Should Museums Be Free, or Should They Charge for Entry?
A complete IELTS General Training Writing Task 2 question with a model answer of 314 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 museums should be free of charge for everyone, as they are an important part of public education. Others argue that museums should charge entry fees, because the money helps preserve exhibits and fund new ones. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Write at least 250 words.
How to approach it
- 01Address BOTH views in separate body paragraphs before stating your opinion
- 02Use concrete examples — national museums, special exhibitions, school visits
- 03Make your opinion clear in the introduction and reinforce it in the conclusion
- 04Use formal academic vocabulary: 'egalitarian argument', 'cultural enrichment', 'hybrid approach'
- 05Avoid extreme positions; a balanced stance often scores higher
- 06Use cohesive devices to signal contrast and conclusion clearly
Model answer
314 words in 5 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.
In many countries, debates over how museums should be funded have intensified as cultural institutions face rising costs and shrinking budgets. Supporters of free entry view museums as a public service, while proponents of admission fees argue that charging visitors is essential for keeping collections in good condition. In my view, museums should generally be free, with carefully chosen exceptions to support preservation.
Those who favour free museums put forward a strong egalitarian argument. Museums hold the cultural and scientific heritage of a society and should be accessible to all citizens, regardless of income. Charging entry inevitably deters low-income families, students, and tourists from visiting, narrowing the audience to those who can already afford cultural enrichment. Free access also boosts educational outcomes — school groups, casual visitors, and lifelong learners are far more likely to engage with exhibits when the financial barrier is removed.
On the other hand, supporters of entry charges raise legitimate practical concerns. Museums incur substantial costs in storing, restoring, and exhibiting their collections, and entry fees provide a stable, predictable source of income that does not rely on the political whims of government grants. Charges can also help manage visitor numbers in popular institutions, preventing overcrowding that risks damaging fragile artefacts. Furthermore, supplementary income from ticket sales allows curators to invest in new acquisitions and temporary exhibitions.
In my opinion, the best approach combines free general entry with a paid model for special exhibitions and a voluntary donation system. National collections funded by taxpayers should remain free at the point of use, in the same way as public libraries, while temporary blockbuster shows can reasonably charge a fee. This hybrid approach preserves accessibility while generating the revenue museums genuinely need.
In conclusion, although charging for museum entry is understandable from a financial perspective, free access better serves the educational mission of these institutions. A balanced model offers the strongest path forward.
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.
23 more than the median answer for this task type
8 words at the shortest, 32 at the longest
1 more than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 19.6 words and vary by 6.8 words either side of that, running from 8 words to 32. 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. 8 of the 16 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
7 in total, spread across 3 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.
on the other hand, although, while
furthermore
in conclusion
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 78 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 66 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 Response
Address both views in depth and provide a clear, consistent personal opinion supported by reasons and examples.
Coherence & Cohesion
Use a clear four or five paragraph structure with effective topic sentences and a variety of linking devices.
Lexical Resource
Use precise vocabulary on culture, education, and public funding with strong collocations.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Use a range of complex grammatical structures with accuracy, including conditionals and relative clauses.
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