IELTS Sample Essay – Animal Experiments

In this article, I am going to show the process of IELTS essay writing step-by-step. I took the animal topic and below you can see my sample essay and the description of certain techniques how you could improve your IELTS writing score.

In addition, I’d like to advise you one efficient way how to develop essay writing skills, that is taking IELTS online full course.

So, here is the task:

Nowadays animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other products. Some people argue that these experiments should be banned because it is morally wrong to cause animals to suffer, while others are in favour of them because of their benefits to humanity.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

After I get the task, my first step is to underline key words so that I could focus my answer on the task.

Next, I identify how many parts the task has. This task has three parts: the opinion in favour of animal experiments, the opinion against and my opinion.

Afterwards, I take three minutes to draft my essay’s plan. I decide to use three paragraphs in the body in order to have a balance of all the three parts. As I am writing the plan, I am answering the question “Why?” Why are some individuals for animal experiments? Why are others against? Why do I think that there is no alternative? Also, I try to remember a few strong examples to support my arguments and put the down them in my plan.

After drafting my plan I look again at the topic and understand that I will need some synonyms for  “animal experiments” . Some other vocabulary items come to my mind: “testing, animal testing, laboratory tests, medical experiments”, so I mark them on the margin and start writing my essay.

Usually I don’t plan my introductions since I keep in mind a couple of good beginnings, and the rest will be task paraphrase. So I use one of my favourite “beginnings”.

I remember that I should begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Next come arguments and examples. I use a very simple marker for my conclusion: “In conclusion”.

As I am writing, I am trying to use as many collocations as possible:  “discover pharmaceuticals”, “fight diseases”, “vigorous debate”, “to abolish the practice”, “prove efficient”, “lethal diseases”, “endanger existence”, “viable alternative”.  I also use a few less common opinion verbs: “contend”, “argue”, “struggle”.

Besides, I am trying to show a variety of grammar structures: participial constructions, complex sentences, negative inversion, conditionals, inversion in conditional mood.

Having written my essay, I reread it twice, first, trying to spot repetitions. When I see one, I use my eraser and change that word with some synonym. For instance, I changed the second instance of  “pharmaceutical” with “medicament” and the second instance of “proponents” with “supporters”). Finally, I try to check articles and punctuation marks. That’s it, my essay is ready!

Over the last century, numerous scientists have been experimenting in their laboratories, trying to discover pharmaceuticals to fight various diseases. Their method of testing medicinal drugs and other products on animals generates vigorous social debate focused on the issue of morality.

The critics of animal experiments, who struggle to abolish the practice altogether, offer a variety of arguments. First, they contend that animals differ from humans by DNA, genes and organs. Even if a medicament or another product proves efficient on animals, this does not necessarily mean that it will be just as efficacious for humans. Second, it is immoral and inhumane when researchers make other creatures suffer or even die during the laboratory tests.

On the other hand, animal testing proponents argue that its benefits outweigh moral considerations. Never have there been so many lethal diseases endangering the very existence of humankind. AIDS, cancer, bird flu are but a few of them, taking millions of lives every year. Efficient and safe medicines are, therefore, crucial for human race, and it would hardly be possible to develop them without experiments on animals.

Although personally I disapprove of making living creatures suffer, I feel obliged to accept medical experiments on animals as the best viable solution nowadays. The reason is that human life is more valuable, and efficient drugs could save millions. Nonetheless, were it possible to discover a better option for medical research, I would gladly support it.

In conclusion, tests on animals have both supporters and opponents. Alas, today there is no viable alternative to develop new pharmaceuticals, hence the importance to continue conducting experiments.