Sample no. 1
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.
To what extent do you agree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
There are clear arguments for banning smoking, based largely on health, but there is perhaps a stronger case to be made for maintaining the current situation, as will now be explained.
The most important factor for keeping smoking legal is that the decision to smoke is not something that should be controlled by the government, but by the individual. If a person decides to smoke, they do so of their own free will and this should be respected, as it is the government's role to advise against harmful practices, but ultimately not to make decisions for its citizens.
The other reason for allowing smoking is that by making laws against it is more likely to result in the sale of tobacco moving to the black market, and consequently increasing the level of associated crime. There will still be people who cannot overcome their addiction and will search for any means available to access cigarettes. A clear example of this reaction can be seen in the illegal sale of other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
Of course, there is the fact that smoking is known to have adverse health effects on both the smoker and those around them who are affecting by passive smoking. Yet there are other lifestyle choices that also have a negative impact, such as fast food and alcohol, and banning these items would restrict the choice available to the consumer.
In conclusion, the decision to ban smoking, although having some advantages, would be more likely to have an overall negative effect. It would therefore be better would be for the government to continue campaigns that educate people about the potential dangers of the habit.
Sample no. 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
We no longer need to have animals kept in zoos, so zoos should be closed.
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.
There has long been an argument against maintaining zoos in which animals are kept away from their natural habitat, and there is strong evidence to suggest that technology has developed to a point where such institutions are no longer needed, as will now be argued.
Traditionally, the principal argument voiced by those who wish to retain zoos was that it allowed children and adults to see animals which they more than likely would not have had a chance to do if this had required visiting the creature's natural environment. Yet there are now online videos and websites where these animals can be seen in high definition, therefore no longer needing to go to enclosures to see the animals. This is clearly evident by the declining number of visitors in recent years.
In addition, there are many cases in which animals held in captivity are not well cared for and are used solely to exploit them for profit. In some rare cases, the animals can suffer from neglect or malnutrition, and rather than being kept healthy are simply replaced when they are no longer of any value.
Granted, there are situations in which endangered species are protected and their numbers allowed to rebuild by housing them in the security of a zoo. However, in most cases, the same effect is better achieved by using more open-plan wildlife parks rather than traditional caged enclosures.
In sum, the factors which first led to the creation of zoos have been reduced by the ability of technology, so unless there is some advantage for the species itself, then the use of zoos should no longer be supported.
Sample no.3
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.
Why do you think this is? What can be done to change this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
With an increasing world population and subsequent environmental concerns, it is important to dispose of trash in an Eco-friendly manner, yet there are a significant number of places around the world that fail to do so.
There are a number of reasons that mean that recycling is not done as effectively as it could, the primary problem being the attitude of the general public. Lethargy or lack of knowledge leads people to throw all of their rubbish into one place, meaning that material that could have been sorted and reused is buried in landfills. In the UK, for example, over 20 million tonnes of waste is buried whilst less than 1 per cent of that amount is actively recycled. There is also a matter of availability, as there are situations in which recycling facilities are either extremely limited or nonexistent.
In order to combat these issues, the first step would be educating the general public about the facts of waste disposal and recycling, perhaps even enforcing participation by levying a fine against those who do not separate their rubbish into different types. Hand in hand with this, making recycling centres more available would also help, or perhaps adopting a system used in some Asian countries where households are given a number of different containers into which to sort their rubbish for collection.
Overall, it seems that a change of attitude is needed as well as more resources to manage different recyclable materials. This can be achieved through a combination of education and penalties, as well as ensuring better access to facilities.
Sample no.4
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In some countries, people are forced to retire when they reach a certain age.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Compulsory retirement is common in many countries when members of the workforce reach 65 or 70, and this has both pros and cons as will now be considered.
The main advantage of requiring people to leave their job at a certain age is that it provides opportunities for younger members of staff to join the company, often meaning that the company benefits from having lower wages to pay for the new recruit and also having younger, potentially more dynamic employees. This in turn could well give the company the required boost to continue being profitable.
Another advantage is that some older people may choose to keep working more out of habit than enjoyment, and therefore a mandatory retirement may encourage them to enjoy their life more, having the free time to engage in hobbies and interests such as gardening, which they may not have previously had time for up to that point.
Yet there are significant disadvantages in forced retirement. Older staff members often have more experience and may have no desire to leave their job. Requiring them to leave could mean a skill shortage for the company as well as a feeling of discontent from the employee. Added to that is the rising number of older people and the subsequent drain on resources if they are not working; if there are more elderly people on pensions or other benefits, the increased tax burden falls on the younger generation.
In conclusion, there are both social and economic benefits in allowing older people to remain in employment if so desired, so compulsory retirement would not be recommended.
Sample no.5
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic
In schools, most courses finish with a final exam to assess students ability. However, some people do not do well in exams. Therefore academic success should not be measured by exam performance but by an overall grade based on the whole period of study.
