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 emphasize 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:
- Emphasize 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 + emphasized information + relative clause
✅ Examples:
- It is economic inequality that fuels social unrest.
- It was during the pandemic that online education became mainstream.
🔍 Function: Emphasizes a noun, noun phrase, or adverbial.
2. What-Cleft Sentences
Structure:What + clause + be + emphasized information
✅ Examples:
- What governments need to address is climate change, not just economic growth.
- What makes cities livable 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 + emphasized 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 prioritized.
- Right: It is education that should be prioritized.
- ❌ 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 summarize 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 globalization 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 emphasize the highlighted idea.
- (Emphasize: “governments”)
People expect governments to take immediate action on climate change. - (Emphasize: “access to healthcare”)
Many argue that access to healthcare is the most important social right. - (Emphasize: “during the lockdown”)
Remote working became widespread during the lockdown. - (Emphasize: “inequality”)
A major cause of crime is inequality.
Answers
1.It is governments that people expect to take immediate action on climate change.
2. What many argue is 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.
🧠 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.
- ________________ is implement strict environmental regulations, not just raise awareness.
- ________________ that youth unemployment has become a national crisis.
- ________________ people need to feel safe is trust in law enforcement.
Answers
1. What has led to the widening gap between the rich and poor is the failure to reform tax systems.
2. What governments need to do is implement strict environmental regulations, not just raise awareness.
3. It is in recent years that youth unemployment has become a national crisis.
4. All that people need to feel safe is trust in law enforcement.
✏️ 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
It is healthcare that many people believe should receive greater government funding. What they argue is that access to healthcare is a basic human right. Without adequate investment, it is the most vulnerable members of society who will suffer the most. (3 clefts: 2 It-clefts and 1 What-cleft)
📝 Exercise 5: Short Essay Practice (With Cleft Sentence Checklist)
Instructions: Write a paragraph (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
It is public services that deserve the majority of government funding, as they directly impact citizens’ quality of life. What societies urgently need is better healthcare, education, and infrastructure, rather than artistic events that only a minority attend. While the arts play a role in cultural development, it is essential needs like sanitation and housing that must take precedence, especially in developing nations.
