Some people say that the government should pay the costs of running universities so that a university education will be free for anyone who wants it. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
In recent years, the cost of higher education has become a major concern for students and their families. Some people argue that the government should take steps to make university education free for all learners. I disagree with this proposition as I think that while there are certainly advantages to making university education free for all, it is ultimately not a feasible or practical solution.
To begin with, it would be extremely expensive for the government to make university education totally free, and that would require significant increases in taxation. This could lead to a number of negative economic consequences, such as reduced investment and innovation. The increasing tax burden would reduce the purchasing capacity of the lower-middle class making life harder for them.
Secondly, when university education would be free, it could lead to a devaluation of degrees, as more people would hold them, reducing their value in the job market. This would impact the employment rates and overall job sector in a country.
Finally, it could also lead to a reduced quality of education, as universities would not have the same financial resources to invest in teaching and research. As universities need a huge amount of fund which they mostly get from tuition fees paid by the pupils, they would lack basic fund when the government fail to pay them the huge amount at the right moment. This would reduce education quality over the long run.
In conclusion, while state-funded university education for all students is a dream for many, it is ultimately not a practical solution. Instead, governments should focus on creating financial aid programmes that help to reduce the burden of student debt for those who need it most, while still maintaining the value and quality of higher education.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use formal wording Original: totally Suggested revision: entirely Why it matters: 'Entirely free' is more appropriate for formal academic prose.
- 2. Separate participle clause Original: lower-middle class making Suggested revision: lower-middle class, making Why it matters: A comma is needed before the supplementary participle clause.
- 3. Fix conditional form Original: when university education would be free Suggested revision: if university education were free Why it matters: A hypothetical condition takes 'if' with the subjunctive form 'were'.
- 4. Use precise collocation Original: impact the employment rates Suggested revision: affect employment rates Why it matters: 'Affect employment rates' is more concise and idiomatic.
- 5. Use natural term Original: overall job sector Suggested revision: job market Why it matters: 'Job market' is the standard term for employment conditions in a country.
- 6. Streamline the phrase Original: a reduced quality of education Suggested revision: lower educational quality Why it matters: The replacement states the same comparison more concisely.
- 7. Use uncountable noun Original: fund Suggested revision: funding Why it matters: 'Funding' is the appropriate uncountable noun after 'amount of'.
- 8. Use context-specific noun Original: the pupils Suggested revision: students Why it matters: University learners are more naturally described as 'students'.
- 9. Use uncountable funding Original: fund Suggested revision: funding Why it matters: The sentence refers to financial support generally, so 'funding' is required.
- 10. Fix subject agreement Original: fail Suggested revision: fails Why it matters: The singular collective noun takes the singular verb 'fails' here.
- 11. Clarify the reference Original: huge Suggested revision: required Why it matters: 'Required' identifies the relevant sum more precisely than repeating 'huge'.
- 12. Use concise timing phrase Original: at the right moment Suggested revision: on time Why it matters: 'On time' directly expresses timely payment in this context.
Suggested Rewrites
- totally entirely
- lower-middle class making lower-middle class, making
- when university education would be free if university education were free
- impact the employment rates affect employment rates
- overall job sector job market
- a reduced quality of education lower educational quality
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response maintains a clear disagreement and develops three relevant consequences of fully subsidised university education in a logical sequence. Its main limitation is that several claims are somewhat general or asserted too quickly, while a few awkward collocations and agreement errors reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to support the economic and educational claims with more specific reasoning and refine grammatical control in complex sentences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is maintained and supported by three relevant arguments, though some consequences are generalised and not fully substantiated.
Develop each claimed consequence with a more precise mechanism or concrete illustration, especially the effects on degree value and educational quality.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-defined paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader clearly despite somewhat formulaic sequencing.
Vary the way paragraphs connect and make the internal progression from cause to consequence more explicit without relying on numbered transitions.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a sufficiently varied academic vocabulary with generally clear meaning, although several collocations involving funding, employment, and students are awkward.
Refine noun choice and collocation, particularly countability and natural combinations such as funding, labour-market outcomes, and university students.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is used with many accurate sentences, but errors in conditional form, agreement, countability, and punctuation remain noticeable.
Review agreement and noun countability while using consistent conditional structures when describing hypothetical policy outcomes.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say that the government should pay the costs of running universities so that a university education will be free for anyone who wants it. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.