Model Essay 2: Free University Education
Question type: discussion. Two instructions - discuss both views and give your own opinion - and both are marked.
Unofficial original RCF practice material
Original question and essay written by RCF English. Not endorsed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia or Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
The question
Some people believe that university education should be free for all students. Others argue that students should pay towards the cost of their own studies.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Write at least 250 words.
The plan
| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Frame the real disagreement: not whether education is valuable, but who benefits and therefore who should pay. Position: free at the point of use, funded by later taxation - a third position, which is allowed. |
| Body 1 | The case for free education: access, and the public benefit of an educated population. |
| Body 2 | The case for contribution: graduates earn more, and free provision is regressive because it is funded by everyone. |
| Body 3 | My position, which takes the strongest part of each: no fees at entry, repayment through progressive taxation on graduate earnings. |
| Conclusion | Name the principle that resolves it: the cost should follow the benefit, but not at the moment of choosing. |
The model essay
Question: Some people believe that university education should be free for all students. Others argue that students should pay towards the cost of their own studies. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Arguments about university fees are not really arguments about whether education is valuable. They are arguments about who gains from it, and therefore who should pay. Both sides have a fair point, and I believe a good system needs to combine them.
Those who support free education make two strong arguments. The first is access. If a degree costs a large sum at the start, the students most likely to be put off are those from families with no experience of university and no savings. They are frightened by the idea of the debt, even before they look at the terms. The second argument is that society as a whole benefits. Everyone gains from having good doctors, engineers and teachers, whether or not they went to university themselves.
The opposite view is also serious. Graduates earn considerably more over a lifetime than non-graduates. A system paid for entirely out of general taxation therefore asks people who did not go to university, and who usually earn less, to pay for those who did. Free education sounds fair, but its effects are not always fair.
My own view takes the strongest part of each argument. Nobody should have to find money in order to start a degree, because that is the point at which access is lost. However, those who later earn a great deal because of that degree should pay back more than those who do not. This means repaying through the tax system, according to income, and writing the debt off if the income never comes.
In short, the cost should follow the benefit. What it should never be is a bill handed to an eighteen-year-old.
Why this answer works
- Both views get real weight, and the second is defended rather than knocked down. The opposite view is also serious is the sentence that lifts this essay: it signals a candidate who is thinking rather than reciting.
- The opinion is a genuine third position, not a shrug. Examiners accept a middle position, provided it is stated clearly and argued for. It depends on the situation would not qualify.
- The introduction reframes the question instead of repeating it. Saying what the argument is really about - who gains, and therefore who pays - gives the whole essay a spine.
- Each paragraph explains a mechanism, not just a claim. The access point is not left at poor students cannot afford it; it explains that what deters them is fear of the debt, before they even look at the terms.
- One sentence handles complexity well: Free education sounds fair, but its effects are not always fair. Distinguishing an intention from its result is worth more than any long word.
- The conclusion states a principle rather than a summary, and the last sentence gives it something concrete to land on.
- 276 words, sentences of about fourteen words. Aimed at Band 7 to 7.5. Notice there is no rare vocabulary anywhere in it - the marks come from structure and from answering both instructions.
Language worth borrowing
- Arguments about X are not really arguments about Y. They are arguments about Z.
- A reframing opening. Far stronger than This is a controversial topic nowadays.
- The opposite view is also serious.
- Signals genuine engagement with the other side, and is very hard to read as memorised.
- sounds fair, but its effects are not always fair
- Separates what something is meant to do from what it actually does.
- My own view takes the strongest part of each argument.
- The clean way to introduce a middle position in a discussion essay.
- In short, the cost should follow the benefit.
- A conclusion that gives a principle rather than a summary.
Check your own attempt
- Did you discuss both views at similar length?
- Did you actually state an opinion, or only imply one?
- Is your opinion consistent with what you wrote in the two body paragraphs?
- Did you explain a mechanism, or only assert a claim?
- Are you between 260 and 300 words?
Now try this variation
Some people think that governments should pay the full cost of healthcare. Others believe that individuals should contribute. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
The structure transfers exactly. The arguments do not: the who benefits framing works far less well for healthcare, because illness is not chosen. Notice where the analogy breaks - that is the thinking the examiner is looking for.
Share this
Next
Essay 3: Working from home
Advantages and disadvantages, with a verdict.
All ten essays
The full list by question type.