Some people claim that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a car.
Sample Response
In our lives, we travel from one place to another for a great variety of reasons and while travelling we greatly depend on cars, whether it is a private car or a public bus. The number of car owners is increasing every day because every person expects the freedom to travel and comfort while travelling. And that is why most of us want to own a car. However owning a car have many advantages and disadvantages as well.
The main advantage of owning a car is it gives the freedom to travel. If you have a car then you don't need to be limited to fixed routes and timetables. Moreover, a car-owner can take is/her family members with him/her and other necessary goods whenever he/she wish which might have been impossible otherwise. In addition, personal cars give comfort while travelling on the contrary to the public buses which are so crowded and disgusting. You can read books, listen to music or even can play with kids while you are in your own car but those all seem to be impossible in public transport. On the contrary, owning a car is very expensive. The price of the car, the cost of the tax, insurance cost, fuel cost, driver's salary, car repairing etc. all must be considered before buying a car and that is why it is out of reach of the middle-class people.
Moreover, private cars can not carry many passengers at a time yet occupy spaces in the street. As the number of cars is increasing in the road so does the traffic jam. Perhaps the major disadvantage of cars, in general, is the huge damage they do to human health and to the environment. More cars mean more pollution. The environment pollution is a serious issue today and at any cost, we must reduce the amount of pollution and if we consider it then owning a car is never a good idea.
To sum up, having a car gives someone freedom but if the public transportation system is easily accessible, safe and efficient, then the idea of buying and owning a car should be abandoned.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix opener and agreement Original: However owning a car have Suggested revision: However, owning a car has Why it matters: The introductory linker needs a comma, and the singular gerund phrase takes has.
- 2. Add complement marker Original: is it gives the freedom Suggested revision: is that it gives the freedom Why it matters: That is required to introduce the clause explaining the advantage.
- 3. State freedom directly Original: don't need to be limited Suggested revision: are not limited Why it matters: The revision expresses the absence of route restrictions more directly.
- 4. Correct pronoun typo Original: is Suggested revision: his Why it matters: Is/her is a typographical error in the possessive pronoun pair.
- 5. Fix verb agreement Original: wish Suggested revision: wishes Why it matters: The singular subject he/she requires the third-person verb wishes.
- 6. Use direct comparison Original: on the contrary to the public buses Suggested revision: unlike public buses Why it matters: Unlike is the correct preposition for contrasting private cars with buses.
- 7. Use precise discomfort term Original: disgusting Suggested revision: uncomfortable Why it matters: Uncomfortable describes the travel experience more precisely than the emotive word disgusting.
- 8. Keep verbs parallel Original: or even can play Suggested revision: or even play Why it matters: The modal can already governs the coordinated verbs and should not be repeated.
- 9. Fix demonstrative order Original: those all seem Suggested revision: all of those activities seem Why it matters: The revised noun phrase clearly refers to the listed activities and uses natural word order.
- 10. Use plural taxes Original: the cost of the tax Suggested revision: the cost of taxes Why it matters: Taxes is the natural general reference to recurring tax expenses.
- 11. Coordinate cost items Original: insurance cost, fuel cost Suggested revision: insurance and fuel costs Why it matters: The plural head noun costs can apply to both coordinated expense categories.
- 12. Use repair noun Original: repairing Suggested revision: repairs Why it matters: Repairs is the standard noun for maintenance work on a car.
Suggested Rewrites
- However owning a car have However, owning a car has
- is it gives the freedom is that it gives the freedom
- don't need to be limited are not limited
- is his
- wish wishes
- on the contrary to the public buses unlike public buses
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response covers both the personal benefits and wider costs of car ownership, maintains a clear conditional position, and supports its points with relevant explanations. Its main limitation is the frequency of awkward wording and grammatical slips, while some ideas remain broad rather than precisely illustrated. The highest-priority improvement is to develop each main point with a specific, well-explained example and edit sentences for agreement, pronoun, and collocation accuracy.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both advantages and disadvantages and reaches a clear, qualified conclusion, although support is mostly general.
Develop the principal benefit and drawback with specific examples that show their practical consequences.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through the discussion, but the long second paragraph combines opposing points and some linking is mechanical.
Separate advantages from disadvantages more consistently and use transitions to clarify relationships rather than merely signal them.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate and sometimes varied, but recurring awkward collocations and imprecise choices reduce naturalness.
Replace expressions such as environmental pollution and occupy spaces with more precise, natural topic vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring agreement, pronoun, article, and word-form errors.
Proofread systematically for subject-verb agreement and pronoun consistency, especially in longer sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people claim that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a car.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.