IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Plants can provide food, shelter, clothing, or medicine. What is one kind of plant that is important to you or the people in your country?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
There is a proverb that is ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Accordingly, plants are our ethereal friends as they provide us with all our needs. Without them our very existence would be unimaginable. We get all our foods from them directly or indirectly in the form of wheat, rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, but overall list goes on and on. Plants provide us with our fundamental needs of food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. They filter the air we breathe and thus, keep us safe from pollution hazards. We also get many life-saving medicines from plants. However, some plants are more important than others, either for biological, utilitarian or cultural reasons. In my country, Canada, I would like to say that maple tree has a great significance, not just because maple syrup is one of our staple foods, but also for commercial, aesthetic and cultural grounds.
Maple tree has a great aesthetic importance to all Canadian. The tree radiates its charm in fall when it turns impressive colors after a frost. Fall and maple tree color create an aura where nature seems to communicate with us. As if we were melted away into the whole ambiance. At this time of year, many people, from all over the Lower Mainland, come just to photograph.
There is nothing more Canadian than maple syrup, the unique Canadian delicacy. Maple syrup is not only a part of our diet; we probably make it the part of ourselves. We were taught how to harvest sap and boil it to make syrup. The time of sugaring, the short space between winter and spring when the snow starts to melt and the sap begins to flow in the maple groves, conjures up the romantic image of our sweet past. In spite of the technological advancement in farming techniques, the production of maple syrup still remains largely a family operation, essentially the unchanged form of our traditional past. However, today, maple syrup is being exported to approximately fifty countries, including the USA which is our primary importer. Although maple syrup is viewed as an Eastern Canadian industry, it also thrives in the West.
In addition, maple trees contribute valuable wood products. Maple wood is in demand for flooring, interior woodwork, furniture, small wooden-ware, and supports various flourishing industries in eastern Canada. Maple wood is also highly prized in cabinet-making.
Furthermore, maple has long been a part of our cultural fabric. Our ancestors made great use of the maple tree and its multiple products. In February of 1965, our national flag eked out the red maple leaf in its center and the leaf has turned to most prominent Canadian symbol, nationally and internationally. In aboard, Canadians proudly wear maple leaf badge and pin and these are recognized all over the globe.
To recapitulate, the maple tree has always been an indispensable part of our culture, playing a significant role in our maple syrup and wood industries. In the fall, the tree brings down the paradise on earth. Thus, it is quite natural for the maple leaf to become a key symbol of our country.