Should Universities Set Gender Quotas in Subject Enrolment?
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 question with a model answer of 274 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 universities should set gender quotas to ensure equal numbers of male and female students in subjects that are currently dominated by one gender, such as nursing, computer science and engineering. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Write at least 250 words.
How to approach it
- 01State the extent of your agreement explicitly in the introduction — 'largely disagree' is a stronger position than vague hedging
- 02Acknowledge the strongest argument on the opposing side before refining or rejecting it
- 03Distinguish between the goal (equal enrolment) and the specific tool (quotas) — disagreeing with the tool is not disagreeing with the goal
- 04Propose alternative interventions to show solution-oriented thinking, not just opposition
- 05Use precise policy and gender vocabulary: 'pipeline', 'role-modelling', 'implicit bias'
Model answer
274 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.
Persistent gender imbalances in subjects such as nursing and engineering have led some commentators to call for university quotas that would force a more even split. While I understand the impulse behind this proposal, I largely disagree with the idea, because quotas treat symptoms rather than causes and may produce unintended harm.
Supporters of quotas have a real concern at heart. The current pattern, in which engineering remains over 80 per cent male and nursing equally female, perpetuates wage gaps and reduces the diversity of perspectives in influential fields. A quota would send a strong public signal that imbalance is unacceptable, encourage role-modelling, and ensure that no qualified candidate is held back by industry stereotypes. In sectors where progress has been slow, deliberate intervention may well accelerate change.
However, university-level quotas address the wrong stage of the pipeline. By the time students apply to study computer science or nursing, their interests have already been shaped by a decade of schooling, parental expectations and media imagery. A quota that admits female applicants ahead of better-qualified male candidates — or vice versa — risks setting up some students for failure and breeds resentment that ultimately undermines the cause. It can also raise legal and ethical concerns about treating individuals as representatives of a demographic rather than on their own merits. A more effective response is to intervene far earlier: invest in school outreach, fund scholarships, modernise textbook examples and challenge teachers' implicit biases.
In conclusion, while I share the goal of more gender-balanced enrolment, I disagree that quotas at the point of university entry are the right tool. Sustained change starts in primary classrooms, not in admissions offices.
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.
17 fewer than the median answer for this task type
9 words at the shortest, 29 at the longest
1 more than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 21.1 words and vary by 7.3 words either side of that, running from 9 words to 29. 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. 6 of the 13 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
7 in total, spread across 4 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
in conclusion, ultimately
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 89 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 82 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
State a clear position and develop it with relevant arguments while addressing the counter-view
Coherence & Cohesion
Use a clean four-paragraph structure with explicit signposting of agreement and disagreement
Lexical Resource
Use precise vocabulary for education, gender policy and social change
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Use a range of complex structures including concessive clauses and conditionals
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