What Extent Essay, or to use a “while” sentence in the introduction of a Discuss Both Sides essay. Using these “chunks” will help you to write more quickly and be sure that the structure of your essay is correct.

However, whenever you learn a “chunk” of language, you have to be careful to use it in the correct way. What works in a problem / solution essay might not be good in a positive / negative development essay. The key is not just knowing what to write, but WHY you are writing it.

One area where I see many students have a problem is in the introductions to IELTS To What Extent essays. So, in today’s blog, I want to show you the TWO DIFFERENT TYPES of To What Extent questions (yes, that’s a surprise!) and how you can customise your introduction so that it 100% targets the question.

The Problem with IELTS Agree/Disagree Introductions

Let’s start by showing you the problem. I want you to read the following question and the student’s introduction and see if you can identify what they have done wrong (the question is from my 100 IELTS Essay Questions blog ).

International sporting events promote peace between countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?   There are many sporting events each year in which teams from different countries participate. However, while some people think that these events harm the relationship between countries, I agree that they help to promote peace for two reasons.

Can you spot the problem here?

Has the student introduced the general topic of the essay in the first sentence? Yes – they have done a good job here. Have they given an opinion? Yes – they have said that they agree with the statement for two reasons. Again, this is good. So, what is the problem? Well, let’s look at this part of the final sentence:

However, while some people think that these events harm the relationship between countries , I agree that they help to promote peace for two reasons.

First of all, look at the question again – where does it mention “some people”? IT DOES NOT! We have NOT been given an OPINION to agree or disagree with, we have been given a STATEMENT. What does this mean?

Well, firstly, you must not add “some people” into an introduction if they do not exist in the task (clearly this student is trying to recycle their introduction to a Discuss Both Sides essay but it does not work here).

Secondly, look at what the student has said –   “some people think that these events can harm the relationship between countries “.  Really? Can international sports events really “harm” international relationships? Of course they can’t!!! You can argue that they do not promote peace, but you can’t say that they “harm” it – that’s ludicrous. I see this problem all the time. A student is so desperate to use a “while” sentence that they invent an “opposite side” that makes no sense.

The lesson? If you are not given any “people” in an IELTS To What Extent Essay question, do not add them to your introduction (and definitely don’t invent an opposite position for them that makes no sense!)

How to write good  IELTS Agree/Disagree Introductions

So, how should we write good introductions for this type of essay? Well, it will depend on the question. Let’s start by looking at questions like the one above i.e. that give us a STATEMENT to agree or disagree with.

Questions where we are given a STATEMENT / FACT  

50% of IELTS To What Extent questions just give you a sentence or a statement to agree or disagree with. Don’t worry too much about what “statement” means, all you need to know is that these questions do not include the words “some believe”.  Take this question for example:

Employers should give longer holidays to employees to help them do their job more efficiently . To what extent do you agree or disagree? =   STATEMENT 

The underlined part does not start with “Some believe” so we should not invent people who have the opposite view. All we have to do is tell the examiner what WE believe. If you have a question like this in your exam, I recommend you use one of these introductions, depending on your opinion:

Agree: Most people take some time off work each year to travel abroad or spend time with their friends and family.   In fact, I agree  that staff should be given longer holidays as it will motivate them and help them to improve their performance at work.

We cannot use a “while” sentence here as there is no contrast. Instead, we simply say “I agree” and paraphrase the statement . Note that I used “In fact” to join the sentences. I think that these are the only words that you need to transition in this sentence. Here, I have given the two specific reasons why I agree, but you don’t have to do this. If you want to keep things super simple, you can just say:

Most people take some time off work each year to travel abroad or spend time with their friends and family. In fact, I agree  that  giving  staff longer holidays makes them more efficient in the workplace   for two reasons.

OK, so that’s what you should write if you agree, but what happened if you disagree? Well, we simply switch “in fact” for “however”, and “agree” for “disagree” – simple!

Disagree: Most people take some time off work each year to travel abroad or spend time with their friends and family. However, I disagree  that staff should be given longer holidays as it will cost businesses too much money and could actually demotivate the employees.

Again, if you want to, you can save the specific arguments for the body of the essay and just replace it with “for two reasons”. Please NEVER use “due to two reasons” or “because of two reasons” as “due to” and “because of” have the same meaning as “reason”. It sounds strange having both in one sentence!

OK, so now we know how to write introductions for questions that give a statement (and I am assuming that you are going to strongly agree or disagree for reasons that I outline in  this blog post ), but what do we do when there ARE “some people” in a question?

Question where we are given an OPINION to agree or disagree with

I have to admit that this is a relatively new type of question (well, for somebody who has been teaching IELTS for almost 20 years, it feels new!). In the past, nearly all IELTS To What Extent questions gave just a statement, but more and more now give an OPINION. It’s easy to recognise when we are being given an opinion because the task will include the words “Some people believe” or “Some people think”:

Some people think that children should be taught how to manage money at school.  To what extent do you agree or disagree?  = OPINION

Again, we now have two options – to agree or to disagree. Last time, the choice didn’t make a great deal of difference to the language in our introduction, but here it does. Let’s imagine that you agree:

Agree: Being able to handle money effectively is an important life skill.   In fact, I agree with those who believe that financial literacy should be taught in school for two reasons.

Can you see what I did here? I didn’t just say “I agree”, or use the silly phrase “Some people think that financial literacy should be taught in schools and I agree ” (adding “and I agree” to the end of a sentence is the weakest way to present an opinion) ! No, I used the phrase “I agree with those”. If you choose to disagree here, well, you can FINALLY use your friend the “while” sentence as you DO disagree with “some people”!

Disagree: Being able to handle money effectively is an important life skill.   However,  while  some  believe that  financial literacy should be taught in school, I feel that it is better  learned when people are older and already in the workplace.

