Thao Ngo IELTS Student's Edition
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THAO NGO IELTS
MTESOL · Academic Director · IELTS–AI Trainer
IELTS Writing Task 2 · Essay Outline

Should Governments Pay University Fees? — 27.01 & 08.02.2026

Essay type: Opinion (agree / disagree — to what extent)Band 4.5-6.0Stance: DisagreeTarget ≈ 260 wordsModel essay: Band 6.0
Student's Edition
Ngô Đức Thảo
Ngô Đức Thảo
MTESOL · Academic Director
Task 2 Topic

The government should pay the course fees for everyone who wants to study at university.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
(Same idea, 08.02.2026: Some people believe that governments should pay full course fees for students who want to study in universities. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?)

1Task analysis

ItemDetail
Essay typeOpinion (agree / disagree — to what extent)
Main topicWhether the state should cover all university tuition for every student who wants to study
Keywordsgovernment · pay the course fees · everyone · study at university
Task focusJudge whether all university fees for everyone should be paid by the government
Required positionSay clearly how far you agree or disagree and keep the same position in every paragraph
Plain-English meaningShould university be completely free for anyone who wants to go, with the government paying?
Hidden trapNotice everyone and full fees — you can disagree with paying for everyone while still supporting help for poor students
Chosen stanceDisagree. Free university for everyone is too expensive, and students who benefit should pay part of the cost; poor students still need help
Main-idea planBP1 → paying for everyone costs too much and takes money from hospitals and schools · BP2 → students get good jobs later, so they should pay part

2Idea generation

Body 1 — Too expensive for the budget

  • It costs the government too much money ✓ strongest
  • Less money for hospitals, roads and primary schools
  • Taxes would have to rise dự phòng

Body 2 — Students should share the cost

  • Graduates earn more, so they should pay part ✓ strongest
  • Students study harder when they pay
  • Scholarships for poor students are enough dự phòng

✓ strongest = ý dùng trong bài mẫu · dự phòng = ý thay thế, không có trong bài mẫu.

3Skeleton

Introduction
  • General statement: University is expensive
  • Paraphrased task: Rewrite: government pays all fees for anyone
  • Thesis: I disagree — two reasons
Body 1: Too expensive → less money for hospitals, schools
Body 2: Graduates earn more → share the cost; help only poor students
Conclusion: Restate the opinion → summarise both reasons → final thought

4Plan & write your paragraphs

How to use: Read the main idea, tap the cue words to add them to the box, then write your own sentence. Your essay is built automatically at the bottom and saved in this browser.

Introduction(40–55 words)

0 words
Goal: Topic → rewrite the statement → give your opinion.
General statement
Main idea: University is expensive
Starter: In many countries, studying … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Paraphrased task
Main idea: Rewrite: government pays all fees for anyone
Starter: Some people think that … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Thesis
Main idea: I disagree — two reasons
Starter: I disagree with this … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.

Body Paragraph 1 — Too expensive for the budget(80–95 words)

0 words
Goal: Reason 1: explain it and give an example.
Topic sentence
Main idea: Costs a huge amount
Starter: Firstly, paying university fees … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Explanation 1
Main idea: Less money for hospitals, roads
Starter: Every year, millions of … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Example
Main idea: Villages lack hospitals, schools
Starter: For example, if a … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Link
Main idea: Not fair to spend only on students
Starter: Therefore, it is not … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.

Body Paragraph 2 — Students should share the cost(80–95 words)

0 words
Goal: Reason 2: explain it and give an example.
Topic sentence
Main idea: Graduates get better jobs → pay part
Starter: Secondly, students who go … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Explanation 1
Main idea: Degree → higher salary
Starter: A university degree helps … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Example
Main idea: Doctors, engineers earn more
Starter: For instance, a doctor … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Link
Main idea: Scholarships for poor students
Starter: However, the government should … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.

Conclusion(30–45 words)

0 words
Goal: Repeat your opinion, sum up both reasons, final thought. No new ideas!
Restated thesis
Main idea: I disagree
Starter: In conclusion, I disagree … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Summary
Main idea: Too costly + students share cost
Starter: This policy costs too … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.
Final thought
Main idea: Help poor students instead
Starter: Instead, the government should … ·
Tap a cue word to insert it at the cursor.

📝 My essay

✓ saved

5Language bank (Band 4.5-6.0)

Mỗi đoạn có bảng collocation riêng. ✓ = có trong bài mẫu · + = cụm mở rộng để học viên tự dùng. 5.0 = nền tảng · 6.0 = nâng band.

Introduction

CollocationFormVietnameseBandBài mẫu
very expensiveadv + adjrất đắt đỏ5.0✓
young peopleadj + nounngười trẻ5.0✓
pay all the feesverb + nountrả toàn bộ học phí5.0✓
go to universityverb phrasehọc đại học5.0✓
two main reasonsnoun phrasehai lý do chính6.0✓

Body Paragraph 1 — Too expensive for the budget

CollocationFormVietnameseBandBài mẫu
university feesnoun + nounhọc phí đại học5.0✓
a huge amount of moneynoun phrasemột khoản tiền khổng lồ6.0✓
important thingsadj + nounnhững việc quan trọng5.0✓
primary schoolsadj + nountrường tiểu học5.0✓
a poor countryadj + nounmột nước nghèo5.0✓
its budgetnoun phrasengân sách của nó6.0✓

Body Paragraph 2 — Students should share the cost

CollocationFormVietnameseBandBài mẫu
better jobsadj + nouncông việc tốt hơn5.0✓
pay part of the costverb phrasetrả một phần chi phí6.0✓
a university degreenoun phrasebằng đại học5.0✓
earn a higher salaryverb + nounkiếm lương cao hơn6.0✓
the biggest benefitnoun phraselợi ích lớn nhất6.0✓
give scholarshipsverb + nouncấp học bổng6.0✓
poor familiesadj + noungia đình nghèo5.0✓

Conclusion

CollocationFormVietnameseBandBài mẫu
In conclusionlinkertóm lại5.0✓
costs too much moneyverb phrasetốn quá nhiều tiền5.0✓
share the costverb + nounchia sẻ chi phí6.0✓
scholarships and loansnoun phrasehọc bổng và khoản vay6.0✓

Useful structures

6Self-check before you submit

7🔒 Model Essay (Band 6.0)

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