Writing Task 1

You are advised to spend a maximum of 20 minutes on thistask.

In June 1996, an experimental flu vaccine was trialled in alarge country town on females
only .

Write a report for a university tutor describing theinformation shown in the diagrams
below.

You should write at least 150 words.

Writing Task 2

You are advised to spend a maximum of 40 minutes on this task.

Write an essay for a university lecturer on the following topic:

The costs of medical health care are increasing all the time. Governmentsare finding it
difficult to balance the health care budget.Should citizens be totally responsible for their
own health costs and takeout private health insurance, or is it better to have a
comprehensive healthcare system which provides free health services for all? Discuss.
You should write at least 250 words.

You are required to support your arguments with relevant information and examples basedon
your own ideas, knowledge and experience..

Ответы:

The diagrams show data for a flu epidemic which hit a large country town in 1996. Figure 1
gives the number of persons who died; Figure 2 shows the percentage breakdown of females
who received a new flu vaccine; and Figure 3 gives the number of cases of flu before and during
the epidemic.

In Figure 1 it can be seen that the flu was responsible for the deaths of 2 females but no males in
the period from March to May. However, from June to August, there were 4 female deaths and 1
male death.

According to the pie chart in Figure 2, only those females most at risk were given the new flu
vaccine; 28% did not take part in the trial. Of those females who took part, 35% were aged (over
65 years old); 24% were babies or children; and 13% were either hospitalised or receiving other
medical attention.

From Figure 3 it is clear that the new vaccine had a positive effect on the number of new cases of
flu reported in females. There were just over 1000 cases reported in March, climbing rapidly to a
peak of 3500 in June. Thereafter, the number of cases dropped slowly to about 2800 in August,
before levelling off at 2500 for the rest of the year. For males, the figures were lower but showed
a similar trend throughout the epidemic. (232 words)

Writing Task 2:

A much debated issue these days is whether citizens should take out private health insurance or
not. The cost of providing free medical care for both the wealthy and the poor is far too great for
any government, and most people agree that if you can pay for insurance, you should. In this
essay, I will argue that all who can afford it should be insured, but free medical care must be
made available for those too poor to do so.

The most important reason for encouraging people to take out private health insurance is the cost
to the government of health care. Free health cover for people who are able to pay for it is a
waste of public money. Of course, people will only pay health insurance premiums if they know
that they are getting good value for their money. If they get sick, they should pay very little or
nothing at all. In addition, the privately insured are entitled to special benefits such as having the
choice of their own doctors, and being able to avoid long waiting lists for hospital beds.

On the other hand, those who really cannot afford to pay private insurance premiums, which are
often very high, are still entitled as citizens to the best medical care available - they cannot be
expected to pay their own medical bills. However, if they are working, they should still pay a
percentage of their wage (say 1 to 2%) as a tax which pays towards the cost of providing 'free'
medical services.
In conclusion, most people should privately insure their health, but it is unreasonable to suppose
that all citizens can afford it. Therefore, a safety net in the form of a basic free health care system
must exist for the very poor and the unemployed.

(301 words)