To be labeled a ‘Work of Art’, a painting, sculpture or other art forms should display certain qualities that are unique. However, over the past century, there has been a decline in the quality of prize-winning artwork and it is now possible for quite ordinary pieces of art to be labeled ‘masterpieces’ whilst true works of art pass unnoticed. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Same questionCompare 2 different answers (Band 5.5–6)

Sample Response

1

People's taste in artThe taste of people for artworks hashave changed dramaticallyto an extreme extent in thethis present age. As a direct result, many ordinary artworks are labelled masterpiecesare entitled as masterpieces while true pieces go unnoticed because of inadequate evaluationfor the lack of evaluation amid thousands of cheap pieces. I completely agree with the statement for the following reasons. The number of art-loving peopleart loving people has declinedreduced significantly. With the passage of time, maintaining a decent life is difficult. So, people are busy makingbusy in making a comfortable living. They can hardly find timehardly manage time to focus on artworks and are willing to hang the artworks on their wallswall or preserve them in their showcases instead of viewing them in galleriesvisiting them at galleries. Such activities have greatly reduced the value of real artworks. Besides, serious artiststhe real artists are losing interest in creatinglosing their interest to create some extraordinary pieces for severalwider reasons. Firstly, they are not appreciated. Additionally, the prices of raw materials are on the rise. So, the artists lose interest to create some ‘true’ pieces because art lovers do not appreciate themdue to lack of art lovers’ admiration to them. In fact, people are no longer interested in artno longer interested in art anymore for recreation. For instance, my next-door neighbournext door neighbour is a painter. When inquired, preferring anonymity, he told that all types of artworks started declining after the Second World War. Though there had been some changes after the 1990s, the real artworks were lost amid the cheap pieces after that decade, he said. He also believes, a large number of artist gave up job considering the matters. In fact, he was true. Furthermore, the art galleries reduced in competition with local market artworks. The artworks meant for gallery exhibitions are confined to local markets within a cheaper price for home décor. Subsequently, the aesthetic arts are experiencing rainy days in the supremacy of ordinary pieces. So, the ordinary pieces turned dominating. To conclude, determining the true art and awarding those unique works is a task that should be done very carefully in order to appreciate the work or genius from ordinary works.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 5.5

The response has a definite position and offers several reasons for the decline of recognised art, with a broadly traceable progression from public interest to artists and galleries. However, much of the discussion concerns art consumption generally rather than explaining how ordinary work wins prizes while genuine quality is overlooked, and frequent awkward phrasing reduces precision. Prioritise developing one direct, credible explanation about judging standards or prize selection, supported by a clearly relevant example.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TR

Task Response

6.0
Scoring rule

The writer clearly agrees and supplies several related reasons, but development often shifts from prize-winning quality to the broader decline of interest in art.

Next step

Build the argument around how judging criteria, publicity, or market influence cause ordinary pieces to win recognition while stronger work is missed.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

5.5
Scoring rule

The sequence from audiences to artists and galleries is broadly understandable, but the single-block presentation, repetition, and mechanical transitions weaken progression.

Next step

Use separate body paragraphs for public taste and prize selection, with each topic sentence directly tied to the central claim.

LR

Lexical Resource

5.5
Scoring rule

The response shows some range in discussing art and evaluation, but frequent inaccurate word choices and collocations make several claims awkward or imprecise.

Next step

Replace expressions such as 'entitled as masterpieces', 'busy in making', and 'experiencing rainy days' with direct, conventional academic phrasing.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

5.5
Scoring rule

A mixture of sentence forms is attempted, but subject-verb agreement, articles, plural forms, prepositions, and clause construction contain frequent errors.

Next step

Prioritise agreement and noun phrases, including 'people's tastes have changed', 'artists have given up their careers', and 'at a lower price'.

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IELTS Writing Task 2

To be labeled a ‘Work of Art’, a painting, sculpture or other art forms should display certain qualities that are unique. However, over the past century, there has been a decline in the quality of prize-winning artwork and it is now possible for quite ordinary pieces of art to be labeled ‘masterpieces’ whilst true works of art pass unnoticed. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Your response

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