This is the ONLY variant of the four introductions where we can use ‘while’ as it is the only time that we disagree with a group of people!

IELTS To What Extent Essay Introductions Summary

Ok, there is a lot of information here, but if you think about it carefully, the logic is simple, so let’s re-cap.

• If you are given a statement,  never say “some people” but simply state if you agree or disagree (NO “while” sentences!).
• If you are given an opinion , use the phrase “I agree with those who feel” if you agree, or a “while” sentence if you disagree.

Trust me – if you can remember these simple rules, you are going to make a GREAT first impression. Using the right introduction shows the examiner that you are a student who can use language flexibly (and not one who uses the same introduction for EVERY essay!).

If you found this lesson useful, you are going to LOVE my video writing lessons , which contain clear and simple instructions like this for EVERY aspect of IELTS writing. So don’t delay, come and join us in My IELTS Classroom today and start getting the help you need to achieve IELTS success.

Posts navigation

• All Posts , 
• Writing , 
• Speaking , 
• Listening , 
• Reading , 
• Grammar , 
• General Advice , 

Real experts, real lessons, real success!

If you like my blog, you'll love our IELTS Writing packages

• 45 hours of video lessons with a genuine IELTS expert that prepare you for ANY IELTS question
• Integrated grammar and writing skills lessons to help you reach 7.0+
• Hundreds of downloadable practice activities and model answers

Try our free video lessons today!

Free IELTS Advice?

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive regular tips, tricks and special offers!

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net

Written Nov. 27, 2019

How to Answer, "To What Extent" Questions

1. First, Consider These Points

First, absolutely every word in the Task 2 question wording has IMPORTANCE and cannot be ignored if you want to get a good score for your essay.

Let's look at an example.

Example Question

Every year several languages die out. Some people think that this is not important because life will be easier if there are fewer languages in the world. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? (Cambridge IELTS Book 9, Test 4, Task 2 AC)

You need to classify the types of sentences. First, " Every year several languages die out " is a statement. "Statements" are considered to be the same as "facts", more or less. A "fact" is assumed to be true. Maybe you don't really know what "die out" means in relation to languages. In relation to living species, it means the same as "become extinct". E.g., "Dinosaurs have died out (= are extinct)". Let's assume that a language is similar to a living species and can become extinct. (= people are no longer using that language).

Notice the use of " several ". It is an inexact word , i.e., not very specific.

" Some people think that this is not important " is a statement about the opinion of "some people".

Whenever, "some people" is used, (in an essay question or in life in general), one's attention should be aroused and the question asked, "What people?", "Who?"

"Not important" is quite different language to the use of the word, "several", as mentioned above. "Not" is an exact word, meaning something like "zero" or "none", which are both mathematically exact concepts.

So, the opinion of these people is that the death of several languages every year has ZERO importance! Very few people would agree that the death of anything has zero importance! Therefore, a logical person cannot agree with this opinion. "Cannot" is an exact word, meaning " no agreement whatsoever with those words as they are expressed ".

An important point to understand is that the words " not important " and " not very important " are very different in meaning. " Not important " means " having zero importance ", 0%. " Not very important " is inexact and means something like, "lower than about 60% or 70% in importance".

Furthermore, whenever the word, " important " is used in a question, you should always consider the question, "Important to whom?" Similarly, you need to consider whose lives might be made easier if there were fewer languages. (Is life really made easier for those people whose ancestral language becomes extinct and who have no choice but to use a language that is not their ancestral language?)

2. Answering the Question, " To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? "

The words, "To what extent?" mean the same as, "How much?" In other words, you are asked to estimate how much you agree, from " I do not agree at all " (0% agreement) to " I fully agree " (100% agreement).

The question, " To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? " is a direct question. In the English-speaking cultures, it is both polite and the best form of communication to directly answer a direct question. "Directly answer" means not waiting too long in your essay before answering it, and answering in clear, direct language. This is called an "explicit" answer.

The opposite of that is an "implicit" (= an implied) answer where the reader can quire clearly see by what you wrote how much you agree, but you, the writer, do not actually state your own estimate of how much you agree. If you want to get the best score you can (for the Task Response sub-score), you MUST write an explicit statement of how much you agree. Almost always, this should be stated in the first paragraph, not at the end of the essay.

Obviously, if you think you 75% agree, then you 25% disagree. And if you only 25% agree then you 75% disagree. The question gives you a choice about how to express your degree of agreement but logically you should express it in terms of what you mostly think, agreement or disagreement. So, if you 75% agree, write in terms of how much you agree, but if you 75% disagree, express yourself in terms of how much you disagree.

For this particular example, you are not being asked to state how much you think it is important that languages are dying out, and you are not being asked to state how much you think it is simply ' unimportant " �  You are being asked to state how much you think it is 'unimportant because life will be easier if there are fewer languages in the world.' (Those are the words in this particular question wording.) That is, how much do you agree with both parts of that two-part statement?

If you think it is unimportant but you think it is unimportant for other reasons instead of, "life being easier" then you only "partially agree" with that statement. You should write that in answer to the question, "To what extent . . ?" and explain it in your essay. On the other hand, if you think the fact that languages are dying out is important (the opposite to what the question statement in this particular question says), then you disagree with the statement in the question wording, regardless of why "some people" think it is unimportant (life being easier).

Some example sentences of how to express your extent of agreement or disagreement are shown below.

• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

to what extent

Definition of to what extent

Examples of to what extent in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'to what extent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near to what extent

to what degree

Cite this Entry

“To what extent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to%20what%20extent. Accessed 6 Apr. 2024.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

The tangled history of 'it's' and 'its', more commonly misspelled words, why does english have so many silent letters, your vs. you're: how to use them correctly, every letter is silent, sometimes: a-z list of examples, popular in wordplay, the words of the week - apr. 5, 12 bird names that sound like compliments, 10 scrabble words without any vowels, 12 more bird names that sound like insults (and sometimes are), 8 uncommon words related to love, games & quizzes.

