In this question, you are given the opinion that spending money on the arts is a waste of money, and it would be better spent on public services.

You then have to say if you agree or disagree. So you would need to decide what you think and give reasons to support your decision.

The sample IELTS writing model answer presented here is a balanced argument that partly agrees with this opinion.

This is made clear in the thesis statement:

Although I agree that it is important to spend money on public services, I do not think spending on the arts is a waste of money.

So the writer does not think it is a 'waste of money'; however, he/she does think the majority of money should go on public services.

The essay, therefore, needs to explain this, and so is organized as follows:

Body 1: Support for spending most money on public services
Body 2: Support for spending some on the arts

Sample IELTS Writing

These days, the government spends a large part of its budget not only on public services, but also the arts. Although I agree that it is important to spend money on public services, I do not think spending on the arts is a waste of money.

There are several reasons for spending a significant amount of the government budget on public services. First and foremost, public services are the things such as hospitals, roads and schools, and these things determine the quality of life that most of us will have. For example, if the government does not spend enough money on hospitals, the health of our society may decline. Similarly, if not enough money is spent on schools, our children may not be properly educated. Also, it will be the poor in our society that will be affected more if we do not spend enough on these things because they are the ones more dependent on such services.

However, this does not mean that the arts should be completely neglected. To begin, it is difficult for many arts institutions to generate much profit, so without some help from the government, many theatres and other such places may have to close. Moreover, the arts also have an important impact on our quality of life. Many people get great pleasure in going to see music and theatre performances so it is important that the government assists such institutions so that they can continue to provide entertainment to the public.

To sum up, there are clear benefits of ensuring a large amount of investment goes into public services as this influences the quality of life for nearly all of us. That said, I do not believe spending money on the arts is a waste of money as this too provides important benefits.

(299 words)

Comments

The essay gives a clear thesis at the beginning. This makes it clear that the writer partly agrees with the statement i.e. it is not a waste of money, but it is if too much is spent on it.

It is also a well-organized essay. The first paragraph sets out why the writer thinks a significant portion of money should go on public services. This is supported with reasons and examples.

The second paragraph in this sample IELTS writing then sets out clearly why some money should also go on the arts.

The conclusion then restates the authors opinion.