Cambridge IELTS 10 Test 4 Writing Task 2: Museum Admission Fees
Cambridge IELTS 10 · Test 4 · Academic Writing Task 2Advantages and disadvantagesCulture & lifestyle
The question notes that many museums charge for admission while others are free. Candidates must decide whether the advantages of charging people to enter museums outweigh the disadvantages, and support their answer with reasons and examples.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages? Write at least 250 words.
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How to read the question
- This is an advantages and disadvantages question with an opinion: you must weigh the two sides and say clearly which is greater, not just list them.
- The focus is on charging for admission. Arguments should be about entry fees specifically, not about museums in general or whether museums are still relevant.
- Think about who is affected: museums (income, crowd control), visitors (cost, access) and society (education, culture). Covering more than one group gives depth.
- Discuss both advantages and disadvantages, even if you strongly prefer one side; then explain why one side is more important.
- A nuanced answer is acceptable, for example that free entry to permanent collections with charges for special exhibitions is the best solution, as long as your main judgement on the question is clear.
- Avoid unsupported figures. Real, widely known examples, such as free entry to national museums in the UK, are more convincing than invented statistics.
Suggested position
Although admission charges bring certain financial benefits, I believe these are outweighed by the drawbacks, chiefly the exclusion of people on low incomes.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the situation, giving free national museums in London as an example of no-charge entry, and state that the disadvantages of charging outweigh the advantages.
- 2
Body paragraph 1: advantages of charging
Explain that fees help pay for conservation, expert staff and historic buildings, reduce dependence on government funding, pay for new exhibitions, may encourage visitors to value the experience, and can limit overcrowding.
- 3
Body paragraph 2: disadvantages of charging
Argue that fees exclude low-income families and children who would benefit most, that collections are a public heritage, and that free entry encourages short, repeated visits. Mention that visitor numbers rose after the UK made national museums free in 2001.
- 4
Conclusion
Restate that the drawbacks are greater, and suggest public funding and donations, with charges only for special temporary exhibitions.
Ideas and arguments
- Entry fees provide income for conserving fragile objects, paying expert staff and maintaining historic buildings.
- Ticket revenue reduces a museum's dependence on government funding, which can be cut during economic downturns.
- The money can fund new temporary exhibitions that attract repeat visitors.
- People may value an experience more when they have paid for it, and fees can help to control overcrowding at very popular sites.
- Fees exclude low-income families, students and elderly people, who may benefit greatly from museum visits.
- Many collections belong to the nation or were donated for public benefit, so restricting access to those who can pay seems unfair.
- Free entry encourages short, frequent visits, which can build a lifelong interest in art, science and history.
- When national museums in the UK stopped charging for entry in 2001, visitor numbers rose substantially.
Band 8+ model answer
300 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
Some museums require visitors to pay an entrance fee, while others, such as the national museums in London, can be visited free of charge. Although admission charges bring certain financial benefits, I believe these are outweighed by the drawbacks.
Charging for entry undoubtedly has advantages. The income helps museums to cover the high costs of conserving fragile objects, employing expert staff and maintaining historic buildings, which reduces their dependence on government funding that may be cut in difficult times. This revenue can also pay for new exhibitions, making a museum more attractive and encouraging repeat visits. In addition, some argue that people value what they pay for, so a fee may lead visitors to engage more seriously with a collection, and it can help to prevent overcrowding at popular sites.
However, the disadvantages are more significant. The most serious is that fees exclude people on low incomes. For a family with several children, the combined cost of tickets may simply be unaffordable, which means that the young people who would benefit most from seeing historical artefacts or scientific exhibits are often the ones who miss out. Since many collections belong to the nation or were donated for public benefit, it seems unfair to restrict access to those who can pay. Furthermore, free entry encourages short and frequent visits: people can drop in for half an hour to look at a single painting, which can build a lifelong interest in art and history. When the UK stopped charging for entry to its national museums in 2001, visitor numbers rose substantially.
In conclusion, while admission fees provide useful revenue, the loss of access for poorer members of society is too high a price to pay. Museums should be funded mainly through public money and donations, with charges reserved for special temporary exhibitions.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Response
- The answer presents the main advantages fairly, then explains why the disadvantages are more significant, giving a clear and consistent answer to the outweigh question supported by a real example.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- One paragraph covers the advantages and the next the disadvantages, with the stronger side placed second, and phrases such as the most serious, furthermore and in addition signal the logical progression.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise vocabulary such as conserving fragile objects, dependence on government funding, cultural heritage and drop in is used naturally, and admission charge is paraphrased in several ways.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- The essay uses a range of complex structures, including relative clauses, conditional and modal forms, and a past time clause for the UK example, all without noticeable errors.
Useful vocabulary
- admission fee
- the money paid to enter a place
- free of charge
- without any cost
- revenue
- money that an organisation receives
- conservation
- the work of protecting and repairing old or valuable objects
- public funding
- money provided by the government
- cultural heritage
- the traditions, objects and buildings that a society inherits from the past
- artefacts
- objects made by people in the past that are historically interesting
- accessible to all
- available to everyone, regardless of income
- low-income families
- households that earn little money
- be priced out
- be unable to do something because it costs too much
- temporary exhibition
- a display that is shown for a limited period
- outweigh
- be greater or more important than something else
- lifelong interest
- an interest that continues throughout someone's life
Common mistakes
- Listing advantages and disadvantages without saying which outweighs the other, which is what the question asks.
- Writing only about the side you agree with and ignoring the other side completely.
- Discussing why museums are important in general, or whether people still visit museums, instead of focusing on admission fees.
- Inventing statistics, such as charges reduce visitors by 80%, which examiners cannot verify and which weaken credibility.
- Stating a different position in the conclusion from the one given in the introduction.
- Repeating charge and free instead of paraphrasing with admission fee, entry charge, ticket price and free of charge.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This question about whether the advantages of charging for museum admission outweigh the disadvantages is Writing Task 2 of Test 4 in Cambridge IELTS 10 Academic, published in 2015.
- Do I have to say which side outweighs the other?
- Yes. The question asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, so your introduction and conclusion must give a clear answer, not just a list of points.
- Can I argue that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
- Yes. Either position can achieve a high band if it is clear and well supported; for example, you could argue that fees are essential to preserve collections when public funding is limited.
- How many words should I write for this Task 2?
- Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is usually enough to cover both sides and give your judgement in 40 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.