During the month of February, the San Diego Museum of Art will be hosting Out of Egypt: an exhibit featuring a carved quartzite sculpture depicting Ramesses II. The pharaoh’s name and royal titles are inscribed in hieroglyphs on the statue and say “Ramesses, beloved of Amun…The Victorious Bull…King of Upper and Lower Egypt…The son of Ra.” Balboa Park is home to many museums and exhibits, but this spectacular piece of art is a special event for the park: Egyptian relics are, of course, very rare!

To honor this piece coming to San Diego (which will be at the Museum of Art until March 10) we are offering an IELTS Writing Prompt Task 2 based on the topic of museums and art.

IELTS Writing Sample Prompt

Before you begin writing, here is a quick overview of the IELTS Writing Test:

Task 1: Candidates must look at a visual (like a graph, or table, or chart) and use words to describe this information. The task takes about 20 minutes and candidates must write 150 words.

Task 2: Candidates must write 250 words in 40 minutes and must examine an argument, point of view, or problem.

Before you begin writing, remember to take 2-5 minutes to outline your responses. When you are finished writing, make sure to proof read your samples. Also make sure that you have a solid thesis statement and read our Tips for the IELTS Writing Module article.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Prompt:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart below shows the distribution of Egyptian art in museums around the world.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Writing Part 1 and Part 2 Sample Prompts — Pie chart from the British Museum.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Prompt:

Should governments invest in museums, or should this be the work of privately-owned companies or organizations?

CISL is proud to provide small classrooms (maximum 8 students per class) for our intensive IELTS preparation courses in San Diego. Contact CISL to learn more about our quality instruction that leads to results.

Learn more about the San Diego’s Museum of Art exhibit here. If you’re interested in visiting Balboa Park, check out our Insider’s Guide to visiting the beautiful location.

Cover photo from the San Diego Museum of Art.