Choose the Better Thesis - IELTS 5.0 W T2

Question 1

Prompt: "Some people think secondary schools should teach a second language from age 11. To what extent do you agree?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Language teaching should begin at eleven, chiefly because younger learners copy new sounds far more readily than teenagers do.

Answer

The age at which schools should begin a second language is a question parents and teachers raise constantly.

Answer

Schools should hire teachers who grew up speaking the language, because a class learns faster from a confident speaker.

Answer

Starting the language early has something to be said for it, and so does leaving it until later.

Question 2

Prompt: "Do the advantages of working from home outweigh the disadvantages?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

The advantages clearly outweigh the drawbacks, above all because the hours lost to commuting are returned to the worker.

Answer

Working from home is now a common arrangement in companies of every size and in almost every industry.

Answer

Employers should provide a desk and a proper chair for anyone working at home, since a kitchen table ruins a back.

Answer

There is a case for home working and a case against it, and neither side has ever quite settled the argument.

Question 3

Prompt: "Many city rivers are polluted. What causes this and what can be done?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

The chief cause is waste water released untreated, so the clearest remedy is to require treatment before any pipe reaches the river.

Answer

Pollution in the rivers running through our cities is something residents notice and complain about year after year.

Answer

Cities should plant more trees along their river banks, since a green bank makes a river worth walking beside.

Answer

The causes of river pollution are many and the solutions are not simple, as anyone studying the problem knows.

Question 4

Prompt: "Some say children should learn to code; others say handwriting matters more. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Both skills have a claim on the timetable, though handwriting comes first, since a child who cannot write legibly is held back everywhere.

Answer

Coding and handwriting are both taught in primary schools today, and the balance between them differs from one school to the next.

Answer

Primary schools should buy a tablet computer for every pupil, because a class sharing three machines never gets enough time on them.

Answer

Each view has its supporters, and it is hard to choose between them when both sound so reasonable.

Question 5

Prompt: "Why do many adults take too little exercise, and how could this be changed?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Long working hours are the main obstacle, and the most practical answer is exercise built into the journey to work.

Answer

How little exercise adults manage in a working week is something health experts write about very often indeed.

Answer

Gyms should lower their prices for anyone visiting before eight in the morning, since an empty hall earns nothing.

Answer

There are many reasons for this and many possible answers, and no two writers seem to agree on either.

Question 6

Prompt: "Some people think city centres should be closed to private cars. Do you agree or disagree?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Closing the centre to private cars is the right policy, since the space it frees is worth more as pavement than as parking.

Answer

Traffic in city centres is a subject that comes up at every local election and in every local newspaper.

Answer

Public transport in most cities needs to run later into the night, because a worker on a late shift cannot get home.

Answer

Closing city centres to cars has both benefits and costs, and much depends on the city you have in mind.

Question 7

Prompt: "Do the benefits of social media for teenagers outweigh the risks?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

The risks are the heavier side of the scale, mainly because a teenager cannot leave a group that follows them home from school.

Answer

Social media is used by almost every teenager in the country, and by a good many of their parents too.

Answer

Parents should check what their children are watching in the evenings, since nobody else is going to look at it.

Answer

Social media brings advantages to teenagers and also brings risks, and the two are not easy to separate.

Question 8

Prompt: "Rents in large cities have risen sharply. What are the causes and what can governments do?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Too little new building against steady demand is the main cause, so the useful step is to release land rather than cap rents.

Answer

Rent in the large cities, and what has happened to it lately, is something almost everyone living there talks about.

Answer

Employers should pay a higher wage to staff who live in city centres, because a salary that works elsewhere does not stretch there.

Answer

Rising rents have several causes, and governments have several options, none of which has proved decisive anywhere yet.

Question 9

Prompt: "Some think museums should charge for entry; others think entry should be free. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

A charge does raise money, but free entry serves a museum better, because the visitors it brings in are those a ticket turns away.

Answer

Museum entry fees, and whether the visitor or the state should pay them, are debated in a great many countries.

Answer

Museums should open later in the evening so that workers can visit, since a gallery closing at five is shut to most people.

Answer

Charging and not charging can each be defended, and the arguments have been going round for a long time.