• September 29, 2021

IELTS Writing Task 2: To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In this type of question, you are presented with an opinion and then asked to agree or disagree. Also, the phrase “to what extent” makes this type of question flexible, meaning that you can also have a balanced opinion.

In this article, I’m going to go through an example and write a high-scoring sample. I will walk you through all the steps so that you can develop a well-written essay too. The question is from IELTS past papers.

Here’s the essay question we’re going to work on:

Prevention is better than cure. Researching and treating diseases is too costly, so it would be better to invest in preventive measures. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

You can develop your essay in three ways. Depending on the question, choose the one that you’re most comfortable with. Keep in mind that your argument should be reasonable and examples specific.

Option 1: You completely agree with the opinion.

Medical research and treatment can be very expensive. Therefore, I completely agree that governments and medical organizations should focus on preventive healthcare instead.

Body Paragraph 1:

Explain why you think investing in research and treatment is not a good idea. 

Body paragraph 2: 

Explain why focusing on preventive measures is better. What are the benefits?

Conclusion:

Summarize your points in one complex sentence or two sentences.

Option 2: You completely disagree with the opinion.

It is argued that medical research and treatment are too expensive; therefore, preventive measures should be the focus of governments and medical organizations instead. I completely disagree with this idea and believe that allocating enough funds to the former is vital to save lives.

Explain why you disagree with the idea. What adverse effects might that bring about?

Body paragraph 2:

Explain why you believe enough funds should be allocated to research and treatment. What are the benefits?

Option 3: You take a balanced approach.

It is argued that preventive healthcare should be the main focus of the healthcare system instead of medical research and treatment due to the latter being too expensive. While I agree that preventive measures are necessary to stop diseases from spreading and lower healthcare expenditure, I also believe that allocating financial resources to research and treatment should continue despite their high costs. 

For this question, I’ve chosen option 3 because it makes the most sense to me. However, you can go with the other options. No problem!

Step 1: As always, you should start with spending 2 minutes reading and understanding the question . Once you have fully understood what the question asks of you, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Now, it’s time for you to plan your whole essay. If you do this part properly, you will save time and produce a better and cohesive essay. This step should take about 8 minutes .

Here’s my plan:

Note: You may not understand some parts of my plan until you’ve read my full essay. That’s because my planning is my thinking process written fast using signs. It’s just to remind me what to write in my essay. I have included it just to show you how you can plan. You can also make yours even shorter by using more signs of your own.

Introduction: Paraphrase the question + your thesis statement

Paraphrase: It is argued that……main focus…. due to…. too expensive

Thesis statement: While I agree that….necessary, I also believe that ….. continue despite…

Body paragraph 1: Why I believe preventive measures are necessary.

Main idea: Taking precautions reduces the spending on healthcare by keeping people’s wellness under control and preventing diseases before they occur.

Support 1: 

Example: vaccines create antibodies in healthy people→ no severe cases→hospital admissions decrease→costs go down

Support 2: 

Other measures: exercising and keeping weight in check→ lower the chance of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, which… lifetime + expensive medications

… is definitely effective in lowering costs…

Body paragraph 2: Why I believe the funding for research and treatment should continue despite the high costs.

Main idea: Effective preventive measures wouldn’t exist without proper research. + treatment addresses a specific disease or problem that prevention can’t completely eliminate.

Support 1 : Highly effective vaccines are developed after intense research on the virus or the bacteria.

Example: Pfizer, a private biopharmaceutical company, spend millions of dollars and several months on developing the most effective Covid-19 vaccines→no research funds, no vaccines.

Support 2 : Preventive measures cannot address hereditary diseases like type 1 diabetes. No amount of exercise can keep people ….. The only way … right medicines, which can be expensive. → Treatment … expensive but vital.

Conclusion : Prevention is an effective way to keep people healthy and the costs down; however, research and treatment not only… necessary… but also irreplaceable.

Step 3: Write your full essay. This step should take about 25 minutes .

Here’s my full essay:

On the one hand, taking precautions will reduce the spending on healthcare by keeping people’s wellness under control and preventing diseases before they occur. For instance, vaccines, one of the most used such measures, trigger the production of disease-fighting antibodies by the immune system and result in lower severe cases of illnesses and hospitalization, thus reducing the spending on healthcare. Other preventive methods also effectively lower the chance of chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes, which are usually caused by a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Simply put, if people exercise regularly and keep their weight in check, they will have much fewer health issues and consequently lower the expenditure on healthcare. Therefore, I believe that prevention brings nothing but benefits to people and the healthcare system.

On the other hand, some effective preventive measures wouldn’t exist without proper research. In addition, treatment sometimes addresses specific diseases or problems that prevention can’t eliminate. For example, a highly effective vaccine such as that of Pfizer, which was developed for Covid-19, takes a lot of research and millions of dollars worth of production equipment to be developed and finally available for public use. Furthermore, preventive healthcare cannot address hereditary diseases like type-1 diabetes. Such illnesses can only be treated with expensive medications. Therefore, I firmly believe that it is worth funding research and treatment projects.

In conclusion, prevention is an effective way of keeping people healthy and the costs down; however, research and treatment are not only needed to develop effective preventive measures but also vital for some people.

(314 words)

Step 4: Spend about 5 minutes to read your work and correct your mistakes.

Here’s the summary:

• Spend 2 minutes to understand the task completely.
• Spend 8 minutes planning your essay.
• Spend 25 minutes writing your essay.
• Spend 5 minutes to read your work and correct your mistakes.

More on IELTS writing task 2

Follow us on  YouTube  for more tips and resources.

Recent Posts

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample: Financial aid from developed countries to poor nations

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample: Animals Living in Zoos

IELTS Academic Writing Pie Chart Sample: Electricity Generated in Germany and France in 2009

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample: The Most Important Factor When Choosing A Job

Esl fluency on youtube.

