IELTS Writing Task 2: 'gender and university' essay
Here's my full essay using last week's plan:
Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
In my opinion, men and women should have the same educational opportunities. However, I do not agree with the idea of accepting equal proportions of each gender in every university subject.
Having the same number of men and women on all degree courses is simply unrealistic. Student numbers on any course depend on the applications that the institution receives. If a university decided to fill courses with equal numbers of males and females, it would need enough applicants of each gender. In reality, many courses are more popular with one gender than the other, and it would not be practical to aim for equal proportions. For example, nursing courses tend to attract more female applicants, and it would be difficult to fill these courses if fifty per cent of the places needed to go to males.
Apart from the practical concerns expressed above, I also believe that it would be unfair to base admission to university courses on gender. Universities should continue to select the best candidates for each course according to their qualifications. In this way, both men and women have the same opportunities, and applicants know that they will be successful if they work hard to achieve good grades at school. If a female student is the best candidate for a place on a course, it would be wrong to reject her in favour of a male student with lower grades or fewer qualifications.
In conclusion, the selection of university students should be based on merit, and it would be both impractical and unfair to change to a selection procedure based on gender.
(265 words, band 9)
Posted by Simon in IELTS Writing Task 2 | Permalink | Comments (35)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
IELTS Writing Task 2: 'gender and university' topic
A few people have asked me about this question from Cambridge IELTS 5:
Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
I did a lesson about this question with my students. Here are our ideas:
Introduction: We decided to completely disagree with the question statement. You don't need to explain both sides of the argument. Just give your opinion in the introduction, then support it in the main body paragraphs.
Paragraph 2: One reason why we decided to disagree is that it would not be practical or realistic to have exactly the same number of males and females on every course. Some courses have mainly male applicants, while others are more popular with females.
Paragraph 3: Another reason we disagreed is that it would not be fair to base admission to courses on gender. Universities should select candidates based on their qualifications, skills, experience etc.
Conclusion: Repeat the idea that selecting according to gender is not the best way to ensure equal opportunities for men and women at university.
I'll put a full example essay on the site next week. You are welcome to share your own ideas, but I'm afraid I can't give feedback, scores or corrections.
