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IELTS Essays – Band 8

IELTS Writing – Band 8 IELTS Sample Essays

IELTS essay, topic: The best way to solve environmental problems is to increase the price of fuel (agree/disagree)

This essay topic was seen in a recent IELTS test in Taiwan

Some people believe that the best way to solve environmental problems is to increase the price of fuel.Do you agree or disagree?

Sample Band 8 Essay

Raising the price of car fuel is believed by some people to be an excellent method to solve the growing number of environmental issues. However, I strongly disagree with this idea, as doing so would make life difficult for lower-income households. While making fuel more expensive wouldn’t change the habits of wealthy families, switching to fossil fuel alternatives could prove to be much more beneficial for the environment.

The most compelling reason against raising the cost of fuel is that the upper classes of society will hardly be affected by rising fuel costs, as this only makes up a minor proportion of their expenditure. They will continue to use their personal vehicles as they wish without a thought for the environment or the higher fuel prices, even if their country has state-of-the-art public transportation.

Those who will feel the crunch of this decision are the middle-class and lower-income households, since travelling is a major part of most people’s routine, be it to work, school or shopping. Driving is almost unavoidable in many instances; therefore, raising the price of petrol would only serve to widen the gap between the rich and poor, and serve as an inadvertent form of discrimination.

Another reason why increasing the cost of fuel is far from the best way to deal with environmental pollution is that now there are much more viable alternatives. Due to the rapid advances in technology, scientists and engineers have been able to develop several alternatives to fossil fuel, such as cars powered by electricity or naturally produced biofuel. The move to adopt clean energy sources instead of fossil fuels is a much more promising alternative compared to simply making fuel more expensive.

In conclusion, I believe that governments of the world should invest more time and money in finding alternatives to fossil fuels that are more environmentally friendly, rather than simply raising the cost of petrol.

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IELTS essay, topic: Who should discipline the children, parents or the government? (discuss + opinion)

This essay topic was seen in a recent IELTS test in Kenya

Discipline is a growing problem in modern schools. Some people think that parents should discipline their own children, while others think it should be the responsibility of the government. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Sample Band 8 Essay

While some people argue that parents should take sole responsibility for disciplining their children, others take the view that the government should be in charge of such matters. In my opinion, the young generation should be primarily guided by their parents where rules of behavior and moral principles are concerned. However, in some instances government intervention is necessary.

On one side of the argument, there are people who hold the opinion that the responsibility of disciplining a child falls squarely on parents’ shoulders, since they are their first educators, and it is their duty to equip their children with good manners and morals even before their first day at school. In addition, every family has a unique understanding of what a suitable form of discipline entails. Therefore, some parents are concerned that any form of punishment meted out at school might be too harsh. To overcome this issue, they believe that parents should be informed by the school of their child’s wrongdoing so that they could decide an appropriate consequence for their behavior at home.

Unfortunately, not all parents are objective enough to make the right decisions when it comes to the upbringing of their children. Some may lack information or sound moral background to discipline their children in a meaningful way. Therefore, the state should shoulder some of the responsibility by implementing a strict set of guidelines and policies on how to discipline children at school. I believe that such policies result in children who flourish and are more likely to become productive citizens that actively contribute to a prosperous nation. Also, this would help both parents and teachers understand which punishments are suitable for minor infractions like missing an assignment or major incidents like bullying or skipping school.

In conclusion, while both views are commonly held in society, I believe that the government must be actively involved in the policies related to discipline at schools as this would ensure the well-being and successful development of the youth.

Teacher’s comment: The writer has addressed all parts of the task in their response. The ideas are relevant and clear, sufficiently developed and supported. Substitution and referencing assist the writer in maintaining coherence throughout the essay. The correct use of paragraphing and sequencing of information help the writer to keep their ideas and arguments organised. The range of vocabulary includes uncommon lexical items. The majority of the sentences are error-free, and the writer has used a variety of sentence structures. This essay is likely to get Band 8 – 8.5 in IELTS.

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