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

Government and society covers the choices a community makes together: what public services receive attention, who looks after people who need help, what citizens owe one another and how far the law should reach into private life. IELTS publishes no list of Task 2 topics. The themes here are commonly reported by candidates from practice material, so prepare by theme and by essay shape, and answer the question in front of you.

The angles this theme comes up with

• Spending priorities. Questions ask what public money should go to first: health, education, culture or something else. You weigh urgent need against long-term benefit, and say who gains from each choice.
• Supporting older people. Questions ask whether care is a job for the state, for families or for neighbourhoods. You weigh dependable services against closeness and personal attention.
• Volunteering and community. Questions ask whether people, especially the young, should be encouraged or required to give time. You weigh the skills and connections it builds against the loss of choice.
• Laws and personal choices. Questions ask whether governments should regulate things like diet, smoking or seat belts. You weigh protecting people and others around them against adult freedom of choice.
• Civic participation. Questions ask about voting, young people’s interest in politics and residents having a say in local decisions. You weigh legitimacy and engagement against pressure and apathy.

Practice questions

These ten questions are invented for practice, in our own words. They are not copied from any list or past paper. Each shape links to its guide the first time it appears.

1. Governments should spend public money on the arts only after the needs of health and education have been met. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
2. All young people should be required to spend some time doing voluntary work for their community. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (agree or disagree)
3. Some people believe governments should make laws to protect people from unhealthy choices. Others believe adults should decide for themselves. Discuss both views and give your opinion. (discuss both views)
4. Some people think the best way to support older people is through government services. Others think families should take the main responsibility. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (discuss both views)
5. In many countries the proportion of older people is rising. Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages? (advantages and disadvantages)
6. In some countries voting in national elections is compulsory. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages? (advantages and disadvantages)
7. Many people take no part in the life of their local community. What problems does this cause, and what can be done to encourage participation? (problem and solution)
8. Young people in many places show little interest in politics. What problems might this cause, and how could they be encouraged to take part? (problem and solution)
9. In some towns, residents vote directly on how part of the local budget is spent. Why is this happening? Is it a positive development? (two-part question)
10. More older people now live alone. What are the reasons for this, and how can neighbourhoods help them? (two-part question)

Ideas for and against

Spending priorities

• For putting health and education first: a healthy, educated population can work, learn and look after others, so these services support everything else. A shortage here, such as a long wait for treatment, harms people immediately.
• For funding the arts too: museums, theatre and music give a community a shared identity and attract visitors who support local businesses. Children who take part in the arts often gain confidence that helps them in school.
• Against ranking them strictly: needs overlap, since a music programme in a hospital may help recovery, so a fixed order can be too rigid.

Supporting older people

• For government services: trained staff and public care homes provide a standard of care that does not depend on a family’s circumstances. People who have no relatives nearby are still looked after.
• For families and neighbours: someone who knows an older person well notices small changes in health or mood. Care at home also keeps a person in a familiar place, which many find comforting.
• Against family-only care: relatives who work or live far away cannot always help, and a carer who gives up a job may suffer stress and isolation.

Volunteering and community

• For encouraging or requiring it: young people meet people from different backgrounds, which breaks down stereotypes. A student who helps at a food bank also learns teamwork and responsibility that a classroom does not teach.
• Against compelling it: people who are forced may do the work badly or resent it, so the community gains little. Some young people also have family duties or part-time jobs that leave no time.

Laws and personal choices

• For regulation: a rule such as compulsory seat belts reduces injuries, which lowers the pressure on hospitals. Choices like smoking in public affect people nearby who did not choose the risk.
• Against regulation: adults are entitled to weigh risks for themselves, and too many rules can make people feel treated like children. Laws that are hard to enforce also reduce respect for the law in general.

Civic participation

• For compulsory voting or direct local votes: a government elected by most citizens has a stronger claim to represent them, and residents who help decide a local matter tend to feel responsible for the result.
• Against: voters who are made to attend may choose at random, which does not improve decisions. Local votes can also be dominated by those with the most time and loudest voices.

Vocabulary for this theme

A worked plan

Question 3: some people believe governments should make laws to protect people from unhealthy choices. Others believe adults should decide for themselves. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

• Introduction. Paraphrase both views. Opinion: governments should regulate choices that harm other people or that are very hard to resist, but leave purely personal choices to adults.
• Body paragraph one (the view for laws). Reason: some risks fall on others. Consequence: a ban on smoking in enclosed public places protects workers and children who did not choose the smoke. Example: a restaurant employee who breathes smoke all shift has no real choice, so a law protects them.
• Body paragraph two (the view for individual choice, with my opinion). Reason: adults can weigh their own risks, and heavy rules treat them as unable to decide. Consequence: people may resent the rules and find ways around them. Example: a ban on a popular snack food could be widely ignored, whereas clear labels and information let people choose, so awareness campaigns suit private habits better than laws.
• Conclusion. Laws are justified when others are harmed. Otherwise, information and education respect adult choice and work better.

How the app marks it

IELTS Mentor AI marks a Task 2 essay on all four criteria, reports a band range for each criterion and adds an Examiner’s Summary. After you answer one of these questions, the Task Response comments are the ones to read first: they show whether each reason about society was explained and supported, or only stated.

Where this fits

This page is one theme among the commonly reported ones. The general answer, what are common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics, explains why the themes are candidate-reported and not an IELTS list. The shape guides cover how to plan each type of question: agree or disagree, discuss both views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages and two-part questions. To see a finished essay at three levels, read a discuss both views essay at Band 6, 7 and 8, and when you have written your own, the essay checker gives you feedback on it.