IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.
Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth among poorer nations by providing such things as food and education? Or is it the responsibility of the governments of poorer nations to look after their citizens themselves?
You should write at least 250 words.
Use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and with relevant evidence.
Model Answer:
Hundreds of thousands of people are going through pandemic poverty in the developing countries. Some people opine that wealthy nations should lend their support by sharing resource, such as food and education. Others, on the other hand, argue that the onus is on the governments to provide their citizens with fundamental needs. Although this is a very complicated and controversial issue, I firmly believe that the governments of the developing nations are the right agent in the case.
For a start, the root cause of why people are deprived of basic needs, like food and education, is the lack of good governance. And in absence of good governance, the governments eventually become corrupted. These corruption-ridden governments exploit resources for their own interest instead of people, and eventually, they fail to provide their citizen with the basic needs. In the case, affluent nations’ help does not knock the doors of the deprived people, if there is lack of good governance. So, it is the governments which only can ensure the fundamental needs like food and education for their people.
Besides, many empirical evidences shed light on that that wealthy nations are unable to sustainably develop the poor nations and reveal that if the governments are efficient and good governance prevails, then the people are able to elevate their living standard by managing fundamental needs. For example, Nicaragua and Vietnam had been suffered of long period of conflict and both were helped with foreign aid. But Vietnam is able to conquer poverty ensuring fundamental needs to its people, whereas Nicaragua still is struggling with the ailing economy.
From the above discussion, it is obvious that foreign aid is a tool with only a limited ability to trigger growth without good governance. Therefore, the governments of the poor countries should practice good governance for ensuring basic needs.
Essay Organisation:
Theme: Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth among poorer nations or such poor countries should look after themselves?
Point 1: Development is something largely determined by poorer nations themselves.
Example: By devising domestic reforms, China and India have flourished and poverty has plunged in the both countries
Point 2: Foreign aid is a tool with only a limited ability to trigger growth.
Example: Despite the foreign aid, Nicaragua has failed to ensure basic need like food security and education.
Point 3: Every nation has its own unique history, a very different present and will chart its own version of the future.
Idea Generation for this essay:
Essay Question:
Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth among poorer nations by providing such things as food and education? Or is it the responsibility of the governments of poorer nations to look after their citizens themselves?
Identifying the Task:
Should wealthy nations share their wealth among poorer nations? Or the government of such poor nations should not rely on help from rich countries and look after themselves?
Essay Type: Argumentative. You need to support either one of these two views.
Main points to support your essay:
Why wealthy nations should share their wealth among poorer nations?
- Many poor nations suffer from very basic needs like foods, education, healthcare and infra-structure and the rich nations can easily help those nations with their abandoned resources.
- Poorer nations often have corruptions and crime and that’s why developed nations should help them to improve their socio-economic conditions.
- Humanity reaches beyond the boundaries and that’s why it’s a responsibility for the developed countries to help poor nations to overcome their poverty-stricken conditions.
- Poor nations often lack the sufficient research and experience to improve their education and health care system and that’s why rich nations should take steps to help the poor nations.
- The rich nations should monitor the progress as many poor nations have corrupted government system.
- It is the responsibility of wealthy nations to cultivate globalisation by sharing their resource.
- Wealthy nations should share their wealth for the sake of rapid development in human civilization.
- Wealthy nations should share their sophisticated technology to reduce natural calamities like global warming, CO2 emission, since it also affects the wealthy nations.
- If wealthy nations share the wealth to develop the overall life standard of the poor nations, they will create a huge market for their industry and can produce products cheaply due to low labour cost.
Why governments of poor nations should look after themselves?
- International aids often come with various conditions and that’s why government of a poor country should try to improve their condition themselves.
- No rich nations will help a poor country forever and it’s ultimately the government and citizens of a country who should try to develop themselves.
- The government of a country has better understanding regarding their natural resources, education system and need of the citizens and why they can better address their own problems.
- History of social context and economic inequality differs nation to nation.
- Innovative reforms, in terms of particular poor nation, is the key to success of a poor nation.
Useful Vocabulary:
Developed countries, first world counties, underdeveloped counties, rich nations, aid, assist, ought to, well-off, affluent, obligation, distribute, allocate, accountability, liability, economic development.