Taking a position · when you don't have an opinion

You read the prompt. You read it again. You don't actually have an opinion. Or worse — you can see both sides, and committing to one feels dishonest. Your pen hovers. Or in Speaking Part 3, your mouth opens and out comes "well, it depends…" while the examiner writes nothing down.

This is the single most common reason mid-Band-6 students plateau. Not grammar. Not vocabulary. Fence-sitting. Both Writing Task 2 and Speaking Part 3 grade the strength of your argument — and "I can see both sides" gives the examiner nothing to mark. This guide is the playbook for taking a position, fast, even when the topic doesn't grip you.

Why fence-sitting kills your band

The IELTS scoring rubric for Writing Task 2 lists "presents a clear position throughout the response" as the Band 7 floor for Task Response. Speaking Part 3 has the same logic under Fluency and Coherence — examiners look for a stance, then development, then an example. None of that is possible if you don't land on a side.

The 15-second decision rule

Don't ask yourself "what do I genuinely think?" — that's a philosophy question and it's not what the test is grading. Instead ask:

1. Which side has the easier examples to come up with? If you can name two specific examples for one side in 15 seconds, that's your side.
2. Which side has the stronger reasons in your head right now? Pick the one with two reasons, not one.
3. Commit. Don't revisit. Once you pick, every sentence supports that side. The opposite view gets exactly one concession sentence, no more.

The four frames that always work

When you have nothing else, drop into one of these four frames. They work for any opinion question, in any IELTS section, in any topic area. Memorise the shape — the content fills itself in once the shape is locked.

1. Concession-led: "Yes, primarily because… though I acknowledge X"

Strongest default. Take a clear side, lead with your strongest reason, concede ONE point to the opposing view at the very end. The concession makes you sound considered without sacrificing your position.

2. Conditional: "It depends on Y, but in most cases…"

Use sparingly. Sounds nuanced if you actually land on a side after the condition. Sounds like fence-sitting if you don't. The trick is to commit in the second clause.

3. Personal stance: "Personally I think X, but I can see why some Y"

Best in Speaking Part 3. Examiners want to hear your view in conversation; the "personal" framing makes a strong stance feel natural. The "I can see why some" softener gives space for a quick concession that doesn't undermine you.

4. Reframe: "While X is partly true, the bigger issue is Y"

Use when neither side of the question feels right. Reframe to something you DO have a view on. Risky — the examiner might judge you didn't address the prompt — but powerful when executed well. Best for prompts that present a false dichotomy.

The three traps

Trap 1: List-mode prose

Listing pros, then cons, then saying "both have merit" is the most common Band 6 essay shape. You're not narrating a Wikipedia page — you're arguing. Every paragraph should build the case for your side, not catalogue all available views.

Trap 2: Memorised "balanced" templates

Examiners are trained to flag essays that feel formulaic. Phrases like "this is a controversial issue that has been debated for many years" or "in conclusion, it can be seen that both sides have valid arguments" trigger that flag instantly. They also commit you to fence-sitting from the first sentence.

Trap 3: Over-hedging

Every "might", "could possibly", "in some cases", "perhaps" weakens your position. One or two across an essay is fine — that's careful writing. Five or more and you've hedged yourself out of a band.

"I genuinely have no view" — the escape hatch

Sometimes you'll get a prompt where you genuinely don't have an opinion — typically a Speaking Part 3 question on a niche topic ("do you think traditional sports are losing popularity?"). The move is the same as Strategy 4 above: reframe to a specific subset where you DO have a view.

I haven't thought about [topic] in general, but in [specific subset]…

Lets you commit to a defended position without claiming expertise on the broad question. Examiners hear this as appropriate hedging, not fence-sitting.

I'm not sure about [whole population], but among [people I know]…

Personalises the question to your direct experience. Lower stakes, easier to defend with concrete examples.

It's hard to generalise, but the trend I notice is [X]…

Acknowledges the question's complexity then takes a position anyway. Sounds humble; lands a stance.

Speaking Part 3 in particular

Part 3 is where most students fence-sit because the questions are abstract and there's no time to prepare. Use this 4-sentence shape:

Two worked examples, end-to-end

Example A — Writing Task 2

Prompt: "Some people believe that working from home is better than working in an office. Others think the opposite. Discuss both views and give your opinion."

15-second decision: I have two specific remote-work examples (mine, my partner's). One office-work example. Easier side: remote.

Position: "I broadly agree that remote work is the better default, primarily because it removes the commute tax and lets people structure focus time around their actual energy cycle."

Concession (within body 2): "Critics argue that office work fosters spontaneous collaboration, which is partly fair — but most genuinely creative work happens in solo focus, not in coffee-room conversations."

Example B — Speaking Part 3

Question: "Do you think traditional family structures are still important?"

Reframe (because the question is too broad): "I think the underlying functions of family — care, financial support, identity — are still important, but the specific structure matters less than people assume. In my country we're seeing more multi-generational households and that seems to work better than the nuclear-family default. That said, in regions with weak welfare systems, the traditional family is still the only safety net."

The pre-flight checklist

Before you write or speak, run through this every time:

1. Which side am I taking? (Pick in 15 seconds.)
2. What are my two strongest reasons for that side?
3. What's my single concession to the opposing view?
4. Where does the concession go? (Inside body 2, not the intro or conclusion.)
5. How many hedges am I allowed? (One per body paragraph max.)

That's it. Five questions, fifteen seconds, no more fence-sitting.

Submit a Task 2 essay for free Band-aligned feedback — Isabel will flag every fence-sit and over-hedge in the margins.