Modal Auxiliary Verbs For IELTS Writing Task

we use modal to express concepts such as ability, possibility, probability, certainty, obligation,(or lack of obligation), necessity, and also to make recommendations and suggestions.

List of modal 

• can
• could
• may
• might
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• must 
• ought to

important notes

• Meaning: some models can be used in different ways to express different things. For example, the modal must can have more than one meaning. pay close attention to the different use of each modal.
• Grammar: Modals differ from ordinary verbs in a number of ways. pay close attention to how the models are used grammatically. For example,

• Modals do not take -s on the third person singular
• are always followed by an infinitive
• do not need to do in questions and negatives
• have no past forms and no -ing forms

Use of modals

In IELTS writing task 2, it is highly likely that you will need to use modals. you are most likely to need modals to:

1. make recommendations
2. express degrees of probability
3. express obligation

1) making recommendations and suggestions Giving advice

Could

This modal can be used to make a suggestion

1. News media could try to free themselves from political bias.
2. Fast food restaurants could make an effort to offer healthy alternatives.

Might

This modal can be used to make a more tentative suggestion:

1. it might be a good idea to make all students do an internship in order to graduate.
2. it might be wise to quit social media before we become addicted to them.

should / ought to

Both these modals are used to express a recommendation or to give firm advice

1. If employees want to improve their skills, they should spend some hours for learning new skills.
2. employers ought to ask their staff to take work home with them

Must 

This modal can be used to express a very strong recommendation, an obligation, a duty:

1. The government must take all necessary steps to overcome the coronavirus disease.
2. Gender equality must be achieved in all areas of human activity.

2) expressing possibility and degree of probability: making prediction and speculating

can/cannot

Using can or cannot to show that something is possible or not possible rather than talking about something as certain is important in IELTS writing task 2.

it is common for people to sound overconfident or forceful because they make absolute statements, as in sentence 1, instead of using cautious language as in sentence 2

1. eating junk food leads to obesity
2. eating junk food can lead to obesity

may / might / could

When you want to express uncertainty, to say that there is only a possibility of something being true or happening, you can use any of these three modals interchangeably:

1. people might stop littering if there were more litter bins for public use.
2. Globalization could be the main reason for the loss of local traditions.
3. internet addiction may cause unsocial behavior.
4. young teachers in rural areas might not be able to get the professional support they need.

Should/ ought to 

When you want to say that you think something will probably happen or is probably true, you can use either of these modals interchangeably:

1. having a degree should enable you to earn a higher salary
2. Two years of real-world experience ought to make it easier for you to land your first job.
3. reducing our use of plastic in daily life should not be too difficult.
4. international aid ought not to stop poor countries from trying to tackle their own problems.

will

use this modal when you want to say that you think something will certainly happen or not.

1. in developed countries, the death rate will continue to decline.
2. manufacturing cheaper cars will not solve our environmental problems.

If you want to sound even more certain, use will definitely, and for less certain sound use will probably.

1. private car ownership will probably not decrease in the foreseeable future.
2. Building more railways will definitely improve the quality of our environment.

you can also express certainty using a phrase such as certain to

1. Building more railways is certainly to improve the quality of our environment.

Must

You use must to say that you something fairly certain or quite certain.

1. The widening gap between rich and poor must eventually lead to civil unrest.
2. Exploding population and urbanization must be the main cause of any temperature increase.

must not is not used in negative sentences because cannot is only acceptable.

3) obligation: necessity; absence of necessity

must / have to / need to 

These three forms express obligation or necessity and are frequently used in academic writing:

1. Government must arrange for more trees to be planted
2. people need to be aware of the amount of energy they use in their homes
3. all countries have to have a minimum wage to ensure a good standard of living.

4) ability

can/ able to / manage to

if you want to say that someone or something has the ability to do or cause something use can.

1. A better standard of living means that the elderly can remain active much longer.
2. owing to the global financial crisis, fewer counties are able to provide aid to the developing world.

5) Permission

can / be allowed to

you can use these forms interchangeably to say that someone has permission to do something, or in the negative to say that they do not have permission.

1. In some universities, students are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week
2. Employees may feel dissatisfied if they cannot choose what to wear at work.

6) modals + perfect infinitive

could + perfect infinitive

1. This is useful in IELTS writing task 2 when you talk about things that people or the government could have done in the past but did not. it highlights an oversight or a failure to do something.
2. Better planning could have prevented the global financial crisis that shook the world a decade ago.

Should/ought to + perfect infinitive

we often use these forms to talk about things that someone did not do, when we think there was an obligation for them to do it:

1. many people think that the government should have built shelters for the homeless instead of a multi-million pound Olympic village.
2. The government ought not to have spent so much money on an Olympic village when thousand of people are homeless.

Must + perfect infinitive

less likely to use this form than the previous two

use this form when you are almost certain that something happened

1. Armstrong must have felt like a god when he set foot on the moon.

These are the modal verbs you can use in your IELTS writing task 

You use some verbs very usually such as can, may, must, will, should/ ought to