Should education be free at all levels?
The question
Some people believe that governments should fund free education at all levels, while others think individuals should pay for their own education. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
How to answer it
Follow the money, because that is what separates a strong answer here. Free education is paid for by taxation, so the real question is whether the general public should fund a degree that mostly raises one individual's earnings. Give that objection its full weight, then answer it with the public returns — health, productivity, the fact that graduates then pay more tax — and consider a middle position such as free at school level, income-contingent repayment after.
What moves the band
- Avoid the empty claim that education is a right; argue why, or drop it.
- Economic lexis: subsidise, public spending, the taxpayer, a return on investment, tuition fees.
These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.
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Know the number. Now move it.
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