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 because althoughas 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 entirelytotally free, and that would require a significant increase in taxationsignificant 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 powercapacity of the lower-middle class, makinglower-middle class making life harder for them.
Secondly, if university education were freewhen 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 affect employment ratesimpact the employment rates and job marketoverall job sector in a country.
Finally, it could also lead to lower educational qualitya 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 fundingfund which they receive mainlywhich they mostly get from tuition fees paid by studentsthe pupils, they would lack basic fundingfund when the government failsfail to pay them the requiredhuge amount on timeat the right moment. This would reduce educationaleducation 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.
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.