IELTS Writing Task 2 topics: Education, with practice questions and ideas

Education is a theme that Task 2 questions are commonly reported to touch: what schools should teach, who should reach university, how technology changes lessons, and how people keep learning as adults. IELTS publishes no list of Task 2 topics, and IELTS.org’s Academic Writing format page describes the task only as a point of view, argument or problem to respond to. The themes below are candidate-reported from practice material, so prepare by theme and by essay shape, and never rely on predicting one question.

The angles this theme comes up with

• Practical skills versus academic subjects. A question may ask whether schools should spend more time on cooking, budgeting or repair work than on history or literature. You weigh what each kind of learning gives a student later, and who decides what counts as useful.
• Access to university. Questions ask whether higher education should be open to everyone who wants it, or kept for the strongest results. You weigh fairness and opportunity against quality, crowded lecture halls and the value of other routes such as apprenticeships.
• Technology in classrooms. A statement may say tablets and online lessons improve learning, or that they distract. You weigh access to information and tailored practice against attention, screen habits and the teacher’s role.
• Discipline and the parents’ role. Questions ask who is responsible for good behaviour and attitude, the school or the family, and whether strict rules help. You weigh consistency and authority against motivation and respect.
• Testing. A question may ask whether exams are the best way to judge a student, or whether coursework and continuous assessment are fairer. You weigh clear comparison and motivation against stress and narrow teaching.
• Lifelong learning. Questions ask whether adults should keep studying after they start work, and who should make that possible. You weigh career change and personal growth against time and the pressure on workers.

Practice questions

These ten questions are invented for practice, in our own words. They are not copied from any list or past paper, and IELTS does not publish Task 2 questions. Each is labelled with the shape it takes in practice material, which is a planning convenience, not an IELTS category.

1. Schools should concentrate on practical skills such as cooking and managing money rather than on traditional academic subjects. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
2. Some people think university should be open to anyone who wants to study. Others believe places should go only to the strongest students. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (discuss both views)
3. More and more lessons are delivered through tablets and online platforms. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development? (advantages and disadvantages)
4. Many students leave school with little interest in learning. What problems does this cause, and what can schools do about it? (problem and solution)
5. Some people believe that children’s behaviour at school is the responsibility of parents, not teachers. Why might this be, and do you agree? (two-part question)
6. Exams are the fairest way to measure what a student has learned. Do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
7. Some people say adults should keep studying throughout their working lives. Others say education belongs to the early part of life. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (discuss both views)
8. Students now have far more choice about which subjects to study at school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages? (advantages and disadvantages)
9. A growing number of graduates struggle to find work that uses what they studied. What are the causes of this, and what could be done? (problem and solution)
10. In some countries, children start formal lessons at a very young age. Why is this happening, and is it a positive development? (two-part question)

Ideas for and against

Two or three reasons on each side, each with a consequence or example you could develop in a paragraph. These are starting points, not facts to quote.

Practical skills versus academic subjects

• For practical skills: a school leaver who can plan a household budget avoids avoidable debt problems early in adult life. Students who see an obvious use for a lesson often stay more engaged, which can lift effort in other subjects.
• For academic subjects: history and science teach reasoning that applies to many jobs, including ones that do not exist yet. A narrow practical curriculum decided at fourteen may close doors before a student knows what they want.

Access to university

• For wide access: a talented student from a small town should not be shut out by background, and a more educated population can fill more kinds of skilled work. Late developers gain a second chance.
• For limited places: very large cohorts can mean crowded seminars and less personal feedback. Some careers are better served by vocational training, so a degree for everyone can leave graduates with a qualification and no matching job.

Technology in classrooms

• For technology: a student who falls behind can repeat an explanation online as often as needed, and a rural school can reach lessons it could not otherwise offer. Teachers can see quickly who is struggling.
• Against: a device on the desk invites messages and games, which breaks concentration. Time on screens can reduce speaking and handwriting practice, and students without a good connection at home fall further behind.

Discipline and the parents’ role

• For parents leading: children spend most of their waking hours at home, so manners and attitudes to study start there. A parent who reads daily shows that learning matters.
• For schools sharing it: not every home can offer support, so clear school rules give those children structure. Teachers also see behaviour among peers that parents never witness.

Testing

• For exams: one paper taken under the same conditions allows a plain comparison between students, and the deadline teaches students to organise revision.
• Against: pressure before a single exam can harm results for anxious students. Teaching aimed at the test may crowd out discussion and creativity, so marks show less than they appear to.

Lifelong learning

• For: a nurse or driver whose job changes can retrain and stay employable. Older learners who study for interest often stay mentally active and more connected to their community.
• Against: workers with family duties may have no energy left for evening classes. If everyone must keep studying, people who cannot may feel left behind, and employers may expect it as a duty rather than a choice.

Vocabulary for this theme

A worked plan

Question 1: Schools should concentrate on practical skills such as cooking and managing money rather than on traditional academic subjects. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

• Position (partial): practical skills deserve a larger place, but not at the expense of academic subjects.
• Introduction: restate the topic in your own words; give the position and its boundary in one sentence.
• Body paragraph one (agree in part): reason, school leavers often meet budgeting and meal planning with no preparation. Example, a student who understands a household budget is less likely to fall into debt at nineteen. Consequence, better decisions in the first years of independence.
• Body paragraph two (the boundary): reason, academic subjects teach analysis and writing that every career uses. Example, a history essay trains a student to weigh evidence, which a manager does in meetings. Consequence, dropping these subjects early limits later choices.
• Conclusion: the same position in different words: add practical lessons, keep the academic core. No new argument.

Check that the conclusion matches the introduction, as the shape guide advises, and that each body paragraph has a reason and a development.

How the app marks it

IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 2 essay on all four criteria, with a band for each and an Examiner’s Summary, followed by what worked and how to improve for each criterion. Write an essay on one of the questions above, then read the Task response comments first: they show whether your ideas on education were developed or only listed.

Where this fits

The general answer, what are common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics, lists all the themes and explains why IELTS publishes none. Each shape has a guide: agree or disagree, discuss both views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages and two-part questions. For finished examples, see a discuss both views essay at Band 6, 7 and 8. When you have written your own answer, the essay checker gives you feedback on it.