1. Discuss health policy without inventing medical evidence
This original lesson explores how local councils could encourage residents to be more physically active. The model’s opinion is a teaching example, not a statement of your beliefs. You can argue another position if you develop it consistently. No examiner score is claimed, and the prompt is not an official past paper. Task 2 requires at least 250 words; allow about 40 minutes, following official IELTS format guidance.
Original practice task
A local council has a limited budget to encourage residents to be more physically active. Some people think it should spend this money on free community exercise spaces, while others favour public information campaigns. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
The question gives you a budget choice and a behavioural goal. It does not ask for medical advice, an account of a particular illness or a claim that one activity suits everyone. Keep the discussion at the level of access, information and practical barriers. “Free spaces” could mean a walking route, an outdoor activity area or scheduled use of a community hall. “Information campaigns” could explain local opportunities or help residents understand how to begin an activity safely.
The strongest response considers why someone might not be active already. A lack of information calls for a different response from the absence of a convenient place. You do not need to claim which barrier is statistically most common. You can explain why the council should understand local conditions before committing its limited funds.
2. Match a proposed action to a barrier
For the facilities side, develop a cost-and-access mechanism: a free local space removes an entry fee and reduces the need to travel elsewhere. For the campaign side, develop an awareness mechanism: residents may not know about existing opportunities or may assume they are intended only for experienced participants. Neither action automatically creates a lasting habit.
- Facilities: a nearby, welcoming space gives residents somewhere to act on their intentions.
- Information: clear local guidance can make existing opportunities easier to find and understand.
- Constraint: maintenance, opening times and accessibility influence whether a space is genuinely usable.
- Position: prioritise useful access where it is missing, supported by a small, targeted information effort.
A concrete hypothetical example is a council that opens a community hall for beginner-friendly sessions at different times. The key detail is scheduling: one weekday morning session may exclude many working residents. You can discuss that access problem without promising any medical outcome. If you favour campaigns instead, explain why local facilities are already adequate and why information would unlock their use.
3. Keep the health language proportionate
Use “encourage participation”, “reduce an access barrier” and “make opportunities visible” rather than promising to “cure unhealthy lifestyles”. A council can create conditions that support activity; it cannot guarantee that every resident will attend. “Accessible” may refer to physical access, cost, opening hours or understandable information, so specify which meaning matters in your sentence.
Do not casually treat every resident as having the same needs or physical capabilities. A well-focused essay can mention a range of suitable options without prescribing exercise routines. Similarly, avoid unsupported claims that a particular activity prevents a named disease or saves a precise amount of healthcare spending. Those claims would require evidence beyond this prompt and are unnecessary for the policy comparison.
Try your own response
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4. Read the original health-topic model
Read the original model response
A council trying to encourage physical activity must decide whether residents mainly lack opportunities or information. Both free exercise spaces and public campaigns can contribute, but I would give priority to usable local facilities where access is limited, with a smaller campaign explaining what is available.
Information campaigns have a reasonable role. Residents may be unaware of walking groups, open sessions or public spaces that already exist. Clear information could help a beginner find an activity that feels approachable rather than assume that all local provision is designed for experienced athletes. A campaign can also reach people who would not normally seek out this information. However, repeated messages about being active have limited practical value if the nearest suitable facility is expensive, difficult to reach or closed when people are free.
Free community spaces address some of those obstacles directly. A nearby hall, walking route or outdoor activity area offers a place where residents can act on their intentions without paying an entry fee. For example, a fictional council could make an existing hall available for introductory sessions at several times during the week. This would give more residents a realistic opportunity to attend than a single daytime session. The space would still need appropriate maintenance and arrangements that accommodate different users. Merely announcing that a facility is free would not make it accessible in every relevant sense.
The decision should therefore begin with a simple assessment of local provision. If suitable spaces already exist but are little known, targeted information may be the better immediate investment. Where residents lack practical access, most funding should improve that access, while clear publicity tells people how to use it. This avoids spending heavily on either an unused facility or a message that residents cannot act upon.
In conclusion, I favour investment in useful exercise opportunities, supported by focused communication. The priority should reflect the actual local barrier rather than an assumption that information or facilities alone will change everyone’s behaviour.
The model’s preference is conditional on local provision, but it remains clear: useful access is the priority where it is missing. Conditional reasoning is not indecision when the conditions are explained. The essay offers no diagnosis, medical prescription or invented research finding.
5. Complete two careful revisions
Exercise A: replace a medical overclaim
Revise: “Building a free park will cure every health problem in the town.” Keep an argument for public space while removing the guarantee and the unsupported medical claim.
Check a worked solution
A defensible version is: “A free, accessible park could give more residents a convenient place for walking and other suitable activities.” The revised sentence identifies the opportunity created. It does not promise that every person will use it or that one policy will resolve unrelated health problems. This is enough to support an access argument.
Exercise B: challenge the information-only assumption
Improve: “People are inactive because they do not know exercise is good.” Identify another plausible barrier and connect it to the spending decision without claiming to know the whole population’s motives.
Check a worked solution
One solution is: “Some residents may know about the value of activity but lack a nearby place they can use at suitable times. If this is the main local barrier, improving access would be more useful than repeating a general message.” The conditional form connects evidence the council would need with the choice it should make.
6. Check the budget and the target group
Return to “limited budget” during revision. If your conclusion recommends a large building programme and a citywide campaign with no priorities, it avoids the central trade-off. Explain which action receives emphasis and why. You can combine measures, but a combination still needs a resource decision.
For another attempt, assume that the council already has several well-maintained facilities with spare capacity. Write a new plan favouring a targeted campaign. Your reasoning should change because the local barrier has changed, not because you have memorised a different introduction. Keep the essay focused on participation and access, and leave medical guidance to appropriately qualified sources.
Format reference checked on 15 October 2026: official IELTS Academic Writing guidance. All prompts, models, data and exercises here are original teaching material. This independent page is not an official past paper or an examiner-marked answer.