TARA Writing Task: Example Essay, Structure and Tips
Read an original TARA Writing Task example with commentary. Learn how to explain the statement, argue against it and develop your own judgement in 750 words.
Quick answer
See how a TARA Writing Task answer can address all three parts of the prompt. This guide includes an original example essay, comments on its argument and a practical structure for the 40-minute task.
Students choose one prompt from three and write a response of up to 750 words in 40 minutes.
The task is not scored numerically by UAT-UK. Instead, the full response is made available to the participating universities the student has applied to. The TARA scoring guide explains how this differs from the two scaled multiple-choice results.
What the Writing Task assesses
The Writing Task gives students a chance to show that they can:
- Understand an abstract statement
- Consider different sides of an issue
- Build a clear argument
- Communicate ideas precisely and concisely
It is not a test of specialist subject knowledge. The official guide states that detailed knowledge of the subject area is not expected or required.
TARA Writing Task format
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Prompts available | 3 |
| Prompts answered | 1 |
| Time | 40 minutes |
| Maximum length | 750 words |
| Dictionary | Not permitted |
| Numerical score from UAT-UK | No |
Students should answer only one question. Attempting all three would be a serious mistake. The complete TARA test-format guide places this 40-minute response alongside the two scored modules.
What do TARA Writing Task prompts usually ask?
The official Question Guide says that prompts typically present a short statement and ask candidates to:
- Explain what they think the statement means
- Give a reasoned argument against the statement
- Discuss the extent to which they agree with the statement
This structure is important. A strong answer needs to address all three parts, not just write generally about the topic.
Example of the task style
An official example statement is:
Democratic freedom means there should be no restriction on what may be said in public.
A response would then need to:
- Explain the meaning of the statement
- Make a reasoned case against it
- Give the student's own judgement on how far they agree
The topic itself may be broad, but the task is tightly directed.
What a strong answer does
A strong answer usually:
- Engages directly with the exact wording of the statement
- Defines broad or abstract terms carefully
- Groups related ideas together
- Considers both sides of the issue
- Uses specific examples to support reasoning
- Reaches a clear, justified view
The best responses are not the ones with the most information. They are the ones with the clearest thinking.
How should students use the 40 minutes?
The official guide recommends planning for around 5 to 10 minutes before writing. The practical guide to planning a TARA Writing Task answer turns that window into a seven-minute routine.
A sensible time plan might be:
| Stage | Suggested time |
|---|---|
| Choose prompt and plan | 7 minutes |
| Write response | 28 minutes |
| Review and edit | 5 minutes |
Students who begin writing immediately often discover their argument only halfway through. Planning first usually produces a more coherent answer.
How should students plan the answer?
A useful plan can be built around the three task demands.
1. Meaning
Clarify the key terms in the statement. If the prompt uses words such as "freedom", "fairness", "progress" or "responsibility", explain what those ideas could mean in context.
2. Counter-argument
Build a serious argument against the statement. The official guide specifically recommends strengthening the counter-argument with a range of points and avoiding irrelevant background.
3. Own view
State the extent of agreement clearly. This should not be a quick summary of earlier paragraphs. It should show a considered judgement supported by the argument already developed.
Common weaknesses
Common weaknesses include:
- Failing to answer one of the three required parts
- Writing about the general topic rather than the wording of the statement
- Repeating the same idea in several forms
- Giving examples without explaining what they prove
- Presenting only one side of the issue
- Ending with a vague conclusion that does not state the student's real view
Outside knowledge
No detailed subject knowledge is expected. Good examples can help, but examples are there to support reasoning, not replace it.
Students are better served by one or two well-chosen examples used carefully than by a long list of facts that never become part of an argument.
What should students practise?
Useful Writing Task practice includes:
- Planning several prompts without writing full essays
- Practising definitions of abstract terms
- Writing counter-arguments from viewpoints they do not personally hold
- Completing timed 40-minute responses
- Reviewing whether every paragraph serves one of the task demands
The TARA preparation study plan shows how to balance this work with Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and mock papers.
Getting useful feedback
The most useful support is often to ask simple questions:
- What does this statement mean?
- What is the strongest argument against it?
- What is your actual view?
- Did you answer all three parts?
Those questions mirror the task itself and help students think more clearly.
TaraPrep provides Writing Task prompts, saved response history and AI feedback on structure, argument and style. The feedback is a practice aid rather than an official score, so candidates should use it to identify a weakness and check whether the next response improves it.
