Some people think that all university students should study whatever they like. Others believe that they should only be allowed to study subjects that will be useful in the future, such as those related to science and technology. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
University students will be leading different important sectors in a country in the future, and hence, their education is one of the most important aspects. It is often debated how much freedom they should be given while choosing the subjects they study. Personally, I believe that they should have the freedom to pick subjects within a prescribed syllabus, not whatever they like. This would ensure a balance in maintaining a well-rounded education and their future employability.
From one perspective, the freedom of selecting subjects at the university would make education more effective and passion-oriented for learners. They would not be forced to study subjects that they have no interest at all. Though technology-related subjects are quite important, students would not learn that much if they were forced to do so. For instance, if we force a learner to learn to code on a computer while her interest is in literature, it would not bring favourable results. Thus a student should be given the freedom to pick the subjects she likes, especially for university students.
From another angle, offering absolute freedom to pick subjects is not a good idea for university students. This will often lead to situations when students will not have sufficient knowledge of important aspects that are crucial for their careers. Some students would misuse this facility and pick only easy subjects in different semesters. It will also lead to a haphazard situation as most of the students would like to study the same subjects and the university authority would not be able to offer these courses to all.
To conclude, certain freedom while picking subjects at the university level is helpful for the overall development and knowledge enhancement of students. However, absolute freedom would make the outcome worse. Therefore, universities should develop a well-rounded syllabus and give some freedom to learners to pick subjects from this prescribed syllabus.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise sector phrase Original: leading different important sectors Suggested revision: leading various key sectors Why it matters: ‘Various key sectors’ is a more natural and concise collocation.
- 2. Use natural adjective Original: passion-oriented Suggested revision: interest-driven Why it matters: ‘Interest-driven’ expresses motivation by personal interests more naturally.
- 3. Add required preposition Original: subjects that they have no interest at all Suggested revision: subjects in which they have no interest at all Why it matters: The noun ‘interest’ requires ‘in’ before the object of that interest.
- 4. Use precise academic wording Original: would not learn that much Suggested revision: might not learn effectively Why it matters: The revision states the effect on learning more precisely and avoids an informal quantity phrase.
- 5. Use correct relative phrase Original: situations when Suggested revision: situations in which Why it matters: ‘In which’ correctly introduces the circumstances being described.
- 6. Clarify the reference Original: facility Suggested revision: freedom Why it matters: ‘This freedom’ refers directly to the freedom to choose subjects.
- 7. Use natural time preposition Original: in Suggested revision: across Why it matters: ‘Across’ more naturally describes a pattern extending over several semesters.
- 8. Name the responsible group Original: the university authority Suggested revision: university administrators Why it matters: The plural noun identifies the people responsible for allocating courses more naturally.
- 9. Use natural quantifier Original: certain Suggested revision: some Why it matters: ‘Some freedom’ is the idiomatic way to describe a limited degree of choice.
- 10. Specify the outcome Original: make the outcome worse Suggested revision: lead to worse educational outcomes Why it matters: The revision identifies the type of outcome and uses a more natural verb phrase.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: This would ensure a balance in maintaining a well-rounded education and their future employability. Suggested revision: This would balance a well-rounded education with students’ future employability. Why it matters: The rewrite creates a parallel structure between the two elements being balanced.
- 12. Sentence rewrite Original: Thus a student should be given the freedom to pick the subjects she likes, especially for university students. Suggested revision: Thus, university students should be given the freedom to choose the subjects they prefer. Why it matters: The rewrite removes the inconsistent singular reference and the redundant final phrase.
Suggested Rewrites
- leading different important sectors leading various key sectors
- passion-oriented interest-driven
- subjects that they have no interest at all subjects in which they have no interest at all
- would not learn that much might not learn effectively
- situations when situations in which
- facility freedom
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is well organised, presents a consistent qualified opinion, and develops relevant reasons for both student choice and curricular limits. The main limitation is that the argument for restricting choices only partly engages with the prompt’s emphasis on future-useful subjects, and a few collocations sound unnatural. The highest priority is to explain that opposing view more directly and support it with a specific science- or technology-related example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both perspectives and a clear personal position are addressed, although the case for future-useful subjects is less directly developed.
Explain why some people prioritise science and technology and illustrate that rationale with a specific employability example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically through clearly focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices used effectively though somewhat predictably.
Use more implicit links between causes and consequences so the progression depends less on formulaic paragraph openers.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently broad academic vocabulary conveys nuanced ideas, with occasional awkward combinations such as passion-oriented and haphazard situation.
Choose more natural collocations and favour precise terms such as interest-driven study, balanced provision, and career-relevant knowledge.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied complex sentences are generally accurate and meaning remains clear, with only occasional errors in prepositions and reference.
Refine preposition use and check that pronouns and conditional forms remain consistent within illustrative examples.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that all university students should study whatever they like. Others believe that they should only be allowed to study subjects that will be useful in the future, such as those related to science and technology. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.