Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Understand the structure and function of cleft sentences.
- Identify different types of cleft constructions.
- Use cleft sentences to emphasise key points in IELTS Writing Task 2 essays.
- Improve the coherence and lexical resource in their writing using cleft structures.
🧠 Why Use Cleft Sentences?
Cleft sentences help you:
- Emphasise a specific part of your argument.
- Add variety to sentence structures (crucial for Band 7+ in Grammatical Range and Accuracy).
- Improve coherence by clarifying what your main point is.
They are especially useful in Task 2 essays to highlight cause, contrast, or emphasis, which are core to a high-scoring argument.
🧩 Types of Cleft Sentences
1. It-Cleft Sentences (Most Common)
Structure:It + be + emphasised information + relative clause
✅ Examples:
- It is economic inequality that fuels social unrest.
- It was during the pandemic that online education became mainstream.
🔍 Function: Emphasises a noun, noun phrase, or adverbial.
2. What-Cleft Sentences
Structure:What + clause + be + emphasised information
✅ Examples:
- What governments need to address is climate change, not just economic growth.
- What makes cities liveable is affordable housing and efficient transport systems.
🔍 Function: Often used to highlight causes, solutions, or priorities.
3. All-Cleft Sentences (Useful in conclusions)
Structure:All + subject + verb + be + emphasised element
✅ Examples:
- All society needs is a fairer distribution of wealth.
- All that is required is political will to implement changes.
🔍 Function: Stresses a single, sufficient factor—useful in argumentative conclusions.
4. Wh-Cleft Sentences (Where/Why/How/When)
✅ Examples:
- Where the issue lies is in the lack of enforcement, not the lack of laws.
- Why people resist change is because of uncertainty and fear.
- How this problem can be solved is through greater investment in infrastructure.
🔍 Function: Focuses the reader’s attention on specific dimensions of an issue.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ❌ Overusing clefts: Use them selectively, not in every sentence.
- ❌ Incorrect relative clauses:
- Wrong: It is education should be prioritised.
- Right: It is education that should be prioritised.
- ❌ Misplaced emphasis: Don’t cleft something that doesn’t need highlighting — it can confuse readers.
✨ When Should You Use a Cleft Sentence in IELTS Task 2?
Use cleft sentences:
- At the start of body paragraphs to foreground your topic sentence.
🔸 It is economic disparity that underpins most social problems in urban areas. - In the thesis statement or conclusion to summarise your core point.
🔸 What matters most is ensuring access to quality education for all. - To contradict a commonly held opinion.
🔸 It is not financial investment that guarantees success in education, but effective policy implementation.
📘 Exercise 1: Identify the Type of Cleft Sentence
Instructions: Read the following sentences and identify the type of cleft structure used (e.g., it-cleft, what-cleft, where-cleft, all-cleft, etc.).
- It is young people who are most affected by rising unemployment rates.
- What governments often overlook is the importance of early childhood education.
- Where the challenge lies is in enforcing the laws already in place.
- All the public wants is transparency from their leaders.
- It was during the 1990s that globalisation truly accelerated.
Answers
1. It-cleft
2. What-cleft
3. Where-cleft
4. All-cleft
5. It-cleft
✍️ Exercise 2: Rewrite Using a Cleft Structure
Instructions: Rewrite each of the following sentences using an appropriate cleft sentence to emphasise the highlighted idea.
- (Emphasise: “governments take immediate action on climate change” using a What-cleft)
People expect governments to take immediate action on climate change. - (Emphasise: “access to healthcare” using a What-cleft)
Many argue that access to healthcare is the most important social right. - (Emphasise: “during the lockdown” using an It- cleft)
Remote working became widespread during the lockdown. - (Emphasise: “inequality” using an It- cleft)
A major cause of crime is inequality. - (Emphasise: “governments to reduce emissions” using an All- cleft)
Citizens demand governments to reduce emissions. - (Emphasise: “schools” using an It- cleft)
Children first learn the values that shape their future behaviour in schools. - (Emphasise: “because social media spreads misinformation so quickly” using an Why- cleft)
Stricter regulations are often proposed because social media spreads misinformation so quickly. - (Emphasise: “when public hospitals received more funding” using an Why- cleft)
The quality of healthcare noticeably improved when public hospitals received more funding.
Answers
1. What people expect is that governments take immediate action on climate change.
2. What many argue as the most important social right is access to healthcare.
3. It was during the lockdown that remote working became widespread.
4. It is inequality that is a major cause of crime.
5. All that citizens demand is governments to reduce emissions.
6. Where children first learn the values that shape their future behaviour is in schools.
7. Why stricter regulations are often proposed is because social media spreads misinformation so quickly.
8. When the quality of healthcare noticeably improved was when public hospitals received more funding.
🧠 Exercise 3: Fill-in-the-Gap Clefts in IELTS Essay Context
Instructions: Complete the following sentences using a cleft structure.
- ____ has led to the widening gap between the rich and poor is the failure to reform tax systems.
- ____ young people develop essential teamwork skills is in group projects at school.
- ____ the use of renewable energy increased significantly was after governments introduced subsidies.
- ____ online education has become so popular is because it offers flexibility and lower costs.
- ____ improved dramatically after online platforms were introduced was communication between teachers and students.
- ____ cities need most urgently is affordable housing.
Answers
1. What has led to the widening gap between the rich and poor is the failure to reform tax systems.
2. Where young people develop essential teamwork skills is in group projects at school.
3. When the use of renewable energy increased significantly was after governments introduced subsidies.
4. Why online education has become so popular is because it offers flexibility and lower costs.
5. It was communication between teachers and students that improved dramatically after online platforms were introduced.
6. What cities need most urgently is affordable housing.
✏️ Exercise 4: Improve the Essay Paragraph
Instructions: The following paragraph is grammatically correct, but lacks emphasis and sentence variety. Rewrite or modify the paragraph to include at least two cleft sentences.
Many people believe that governments should increase spending on public health. They argue that healthcare is a basic human right. Without adequate funding, hospitals will struggle, and vulnerable groups will suffer the most.
Possible Answer
Many people believe that governments should increase spending on public health. What they argue is that it is a basic human right. Without adequate funding, it is vulnerable groups that suffer the most.
📝 Exercise 5: Short Essay Practice (With Cleft Sentence Checklist)
Instructions: Write a paragraph or two (80–100 words) responding to the IELTS Task 2 question below. Use at least two cleft sentences.
Task:
Some people think it is more important to spend money on public services than on the arts. Do you agree or disagree?
Cleft Sentence Checklist:
✅ It-cleft
✅ What-cleft
✅ Optional: where/why/how/all-cleft
Possible Answer
Intro paragraph example:
There is often debate over how the state budget is spent, particularly on the distribution between the government services and the arts. I personally believe that it is essential services that ought to receive most of this funding, but I also believe the arts should not be completely neglected and a small allocation should be provided.
✅ It-cleft
Main Body Paragraph 1 Example:
Firstly, it is the basic services for society that must be prioritised because the majority of people use them. Applying this philosophy of utilitarianism, we must choose the option that will benefit the most people or generate the most “good” overall. Hospitals, transport infrastructure and schools and so on are used by everyone, every single day and are far more valuable to people. The arts, on the other hand, are only utilised by the minority, are not used as often and do not impact society to the same degree. For this reason, what is most logical is for a much greater budget allocation to go to public services.
✅ Why-cleft
✅ What-cleft
