Higher education can be funded in several ways including the following three: 1. all costs are paid by the government. 2. all costs are paid by the students. 3. all costs are paid by the student using loans from the government that must be repaid after graduation. Discuss the benefits of each option. Which is the best one?
Sample Response
The rising cost of higher education is a significant issue facing governments around the world. Three ways are there to fund higher education and each has its own merits. This essay shall discuss the benefits of each method and identify the best one.
To begin with, if the government pays for higher education it would contribute to a prosperous and civilized society. It is true that human resource is of great importance to every nation. Investing in higher education, therefore, helps establish high-quality labor force with great expertise in the future. Moreover, it gives students from all walks of life the equal chance to further their education.
If the student has to cover the full fees of his tuition then naturally he would be more serious in his study. The onus of getting the full value for money spent on higher education would be on the student and this would result in better graduates which would benefit the nation as a whole.
The third option in which all costs are paid by the student using loans from the government that must be repaid after graduation is the best one in my opinion because even the have-nots would get equal opportunity to get higher education and as the students would know they have to repay the loan after they have finished education, the universities would not be flooded with non serious students.
To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that each of the above methods has its own pros but the third method in which all costs are paid by the student using loans from the government that must be repaid after graduation is the best.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct word order Original: Three ways are there Suggested revision: There are three ways Why it matters: The existential construction requires there before the verb.
- 2. Use natural future form Original: shall Suggested revision: will Why it matters: Will is the more natural choice for announcing the essay's purpose.
- 3. Separate the clauses Original: pays for higher education it Suggested revision: pays for higher education, it Why it matters: A comma is required after the introductory conditional clause.
- 4. Use plural agreement Original: human resource is Suggested revision: human resources are Why it matters: Human resources is conventionally plural when referring to a nation's workforce.
- 5. Correct the article Original: the Suggested revision: an Why it matters: A nonspecific singular chance requires the indefinite article.
- 6. Improve fee wording Original: full fees of his tuition Suggested revision: full cost of their tuition Why it matters: Full cost is the natural phrase, and their avoids an unnecessary male-only reference.
- 7. Fix pronouns and collocation Original: he would be more serious in his study Suggested revision: they would take their studies more seriously Why it matters: The rewrite uses inclusive pronouns and the correct expression take studies seriously.
- 8. Use clearer wording Original: The onus of getting Suggested revision: The responsibility for obtaining Why it matters: This phrasing is clearer and more natural in the sentence.
- 9. Correct the expression Original: full value for money spent on higher education Suggested revision: full value from the money spent on higher education Why it matters: The preposition from clearly links the value obtained to the money spent.
- 10. Mark the nonessential clause Original: better graduates which Suggested revision: better graduates, which Why it matters: A comma is required before this non-defining clause referring to the preceding result.
- 11. Use respectful wording Original: the have-nots Suggested revision: students from low-income backgrounds Why it matters: The replacement is more precise and appropriate for an academic discussion.
- 12. Add the article Original: get equal opportunity Suggested revision: have an equal opportunity Why it matters: The singular count noun opportunity requires an article.
Suggested Rewrites
- Three ways are there There are three ways
- shall will
- pays for higher education it pays for higher education, it
- human resource is human resources are
- the an
- full fees of his tuition full cost of their tuition
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response covers all three funding options, selects the loan model clearly, and organises the comparison in an easy-to-follow sequence. Its main limitation is that several benefits are asserted only briefly, while repetition of the task wording and some awkward collocations reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to extend each benefit with a concrete consequence or example and express the comparison in more natural language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
All parts of the task are addressed with a clear choice, though the benefits are developed somewhat briefly.
Support each option with a specific example or fuller explanation of how its stated benefit would arise.
Coherence and Cohesion
The option-by-option paragraph structure creates clear progression and makes the argument easy to follow.
Shorten the third body sentence and avoid repeating the full wording of the loan option in the conclusion.
Lexical Resource
The response shows sufficient range for the topic, but awkward collocations and repeated prompt language limit precision.
Use more natural phrases for human capital, tuition costs, disadvantaged students, and academic commitment.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring article, agreement, and sentence-control weaknesses.
Review articles and conditional consistency, and split the long loan paragraph sentence into controlled clauses.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Higher education can be funded in several ways including the following three: 1. all costs are paid by the government. 2. all costs are paid by the students. 3. all costs are paid by the student using loans from the government that must be repaid after graduation. Discuss the benefits of each option. Which is the best one?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.