IELTS Writing Task 2 (Exercises): SCIENCE EDUCATION

Topic : SCIENCE EDUCATION

Useful words and phrases:

1. a wealth of sth
2. brain-drain (np)
3. breakthrough (n)
4. compel (v)
5. driving force (np)
6. establish (v)
7. expert (n/adj)
8. framework (n)
9. instil (v)
10. migrate (v) – migration (n)
11. offer sb sth
12. paramount (adj)
13. patriotism (n) – patriotic (adj)
14. prioritise (v) – priority (n)
15. phenomenon (n)

Exercises:

Task 1: Write sentences from given cues. Make changes to the cues when needed.

1. there / many / priority / but / reduce / budget deficit / be / paramount importance.
   ___________
2. some cases / government / torture / spy / compel / them / reveal / their / secret.?
   ___________
3. framework / skybridge / be / approve / by / construction / committee.
   ___________
4. problem / brain-drain / been / increase / with / many / academic / apply / job / abroad.
   ___________
5. teacher / must / establish / rule / students / follow / while / they / in / school.
   ___________

Task 2: Fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases

Do you agree or disagree with the statement that government should invest more money in science education rather than other subjects to develop the country?

1___________an appropriate national education 2___________ is of 3___________importance to the development of any country. It is often believed that science subjects should attract more investment than other disciplines. However, I strongly disagree with this belief, because there are many subjects that are equally as important as science, or even more so.

I contend that language education plays no lesser role in developing a nation than science does. While science education is beneficial only for those with an interest in science, language education may help a nation to develop a strong labour force in almost every field. This is because language education 4___________to 5___________knowledge written in other languages, and they may become future 6___________in a variety of areas.

History is also more significant than science studies, in my opinion, because it may 7___________a sense of 8___________in students, and as a result they may be more willing to contribute to the country in thefuture. In sharp contrasttothis, many developing nations have witnessed a vast number of scientists who choose to 9___________to more developed nations for better living and working conditions. If history had been 10___________as a school subject, this 11___________may not have occurred because these scientists would have felt more 12___________to remain in their homeland and contribute to society. Finally, I would argue that the significance of the study of management and economics far outweighs that of science. In today’s world, it is common practice that one country purchases technology and inventions from another. Therefore, the advantages gained through scientific 13___________may not beassignificantforacountry beforethey were beforeglobalisation. By contrast, nowadays, there is an urgent need for management experts and economists, who are the 14___________behind economic and societal development. It is these people, not scientists, who should be prioritised in relation to investment in education.

From the issues outlined above, one may conclude that governments should not increase their spending on science education.

(338 words)

Key/Answer

Task 1:

1. There are many priorities, but reducing the budget deficit is paramount/is of paramount importance.
2. In some cases, the government will torture spies to compel them to reveal their secrets.
3. A framework for the skybridge has been approved by the construction committee.
4. The problem of brain-drain has been increasing with many academics applying for jobs abroad.
5. Teachers must establish rules for students to follow while they are in school.

Task 2:

• (1) Establishing
• (2) framework
• (3) paramount
• (4) offers students access to
• (5) a wealth of
• (6) experts
• (7) instil
• (8) patriotism
• (9) migrate
• (10) prioritised
• (11) brain- drain phenomenon
• (12) compelled
• (13) breakthroughs
• (14) driving force