Question 10

Prompt: "Some people think university students should pay their own fees. To what extent do you agree?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

Students should not carry the whole cost, largely because a graduate's higher tax payments already repay the public purse.

Answer

University fees are discussed whenever a new government takes office, and rarely settled before it leaves.

Answer

Universities should offer more courses that can be studied part-time, because a student who must earn cannot attend all week.

Answer

Paying fees has advantages for the state and disadvantages for the student, and the balance is hard to judge.

Question 11

Prompt: "Why do many young people leave small towns for work, and how might towns keep them?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

They leave because the jobs matching their training are all in cities, so a town must attract an employer.

Answer

Young people leaving small towns for work in the cities is a pattern familiar to anyone who has lived in one.

Answer

Small towns should restore their old railway stations, since a boarded-up platform tells every visitor the place has given up.

Answer

There are various reasons, and towns have tried various answers, with results that nobody has managed to compare fairly.

Question 12

Prompt: "Do the advantages of building wind farms near towns outweigh the disadvantages?" Which sentence is the best thesis?

Accepted Answer

On balance the gains are greater, since the noise and the view are local and temporary while the cheaper electricity is neither.

Answer

Wind farms have appeared near many towns in recent years, and more are approved in every planning season.

Answer

Governments should spend more on research into storing electricity, because a still day leaves every turbine in the country idle.

Answer

Wind farms near towns bring gains and also bring complaints, and the two have never been weighed to general satisfaction.

Question 13

Prompt: "Some people think fast food should be taxed. To what extent do you agree?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

A tax on fast food is justified, because a price rise changes what goes into a shopping basket faster than advice does.

Answer

Fast food restaurants should be required to print calories on every menu, since a customer cannot judge a meal by looking at it.

Answer

Fast food is eaten by families across every income group, and in most countries the amount is still rising.

Answer

Taxing fast food is neither clearly right nor clearly wrong, and the evidence is read both ways.

Question 14

Prompt: "Roads in many towns are congested. What causes this and what can be done?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Congestion follows from too many cars carrying one person, and the measure that works is a bus frequent enough to make driving pointless.

Answer

Drivers should be fined more heavily for parking on the pavement, because a blocked footway pushes a pushchair into the road.

Answer

Traffic congestion affects towns of every size, from a small market town to a capital, and at almost every hour.

Answer

The causes are well known and the answers are much debated, though the debate rarely reaches a conclusion.

Question 15

Prompt: "Some think exams measure ability best; others prefer coursework. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Exams test recall under pressure and coursework tests persistence; coursework shows more, because adult work is done to a deadline, not in silence.

Answer

Schools should give pupils more time to revise before an exam, since a fortnight of lessons crammed into two nights teaches little.

Answer

Exams and coursework are both used in schools today, and the weight given to each has changed more than once.

Answer

Exams have their defenders and coursework has its own, and each camp can point to something the other overlooks.

Question 16

Prompt: "Why do some older people avoid online banking, and what would help?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Fear of losing money to a mistake keeps them away, so the help that matters is a supervised first attempt, not another leaflet.

Answer

Banks should keep at least one branch open in every town, because a business with cash to deposit cannot post it.

Answer

Online banking, and who actually uses it, has changed a great deal in the last ten years in most countries.

Answer

There are several reasons for this, and several ways forward, none of which has been tried at any real scale.

Question 17

Prompt: "Do the advantages of high-rise housing outweigh the disadvantages?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

The advantages come out ahead, principally because building upwards houses more families without swallowing the fields around a city.

Answer

High-rise blocks should be repainted and repaired far more regularly, since a stained wall and a lift that never works make a whole tower feel abandoned.

Answer

High-rise housing is common in cities across the world, and the tallest blocks are now built as homes rather than offices.

Answer

Tall buildings bring benefits, and they bring problems too, and different cities seem to reach quite different verdicts on them.

Question 18

Prompt: "Some people think advertising should be banned in schools. Do you agree or disagree?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Advertising should be kept out of schools, since a pupil sitting in a lesson cannot walk away from it as a shopper can.

Answer

Schools should teach pupils how advertisements are put together, because a child who can see the trick is harder to sell to.

Answer

Advertising in schools takes many forms, from posters in a corridor to sponsored equipment in the gym.

