How important is the dress code in our lives? Do you consider that dressing appropriately is important or are you of the opinion that everyone should be able to wear exactly what they like?
Sample Response
Whether dress code is important or not is a debate that is going for a long time. As far as I am concerned, I think the dress code is important and should be followed especially in schools and offices. The way person dresses up gives a lot of indications about their attitude and personality and therefore can sometimes make or break you. Firstly, having a dress code gives you the feeling of unity and togetherness. Many times having a dress code could make people forget their differences and work towards a common goal. For example, all the sports team and government organisations such as police and armed forces have same dress or uniform, which instils the feeling to being part of the team and working for a common goal. Many schools have dress codes, which is very vital to make the student understand that the in spite of differences in their cultural and financial background, they are equals and will only be evaluated based on merit. Dress codes are also important in offices, especially in customer facing roles. When a person interacts with the clients, he or she is representing the company and dressing appropriately is essential. Different companies have different styles of work which represented by their dress code. For instance, a financial institution generally has a formal dress code, since it gives the impression of being attentive and serious towards their work. Suppose if a person dresses in torn jeans with loose fitted T-shirt and loafers, I am sure clients would not be comfortable giving their money to such hands. Similarly, if you work in fashion industry, you are expected to be funky and experimental and not wear formal clothes. So, it is important to dress according to the profession you are in. In a nutshell, the “first impression is the last impression” and therefore, it is crucial that dress code is carefully chosen and followed.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix ongoing tense Original: debate that is going for a long time Suggested revision: debate that has been ongoing for a long time Why it matters: The present perfect is needed for a debate that began in the past and continues now.
- 2. Remove redundant stance Original: As far as I am concerned, I think Suggested revision: I think Why it matters: Both phrases introduce the writer's view, so using both is repetitive.
- 3. Add missing article Original: The way person dresses up Suggested revision: The way a person dresses Why it matters: The singular count noun needs an article, and “dresses” is sufficient in this context.
- 4. Use formal wording Original: a lot of indications Suggested revision: many indications Why it matters: “Many indications” is more concise and appropriate for formal writing.
- 5. Use plural noun Original: all the sports team Suggested revision: all sports teams Why it matters: “All” refers to multiple teams, so the noun must be plural and needs no definite article.
- 6. Add definite article Original: police and armed forces Suggested revision: the police and armed forces Why it matters: The institutional noun “police” requires the definite article here.
- 7. Fix article and verb Original: have same dress or uniform Suggested revision: wear the same clothing or uniform Why it matters: The noun phrase requires “the”, and “wear” is the natural verb for clothing.
- 8. Fix gerund preposition Original: the feeling to being Suggested revision: the feeling of being Why it matters: The noun “feeling” takes “of” before a gerund.
- 9. Match plural antecedent Original: which is very vital Suggested revision: which are vital Why it matters: The relative clause refers to plural “dress codes”, so it requires “are”.
- 10. Use general plural Original: to make the student understand Suggested revision: to help students understand Why it matters: A general reference requires the plural, and “help” gives the intended causative meaning naturally.
- 11. Fix contrast phrase Original: that the in spite of Suggested revision: that despite Why it matters: The fixed preposition is “despite”; it does not take an article.
- 12. Use plural backgrounds Original: their cultural and financial background Suggested revision: their cultural and financial backgrounds Why it matters: The plural students have multiple cultural and financial backgrounds.
Suggested Rewrites
- debate that is going for a long time debate that has been ongoing for a long time
- As far as I am concerned, I think I think
- The way person dresses up The way a person dresses
- a lot of indications many indications
- all the sports team all sports teams
- police and armed forces the police and armed forces
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response takes a clear position and supports the importance of appropriate dress with relevant examples from schools, public services, finance, and fashion. Its main weaknesses are the single-paragraph presentation and recurrent grammatical and collocational errors, even though the reasoning remains easy to follow. The highest-priority improvement is to divide the argument into focused body paragraphs and explain more explicitly when personal clothing choice should yield to institutional or professional expectations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response answers both questions with a clear view and develops relevant reasons and examples across educational and professional contexts.
Acknowledge personal freedom briefly and define the situations in which the benefits of an appropriate dress code outweigh individual preference.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas move logically from unity to school and workplace examples, but the entire essay is one paragraph and some transitions are mechanical.
Separate the introduction, social benefits, professional examples, and conclusion into distinct paragraphs with clear controlling ideas.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally effective for discussing identity, institutions, and professional impressions, despite several awkward or imprecise combinations.
Use more natural phrases such as sense of belonging, customer-facing role, professional image, and dress appropriately for the setting.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of sentence structures communicates the argument clearly, but article, agreement, relative-clause, and infinitive errors recur throughout.
Proofread for missing articles and auxiliary verbs, especially in sentences describing groups, uniforms, and company practices.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
How important is the dress code in our lives? Do you consider that dressing appropriately is important or are you of the opinion that everyone should be able to wear exactly what they like?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.