Hi irishi

When you answer an IELTS writing question you need to look carefully at what the question asks you to do.  Sometimes you can agree 100%, disagree 100%, have a balanced view and sometimes you are asked to discuss both sides of the argument as well as give your opinion.  If you're not sure about what the different types of essay questions are asking you to do take a look at the writing advice pages at www dot myieltsteacher dot com.  There is advice on how to approach each type of question.

You also say '4 paragraph' essay.  This is not a strict rule.  The advice I give to my students is to write an introduction and conclusion paragraph, and then 2 or 3 main paragraphs.  The number of main paragraphs depends on the number of main ideas you have.  Remember, you need to write 250 words, but try not to write more than 300 as this just wastes your time.

As to which phrases to use - there are so many.  I recommend searching google using these words - IELTS discourse markers, IELTS linking phrases, IELTS essay connecting phrases.  You should be able to find lots of phrases, as well as example sentences.  It's important that you can use them correctly as well.  You only need to learn a few good phrases and sentences starters - enough to show some variety in your essay.

I hope this helps and good luck in your exam.

My IELTS Teacher