Art classes, like painting and drawing are as important as other subjects, so they should be made compulsory in high school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
In an era when people are paying more attention to the all‑round development of students, the question of whether art should become a compulsory course since it plays an essential role in people's holistic development has sparked an intense debate. From my perspective, I agree with this viewpoint. Admittedly, some problems may occur if the local authority in charge of education makes art classes compulsory. To begin with, due to the fact that educational finances are relatively limitedfinite, insufficient funds for other subjects like math and science may exert adverse impacts on the long‑term advancement of society. Mathematics and science are of pivotal importance to society since every field necessitates fundamental knowledge and skills learned from such subjects. Moreover, the increase in the number of compulsory subjects will exacerbate students' academic pressure, as students mustshould take formal examinations to assess their abilities. In order to achieveacquire good academic performance and results, they need to spend large amounts of time finishing homeworkspend large amounts of time on finishing homework, learning theoretical knowledge and practical skills, reducing their leisure time to release stress accumulated from their studiesaccumulated in study. However, including art in compulsory education can bring some merits to both students and society. First and foremost, there is no denying that not everyone has the same aptitude forin particular subjects like mathematics, physics and linguistics. Individuals who are talented in art such as painting, drawing, sculpture and other related subjects would have morepossess more opportunities to hone their skills, laying a solid foundation for their future careers. As mandatory subjects, art classes can attract more educational funds, which can be allocated towards the recruitment of professional staff and the purchase of equipment, providing a suitable environment for learning. Furthermore, the mastery of art fosters creativityfosters the cultivation of creativity and open‑mindedness, not to mention its positive impacts on the mutual understanding of diverse cultures. In art classes, students need to utilize their aesthetic appreciation and innovative mindset to discover and record the beauty of nature and daily life with paint brushes or othertheir tools. In conclusion, although making art a mandatory subject has certain negative influences on students, the benefits for cultivating well‑rounded individuals cannot be ignored.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The essay presents a well-developed argument that effectively addresses all parts of the prompt with strong language control and logical reasoning. While the candidate acknowledges counterarguments regarding academic pressure and funding, splitting the body into more balanced paragraphs would enhance structural clarity. To improve further, ensure that arguments supporting the chosen position receive stronger emphasis throughout the main body.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response clearly articulates a personal stance and thoroughly addresses the prompt by evaluating both the challenges and benefits of compulsory art education.
Ensure the primary supporting arguments are given greater weight and prominence than the counterarguments to make the main thesis even more compelling.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is organized logically with clear overall progression, though combining opposing points into large paragraph blocks slightly affects readability.
Divide long body paragraphs into distinct, focused paragraphs to separate counterarguments from main supporting points more clearly.
Lexical Resource
A wide range of sophisticated and flexible vocabulary is used appropriately and precisely throughout the text.
Continue using topic-specific phrasing naturally while ensuring collocations remain idiomatic.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The essay demonstrates a good variety of complex grammatical structures with a consistently high level of accuracy.
Vary sentence lengths slightly to avoid overly long compound-complex sentences that can occasionally reduce reading momentum.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Art classes, like painting and drawing are as important as other subjects, so they should be made compulsory in high school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.