IELTS Practice with a Friend: Should University Be Free?

Okay, my turn to be the examiner.

Should university education be free for everyone?

Oh, easy. Absolutely, yes!

Hang on, you need to justify that properly.

Fine. Education is a public good, not a luxury.

Society benefits when more people are highly educated.

Otherwise, crippling debt puts off students from poorer backgrounds.

Nice, 'crippling debt' is a strong collocation.

But who foots the bill? Taxpayers?

Well, yes, ultimately...

Ha, so a plumber subsidises a future lawyer's degree?

Ugh, you sound exactly like my uncle!

Seriously though, examiners love it when you concede a point.

Hmm, okay. I'll admit that's a fair objection.

Perhaps graduates could repay through higher taxes later on.

That way, it's free at the point of entry.

Ooh, that's a really sophisticated answer!

Next one. Are some degrees more valuable than others?

Wow, that's quite a loaded question!

In purely economic terms, engineering probably pays off more.

But it'd be tragic to dismiss the arts as worthless.

Why tragic? Isn't that just the market at work?

Because creativity drives entire industries, like film and design.

Plenty of successful companies rely on humanities graduates, actually.

Okay, you've won me over. Brilliant answer!

Right, swap! Now it's your turn to suffer.

Oh no. Go easy on me, please...

Not a chance. Describe a book that changed your life!