Answer

Banning school advertising would bring gains and losses, and where the balance falls is not obvious to anyone.

Question 19

Prompt: "Many young adults have little in savings. What causes this and what can be done?" Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Rent taking most of a first salary is the root of it, so the change with real effect is cheaper housing.

Answer

Banks should pay a higher rate of interest on small accounts, since the rates on the smallest balances have barely moved in years.

Answer

Saving money is harder now than it was a generation ago, and young adults say so more loudly than anyone.

Answer

The causes are various and so are the remedies, and the two are rarely matched up by those who list them.

Question 20

Prompt: "Some say recycling is the public's duty; others say it is industry's. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which thesis answers the question that was asked?

Accepted Answer

Households can sort what they are given, but industry decides what they are given, so the heavier duty sits with the manufacturer.

Answer

Councils should collect recycling weekly rather than fortnightly, because a full bin left standing ends up in the rubbish.

Answer

Recycling is now part of daily life in most households, and part of the working week in most factories.

Answer

Both households and industry could be said to carry the duty, and the share is hard to divide.

Question 21

Prompt: "Some people think school uniform should be compulsory. Do you agree or disagree?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Schools should shorten the summer holiday and spread the time across the year.

Answer

Uniform should be compulsory, because it removes a daily competition that poorer families cannot win.

Answer

Uniform should not be compulsory, since a rule about clothing does nothing for what happens in a lesson.

Question 22

Prompt: "Do the advantages of a vegetarian diet outweigh the disadvantages?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Restaurants should be required to mark which dishes contain meat.

Answer

The advantages are the greater side, mostly because a diet built on vegetables is cheaper as well as lighter.

Answer

The disadvantages weigh more for growing children, who need iron that a careless diet leaves out.

Question 23

Prompt: "Many city parks are poorly used. What causes this and what can be done?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

City councils should charge more for parking near the centre.

Answer

Poor lighting keeps people away after four o'clock in winter, so lit paths would bring them back.

Answer

Parks empty when there is nothing in them to do, and a playground or a court fills them again.

Answer

Neglected paths and broken benches drive visitors off, and simple repairs return them.

Question 24

Prompt: "Some think a job should be for life; others prefer to change often. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Employers should give every new member of staff a month of proper training.

Answer

Staying puts you in line for promotion while moving raises pay faster; I would move, since skills grow quickest under new demands.

Answer

Both patterns have their logic, but a long stay suits most people better, because trust takes years to build and is repaid in security.

Question 25

Prompt: "Why do many people abandon online courses, and what would help them finish?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Universities should reduce the fees they charge for their online courses.

Answer

Studying alone is what defeats them, so a fixed weekly group meeting is the help that counts.

Answer

Courses are dropped when nothing is ever due, and a deadline every fortnight keeps people at the desk.

Question 26

Prompt: "Some people think domestic flights should be banned where a train exists. Do you agree?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Airlines should be required to publish the emissions of every flight they sell.

Answer

The ban is justified where the train takes under four hours, because the flight saves almost no time once the airport is counted.

Answer

A ban goes too far, since a family in a hurry should be free to choose the faster route and pay for it.

Question 27

Prompt: "Do the advantages of streaming outweigh the disadvantages for the film industry?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Cinemas should lower their prices on weekday afternoons.

Answer

The advantages are greater, since a film now reaches an audience no cinema could have sold a ticket to.

Answer

The disadvantages carry more weight, because a film made for a screen at home is shot smaller and quieter.

Answer

Streaming helps more than it harms, chiefly because a small production can find its audience without a distributor.

Question 28

Prompt: "Small shops in many towns are closing. What causes this and what can be done?" Which sentence answers a different question from the one asked?

Accepted Answer

Town councils should build a larger market hall in the centre.

Answer

Online delivery has taken their customers, and lower rents are what would let them compete again.

Answer

They close because the rent rises faster than the takings, so a reduction in business rates keeps a door open.

Question 29

Prompt: "Some people think speed limits in towns should be lower. To what extent do you agree?" Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

There is something to be said on each side of the speed limit question.

Answer

Lower limits are worth having, because a slower car gives a child stepping out a second that matters.

Answer

Limits should stay as they are, since drivers already slow down where a road looks dangerous.