ESL Fluency on Facebook

ESL Fluency on Instagram

Share this post with your friends

Free IELTS lessons signup

• Academic practice
• General practice
• Task 1 Academic
• Task 1 General
• Task 2 (essay)

To what extent you agree or disagree essay

This lesson will guide you how to write essays in IELTS Writing that ask you to what extent you agree/disagree . Such questions are very common for IELTS Writing task 2 . In such essays your task is to say whether you:

• completely agree with a given statement 
• completely disagree with a given statement 
• partly agree / disagree

and  justify your opinion .

In this lesson you will see IELTS writing task 2 sample question + model answer . Also, you will learn the following points:

• how to decide on your opinion
• how to generate ideas to justify your opinion
• how to give a band 9 answer for agree/disagree question

To what extent you agree/disagree question sample

Let’s look at an example of IELTS writing task 2:

The government's investment in arts, music and theatre is a waste of money. Governments should invest these funds in public services instead.

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Choose your opinion & generate ideas

Unlike classic agree/disagree questions, to what extent you agree or disagree questions do NOT ask you to clearly determine whether you agree or disagree with the given statement.

In fact, you have 3 major options for your opinion :

   AA : You completely agree (provide 2 ideas that strengthen the statement)    DD : You completely disagree (provide 2 ideas that weaken the statement)    AD : You agree or disagree partly (provide 1 idea that strengthens the statement and 1 idea that weakens it)

After you’ve decided your opinion,  generate 2-3 supporting points for it .

Now let’s generate supporting points for each of the opinions:

AA: Investment in arts, music and theatre is a waste of money

• Art, music and theatre don’t help to solve urgent problems of the society
• Art and music can develop as hobbies, and saved money can be directed towards urgent needs of the society
• If artists and musicians were employed at more traditional jobs, there would be a great benefit for science and industry

DD: Investment in arts, music and theatre is NOT a waste of money

• The arts and music preserve unique culture and heritage, passing nation’s cultural character and traditions to future generations
• Arts, music and theatre are an integral part of the society’s cultural and intellectual development and amusement
• A strong arts, music and theatre sector is an economic asset that creates new jobs and attracts tourism revenue

For this opinion, just combine ideas from the previous points.

For our essay, we’ll choose the last opinion - partially agree / disagree (AD).

Band 9 answer structure

There are a lot of ways to structure your essay, but we’ll use a structure that has been approved by many IELTS examiners to be high-scoring and coherent. Band-9 essay structure :

• Introduction

Body paragraph 1 - the 1st supporting point

• Body paragraph 2 - the 2nd supporting point

As you already know, you can write the supporting points of your body paragraphs in the following ways: agree + agree, disagree + disagree, agree + disagree. We’ll use the last option as our opinion is partially agree / disagree .

Let’s take a look at each of these sections in detail.

• Sentence 1 - paraphrase the statement  (you can use ‘ it is argued/considered/thought that ’ to start):

It is often argued that the government should finance public services instead of spending its budget on arts, music and theatre. 

• Sentence 2 - give your opinion :

Although I agree that government’s investments in public services play a very important role, I think that proper funding of arts sector is also crucial for the society.

• Sentence 1 - state the first reason you agree/disagree .

This sentence should contain the main idea of the whole 1st paragraph. In our case we’ll use the reason A: why it is important to finance public services. As we’ll be considering opposite opinions, it is a good idea to use a collocation on the one hand to introduce the first reason:

On the one hand, the government should definitely allocate a large part of its budget on public services.

• Sentences 2-3 - explain the reason .

To explain the reason effectively, you can imagine that your examiner didn’t understand what you were talking about and you have to explain every detail:

This economic sector determines the overall quality of life, ensuring that some basic services, like schools, hospitals and roads, are available to all citizens irrespective of their income or social status. Public services satisfy the primary needs of the society and thus need a proper funding, while artists and musicians are not curing diseases or building houses, so their role is secondary.

• Sentence 4 - example .

It’s always good to give examples in your body paragraphs, even if you’re not asked to do it (like in our case):

For example, any country can live without music concerts, but absence of medicine will create significant problems.

• Sentence 5 - a short summary of your ideas in this paragraph :

That’s why the government should adequately finance public services in the first place.

Body paragraph 2 - the 2nd reason you agree/disagree

• Sentence 1 - state the second reason you agree/disagree .

This statement should contain the main idea of the whole 2nd paragraph. This time we’ll use the reason D: why it is important to finance public services. As we are considering opposite opinions, it is a good idea to use a phrase on the other hand to introduce the second reason:

On the other hand, arts, music and theatre are not a waste of money, since they are an integral part of the society’s cultural and intellectual development and amusement.

• Sentences 2-3 - explain the reason  (assume that your examiner doesn’t understand the topic at all):

Firstly, art and music draw people’s attention to diverse phenomena and represent the inward significance of things. Quite often a single drawing, piece or song can exhort myriads of people to reconsider their attitude towards some situation. This way, art serves as a major source of nation’s personal and intellectual development. Moreover, visiting museums, watching movies and listening to music are common ways of relaxation and entertainment.

• Sentence 4 - support your idea with an example :

The question doesn’t ask us to give examples, plus we’ve already written a lot in this paragraph, so we’ll skip this point. 

• Sentence 5 - a short summary of your thoughts in the 2nd paragraph .

Thus, art sector is also important for the society and should not be neglected.

You can write the conclusion in  one sentence that summarizes your opinion + 2 reasons for it :

To conclude, though I agree that the government should allocate a large part of its budget on such urgent needs of the society like public services, I think that arts, music and theatre should also be financed since they play an important role in people’s development and entertainment.

DO NOT write new ideas in the conclusion!

