Ielts writing Task 2: Problem/solution essay ielts writing Task 2: full essay

Part 3
1) What impact do universities have on the places where they’re located?
I believe that the presence of a university in a town or city has a significant positive impact
on the area. For a start, it’s often the largest employer, offering jobs at all levels from
cleaners and maintenance staff to lecturers and top academics.
Large educational institutions like this bring in lots of investment from around the world
from foreign students and for important research projects. The presence of thousands of
students during term times is also a massive boost to the local economy.
In addition to the financial benefits, there several ways in which universities contribute
socially. For example, university towns and cities tend to be vibrant, with a great social life
due to the large numbers of young adults living there. What’s more, the campus itself
usually has a number of facilities that can be used by local people. A university city I used
to live in had an excellent theatre that attracted top plays, shows and performers from
around the country.


2) What is it more important for academics to do, research or teaching?
It was only recently, after reading an article about a local university, that I realised just how
much research goes on in them. It was about a new facility in the medical faculty and
outlined the important research they will now be able to carry out on stem cells and brain
tumours. This type of work is vital if we are to combat illness and disease in the future.
For most people though, universities are places of learning where you go to get your
degree and prepare for your future career, so teaching must have a high priority. As
teachers, academics have the role of passing on knowledge to the next generation.
Weighing it up, I think that the teaching side of their work is the most important because
unless they instruct and inspire their students, there will be no-one to fill the most important
jobs in society or to carry on the research work the academics do.