In ECPE Writing, the test takers have to finish an essay in 30 minutes based upon one of two topic choices.
There are samples for topics:
Prompt 1: In some countries, the government places a limit on the number of children a couple can have, while in other countries, the government offers economic incentives to a couple to have more children. Why do governments establish population policies like these? What effects do these policies have? Discuss and give specific examples to support your views.
Prompt 2: There is no universal definition of the word adult. Different cultures, religions, legal systems, and individuals have different ideas about when a person becomes an adult. What factors do you think define adulthood? Support your opinion with specific reasons.
Below is A-level answer for Prompt 1:
The number of children a couple can have is limited in some countries, whereas in other countries, couples are offered economic incentives to have more children. The reason why these policies exist is mainly for the situation of the national economy of every country.
Countries which are underdeveloped and lack major necessities for their people, such as employment, education, health, basic sanitation and food, just to name a few, try to limit the number of their population using limits on how many children a couple can have and in some cases placing heavy fines on those who do not comply with these limits. This way, if they manage to reduce their population, they might be able to offer a better living standard for their people.
On the other hand, countries which are highly developed and advanced, usually can offer all the major necessities to their people in abundance. Therefore, these countries seek to boost their economies even higher by trying to increase the number of people who are employed and pay taxes, the number of people who seek better education and pay for it, and as you can imagine from the examples, a significant increase in the population can be interpreted as more income for the governments, resulting in a much stronger economy. This is why these governments offer economic motives to young people to have as many children as they can, because they know that, even though they might be paying a small price to increase their population, they will be receiving a lot more from this increase in the future when these new members of society will be a part of the economy.