Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
There is an old saying - 'Give me an educated mother and I will give you an educated nation'. This prover emphasises the women education. Throughout the history men and women both worked together to build a better world and whatever stage the current world is in, that has been contributed both by male and female - surely not by one gender. As university education is so important for the full bloom of one person's merit, skill and knowledge, equal opportunity for both male and female students should be ensured. To begin with, if only men go ahead in education, research, arts, history and women stay home, then no good can be done. The history suggests that men are dominant in numbers in science, arts, engineering, creativity and business sectors. But we cannot deny the contribution of Mother Teresa and Madam Merry Currie who have devoted their whole life to the betterment of the world. It is true that if the competition is arranged regardless of gender, more male students will be ahead of women. But still, universities should accept an equal number of students. If fewer females hold the important sectors of a country, naturally women will feel deprived and this will lead them to compete with men. It is a mother who is much more emotionally attached to their children and friendlier to children than fathers. So they help the children in their study. So the importance of female education in the higher level should get a priority considering this single issue. In conclusion, universities should accept the same number of students from both sexes and give an equal opportunity at every level.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct the noun Original: prover Suggested revision: proverb Why it matters: The saying is a “proverb,” not a “prover.”
- 2. Use possessive form Original: the women education Suggested revision: women's education Why it matters: The possessive form is required to describe education for women.
- 3. Remove the article Original: Throughout the history Suggested revision: Throughout history Why it matters: “History” takes no article in the general expression “throughout history.”
- 4. Use present perfect Original: men and women both worked Suggested revision: men and women have both worked Why it matters: The present perfect connects past collaboration with its continuing result in the present.
- 5. Use natural phrasing Original: full bloom of one person's merit, skill and knowledge Suggested revision: full development of a person's abilities, skills and knowledge Why it matters: The revision replaces the unnatural metaphor and uses an appropriate general noun phrase.
- 6. Use the precise verb Original: go ahead in education Suggested revision: advance in education Why it matters: “Advance” expresses educational progress more naturally than “go ahead.”
- 7. Mark the contrast Original: history and women stay home Suggested revision: history while women stay at home Why it matters: “While” clearly contrasts men's advancement with women remaining at home.
- 8. Remove the article Original: The history suggests Suggested revision: History suggests Why it matters: The general subject “history” does not take the definite article here.
- 9. Use natural comparison Original: dominant in numbers in Suggested revision: more numerous in Why it matters: The revision expresses numerical predominance directly and idiomatically.
- 10. Name both groups Original: an equal number of students Suggested revision: equal numbers of male and female students Why it matters: The plural construction clearly states that the two groups should have matching numbers.
- 11. Use accurate roles Original: fewer females hold the important sectors Suggested revision: fewer women hold important positions Why it matters: People hold positions rather than sectors, and “women” is the appropriate noun for people.
- 12. Use the plural noun Original: in their study Suggested revision: with their studies Why it matters: The standard expression is “help someone with their studies.”
Suggested Rewrites
- prover proverb
- the women education women's education
- Throughout the history Throughout history
- men and women both worked men and women have both worked
- full bloom of one person's merit, skill and knowledge full development of a person's abilities, skills and knowledge
- go ahead in education advance in education
Why this response received Band 5.5
The essay clearly supports equal access for men and women and recognises the value of female education, so its central stance is easy to identify. However, much of the support is loosely relevant or based on stereotypes, and it does not directly examine the demand for equal numbers in every subject or the implications for merit-based admission. Focus the argument on subject-level quotas and develop relevant reasons about fairness, aptitude, and opportunity.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear agreement is maintained, but the argument treats general female education rather than equal enrolment in every subject and relies on weakly relevant support.
Address subject-level quotas directly by explaining how equal numbers would affect fair access, candidate merit, and courses with uneven applicant pools.
Coherence and Cohesion
The position and conclusion are identifiable, but the unbroken paragraph, repeated basic connectors, and loosely ordered examples weaken progression.
Organise the response into an introduction, two focused reasons about university admissions, and a conclusion that synthesises those reasons.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts a reasonable range, but frequent word-form and collocation errors such as prover, women education, and full bloom limit clarity.
Use precise academic phrases such as proverb, women's education, fulfilment of potential, admissions criteria, and equal access.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Frequent errors in articles, agreement, pronouns, comparison, and sentence structure sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to follow.
Build shorter complete sentences and check singular-plural reference carefully, especially when moving between a mother, women, children, and fathers.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.