Model answer

This is a full band-9 answer for to what extent you agree or disagree IELTS Writing question above:

It is often argued that the government should finance public services instead of spending its budget on arts, music and theatre. Although I agree that government’s investments in public services play a very important role, I think that proper funding of arts sector is also crucial for the society.

On the one hand, the government should definitely allocate a large part of its budget on public services. This economic sector determines the overall quality of life, ensuring that some basic services, like schools, hospitals and roads, are available to all citizens irrespective of their income or social status. Public services satisfy the primary needs of the society and thus need a proper funding, while artists and musicians are not curing diseases or building houses, so their role is secondary. For example, any country can live without music concerts, but absence of medicine will create significant problems. That’s why the government should adequately finance public services in the first place.

On the other hand, arts, music and theatre are not a waste of money, since they are an integral part of the society’s cultural and intellectual development and amusement. Firstly, art and music draw people’s attention to diverse phenomena and represent the inward significance of things. Quite often a single drawing, piece or song can exhort myriads of people to reconsider their attitude towards some situation. This way, art serves as a major source of nation’s personal and intellectual development. Moreover, visiting museums, watching movies and listening to music are common ways of relaxation and entertainment. Thus, art sector is also important for the society and should not be neglected.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

IELTS with Fiona

IELTS preparation made easier

Full Members Academy Log in

How to answer ‘to what extent do you agree or disagree?’ questions.

By ieltsetc on March 31, 2020

All IELTS Task 2 Writing essays are opinion essays, so here's how to give your opinion in 'to what extent do you agree or disagree?' essays.

Thank you for your interest in my IELTS lessons and tips.

Come and join the Bronze Membership to access this fabulous lesson and lots more.

For just $9, you'll get access to 165+ IELTS lessons for a month (cancel any time).

Learn more Login

Reader Interactions

February 20, 2023 at 7:27 pm

It’s not always possible to avoid repetition. See my post about this Listening where ‘staff’ is mentioned 34 times! https://app.getbeamer.com/ieltswithfiona/en/new-podcast-hotel-staff-turnover-and-retention

December 23, 2022 at 4:23 pm

Writing “having said that” isn’t informal if one is aiming for a high band score.

January 2, 2023 at 11:29 am

Hi Sudeep. Are you asking if “Having said that” is too informal for academic writing? No, it isn’t too informal for academic writing. Best wishes Fiona

December 7, 2022 at 1:33 pm

Thank you for such an incredible resource. Just a quick query, about how long should the first/introduction paragraph be?

Kind Regards

January 13, 2023 at 10:48 am

About 50 – 80 words, given the word limit for IELTS Task 2,

Best wishes Fiona

August 31, 2022 at 1:56 am

Can you recommend more sources of good model answers?

August 31, 2022 at 12:27 pm

To be honest, I don’t recommend most of the model answers that I see online apart from a few obvious ones like TED-IELTS and IELTS Liz.

There are about 100 model essays in my Members Academy, as we write one every week as part of the programme.

August 29, 2022 at 1:31 pm

In this article, are sample answers you have given good enough to learn from them?

August 31, 2022 at 12:31 pm

Sorry I don’t quite understand the question. I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to post sample answers that are not good for students to learn from.

October 2, 2021 at 6:53 am

Thank you very much for your in-depth article on IELTS writing. Please keep up your best works.

October 2, 2021 at 4:55 pm

You’re very welcome Rajib.

November 25, 2020 at 2:30 pm

Thanks a lot, your video clear to my doubt and once more thank you for the best explanation.

November 27, 2020 at 9:39 am

You’re very welcome Mohammed! Best wishes Fiona

October 17, 2020 at 1:14 am

Hello Fiona, While writing discuss both views type essays,in the second paragraph when we want to discuss one particular view,is it ok to say the supporters or proponents feel that….Then next sentence as This is because…

October 20, 2020 at 9:13 am

Hi Jincy. Yes definitely. That follows the ‘PEEL’ structure (Point – Explanation/Example – Link), so you made your point [Proponents argue that….] and your explanation [This is because…] and then you can link it back to the question in some way [Therefore…] or give your own opinion which links back to the question. Thanks for your comment, Best wishes, Fiona.

October 10, 2020 at 11:23 am

Hi Fiona, I have a couple of doubts here.

1. When they say “To what extent” should the structure be that we agree throughout the essay or we can disagree in the 3rd paragraph and conclude saying we agree?

2. When we say agree or disagree? can we just agree throughout?

October 12, 2020 at 1:09 pm

Hi Dhiraj and thank you for your question. 1. Yes, this is a perfectly acceptable way of structuring your answer (the 3rd paragraph can show the opposite opinion, but say why you think it’s wrong and then go back to your original argument in the conclusion). 2. Yes, you can adopt a one-sided opinion answer – you can say you totally agree and give 3 clear points why you agree. You might want to put some balancing arguments (e.g. in Paragraph 3, as we discussed above) but you don’t have to. The question does not ask for both sides of the argument. I hope that helps, Best wishes, Fiona.

January 6, 2021 at 5:35 am

Hi Fiona i Just came across your site and it cleared my doubts regarding “at what extent” type essays but i still have one doubt.

* In essay type ” do you agree or disagree” what should be the structure?

Kindly please help my IELTS test is on 20 January 2021.

January 10, 2021 at 11:36 am

Hi Sagar. Many thanks for your comment. The structure depends on how you choose to answer. If you totally agree, then you write a 4/5 paragraph essay on why you agree (as above). The same if you disagree. If you can see both sides, write a paragraph on each. Don’t worry so much about structure. Focus more on making your arguments clear, logical and persuasive, with relevant points and strong examples/illustrations to support your points. The structure is simply a 4 or 5 paragraph essay to organise your arguments and there is not just one correct way to do this. There are several ways. Check out more examples about structures here and find a different type of structure that still works well here. Good luck in your test!

