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Task 2 · Opinion (agree or disagree) · Education

Funding only the degrees that lead to jobs

An agree-or-disagree essay on directing public money towards employable degrees, where the band 9 answer wins by splitting the question in two.

The question

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Some governments now fund university places only in subjects that lead directly to employment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

A 250-word discursive essay — the half of the paper that carries two thirds of the marks. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.

What separates the three answers

All three answers land in roughly the same place. What separates them is what happens after the claim: the 6.5 asserts it, the 7.5 explains it, and the 9 tests it against the strongest objection to it.

The three answers

Band 6.5

279 words (the task asks for at least 250)

The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.

The answer

Nowadays, many governments only give the money for the university courses which can give the students a job after graduation. In my opinion, I agree with this idea partly1, because the money of government is limited, but I also think some other subjects are still important.

Firstly, the main reason of studying in university is to find a good job. Many students spend a lot of money for their degree, so they want to get the good salary later. If the government give the fund to subjects like engineering4, medicine and computer science, the country will have more doctors and engineers, and this is good for economy. Also the students will not be unemployed after they finish the study. For example, in my country there is many students who are studying the business, but after the graduation they can not find the job in this field.

Secondly, however, we can not say that other subjects are useless.2 For example history and literature are also important for the society, because they teach us about our culture and our past. If nobody study these subjects, we will lose our identity. Moreover, some students who study art can find the job in media or in advertising, so it is not true that these subjects have no job. Also we should remember that the university is not only the place for the training of the workers.

In conclusion, I agree that the government should give more money to the subjects which are useful for the job market, but I think they should not stop the funding for other subjects completely, because these subjects are also important for the society in the different way3.

What an examiner notices

  1. 1. Task response

    “In my opinion, I agree with this idea partly”

    The position is announced but never fixed. 'Partly' is never quantified, and the conclusion adds a further condition instead of resolving the one already on the table.

  2. 2. Coherence and cohesion

    “Secondly, however, we can not say that other subjects are useless.”

    'Secondly' signals addition, 'however' signals contrast. Stacking them shows the linkers were chosen from a list rather than from the meaning.

  3. 3. Lexical resource

    “these subjects are also important for the society in the different way”

    The exact phrase 'important for the society' has already appeared. With no second way of saying it, the conclusion can only repeat the body.

  4. 4. Grammatical range and accuracy

    “If the government give the fund to subjects like engineering”

    Singular subject with a plural verb, and 'the fund' where 'funding' is meant. Both are recoverable, which is exactly why this sits at 6.5 rather than lower.

One honest caveat

Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.

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