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.
Formal testing has often relied on an end of year assessment of a candidate's knowledge, but in many respects, this is perhaps unfair, as will now be explained.
The principal argument against using exams is that some students, although competent, simply do not respond well to formal testing. Exam nerves are common, and in extreme cases can cause a form of mental paralysis in which the student is unable to perform at all. In an average class of 20 or so students, there is statistically at least one or two students who do not manage the pressure of exams well and fail to produce results that are a reflection of their true abilities.
Another strong argument is that some areas of study do not lend themselves to traditional exams. A clear example of this can be seen in certain trade-based courses, where a long written examination is not an accurate method of assessment, and a more practical approach would be preferred. Carpentry, for example, would be best assessed by what the trainee has made over the course of study, not what they can write about in a two or three-hour exam at the end of the year
Granted, there are some fields of study that are perhaps best tested in the traditional style. For example, science or medicine based courses require a level of academic knowledge that can be evaluated through a formal assessment.
In conclusion, although certain subjects may be assessed in the traditional manner, it would perhaps be more balanced to assess a student's ability based on work they have completed over the whole period of study rather than a single written exam.
Sample no.6
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic
In many countries, schoolchildren are required to wear school uniforms.
Do you think this should this be enforced in all schools?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
In many countries, pupils are required to wear uniforms when attending school, and this is something that should be enforced for the following reasons.
Primarily, students, especially those in their teenagers years, are under pressure both academically and socially; insisting on a standardized uniform within the school alleviates some of this as it means that the student does not have to worry about whether their peers think that they are dressed well or in the latest fashions. This has the added advantage for those from lower-income families who may simply not be able to afford the clothes worn by those from more affluent families.
Not only does it remove the social pressure, but wearing a school uniform also has a psychological advantage, as the student is dressed in the mode of attire used for the study. Much like wearing a suit and tie may signal to go to work for many people, wearing a school uniform prepares the child for the day of learning.
However, this perhaps works best for younger students. By age 16 or 17, it may be appropriate for the student to wear more casual clothing when they reach their later teens, as the idea of 'conforming' by wearing a uniform could discourage the student from pursuing further education and this is often the time in which young adults are looking to establish their own clear identity. It is at this point that it may be more productive to allow more relaxed clothing such as jeans.
In conclusion, although a school uniform does have advantages at certain stages of a student's academic career, there is also a time when the enforcement of a standardized set of clothing may be counterproductive.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.
To what extent do you agree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
There are clear arguments for banning smoking, based largely on health, but there is perhaps a stronger case to be made for maintaining the current situation, as will now be explained.
The most important factor for keeping smoking legal is that the decision to smoke is not something that should be controlled by the government, but by the individual. If a person decides to smoke, they do so of their own free will and this should be respected, as it is the government's role to advise against harmful practices, but ultimately not to make decisions for its citizens.
The other reason for allowing smoking is that by making laws against it is more likely to result in the sale of tobacco moving to the black market, and consequently increasing the level of associated crime. There will still be people who cannot overcome their addiction and will search for any means available to access cigarettes. A clear example of this reaction can be seen in the illegal sale of other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
Of course, there is the fact that smoking is known to have adverse health effects on both the smoker and those around them who are affecting by passive smoking. Yet there are other lifestyle choices that also have a negative impact, such as fast food and alcohol, and banning these items would restrict the choice available to the consumer.
In conclusion, the decision to ban smoking, although having some advantages, would be more likely to have an overall negative effect. It would therefore be better would be for the government to continue campaigns that educate people about the potential dangers of the habit.
Sample no. 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
We no longer need to have animals kept in zoos, so zoos should be closed.
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.
There has long been an argument against maintaining zoos in which animals are kept away from their natural habitat, and there is strong evidence to suggest that technology has developed to a point where such institutions are no longer needed, as will now be argued.
Traditionally, the principal argument voiced by those who wish to retain zoos was that it allowed children and adults to see animals which they more than likely would not have had a chance to do if this had required visiting the creature's natural environment. Yet there are now online videos and websites where these animals can be seen in high definition, therefore no longer needing to go to enclosures to see the animals. This is clearly evident by the declining number of visitors in recent years.
In addition, there are many cases in which animals held in captivity are not well cared for and are used solely to exploit them for profit. In some rare cases, the animals can suffer from neglect or malnutrition, and rather than being kept healthy are simply replaced when they are no longer of any value.
Granted, there are situations in which endangered species are protected and their numbers allowed to rebuild by housing them in the security of a zoo. However, in most cases, the same effect is better achieved by using more open-plan wildlife parks rather than traditional caged enclosures.
In sum, the factors which first led to the creation of zoos have been reduced by the ability of technology, so unless there is some advantage for the species itself, then the use of zoos should no longer be supported.
Sample no.3
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.
