Start practising

Opinion (Agree / Disagree) Education Task 2

Some people agree that schools are no longer necessary because students can study well at home through the Internet. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan and what this question type is asking you to do.

The question

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people agree that schools are no longer necessary because students can study well at home through the Internet. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

How to read this question

You are given one statement and asked how far you agree. The examiner is checking that you take a clear position in the introduction and hold it consistently to the conclusion — a partial agreement is fine, an unclear one is not.

Paragraph plan

Introduction — Clear conditional thesis following Orkhan structure

Body 1 — Supporting the agreement with specific advantages

Body 2 — Explaining the condition/limitation

Conclusion — Restating the conditional position

Model answer

Model answer

285 words

Many people believe that traditional schools have become obsolete because students can acquire knowledge effectively through online resources. I largely agree with this view, provided that home-based learning includes adequate opportunities for social interaction and collaborative skill development.

Online learning offers significant advantages that make traditional classrooms less essential for academic achievement. Firstly, the internet provides unlimited access to educational resources, allowing students to explore topics in greater depth than typical school curricula permit. Platforms like Coursera and Khan Academy offer high-quality courses from world-renowned institutions, often surpassing the expertise available at local schools. Additionally, home-based study enables personalized learning at an individual pace. Students can spend extra time mastering challenging concepts or accelerate through familiar material, whereas rigid school schedules force all students to progress uniformly regardless of their learning needs. This flexibility particularly benefits students with learning differences who may struggle in traditional classroom environments.

However, if online education fails to provide sufficient social interaction, it cannot fully replace traditional schools. Schools serve a crucial role beyond academic instruction by fostering interpersonal skills through daily face-to-face communication, group projects, and collaborative problem-solving. These experiences teach students essential life skills such as negotiation, conflict resolution, and teamwork that are difficult to replicate in virtual environments. Furthermore, schools provide structured socialization opportunities through sports teams, clubs, and informal peer interactions that contribute significantly to emotional and social development. Without these elements, home-based learning may produce academically capable but socially underdeveloped individuals.

In conclusion, I agree that schools are no longer strictly necessary for academic learning, as online resources can provide comprehensive education more flexibly than traditional institutions. Nevertheless, this approach remains effective only when combined with adequate social interaction opportunities to ensure balanced personal development.

Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.

This is an opinion (agree / disagree) question. The model answer above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.

That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.

See the structure for this question type →

Write your own answer

Draft your response below and get it marked against all four IELTS criteria — free, no account, one check a day.

0 words Check my answer

Answers checked here may be published on this page, without your name, to help other learners. Nothing else about you is stored.