Nowadays it is easy to apply for and be given a credit card. However, some people experience problems when they are not able to pay their debts back. Do the advantages of credit cards outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Response
Credit card or plastic money is the latest phenomenon and offer a very efficient way to do transactions without handling the actual money. The booming of banking sectors in recent years, on the other hand, has made it possible to apply for and get a credit card easily than ever before. While the credit card offers a risk-free and convenient way of shopping or making any transactions, it has its demerits like becoming defaulter to the bank. My belief is that credit cards have far more advantages than the disadvantages it offers.
Initially, the credit card is easy to carry and possess little risk of robbery and pickpocket. The security system of a credit card makes it virtually impossible for a thief to steal someone’s credit card and use it. On the contrary, carrying a large sum of money is quite risky. From this regards, plastic money or better known as the credit card has made it possible to do hassle free transactions.
Secondly, by nature credit cards allows people to take credit from the bank and purchase their necessity from shops. From this perspective, it offers a great economic freedom to people. Online shopping or e-commerce business has become so popular because of the online credit card transaction facilities. Many small online shops can run their business and get payment instantly only because of the innovation of credit card and online payment. A shop owner is no longer doing local business and his customers are coming from every corner of the world and thanks to the credit card for making this happen.
Finally, the credit card allows banks to mobilise the money and this is quite an important aspect of the economic growth of a country. Think about the millions of transactions happening every hour via credit cards and its impact on mobilising the money and that would allow you to fully appreciate the importance of credit card in the global economy. Undeniably there are some disadvantages of credit cards especially when people cannot repay the amount they have already spent or when they are hacked. However, this cannot degrade the usefulness of plastic money in the modern era. Banks should never grant credit cards to people with bad credit records or to someone who does not have an economic stability to actually afford it. In fact, the credit limit imposed on every credit card actually does restrain people from being extravagant and become a bad creditor.
In conclusion, every technology has some negative aspects and that does not make the technology bad itself. Bank authority should make strict rules about allowing credit cards to someone, and people should be more frugal when spending money they are obliged to return. Credit cards have so many advantages that make our life easier while the negative impacts could easily be controlled.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. General plural Original: Credit card or plastic money is Suggested revision: Credit cards, or plastic money, are Why it matters: The topic is credit cards generally.
- 2. Agreement Original: phenomenon and offer Suggested revision: phenomenon and offer Why it matters: With the revised plural subject, offer is correct; the noun phrase also needs plural reference.
- 3. Natural collocation Original: do transactions Suggested revision: make transactions Why it matters: Make a transaction is the standard expression.
- 4. Concise noun Original: handling the actual money Suggested revision: handling cash Why it matters: Cash is more precise and concise.
- 5. Correct noun phrase Original: booming of banking sectors Suggested revision: growth of the banking sector Why it matters: This is the natural collocation.
- 6. Comparative adverb Original: easily than ever before Suggested revision: more easily than ever before Why it matters: Than requires the comparative form.
- 7. Correct debt phrase Original: becoming defaulter to the bank Suggested revision: defaulting on repayments Why it matters: This is the standard financial collocation.
- 8. Plural agreement Original: disadvantages it offers Suggested revision: disadvantages they present Why it matters: Credit cards is plural.
- 9. Natural predicate Original: possess little risk Suggested revision: involve little risk Why it matters: A card does not possess a risk.
- 10. Fixed expression Original: From this regards Suggested revision: In this regard Why it matters: This is the correct phrase.
- 11. Hyphenated modifier Original: hassle free transactions Suggested revision: hassle-free transactions Why it matters: A compound modifier before a noun is hyphenated.
- 12. Subject-verb agreement Original: credit cards allows Suggested revision: credit cards allow Why it matters: The plural subject takes allow.
Suggested Rewrites
- Credit card or plastic money is Credit cards, or plastic money, are
- phenomenon and offer phenomenon and offer
- do transactions make transactions
- handling the actual money handling cash
- booming of banking sectors growth of the banking sector
- easily than ever before more easily than ever before
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay maintains a clear view that credit cards’ convenience, security, and economic benefits outweigh their risks, and it develops several relevant advantages. The treatment of disadvantages is comparatively brief and sometimes dismissive, while frequent agreement and collocation errors reduce precision. Give debt and fraud a full counterargument paragraph, then explain with evidence how eligibility checks and spending controls mitigate those risks.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
A clear position is supported by several developed benefits, but debt and fraud receive limited analysis and some claims about security and credit limits are overstated.
Develop the strongest disadvantage fairly before demonstrating why safeguards make the advantages greater overall.
Coherence and Cohesion
The five-paragraph progression is clear and cohesive, though some paragraphs are long and several transitions are mechanical or misused.
Give the counterargument its own paragraph and use contrast linkers only where ideas genuinely oppose each other.
Lexical Resource
There is a good topic range, but inaccurate collocations and word forms occur regularly.
Use established phrases such as make transactions, banking sector, easier than ever, default on payments, and financial stability.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures communicate the argument, but subject-verb agreement, articles, comparatives, and noun number are frequently inaccurate.
Check agreement after credit card/cards and revise long coordinated sentences into controlled clauses.