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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 2 Band 5.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

314 words AcademicTask 2
Task 2

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Publicly funded professional training may create a reasonable expectation that graduates contribute to local services, especially where skilled workers are scarce.
  • Freedom to work abroad can support career development and may bring expertise back through return migration or international collaboration.
  • A choice between a defined period of service and proportionate repayment can balance public investment with individual mobility.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the disagreement and state a qualified position.
  2. Explain the argument for requiring local service, linking public funding to shortages and taxpayer benefit.
  3. Present the case for freedom of movement, including professional opportunity and possible benefits to the home country.
  4. Give your own balanced solution and explain why it is fair.
  5. Conclude by restating the principle that retention is better supported by good opportunities than by excessive restrictions.
Useful vocabulary & examples
public investment
Government or taxpayer spending intended to benefit the public.

A period of local service could help ensure that public investment in medical training benefits the community.

skilled-worker shortages
A lack of qualified people available to fill important jobs.

Skilled-worker shortages may worsen if many newly trained professionals leave immediately.

a proportionate share
A fair amount that reflects the size or level of something.

Graduates could repay a proportionate share of heavily subsidised training costs.

freedom of movement
The ability to choose where to live or work without unreasonable restrictions.

A balanced policy should recognise professionals’ freedom of movement.

Task Prompt

Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training. Others believe that they should be free to work in another country if they wish. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 5.0

Whilst many think that professional workers owe a debt to the country they trained in, I believe they should be free to work where they choose because they can make more money. On the one hand, professionals often receive considerable funding from their government to become fully qualified. It is only fair that they should work in the country for some years after graduation. The money for universities and hospitals comes from taxes paid by citizens, so if doctors leave immediately, the country may lose both the money and the skills it helped to create. This is a serious problem in poorer countries, where there may already be too few doctors and engineers. For example, patients can wait longer for treatment when many trained doctors move away.

On the other hand, a person should have the right to decide where to live and work. Professionals may find better salaries, modern equipment or more chances to develop their skills in another country. They may also want to join family members or experience a different culture. If governments force them to stay, they could feel unhappy and work less effectively. In addition, people who move abroad can send money home and share useful knowledge with their original country later.

In my opinion, professionals should be free to choose, although governments can ask them to serve locally for a limited time if they received public support. Such a rule should be clear before they start their training, and it should not stop them from leaving forever. Governments should also improve pay and working conditions so that staying is an attractive choice. This is better than forcing people to remain.

To conclude, training costs give countries a good reason to expect some service, but they should not control a person's whole career. A fair service period can help the country, while still allowing professionals to work abroad afterwards.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Develop the public-funding argument by explaining what a limited service period would repay, rather than relying mainly on the general idea that training is expensive.
2
In the freedom paragraph, connect each benefit—salary, equipment, family, or culture—to why professionals might reasonably choose to move.
3
Replace broad or repeated wording such as “make more money” and “the country” with precise alternatives where appropriate, then check that each paragraph still supports your main opinion.

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Band 9.0

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