IELTS Writing Task 2

Estimated Band Score: 9

Prompt:

Families who do not send their children to government-financed schools should not be
required to pay taxes that support universal education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer,
and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Essay:

Undoubtedly, mass government-funded schooling is a ubiquitous feature of modern

society. To finance such a system, governments have levied taxes, namely property taxes, in
order to pay for the associated costs. However, taxes should not be paid by parents or
guardians who choose alternative schooling arrangements for their children because doing
otherwise is undemocratic and financially burdensome.

Forcing parents to pay for public schools, which their children do not attend, is
undemocratic. Just as parents have a choice in which school to send their children, they
should also have a choice in which school to fund. Doing otherwise would make it difficult to
operate and maintain private schools, which are the ideal choice for many families. For
example, a number of faith-based schools that were once operating in Toronto, my
hometown, had to close their doors recently because parents could no longer afford rising
tuition costs. Such school closures force some parents to relocate to other parts of the city and
others to send their children to public schools.

Related to this reason is the fact that forcing families to pay for schools that their
children do not attend may cause an undue financial hardship on them. This is because they
would have to pay for monthly tuition costs, in addition to taxes that finance public schools.
For example, my uncle had to recently remove his two sons from their private school because
he could no longer afford the costs. He was paying about $4,000 yearly in property tax and
another $10,000 or so in tuition. If he were not obliged to support public schools, his children
would still be in the school of their choice today.

All in all, forcing families whose children attend private schools to pay the bill for
public schooling is fundamentally undemocratic and financially onerous. Governments
should support private schools, as well as the families whose children attend them, by giving
parents the freedom to support whichever school they see fit.
Writing Task 2 Band Score 9 (Public Version):

Task Achievement fully addresses all parts of the task

presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with
relevant, fully extended and well-supported ideas

Coherence & uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention

Cohesion skilfully manages paragraphing

Lexical Resources uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated
control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’

Grammatical Range uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare
& Accuracy minor errors occur only as ‘slips’