University education should be free to everyone, regardless of income. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Over recent years, more and more people have been attending university and debate has continuedarguments have persisted as to whether students should pay for this privilege or notprivilege not. Although there are convincing arguments on both sides, I strongly believe that it should be free.
One argument put forward in favour of charging students is that education is becoming more expensive to fund as universities grow in size. Consequently, making students pay may maintain teaching standardsmaintain standards and ensure the quality of the teaching. In addition, it is argued that most students benefit from university in terms of higher paid jobs, so it is fair that they pay for at least some of the cost, especially given that the majority of students attending university are from the middle classes. FinallyLast but not least, in many countries, there is a shortage of workers in manual tradespeople to do manual jobs such as plumbing and carpentry, so making university more expensive may encourage people to take up these jobs.
However, there are a number of arguments in favour of making university education free for all. Firstly, it will encourage more people to attend and this will benefit society. This is because it will lead to a more productive and educated workforce. Research has generally shown that those countries that have a better educated population through university educationvia university have higher levels of innovation and productivity. In addition, there is the issue of equality of opportunity. If all students are required to pay, those on a low income may be dissuaded from attending, thus creating unequal accessthus making it unfair. The reason for this is that they will likely not be able to secure financial support from their families, so theyfrom their family so they will be concerned about the debts they will incur in the future.
In conclusion, I am of the opinionI am of opinion that all education should remain equally available to all regardless of income. This is not only fair, but will also ensure that countries can prosper and develop ininto the future with a well-educated workforce.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response presents a clear position, explores credible arguments on both sides, and develops its case for free access with relevant explanations about productivity and equality. Organisation and vocabulary are strong, though a few formulaic transitions and small grammatical omissions slightly reduce polish. The highest-priority refinement is to proofread articles and missing coordinating words while keeping the argument as direct and well supported as it is.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question with a consistent position and develops relevant arguments for both funding approaches in convincing detail.
Refine the opposing case by linking each point even more explicitly to whether universal free access is justified.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is sequenced clearly in well-focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices supporting an easy and logical progression throughout.
Reduce reliance on formulaic signposting so that transitions arise more naturally from the argument itself.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is wide, precise, and flexible across funding, employment, equality, and national development, with only isolated awkward wording.
Polish occasional phrasing such as via university and use consistently natural academic collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is handled accurately, and the few omissions do not impede meaning or reduce overall fluency.
Proofread for small missing words and articles, particularly in the introduction and concluding opinion statement.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
University education should be free to everyone, regardless of income. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.