Some people believe that university students are required to attend the classes. Others hold the view that going to classes should be optional for students. What is your view? Discuss.
Sample Response
In some countries such as Russia and China, attendance in classes is compulsory at universities, whereas it is voluntary in many universities in Australia and New Zealand. I firmly believe that attending classes is important for students and should be a compulsory requirement. However, opinions could vary from case to case.
There is no doubt that the class attendance and the level of knowledge of a specific subject highly correlate to each other because during the lecture students can hear and see the lecturers who explain the topic as well as answer questions regarding this topic. This level of interaction impacts students positively who can understand better the topic after class participation. Additionally, during the lecture or tutorial teachers can explain the material in an easier or simpler way than it could be read from the book. As a result of class attendance, students will not only have greater knowledge and have a deeper understanding of the topic but also will be able to solve questions based on the topic, pass a course and use this knowledge for their future careers. Teachers who conduct classes not only talk about the subject matter, but also tell stories and share their experience which is helpful for students to understand or remember a topic. Teachers also inspire students, give helpful guidelines and refer related books so that students can learn even better. If someone does not attend classes, he will less likely make friends and will miss the valuable lessons taught by the teachers. On the other hand, in some situations attending classes should not be mandatory. For example, students may be absent because of sickness, jobs, family needs or the necessity to take care of children or the urgent need to be in a different place during the class time. Some of the students are forced to work and sometimes the work hours come across the class hours. For the benefits of those students, attending classes at the university level should be voluntary. Many people believe that university education is quite different than pre-university level education. Students in university level are quite matured and they should be free to learn things they way they prefer- be it classrooms, library, the internet or some other sources. To sum up, different views exist in regards to class attendance by university students. However, in my opinion, it is more beneficial for students to attend classes which will eventually help them to increase their knowledge, read more, learn more and, definitely, it will help them to prepare for their future career.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove article Original: the class attendance Suggested revision: class attendance Why it matters: The general uncountable noun phrase does not take “the” here.
- 2. Use passive form Original: highly correlate to each other Suggested revision: are highly correlated Why it matters: The relationship between the two factors is expressed with “are correlated.”
- 3. Repair relative clause Original: impacts students positively who Suggested revision: positively affects students, who Why it matters: The comma and word order make the relative clause modify “students” clearly.
- 4. Place adverb naturally Original: understand better the topic Suggested revision: understand the topic better Why it matters: The adverb naturally follows the object in this construction.
- 5. Avoid redundant wording Original: in an easier or simpler way Suggested revision: more clearly Why it matters: “Easier” and “simpler” are redundant, while “clearly” states the intended benefit precisely.
- 6. Fix comparison Original: than it could be read from the book Suggested revision: than students could understand it from a book Why it matters: The revision supplies a logical subject and makes the two learning methods comparable.
- 7. Streamline parallel phrase Original: have greater knowledge and have a deeper understanding Suggested revision: gain greater knowledge and a deeper understanding Why it matters: A single verb creates a concise parallel construction.
- 8. Fix word order Original: but also will be able Suggested revision: but will also be able Why it matters: The auxiliary should precede “also” in this coordinated verb phrase.
- 9. Use plural noun Original: experience Suggested revision: experiences Why it matters: The plural form is natural when referring to the varied experiences of multiple teachers.
- 10. Use correct verb Original: refer Suggested revision: recommend Why it matters: “Recommend” is the appropriate verb for suggesting books to students.
- 11. Add linking verb Original: will less likely make friends Suggested revision: will be less likely to make friends Why it matters: The adjective phrase “less likely” requires the linking verb “be” and an infinitive complement.
- 12. Use formal noun Original: sickness Suggested revision: illness Why it matters: “Illness” is the more natural formal term for a reason for absence.
Suggested Rewrites
- the class attendance class attendance
- highly correlate to each other are highly correlated
- impacts students positively who positively affects students, who
- understand better the topic understand the topic better
- in an easier or simpler way more clearly
- than it could be read from the book than students could understand it from a book
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear, nuanced view and supports both compulsory attendance and reasonable exceptions with relevant, extended points. Its main limitation is the single oversized body paragraph, which blurs the shift between the two sides, while recurring collocational and grammatical slips reduce polish. The highest-priority improvement is to separate the arguments into focused paragraphs and edit sentences for more natural word choice and cleaner grammatical control.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both positions, states a clear preference for compulsory attendance, and develops relevant benefits and justified exceptions.
Clarify the policy conclusion by explaining precisely how compulsory attendance should accommodate the exceptions described.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas follow a broadly logical sequence and linking is clear, but placing both sides in one very long body paragraph weakens organisation.
Divide the body into separate paragraphs for the benefits of attendance and the case for flexibility.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a sufficiently broad academic vocabulary, though recurring awkward collocations reduce precision and naturalness.
Revise combinations such as refer students to related books, work hours overlap with classes, and university students are mature.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of simple and complex structures is used successfully, but article, preposition, agreement, and sentence-structure errors recur.
Edit long sentences for cleaner clause relationships and check articles and prepositions in common academic phrases.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that university students are required to attend the classes. Others hold the view that going to classes should be optional for students. What is your view? Discuss.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.