IELTS Task 2 Opinion: Should University Be Free?
Write an opinion essay on whether governments should pay for all university education, with a clear position throughout.
- Time
- 40 min
- Length
- 250-300 words
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 2
NameClassDate
Your task
Some people believe that university education should be free for all students, paid for by the government. To what extent 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.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Decide your position before you write: agree, disagree or partly agree.
- Introduction: paraphrase the statement and state your position clearly.
- Body 1: your main reason with explanation and example.
- Body 2: a second reason, or the opposing view and why you reject it.
- Conclusion: restate your position in different words.
- Keep your position consistent from start to finish.
Useful phrases
Position
Developing
Concession
Conclusion
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- tuition fees
- money paid to studyTuition fees have risen sharply.
- taxpayer
- a person who pays taxesTaxpayers would fund the system.
- graduate
- a person with a university degreeGraduates earn more on average.
- access
- the opportunity to use or enterequal access to education
- means-tested
- based on how much money someone hasmeans-tested grants
Model answer (253 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
It is often argued that governments should pay for every student's university education. I partly agree with this view: university should be free for those who cannot afford it, but not necessarily for everyone.1
The strongest argument for free higher education is equality of opportunity. When students must pay high tuition fees, talented young people from low-income families may decide that university is not for them, or leave with debts that limit their choices for decades. In countries such as Germany, where public universities charge little or no tuition, students from a wider range of backgrounds can study without this fear.2 A society also benefits when doctors, engineers and teachers are chosen by ability rather than by their parents' income.
However, making university completely free for all has costs that are easy to overlook. The money must come from taxpayers, including many who never attended university themselves. It is difficult to justify asking a bus driver to pay for the degree of a student from a wealthy family who would almost certainly have paid fees anyway.3 Moreover, graduates tend to earn more over their lifetimes, so it seems reasonable for those who can afford it to contribute.
A fairer solution would be means-tested support: free tuition and living grants for students from low- and middle-income families, and moderate fees, repayable after graduation, for others.
In conclusion, while free university education for all is an attractive ideal, I believe public money is better spent ensuring that no capable student is excluded because of cost.4
- Paraphrase + clear, qualified position.
- An example that supports the argument.
- Specific illustration of the counter-argument.
- Position restated in new words.
Teacher notes
Task Response: "To what extent" questions need a clear position. A "partly agree" answer must explain exactly which part the writer agrees with.
Fact check: most German public universities charge no tuition fees for most students, though semester contributions and some exceptions exist. Encourage cautious phrasing: "little or no tuition".
Extra challenge
Rewrite the introduction so that it fully disagrees with the statement.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: tuition fees, taxpayer, graduate, access, means-tested.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “I partly agree with this view, because ...”, “I firmly believe that ...”, “The main reason for this is that ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (250-300 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | Band 7+ | Band 6 | Band 5 | Band 4 or below | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task Response | All parts answered; position clear throughout and well supported. | All parts addressed; some ideas underdeveloped. | Task partly addressed; position sometimes unclear. | Barely addresses the task or off topic. | |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Logical flow; varied, natural linking; clear paragraphs. | Generally organised; linking sometimes mechanical. | Weak organisation; few or faulty linkers. | Ideas not linked. | |
| Lexical Resource | Wide, precise vocabulary; few slips. | Adequate range; some errors that do not block meaning. | Limited range; noticeable repetition and spelling errors. | Very limited; meaning often lost. | |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Variety of complex structures; most sentences error-free. | Mix of simple and complex forms; errors rarely reduce clarity. | Mostly simple forms; frequent errors. | Errors seriously affect understanding. | |
| Total | |||||
Criterion names are the official IELTS criteria; descriptors are short classroom summaries. Each criterion carries equal weight.
Task checklist
- My position is clear in the introduction and the conclusion.
- Each body paragraph has one main idea, developed with an example.
- I wrote at least 250 words.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- My position is clear in the introduction and the conclusion.
- Each body paragraph has one main idea, developed with an example.
- I wrote at least 250 words.
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 2
Assessment rubric: IELTS Task 2 Opinion: Should University Be Free?
| Criterion | Band 7+ | Band 6 | Band 5 | Band 4 or below | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task Response | All parts answered; position clear throughout and well supported. | All parts addressed; some ideas underdeveloped. | Task partly addressed; position sometimes unclear. | Barely addresses the task or off topic. | |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Logical flow; varied, natural linking; clear paragraphs. | Generally organised; linking sometimes mechanical. | Weak organisation; few or faulty linkers. | Ideas not linked. | |
| Lexical Resource | Wide, precise vocabulary; few slips. | Adequate range; some errors that do not block meaning. | Limited range; noticeable repetition and spelling errors. | Very limited; meaning often lost. | |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Variety of complex structures; most sentences error-free. | Mix of simple and complex forms; errors rarely reduce clarity. | Mostly simple forms; frequent errors. | Errors seriously affect understanding. | |
| Total | |||||
Criterion names are the official IELTS criteria; descriptors are short classroom summaries. Each criterion carries equal weight.
Task checklist
- My position is clear in the introduction and the conclusion.
- Each body paragraph has one main idea, developed with an example.
- I wrote at least 250 words.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 2
Peer-review sheet: IELTS Task 2 Opinion: Should University Be Free?
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My position is clear in the introduction and the conclusion. | |||
| Each body paragraph has one main idea, developed with an example. | |||
| I wrote at least 250 words. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
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Writadia · C1 · IELTS Task 2
Lesson plan: IELTS Task 2 Opinion: Should University Be Free?
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: tuition fees, taxpayer, graduate, access, means-tested.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “I partly agree with this view, because ...”, “I firmly believe that ...”, “The main reason for this is that ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (250-300 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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