Sample essay: discuss both views

A sample answer written by us to a "discuss both views" question, with comments. We do not give it a band: only certificated IELTS examiners award bands.

The question

Some people think that parents should decide what their children study. Others believe young people should make this choice themselves. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Sample answer

Choosing a course of study is one of the first important decisions in a young person's life. Some people feel that parents should make it, while others think the student should be free to choose. In my view, the decision belongs to the student, but it should be made with the parents' advice.

Those who support the parents' right to decide point to experience. Parents have seen more of working life and understand which careers offer security. They also usually pay for the education, so it seems fair that they have a voice. A sixteen-year-old may choose a subject simply because friends are taking it, and regret the choice later.

On the other hand, a course that is forced on a student rarely leads to success. A young person who has no interest in engineering or medicine will find the years of study long and difficult, and may never do well in that career. People work hardest at what they enjoy. Besides, the world of work changes quickly, and jobs that parents consider safe may not exist in twenty years.

I believe the best decisions are made together. Parents can explain the practical side: costs, job prospects and the family's situation. The student, however, knows his or her own abilities and interests best, and will have to live with the result. For this reason the final choice should be the student's.

To sum up, parents offer valuable guidance, but a course chosen by the student is more likely to be completed with energy and success. Advice from parents and a free choice for the young person is, I think, the right balance.

About 270 words.

Comments

Task response. All three parts of the instruction are covered: the parents' view (paragraph 2), the students' view (paragraph 3) and the writer's opinion (introduction, paragraph 4 and conclusion). Each view is given fair space with reasons.
Coherence and cohesion. The order follows the question. "Those who support ...", "On the other hand", "I believe" and "To sum up" mark the stages without being mechanical. Reference words link sentences: "it", "that career", "the result".
Lexical resource. Suitable vocabulary for the topic: course of study, job prospects, security, guidance, abilities. Repetition is avoided: decide, choose, make this choice, the decision.
Grammatical range and accuracy. Relative clauses ("a course that is forced on a student"), a modal of possibility ("may not exist"), comparison ("hardest", "more likely") and a variety of sentence lengths.

The common mistake with this type

Many answers give only the view the writer agrees with, or give both views and forget the opinion. Before you start, write three headings on your plan: View A, View B, My view. If any is empty, the task is not complete.

Try it yourself

Answer the same question with a different opinion, or try question 6 or 8 on the practice questions page.

Sample essay: problem and solution All writing pages

Independent practice site. IELTS Practice is not connected with, approved by or endorsed by the British Council, IDP IELTS or Cambridge University Press & Assessment, who jointly own IELTS. The practice tasks and sample answers here are our own; they are not official test questions, and we do not award bands. Facts about the test were read on ielts.org on 12 November 2026. For registration, fees, dates and official sample tests, go to ielts.org.