Answer

Buses should be given their own lane on the main roads through town.

Question 30

Prompt: "Do the advantages of studying abroad outweigh the disadvantages?" Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

Studying abroad has its good points and its bad points in roughly equal measure.

Answer

The advantages win out, mainly because living in the language is what finally makes a student fluent.

Answer

The costs weigh more, since the same degree taken at home leaves a graduate without years of debt.

Answer

Studying abroad should be made cheaper for students from low-income families.

Question 31

Prompt: "Some say hospitals need more beds; others say more prevention. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

Beds and prevention are both important, and it is difficult to say which matters more.

Answer

Both are needed, but prevention deserves the money first, because a patient kept well never needs the bed at all.

Answer

Beds come first in my view, since prevention takes a decade to work and the queue is forming now.

Question 32

Prompt: "Many town centres feel unsafe at night. What causes this and what can be done?" Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

Safety at night is a complicated matter with arguments on both sides.

Answer

Empty streets are the cause, and a late-opening cafe or two puts people back on them.

Answer

Broken street lights are the root of it, so a repair schedule is the first thing to fund.

Answer

Councils should hire more cleaning staff for the market square.

Question 33

Prompt: "Some people think smartphones should be banned in secondary schools. Do you agree?" Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

A ban on phones could be defended and could equally be opposed.

Answer

A ban is right, because a phone in a pocket takes a pupil's attention long before it rings.

Answer

Phones should be allowed, since a class that cannot look anything up is working with one hand.

Question 34

Prompt: "Why do many people feel tired at work, and what would help?" Which sentence takes no position at all?

Accepted Answer

Tiredness at work has many sides, and no single view of it is the right one.

Answer

Late finishing is the cause, and an earlier close on Friday is the change people notice most.

Answer

Constant interruption tires them out, so a protected quiet hour is the measure that helps.

Answer

Employers should pay for a health check once a year.

Question 35

Prompt: "Some people think households should pay for the rubbish they produce. Do you agree?" Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

Household rubbish and who should pay for it is discussed in many countries today.

Answer

Charging by weight is fair, because a household throwing away less should not pay for one throwing away more.

Answer

A charge is the wrong tool, since the families who would suffer are those with least room to sort anything.

Answer

Councils should provide a larger recycling bin to every home.

Question 36

Prompt: "Do the advantages of paying by card outweigh the disadvantages?" Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

Paying by card rather than in cash is now a familiar part of daily life.

Answer

Cards come out ahead, mainly because a record of every payment makes a household budget possible.

Answer

Cash still has the stronger case, since money you can see in your hand is money you do not overspend.

Question 37

Prompt: "Many people sleep badly. What causes this and what can be done?" Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

Sleeping badly is something a great many people report.

Answer

Screens late at night are the cause, and leaving the phone in another room is the fix that works.

Answer

Irregular shifts are behind it, so a rota planned weeks ahead is the change that helps.

Question 38

Prompt: "Some think homework helps; others think it harms family life. Discuss both views and give your opinion." Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

Homework and its place in family life is a question raised by parents everywhere.

Answer

Homework does build independence, yet an hour is the limit in my view, past which the family pays for the practice.

Answer

Both views hold, but the harm is greater in primary school, where a tired child learns nothing after five o'clock.

Answer

Schools should give parents a weekly plan of what has been set.

Question 39

Prompt: "Some people think news websites should be free. To what extent do you agree?" Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

Whether news websites charge their readers is a question raised in every country.

Answer

News should be free to read, because a public that cannot afford the news cannot vote on it.

Answer

A charge is necessary, since reporting costs money and nobody has yet found another way to pay for it.

Question 40

Prompt: "Why do few people cycle to work in some cities, and what would change that?" Which sentence only restates the topic without answering it?

Accepted Answer

The number of people cycling to work varies a great deal from one city to another.

Answer

Traffic is what stops them, and a lane separated by a kerb is what brings them out.

Answer

Nowhere to leave the bike is the obstacle, so locked parking at the office is the answer.

Answer

Employers should allow staff to arrive half an hour later than they do now.

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Choose the Better Thesis - IELTS 5.0 W T2

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Choose the Better Thesis - IELTS 5.0 W T2

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

Like what you see?

More like this

Bug Blast

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner