Some people say that art (e.g. painting, music, poetry) can be made by everyone whereas others believe that it can be only made by those with special abilities. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Sample Response
Art is a diverse range of creative activities that express the creator’s imaginations. Naturally, one can assume, to create art, all you need is a good imagination. However, some others believe that you need to learn special skills to become an artist. This essay shall discuss both the views in detail.
Any person with a creative vision and ingenuity can create art forms such as writing poetry, painting or composing a song or two. Drawing up a mental picture of your feelings and expressing them effectively on paper will make you an artist. For example, some people are sometimes driven by longing or grief for someone, which makes them spill their feelings out in a song or a painting. This is why people feel that creating art is not that hard and can be attempted easily.
On the contrary, there are people who firmly opine that without learning how to express creatively, imagination alone cannot help one become an artist. It requires years of training for people to become great artists. To become a musician, for instance, one needs to learn all the fundamentals of rhythms and melodies; to play the guitar, one needs to learn all the right chords. It doesn’t help if your imagination is vivid; you need to know the correct technique of expressing the same to distinguish your creation from the ordinary mediocrities.
To conclude, I’d like to say that as easy as it sounds, creating art is definitely not a piece of cake. Sure, one might be innate in some art forms, but enhancing that skill is very important to create masterpieces.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use singular noun Original: imaginations Suggested revision: imagination Why it matters: Imagination is normally uncountable when referring to a person’s creative faculty.
- 2. Remove unnecessary article Original: both the views Suggested revision: both views Why it matters: Both directly modifies the plural noun without the article the here.
- 3. Remove redundancy Original: some people are sometimes Suggested revision: people are sometimes Why it matters: Some and sometimes create unnecessary repetition of the same idea.
- 4. Use academic wording Original: spill their feelings out Suggested revision: express their feelings Why it matters: Express their feelings is clearer and more appropriate for an academic essay.
- 5. Remove repetitive phrasing Original: not that hard and can be attempted easily Suggested revision: not particularly difficult to attempt Why it matters: The original uses two overlapping expressions to make the same point.
- 6. Use natural collocation Original: opine Suggested revision: believe Why it matters: Firmly believe is more natural and direct than firmly opine.
- 7. Use general forms Original: fundamentals of rhythms and melodies Suggested revision: fundamentals of rhythm and melody Why it matters: The singular mass-like forms are more natural when naming these general musical concepts.
- 8. Clarify vague reference Original: correct technique of expressing the same Suggested revision: appropriate techniques for expressing one’s ideas Why it matters: The same is vague, while techniques for expressing one’s ideas states the intended meaning clearly.
- 9. Use suitable noun Original: mediocrities Suggested revision: works Why it matters: Mediocrities does not naturally refer to the artistic creations being compared here.
- 10. Use formal tone Original: not a piece of cake Suggested revision: challenging Why it matters: Challenging conveys the meaning more appropriately in an academic register.
- 11. Fix adjective construction Original: one might be innate in some art forms Suggested revision: one might have an innate ability in some art forms Why it matters: A person cannot be innate; the ability itself is innate.
- 12. Use concise wording Original: a song or two Suggested revision: songs Why it matters: Songs is more concise and suitably formal in this list of art forms.
Suggested Rewrites
- imaginations imagination
- both the views both views
- some people are sometimes people are sometimes
- spill their feelings out express their feelings
- not that hard and can be attempted easily not particularly difficult to attempt
- opine believe
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response offers a well-organized discussion of both views, using relevant examples and a flexible range of language. Its main limitation is that the writer's own position appears chiefly in the conclusion and does not clearly distinguish the ability to make art from the training required to produce exceptional work. The highest-priority improvement is to state that distinction in the introduction and apply it consistently throughout both arguments.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views are relevantly developed and an opinion is given, but the precise position is delayed and the key distinction remains somewhat blurred.
State from the outset whether everyone can create basic art while training is needed for mastery, then evaluate both views against that position.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear four-paragraph progression, and each body paragraph develops one side with well-integrated examples.
Strengthen the transition into the conclusion by explicitly synthesizing the two body arguments rather than simply shifting to a final opinion.
Lexical Resource
The essay shows a broad topic-specific range, but several choices are awkward, overly ornate, or imprecise despite remaining understandable.
Prefer natural formulations for ideas such as innate talent and artistic technique, and avoid expressions such as ordinary mediocrities.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are varied and mostly accurate, with strong control of subordination, conditionals, and punctuation across the response.
Refine the few awkward constructions and check noun forms and comma placement to make the control consistently polished.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say that art (e.g. painting, music, poetry) can be made by everyone whereas others believe that it can be only made by those with special abilities. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.