Scorify.uzThe question
Some people think that testing new medicines on animals is acceptable if it saves human lives. Others believe it is cruel and should be stopped. To what extent do you agree or disagree that animal testing should be allowed?
Write at least 250 words.
What the question asks
The question asks for your position on one practical issue: should animal testing be allowed when it serves medicine? A partly-agree answer works well, for example allowing it under strict rules, but your view must be clear from the introduction and stay the same to the end.
Essay plan
- Introduction: Paraphrase the debate and state a clear position, such as accepting animal testing only when there is no realistic alternative.
- Body 1: why it can be justified: Safety of new drugs and vaccines; give an example of a treatment that had to be tested on a living system before human trials.
- Body 2: limits and alternatives: Animal suffering, differences between species and newer methods such as computer models; explain why regulation matters.
- Conclusion: Restate your position: allowed for serious medical research, tightly controlled, and gradually replaced.
Band 7+ sample essay
Whether it is right to experiment on animals in order to develop new treatments is a sensitive question. I largely agree that the practice should remain legal, but only for serious medical research and under strict supervision.
The main argument in favour is human safety. Before a new drug is given to patients, scientists need to know how it behaves inside a living body, and a laboratory dish cannot show this fully. Many of the vaccines and cancer therapies we rely on today passed through animal studies first, and skipping that stage could expose volunteers in clinical trials to serious and unpredictable risks.
However, I do not believe that this justifies unlimited testing. Animals can suffer pain and fear, and their bodies do not always react as human bodies do, so results are sometimes misleading. For this reason, researchers should be required to prove that no alternative exists before an experiment is approved. Computer simulations and cells grown from human tissue are already replacing some tests, and governments could speed up this change by funding such methods generously.
Cosmetics are a clear example of where the line should be drawn. A new lipstick or shampoo does not save a life, so causing harm to animals for these products is difficult to defend, and several countries have already banned it. Public opinion appears to be moving in the same direction, which makes reform easier for politicians.
In conclusion, I agree that animal testing can be accepted when the aim is to protect human health, provided that the rules are strict and the number of animals used keeps falling as better technology becomes available.
272 words.
Why this essay scores well
- Task Response: every part of the question is answered and the position stays consistent from the introduction to the conclusion.
- Coherence and Cohesion: each paragraph has one clear idea, linked with natural connectors rather than a list of memorised phrases.
- Lexical Resource: topic vocabulary is precise and varied, without forcing rare words.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: a mix of simple and complex sentences, with conditionals and relative clauses used accurately.
Useful vocabulary
- clinical trial — a test of a new treatment on human volunteers
- strict supervision — close control by an authority
- unpredictable risks — dangers that cannot be foreseen
- be misleading — give a false impression
- cell culture — cells grown in a laboratory
- justify — show that something is reasonable
- draw the line — decide the limit of what is acceptable
- alternative methods — other ways of reaching the same result
Common mistakes on this question
- Writing only about emotions (poor animals) without explaining the medical argument on the other side.
- Treating all animal testing as the same; separating medicine from cosmetics makes your argument stronger.
- Using vague claims such as many scientists say without a concrete example or reason.
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Frequently asked questions
What type of essay is this IELTS Task 2 question?
It is a opinion (agree/disagree) question. The question asks for your position on one practical issue: should animal testing be allowed when it serves medicine? A partly-agree answer works well, for example allowing it under strict rules, but your view must be clear from the introduction and stay the same to the end.
How many words should the essay be?
Write at least 250 words. Most strong answers are 260–290 words, planned in about five minutes and completed in 40 minutes.
How many paragraphs should I write?
Four paragraphs work well: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Each body paragraph needs one main idea, an explanation and an example.