Renewable Energy: Government or Individual Responsibility?
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 question with a model answer of 273 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 40 minutes. Write at least 250 words.
Some people believe that the shift to renewable energy should be driven mainly by governments through laws and investment. Others argue that ordinary individuals can do more by changing how they consume and live. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Write at least 250 words.
How to approach it
- 01Discuss BOTH views with comparable depth before stating your own opinion
- 02State your overall position in the introduction so the reader knows where you are going
- 03Use concrete national examples (Germany, Denmark) and concrete personal actions (heat pumps, green tariffs)
- 04Use linkers that signal balance: 'however', 'on the other hand', 'in my view'
- 05Acknowledge that responsibility is shared even if you weight one side more heavily
Model answer
273 words in 4 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has become one of the defining policy questions of our time, but there is sharp disagreement over whether the responsibility for delivering it lies with governments or with ordinary citizens. While both have a role to play, I believe governments must lead and individuals must follow, because only public authority can shift the structures that lock everyone into the current system.
Those who emphasise individual action point out that consumer behaviour ultimately drives demand for energy. Households can insulate their homes, switch to electric vehicles, reduce flying and choose green tariffs from their suppliers. When millions of such choices are aggregated, they reshape markets and send powerful signals to investors. Personal action is also immediate, does not depend on slow legislation, and reflects the democratic principle that those who consume should help solve the problems consumption creates.
However, individual choices operate inside a system designed by governments. A household cannot install solar panels if planning rules forbid them, cannot use public transport that does not run, and cannot afford a heat pump without subsidies. The technologies and grids that make renewable energy possible — offshore wind farms, electric vehicle charging networks, large-scale storage — require decades of state-backed investment and regulation. Countries such as Germany and Denmark, which began their energy transition through deliberate policy, are far ahead of those that left it to consumer goodwill.
In my view, individuals should certainly act where they can, but the scale of the climate challenge demands government leadership. Without policy frameworks, taxes and infrastructure, well-intentioned personal choices will simply not add up to the change the planet now needs.
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 69 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
18 fewer than the median answer for this task type
10 words at the shortest, 38 at the longest
the same as the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 22.8 words and vary by 7.3 words either side of that, running from 10 words to 38. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 7 of the 12 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
6 in total, spread across 5 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
however, while
because
such as
ultimately
certainly
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 87 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 78 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 3 words. Examiners discount wording lifted from the question, so a short run here is the right outcome: the answer restates the topic in its own words rather than borrowing the question's.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Achievement
Discuss both views fully and present a clear personal opinion with reasons
Coherence & Cohesion
Use a clean four-paragraph structure that separates the two views before your opinion
Lexical Resource
Accurate vocabulary for energy policy, climate change and consumer behaviour
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Use a range of complex structures including concessive and conditional clauses
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