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Extraterrestrial Life Essay

This extraterrestrial life essay is about the search for other life forms on other planets, and whether you think the money spent on this is better spent elsewhere. 

Take a look at the essay question.

Some people believe that using taxpayer funds to look for life on other planets is important. Others, however, think that it is a waste of public money because there are much more important issues requiring funding on our own planet.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Understanding the question & brainstorming

The question for this extraterrestrial life essay is fairly straightforward to understand. You need to discuss:

  • The pros of looking for life on other planets
  • The cons of this (in terms of neglecting important issues on earth)
  • Your opinion

It's a bit more of a tricky question though in that you need to come up with some ideas of why it is beneficial to find alternative life. This could involve using some complex language, so you need to be careful with your response.

Extraterrestrial Life EssayExtraterrestrial Life Essay

Dealing with 'Your Opinion'

Remember that you don't have to have a separate body paragraph on 'Your Opinion'. 

A problem that can arise when candidates do this is that they end up with quite short and weak body paragraphs overall as it's difficult to have time to fully explain everything in 40 minutes in three strong body paragraphs.

It can also lead to repetition. Candidates often end up repeating in their opinion paragraph what they have already said in a previous paragraph. 

A solution is to make the second body paragraph your opinion instead, then reiterate this in the conclusion.

Now take a look at the extraterrestrial life essay model answer.

Extraterrestrial Life Essay Sample

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some people believe that using taxpayer funds to look for life on other planets is important. Others, however, think that it is a waste of public money because there are much more important issues requiring funding on our own planet.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer

The search for extraterrestrial life has been a topic of discussion and debate for many years. While some people believe that using taxpayer funds to find life on other planets is essential, others see it as a poor use of public money.

Those who believe in the importance of searching for extraterrestrial life argue that this is an opportunity to answer one of the biggest questions in science and human history: are we alone in the universe? They also believe that such a search will have tremendous scientific and technological benefits, including the development of new instruments, techniques, and methods of exploration that can be used for other purposes. Moreover, the discovery of extraterrestrial life, even if only in the form of microbial organisms, would have a profound impact on our understanding of the universe and the origin of life itself.

That said, I personally hold the view that though such research is important, the money spent on this should be balanced against other important needs and should not come at the expense of other critical programs. There are many pressing issues on our own planet that require funding, such as the major problems of poverty, hunger, disease, and environmental degradation. These are all urgent issues that affect millions of people around the world. We need to be mindful of the limited resources available to us and make sure that they are used in a responsible and effective manner.

In conclusion, the search for extraterrestrial life is an important and fascinating endeavour, but it must be balanced against other critical needs. The investment in this area should be used wisely and effectively, taking into account the benefits and limitations of the research, and should not be to the detriment of other important programs.

293 Words

Comments

This extraterrestrial life essay would score highly for IELTS as it clearly answers the question, discussing both sides of the issues and providing the writers opinion. Ideas have supporting evidence and examples. 

It has good coherence and cohesion as it's well-organised into paragraphs and makes use of discourse markers and linking words well.

There are good examples of lexis and collocations, many of which are topic-related. For example:

  • tremendous scientific and technological benefits
  • development of new instruments, techniques, and methods of exploration
  • the form of microbial organisms
  • have a profound impact
  • origin of life itself

There are also good examples of accurate and effective grammatical forms and sentences. For instance:

  • Those who believe in the importance of searching for extraterrestrial life argue that this is an opportunity to answer one of the biggest questions in science and human history.
  • ...will have tremendous scientific and technological benefits, including the development of new instruments, techniques, and methods of exploration that can be used for other purposes
  • ...the discovery of extraterrestrial life, even if only in the form of microbial organisms, would have...


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