August 6, 2020 at 11:12 am

Hi Fiona , this was extremely useful . Thank u so much for clearing the confusion regarding the types of essays. Just one query, is it okay to keep repeating the word ‘school uniforms’ throughout the essay? Kind Regards.

August 6, 2020 at 5:12 pm

Hi Aisha. You’re right – ‘school uniforms’ is repeated too much! It’s quite hard to find exact synonyms for ‘school uniforms’. I played around with it a bit and put ‘wearing the same clothes’ and ‘school outfits’. It doesn’t sound quite right, but possibly better for IELTS! Many thanks for your comment. All the best Fiona

How to Answer To What Extent Questions

When you have an essay-based examination or a history assessment task that you need to pass with flying colors, knowing how to answer to what extent questions is an important factor in getting good grades and covering the topic. “To what degree” questions puzzle us all, but I recommend starting with the definition. It’s easy to get severe anxiety before the day of the test and just scribble down all that you know on the topic without ever looking back or thinking twice. What I suggest is understanding the nature of to what extent questions and coming up with a to what extent answer that will make your teacher happy.

What does to what extent mean? To what extent is a common question for an important exam that allows you to demonstrate your analytical skills and knowledge of a certain topic. It also encourages you to structure information into paragraphs to make sure you evaluate the extent of a specific event correctly. You should also remember that to what degree questions are often used interchangeably with to what extent questions. When it comes to historical essays, it usually means you need to attribute a higher or lesser level of importance to a particular event. On the scale of importance, there are high, equal, and low levels of importance. In my experience, history essays often provide you with two meaningful historical dates or events, asking you to assign a higher degree of importance to one or the other. You will be required to evaluate the extent to which these historical occasions affect the world and name a few factors contributing to this impact.

To What Extent Questions: Essay Examples

If you know how to answer a to what extent question, you can provide your teacher with a written analysis of ancient or modern history and impress the classroom with your knowledge. I would like you to look at the question that features two comparative elements in one sentence:

To what extent were Nero’s personal ambitions more important than his relationship with the Roman Senate in 54 AD?

Here, the students are required to analyze each element (Nero’s personal life and Nero’s social life) to determine which of the two held more weight during his political career. After you compare these elements, you can write a comprehensive answer and assume which of the aspects was more important.

Below is one of the to what extent examples that features a single element of comparison:

To what extent was the collapse of Ancient Greece the result of the nation’s own actions?

In this example, we only have one factor to base our answer on. Since there are no supporting elements you can use for a detailed comparison, you have to possess enough background knowledge to compare the Greek nation against other aspects that caused the possible decline. You also have to know how to answer to what extent questions using available source materials.

To What Extent Questions: Structuring an Answer

How do you answer a to what extent question once you have determined the two elements you need to compare? I have created a formula that will help you deliver a more informative answer during your exam. Think of your answer as your main hypothesis. What should you do with a hypothesis once you are faced with two factors that need to be compared based on your essay requirements? Your hypothesis should feature a clear answer indicating which of the two elements has more significance. For example, you have a question asking you to evaluate the extent to which the rise of Christianity was attributed to the promise of salvation or the missionary activity among the believers.

The following phrases will help you figure out which of the two elements has greater importance:

• The promise of salvation was, to a greater degree, more significant for the rise of Christianity than the missionary activity.
• We can name the promise of eternal life and salvation as the primary cause for the rise of Christianity despite the role of missionary activity.
• While the activities of separate missionaries did play a part in spreading Christianity, the promise of salvation was the most important aspect of this religion’s flourishing.

You will notice that these examples give you the necessary clues on how to answer to what extent question. They feature two subjects that you are comparing (you can refer to them as Factor 1 and Factor 2), the topic that unites these two factors, and your argument on why you think one of the two factors is more important.What does to what extent mean in an essay? To deliver an in-depth reply, it is essential to provide an explanation that is backed by detailed source evidence and material. This will help you round out your argument and make it more convincing. As a result, your hypothesis will provide significant historical evidence to support your claims that the spiritual aspect of Christianity was more important than the missionary activities. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses that your hypothesis carries and make sure the teacher reading your essay understands which of the two elements is more important.

To What Degree Essay: Introduction and Paragraphs

Now that we finally decided which of the two factors, Factor 1 or Factor 2, is more significant to our hypothesis, it’s time to structure our to what extent essay example and present it to the classroom. Normally, the teachers would assign a five-paragraph structure to help you evaluate to the extent meaning of the question and deliver a more thorough response. Here is how the standard essay goes:

• Introduction Paragraph : Here, you briefly describe two elements and your topic, explaining why you think one of the elements is more important than the other.
• Three Body Paragraphs : You have to dedicate two paragraphs to the element you think is the most important, with two paragraphs providing separate reasons why the chosen element has more impact. The third paragraph should describe a less significant element, where you give a rational explanation of why you think it matters less than your primary factor.
• Concluding Paragraph : Your conclusion should have a short summary of arguments in favor of each side, with the final sentence suggesting your initial assumption is true and that your primary factor is more important than the one with the least contribution.

Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that features an argument. It will convince the readers the element you chose as a primary one is more important than the second element. For example:

• Factor 1 is the most significant element because
• Another reason Factor 1 is more important is because
• Factor 2 has a lesser impact because

If your essay follows the same structure, you will see that two-thirds of your paper is written in favor of a more significant element to strengthen your argument. The reason a long essay question is so important for crafting a compelling text is that it tests your ability to provide convincing historical evidence.

If you ever feel like you need assistance with “to what extent” papers and long essay questions, you can always check best paper writing service reviews and find someone to write a hypothesis for you. A reliable writing service is your key to success in creating a paper that stands out because of its quality and adherence to the rules. To what extent essays can be a serious challenge for someone who aspires to get the best grades, so hiring a credible expert to perform the task is the best decision you can make.