A short example plan
For the statement “Public safety should always take priority over individual privacy”, a seven-minute plan might contain:
- Meaning: “always” makes the claim absolute; privacy and safety can conflict but are not automatically opposites
- Against: surveillance can be disproportionate, ineffective or open to misuse
- Own view: safety can justify limited intrusion where the risk is serious, the measure is effective and independent safeguards exist
- Structure: define the conflict, present the strongest case against the claim, then defend a qualified judgement
The plan is selective enough to use while writing and addresses all three parts of the official task.
Original TARA Writing Task example essay
Practice statement: Public safety should always take priority over individual privacy.
For this original practice prompt, explain the statement, develop a reasoned argument against it and discuss how far you agree. The essay below is a teaching example, not an official model answer or a scored response. It is below the 750-word limit; that limit is a ceiling, not a target.
Public safety concerns protection from harm, while individual privacy concerns control over access to personal information and private life. The statement proposes that whenever these interests conflict, safety must win. Its strongest claim is the word “always”: even a small improvement in safety would apparently justify a large loss of privacy. Although protecting people is a serious responsibility, I disagree with that unconditional priority.
The main argument against the statement is that an unrestricted power to collect information can itself make people less safe. Imagine a system that stores everyone's movements to help investigate occasional thefts. If that information is misused, it could reveal where a vulnerable person lives or when they are alone. The possibility of solving some crimes therefore does not establish that collecting every person's movements produces a net benefit. A policy should be assessed by its likely harms as well as its intended purpose. The same reasoning challenges measures that intrude heavily while offering only a speculative improvement in security.
Privacy also protects activities that people may reasonably wish to keep confidential even when they have done nothing wrong. Someone seeking help for a personal problem may avoid doing so if they expect their information to circulate widely. A system designed to protect the public could then discourage behaviour that helps prevent harm. This does not mean that all information sharing is objectionable. It means that the people defending an intrusion should explain why the information is necessary, who needs access and why a less intrusive approach would be inadequate.
There are nevertheless circumstances in which safety should take priority. Suppose a person is missing in dangerous conditions and access to their recent location could enable a rescue. A limited use of that information may be justified because the threat is serious, the connection between the information and the rescue is direct, and delay could make the intervention useless. Requiring the same level of privacy protection in every circumstance would overlook those differences. However, an emergency does not automatically justify retaining the information indefinitely or using it for unrelated purposes afterwards.
I therefore support a qualified priority for safety rather than an absolute one. The stronger and more immediate the threat, and the clearer the likely benefit of access, the stronger the case for a proportionate intrusion. That case weakens when the benefit is uncertain, the collection is indiscriminate or the information is kept beyond its purpose. Independent scrutiny and limits on access can help keep an intervention tied to its justification. Safety and privacy are both protections for individuals; choosing between them requires an explanation of the particular trade-off, not a rule that makes one disappear whenever the other is mentioned.
Commentary: how the essay answers the task
| Paragraph | Job in the argument | What to learn from it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explain the statement and identify its absolute claim | Define the terms in this context and make “always” central to the debate. |
| 2 | Build a counter-argument | Explain how a proposed safety measure could create harm, rather than just asserting that privacy matters. |
| 3 | Develop a distinct objection | Show how loss of confidentiality can change behaviour and undermine the intended benefit. |
| 4 | Test the opposing case fairly | Use a rescue example to explain when intrusion could be justified, then identify its limits. |
| 5 | Give a qualified judgement | State the conditions that determine agreement instead of ending with “both sides have a point”. |
The examples are hypothetical and support reasoning without relying on specialist facts. The essay could be improved by explaining more concretely how scrutiny would work during an urgent rescue. Acknowledging that limitation helps you distinguish a plausible conclusion from a fully developed one. The table is teaching commentary, not a university marking scheme.
From a weak point to a developed argument
Weak: “Privacy is important and surveillance can be bad. People should have rights.”
Improved: “If a safety measure records everyone's movements, misuse of that record could expose vulnerable people to harm. The proposed benefit must therefore be weighed against the new risk created by collecting the information.”
The revision names a mechanism, explains its consequence and connects it to the statement. When reviewing your own essay, find a sentence that merely announces an opinion and add the missing reason. Then write a fresh response under the full time limit in the free TARA mock.
Official sources
Last reviewed against official sources .
Frequently asked questions
Is the TARA Writing Task marked?
It is not given a numerical score by UAT-UK. The response is made available to participating universities.
How many words can students write?
The maximum is 750 words.
Should students answer all three prompts?
No. Students choose one prompt and answer only that one.
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