✍️ WRITTEN ABILITY TEST (WAT)/ESSAY ANALYSIS GUIDE
🧠 Should Governments Provide Free Mental Health Services for All Citizens?
🌐 Understanding the Topic’s Importance
Mental health services form a foundational component of holistic healthcare. Their accessibility can mitigate economic costs, reduce inequalities, and enhance societal resilience.
📋 Effective Planning and Writing
- Time Allocation:
- Reading & Planning: 5 minutes
- Writing: 20 minutes
- Review: 5 minutes
- Preparation Tips:
- Identify key statistics, stakeholders, and successful global examples.
- Note opposing arguments to balance the essay.
💡 Introduction Techniques for Essays
- Contrast Approach:
“While mental health disorders affect 1 in 8 people globally, less than 2% of national budgets address this crisis. Should this gap continue?”
- Solution-Based Approach:
“Providing free mental health services could address both societal stigma and economic costs, creating a more equitable future.”
📂 Structuring the Essay Body
- Achievements:
“Universal models like Norway’s demonstrate that accessible mental health care improves societal well-being.”
- Challenges with Comparative Analysis:
“Many developing nations face funding and workforce shortages, unlike wealthier counterparts with robust healthcare systems.”
- Future Outlook:
“The integration of technology and innovative funding mechanisms could bridge these gaps, ensuring universal mental health care.”
✅ Concluding Effectively
- Balanced Perspective:
“While free mental health services are critical, sustainable models blending public and private efforts hold promise.”
- Global Comparison:
“Replicating successful systems like Norway’s or Australia’s can guide nations toward equitable mental health care.”
📊 Analyzing Successes and Shortcomings
- Achievements: Examples from countries like Norway and Australia.
- Ongoing Challenges: Funding deficits, stigma, workforce gaps.
- Global Context: Lessons from teletherapy’s success during the pandemic.
🛠️ Recommendations for Sustainable Progress
- Allocate at least 5% of health budgets to mental health.
- Expand teletherapy services to underserved regions.
- Partner with private firms for cost-sharing.
📜 Sample Short Essays
- Balanced Perspective:
“Mental health is integral to public health. Free services can reduce stigma and improve access but must balance quality with sustainability.”
- Solution-Oriented:
“Governments can ensure universal mental health care through public-private partnerships and technology integration.”
- Global Comparison:
“Countries like Norway showcase the benefits of universal mental health services. Adopting similar policies can lead to equitable health outcomes globally.”