Tips on How to Answer To What Extent Questions

Every time you ask yourself, “What is an essay question?” or “How can I do my “to what extent” assignment?” use the tips below for a more effective argument. It is not uncommon to be given three factors you need to assign importance to, in which case you dedicate a separate paragraph to each factor.

If there is only one factor that you need to consider in your essay, with no alternatives or second elements provided, it probably indicates a poorly written question or the fact that you need to do your own research. Here is what you need to know before you start reading about essay type questions examples and to what extent questions:

Make sure you understand the question . It may sound obvious, but you have no idea how complicated a LEQ example can be. Let’s take one of the most popular to what extent questions concerning ancient philosophy:

To what extent was Pythagoras more a philosopher with unusual beliefs than a mathematician?

It is not enough for a student to know who Pythagoras is or when he was born. These are basic facts someone like me, who is not a historian, can google in less than a minute. You have to analyze two elements laid out in front of you and decide which one holds more significance, given the historical figure of Pythagoras, his achievements, beliefs, and philosophical genius. If you don't have credible source material and don’t understand the question, you won’t be able to assign importance to one of the factors because you will have no idea where to start.

Provide an argument to support your statement . Even if you managed to attribute more significance to one of the elements, the work doesn’t end there. You have to support your claim with factual statements - the more accurate, the better. You know that Pythagoras was interested in mysticism, and his Pythagorean Theorem was not the only accomplishment he could be proud of? Use these facts in favor of one of the elements. Know some tales about his life and deeds that present a less popular opinion? Include that in your “to what extent” answer and see how quickly you can make an impression with your argument.

Acknowledge the less significant factor . We all love to emphasize the points we think are important and be skeptical about other views, which is the best main topic for his response essay or any critical paper assigned to us in college. We identify the arguments made by the other side and provide our own opinion. The same happens when we completely ignore the less significant element in favor of a more important one. It is true you have to decide which one has more impact and provide enough reasoning for this element. Still, you need to acknowledge the less important factor’s existence. It will show that you are a true scholar who views both sides of the argument before making assumptions.

Once you identified the two factors you need to compare in a to what extent question, you have to assign more importance to one of the factors and provide arguments on why your opinion is valid. Your essay structure should reflect your point, with two-thirds of the essay dedicated to a more important element and one-third of the essay providing the details on a less significant element. Sometimes, you will be asked to prove the validity of three equally important points or answer a “to what degree” question with only one factor to consider. In this case, you are expected to use reliable source material for your answer and conduct individual research.

The purpose of a “to what extent” question is to make you look at both sides of the argument and choose the most important factor that contributed to a certain historical event or occasion.

You have to choose one element as a more contributing one to build a convincing argument around it and show your audience you are familiar with the source material.

You always have to support your claims with facts and make sure you understand the topic. Unlike personal essays, “to what extent” papers require you to prove your point with factual evidence.

You can break down the question into several parts. Start with a more important factor and write arguments in its favor. Once you’ve finished explaining its importance, describe a less significant element and its impact.

“To what extent” questions help us view the subject from multiple perspectives and develop our argumentative skills as we evaluate evidence, examine different elements of the question, and organize our ideas.

Related articles

Handbook of an Academic Writer

How Online Library Works?

Must Read. Good Books that Increase Intelligence

How to Answer “To What Extent Essay” Question

Jan 26, 2022

Jan 26, 2022 | Blog

Introduction

Essay-based examinations are one of the most devastating exams students have to face.

These exams are devastating and intimidating because you have to understand all the facts and information about an essay.

Want to read a First-class “to what extent essay…” paper? Here at EssayFreelanceWriters.Com, our specialty is writing exceptional essays to use as inspiration and learning for your own argumentative essay writing and coursework writing.

Unsure where to start with how to answer to what extent essay? Please send us your essay title , and let our academics guide you to success.

The most common extent questions that we will tackle include;

• “To what extent..”
• “How does the writer….”
• “Compare and contrast….”
• “For and against….”
• Close reference

How to answer “To what extent Essay” Question

Popular question types that appear on exams is one that starts with the phrase, “To what extent/degree.” Although it appears frequently and especially in exam papers, some teachers or students may not know how to write a sophisticated response.

Thankfully these common questions are simple as long as you know specifically what they’re asking for.

Being asked to write an essay response for a “To what extent’ question” can be daunting, but don’t worry! I’m here to help.

This blog post will explain how you should answer this inquiry type and provide tips on writing your assessment pieces to be concise and confident.

Understanding the “To What Extent Questions”

To start, it is important to understand the meaning of ‘degrees’ or ‘extent’ in this type of question.

Regardless if one word is used over another, they both mean the same thing: they ask you to assign a degree on how influential or important a particular factor is regarding that topic at hand.

There are many ways to measure the importance of something, but a simple scale can be helpful.

The most important question you will be asked in the essay test is to what degree/extent. It would help if you argued which of two things was more important and why it should win over its competitor.

So, you will argue that one of the two factors was “to a greater degree” important while the other is “to a lesser extent.”

Many factors can come into play when it comes to who or what is the most important.

There may be a time when only one factor was necessary for someone’s success, but this would not often happen as there are always other contributing elements at hand.

In a nutshell, an essay question that asks, “to what extent…” is generally prompting you to explain how much you agree with the idea being posed.

It is not – as is sometimes thought by students – asking whether you outright agree or disagree with the idea.

With these types of questions, if you choose not to agree with the idea being posed, you might end up with a very short essay, or worse, with a failing grade.

So, if the answer to a “to what extent…” essay question is nearly always “yes, I agree,” you might wonder what the point of the essay is. The key here is in understanding the essay questions.

To What Extent Essay Writing

This is one of the most asked essay questions when it comes to exams.

You will see these questions appearing in different papers many times because the examiner wants them to exhibit their diverse skills in the subject.

The examiner wants to see how well you understand the subject that is being talked about.

