Plan this opinion essay about education with the ideas and outline below, write it on a 40-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
University education should be free for all students, paid for by taxes.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
Pick two or three points from one or both columns. You do not need all of them, and your own examples score better than memorised ones.
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 250 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
Some people believe that university education should be free for all students and funded through taxation. I agree with this view, although I recognise that it requires careful planning.
The strongest argument concerns fairness. When tuition is expensive, talented students from poor families may decide not to apply or may graduate with debts that take decades to repay. Free education removes this barrier, so that ability rather than family wealth determines who goes to university. This also benefits society as a whole. A country with more graduates has more doctors, teachers and engineers, and these professionals raise productivity and pay more tax during their careers, which means the original investment is partly recovered. Germany abolished tuition fees in most of its universities, and its graduates fuel a strong, innovative economy.
Free education also lets students concentrate on learning. Those who must pay large fees often take long hours of part-time work, which lowers their grades and leaves less time for research or extracurricular activities. Without the fear of debt, young people can choose courses based on interest and talent instead of how much they are likely to earn, and this encourages valuable but poorly paid fields such as social work or the arts.
The main objection is cost, since taxpayers who never attended university would be funding those who did. Governments could limit this problem by controlling the number of places in expensive courses, setting entry standards, and increasing taxes slightly on higher graduate earnings. These measures would keep the system sustainable.
In conclusion, free university education promotes equality, strengthens the economy and relieves students of financial stress. Provided that funding is managed responsibly, I believe the policy is worth adopting.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| tuition fees | course charges |
| student loan | borrowed study money |
| higher education | university-level study |
| public funding | money from the state |
| equal opportunity | fair chance for all |
| access to education | ability to enter school or university |
Answer random Part 1, 2 and 3 questions on an exam timer.
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Compare an IELTS band with TOEFL, Duolingo and PTE scores and CEFR levels.
Look up the IELTS score a university asks for, with the source.