APIEIELTS Writing: Gene Editing and Bioethics
Gene editing and bioethics
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
Gene Editing & Bioethics: Language Build-Up
Build the core vocabulary, linking phrases, and grammar you need before tackling the essay question.
Guide students through these warm-up exercises in 15 minutes to activate essential vocabulary before writing.
Check answers together quickly on the board and draw attention to the natural word partnerships.
First, complete the word form and collocation exercises on your own to expand your vocabulary bank.
Next, study the sentence patterns and keep them open to use in your essay in Module 2.
Part A: Word Forms
Change the prompt word in brackets into the correct grammatical form to complete the sentence.
1. Sickle cell anemia is a (heredity) condition passed from parents to their biological offspring.
2. Medical researchers hope that gene editing will offer immense (therapy) value for patients with blood disorders.
3. Before any new gene therapy can be approved, it must undergo thorough (clinic) trials with monitored human volunteers.
4. Many bioethicists worry about using technology for physical (enhance) rather than simply preventing fatal conditions.
5. Geneticists have identified a rare structural (vary) that increases resistance to certain viral infections.
Part B: Collocations with Unit Words
Choose the word that pairs most naturally with the highlighted terms in bioethics.
6. Any novel gene modification technique must pass several phases of ______ before hospital use.
7. Ethicists are concerned about experiments that alter a living human ______ in the first days after fertilization.
8. Unlike somatic changes, ______ editing introduces permanent genetic changes that are passed on to all future generations.
9. Eye color, adult height, and bone density are physical ______ influenced by complex combinations of genes.
10. The primary goal of international sequencing projects was to map the complete human ______.
Part C: Common Essay Phrases
Use each phrase from the bank exactly once to link the ideas smoothly.
Word Bank (use each once):
11. ______, altering DNA in early stages carries unforeseen health hazards; nonetheless, the chance to eliminate fatal conditions cannot be dismissed.
12. ______ the undeniable medical advantages, public skepticism toward biological engineering remains pronounced.
13. ______ granting parents the ability to eradicate hereditary suffering is a basic moral duty.
14. Medical therapies aim to cure debilitating illnesses. ______, elective modifications seek to provide artificial social advantages.
15. Inheritable DNA adjustments affect all descendants; ______, strict statutory supervision is essential.
Part D: Paraphrase
Select the best C1 academic rewrite that restates the prompt with advanced vocabulary and mature sentence structure.
"Scientists should not alter human embryos because it is too dangerous."
💡 Tip: choose the version that sounds like a formal essay.
"Rich parents will pay to make their children smarter and stronger than everyone else."
💡 Tip: choose the version that sounds like a formal essay.
"Doctors must be allowed to stop babies from being born with terrible illnesses."
💡 Tip: choose the version that sounds like a formal essay.
Part E: Grammar Recap (Adverb + Adjective Collocations)
Review how natural adverbs pair with gradable versus absolute adjectives, then answer the questions below.
Study these patterns before doing the check:
Pair with adverbs of degree like deeply or highly.
Example: "The scientific community remains deeply divided on this question."
Example: "Gene editing remains a highly contentious topic."
Pair with absolute adverbs like utterly or wholly.
Example: "Creating designer babies is considered utterly unacceptable."
Example: "Therapy to save an unborn child's life is wholly justified."
19. The ethics of non-therapeutic genetic enhancement remain ______ contentious among bioethicists worldwide.
20. Modifying early embryos without medical justification is considered ______ unacceptable by governing health boards.
21. When an unborn child faces an incurable and fatal disorder, genetic intervention is ______ justified.
Module 2: Essay Writing Task
Write your complete essay using the target vocabulary, grammar patterns, and four-paragraph plan below.
"Some people say that scientists should be free to edit the genes of unborn children to prevent serious diseases. To what extent do you agree or disagree?"
Word Count
Write at least 250 words.
Unit Vocabulary
Use at least 5 words from this list:
Grammar Pattern
Use at least 3 sentences with adverb + adjective pairs:
• deeply divided
• highly contentious
• utterly unacceptable
• wholly justified
4-Paragraph Outline
Start each paragraph with its required opening phrase:
"It is often argued that ..."
"A further consideration is ..."
"Admittedly, ..."
"On balance, ..."
Pre-Writing Self-Check
Confirm each of the 4 requirements before submitting your essay.
1 Item 1: Does your planned essay meet the length requirement and state a clear position on the prompt?
2 Item 2: Have you selected at least 5 words from the Unit word list to incorporate into your body paragraphs?
3 Item 3: Have you prepared at least 3 sentences containing adverb + adjective collocations (e.g. deeply divided, highly contentious, utterly unacceptable, wholly justified)?
4 Item 4: Will each of your four paragraphs start with its exact specified starter phrase?
Write Your Essay
Type your complete response directly into the workspace below.
Module 3: Model Essay
Read this sample essay written the way a strong C1 student writes, and see how the target pairings fit in.
It is often argued that scientists should be free to change the genes of an embryo if that stops a serious illness. I see the point, but I do not think the answer is a simple yes. The idea is highly attractive, yet the choice is deeply personal for families and for society, so I only partly agree.
A further consideration is that the benefit can be truly life-changing. A hereditary condition can follow a family for generations, and a therapeutic change to a single variant in the genome could end it. If the treatment passes careful clinical trials first, I find the aim wholly justified. A parent who has watched a child suffer would probably agree, because waiting for a natural cure can mean years of pain for that child.
Admittedly, there is a real risk of going too far. Editing the germline means the change is passed on to every later generation, and nobody can ask those people for permission. Once the door is open, choosing eye colour or height, which is simply enhancement, could follow. That path leads towards eugenics, which many people find utterly unacceptable. On this question society is deeply divided, and I understand why a choice about one single trait worries people.
On balance, I would allow this research only for serious diseases, with strict rules and independent checks. Using it for enhancement should stay strictly forbidden. That way we keep the benefits without losing public trust, which is absolutely essential for any new science. Doctors, researchers and ordinary citizens should all have a say in where the line is drawn.
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