How well you can explain your knowledge concerning the subject is also examined in the question.

This kind of question will also help students display their judgments concerning specific information they have captured from the subject matter.

There are many difficulties when it comes to write-ups that ask ‘Agree or Disagree.’ The IELTS writing popularizes this type of writing–the most famous test people take to prove their English language expertise.

With this article, we will guide you on which structure might work best for your essay writing and how you can generate ideas and support them with evidence within a sentence.

Before all that, though, check out some questions one could expect during an International Language Testing System (IELTS).

‘To What Extent Questions Examples

IELTS exams are challenging and can feel impossible. There’s a lot of waiting around, but don’t worry! The writing will help you get through the test with ease. They’ll give you an idea of what to expect in your exam as well so that it won’t be completely foreign when taking them out into real-life situations such as job interviews or meetings at work–or even just regular conversations with friends about current events.

• Young people make the best leaders of today’s tech-driven organizations. How much do you concur or disapprove?
• Public libraries have been a waste of resources since computer technology evolved. Discuss.
• Age group is a key determinant of purchasing decisions. Do you concede or dissent? To what degree?

What to include in your Custom “To What Great Extent ” or “To Very small Extent” Essay.

When it comes to answering the to what extent question, there are two things that you need to include.

1) You need to ensure that you have detailed source evidence and extra material to support your argument.

When you have evidence concerning what you are talking about, you will earn marks because you know what you are talking about concerning the subject.

Having the evidence will also help you to support your argument and judgments.

2) You should be able to link to wider issues, topics, or arguments that support your point of view.

Your ability to produce other factors that affect your point of view will widen the importance of your argument.

These two elements are very important when answering “to what extent questions” in an essay.

It is important to remember that in answering this type of essay question, ensure you stick to the general structure and change only those places that require changes.

Being able to analyze your evidence is also very important.

When it comes to analyzing your evidence, get some questions that can help you out.

For example, get to answer the potential weaknesses that the evidence has.

How to structure your custom to what extent essay

When you consider essay writers, we will help you develop a series of custom essay formats.

The importance of these custom essay formats is to help you to answer essay-based questions correctly briefly. When you consider us, you will excel in your examinations because we offer a step-to-step solution to the questions. You will learn and get more information concerning

When it comes to answering to what extent kind of question, a custom essay should look as follows.

It is important to ensure that your introduction is brief and as clear as possible, and you understand the requirements of the question.

Here you are expected to give a brief answer to the question given.

To what extent question, you need to ensure you agree with the statement of the example essay question to a certain extent.

Consider taking into account other aspects that influence the essay topic .

Body Paragraph 1 and 2

To prove the assumption stated is true in a question, you are expected to provide detailed evidence.

This is what paragraphs one and two are all about.

You are also supposed to explain why the question is true based on the evidence that you have.

You are also expected to answer the question as a whole.

Incorporating detailed evidence will always demonstrate how much you know of the subject matter and will help to support the angle and strength of your argument.

Linking sentence

The linking sentence part is where you run through the main points you explained in paragraphs 1 and 2.

It is also important to know that this kind of question cannot completely be true because you will explain other aspects that play a part in the subject.

Paragraphs 3 and 4

This part of the essay will explain the extent to which the question is not true.

You can do this in two ways.

• You can do this by showing the weaknesses in the question.
• You can also do this by giving alternatives.

To answer to what degree questions essay, you must end your essay through a concluding summary.

Any ‘To what extent’ custom essay must end with a conclusion that answers the question. Recap the points that suggest it was true and the points against, and then conclude whether you agree the statement is true ‘To a certain extent, ‘To a great extent, or ‘To a very small extent.

The concluding summary will answer the overall question. You can do the concluding summary in the following way. Highlight points that claim the question to be true. Highlight the points that claim the question to be untrue.

After you have done this, do a conclusion based on your judgment on whether you agree with the statement to be true and to which extent.

You can either agree with the statement to a great extent, a small extent, or to a certain extent.

It is also important to ensure you conclude with a summary of both sides’ arguments and explain why you choose one side over the other.

Once you are done doing this, it is important to consider going through the formatting guidelines to ensure your work is clean and required.

It is essential to proofread your work so that it can be free from errors and omissions.

Get help with your To what Extent Essay Questions

You can consider getting a proofreader who can help you out because you may miss out on some errors and omissions when you proofread your work.

When you have written your essay correctly, you will be assured of getting the best grades.

With a passion for helping students navigate their educational journey, I strive to create informative and relatable blog content. Whether it’s tackling exam stress, offering career guidance, or sharing effective study techniques

People Also Read

• To What Extent Essay: Structure Recommendations
• How to answer ‘To what extent….’Essay Question
• Exploring the Connection between Essay Titles and Essay Success

Most Popular Articles

Racism thesis statement example, how to rephrase a thesis statement, capstone project topic suggestions, how to write an abortion essay, should students wear school uniforms essay, list causal essay topics write, respect essay, signal words, great synonyms, informative speech examples, essay writing guide, introduction paragraph for an essay, argumentative essay writing, essay outline templates, write an autobiographical essay, personal narrative essay ideas, descriptive essay writing, how to write a reflective-essay, how to write a lab report abstract, how to write a grant proposal, point of view in an essay, debate topics for youth at church, theatre research paper topics, privacy overview.

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Grammar Coach ™
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips
• to what extent

to how great a degree; how much, how far, how well, etc.: To what extent were you acquainted with the deceased? These tests will help determine to what extent his memory has deteriorated.

Origin of to what extent

Words nearby to what extent.

• tower of silence
• tower of strength
• tower wagon
• to whom it may concern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of to what extent? in English

To what extent, translations of to what extent.

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

your bread and butter

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

a job or activity that provides you with the money you need to live

Shoots, blooms and blossom: talking about plants

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• English    Phrase
• Translations
• All translations

Add to what extent? to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.