Why do you think this is? What can be done to change this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
With an increasing world population and subsequent environmental concerns, it is important to dispose of trash in an Eco-friendly manner, yet there are a significant number of places around the world that fail to do so.
There are a number of reasons that mean that recycling is not done as effectively as it could, the primary problem being the attitude of the general public. Lethargy or lack of knowledge leads people to throw all of their rubbish into one place, meaning that material that could have been sorted and reused is buried in landfills. In the UK, for example, over 20 million tonnes of waste is buried whilst less than 1 per cent of that amount is actively recycled. There is also a matter of availability, as there are situations in which recycling facilities are either extremely limited or nonexistent.
In order to combat these issues, the first step would be educating the general public about the facts of waste disposal and recycling, perhaps even enforcing participation by levying a fine against those who do not separate their rubbish into different types. Hand in hand with this, making recycling centres more available would also help, or perhaps adopting a system used in some Asian countries where households are given a number of different containers into which to sort their rubbish for collection.
Overall, it seems that a change of attitude is needed as well as more resources to manage different recyclable materials. This can be achieved through a combination of education and penalties, as well as ensuring better access to facilities.
Sample no.4
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In some countries, people are forced to retire when they reach a certain age.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Compulsory retirement is common in many countries when members of the workforce reach 65 or 70, and this has both pros and cons as will now be considered.
The main advantage of requiring people to leave their job at a certain age is that it provides opportunities for younger members of staff to join the company, often meaning that the company benefits from having lower wages to pay for the new recruit and also having younger, potentially more dynamic employees. This in turn could well give the company the required boost to continue being profitable.
Another advantage is that some older people may choose to keep working more out of habit than enjoyment, and therefore a mandatory retirement may encourage them to enjoy their life more, having the free time to engage in hobbies and interests such as gardening, which they may not have previously had time for up to that point.
Yet there are significant disadvantages in forced retirement. Older staff members often have more experience and may have no desire to leave their job. Requiring them to leave could mean a skill shortage for the company as well as a feeling of discontent from the employee. Added to that is the rising number of older people and the subsequent drain on resources if they are not working; if there are more elderly people on pensions or other benefits, the increased tax burden falls on the younger generation.
In conclusion, there are both social and economic benefits in allowing older people to remain in employment if so desired, so compulsory retirement would not be recommended.
Sample no.5
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic
In schools, most courses finish with a final exam to assess students ability. However, some people do not do well in exams. Therefore academic success should not be measured by exam performance but by an overall grade based on the whole period of study.
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.
Formal testing has often relied on an end of year assessment of a candidate's knowledge, but in many respects, this is perhaps unfair, as will now be explained.
The principal argument against using exams is that some students, although competent, simply do not respond well to formal testing. Exam nerves are common, and in extreme cases can cause a form of mental paralysis in which the student is unable to perform at all. In an average class of 20 or so students, there is statistically at least one or two students who do not manage the pressure of exams well and fail to produce results that are a reflection of their true abilities.
Another strong argument is that some areas of study do not lend themselves to traditional exams. A clear example of this can be seen in certain trade-based courses, where a long written examination is not an accurate method of assessment, and a more practical approach would be preferred. Carpentry, for example, would be best assessed by what the trainee has made over the course of study, not what they can write about in a two or three-hour exam at the end of the year
Granted, there are some fields of study that are perhaps best tested in the traditional style. For example, science or medicine based courses require a level of academic knowledge that can be evaluated through a formal assessment.
In conclusion, although certain subjects may be assessed in the traditional manner, it would perhaps be more balanced to assess a student's ability based on work they have completed over the whole period of study rather than a single written exam.
Sample no.6
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic
In many countries, schoolchildren are required to wear school uniforms.
Do you think this should this be enforced in all schools?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
In many countries, pupils are required to wear uniforms when attending school, and this is something that should be enforced for the following reasons.
Primarily, students, especially those in their teenagers years, are under pressure both academically and socially; insisting on a standardized uniform within the school alleviates some of this as it means that the student does not have to worry about whether their peers think that they are dressed well or in the latest fashions. This has the added advantage for those from lower-income families who may simply not be able to afford the clothes worn by those from more affluent families.
Not only does it remove the social pressure, but wearing a school uniform also has a psychological advantage, as the student is dressed in the mode of attire used for the study. Much like wearing a suit and tie may signal to go to work for many people, wearing a school uniform prepares the child for the day of learning.
However, this perhaps works best for younger students. By age 16 or 17, it may be appropriate for the student to wear more casual clothing when they reach their later teens, as the idea of 'conforming' by wearing a uniform could discourage the student from pursuing further education and this is often the time in which young adults are looking to establish their own clear identity. It is at this point that it may be more productive to allow more relaxed clothing such as jeans.
In conclusion, although a school uniform does have advantages at certain stages of a student's academic career, there is also a time when the enforcement of a standardized set of clothing may be counterproductive.
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