Many doctors recommend that older people exercise regularly, but most patients do not follow any exercise routine. Why do you think it is happening? How can people be encouraged to exercise regularly?
Sample Response
Most medical experts agree that older people should engage in some form of regular exercise; however, regular exercise can be difficulthowever, this can be difficult at that age and many older people do not exerciseso many of them do not. This essay will explore why that is the case and suggest a way in which elderly people can be encouraged to exercise more.
The main reason whyFirst of all, the main reason why old people do not get enough exercise is that they lack opportunities because of social isolationlack the opportunity due to social isolation. Whilst young people tend to have the chance to go out and be active with their friends, old people often find themselves without friends or confined to sedentary activities when socialising. In additionBeyond that, elderly people tend to be quite frail and sometimes beset by physical pain, meaning that exercise can be unappealing to them. It is easier to read a book or watch TV than risk injury by exercising outdoorsrisk injury going outside.
In order to solve this problem, people first need to recognisethere needs to be firstly an awareness that physical activity need not always be strenuous. Old people can enjoy walking, swimming, and other relatively gentle forms of exercise to stay activeexercise in order to stay active and reap the benefits of increased mobility. In some parts of East Asia, it is common for old people to do tai chi, which is a low-impact exercise that helps them move without hurting themselves. ParticipationThis can be encouraged through organised events that foster a sense of social interaction. Local governments, councils, and care homes can arrange for old people to engage in appropriate group exercise classesexercise classes in groups, where they can have fun as well as get fit.
In conclusion, old people often do not get enough exercise because they lack social interaction and are quite frail, but low-impact forms of exercise conducted in large groups can help overcome this problem.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response answers both questions directly and develops a coherent link between isolation, frailty, gentle exercise, and organised group activities. Its main limitation is minor: some repetition of “old people” and a few slightly awkward constructions reduce stylistic polish. The best improvement is to vary references to the target group and tighten phrasing while preserving the specific examples and clear cause-to-solution progression.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both causes and solutions are directly addressed, well developed, and supported with relevant, specific examples.
Add a brief explanation of how participation barriers would be overcome to make the proposed group activities even more convincing.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear cause-to-solution progression, with well-focused paragraphs and effectively managed cohesion.
Reduce reliance on overt sequencing phrases where the logical relationship is already clear from the ideas themselves.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is wide, precise, and natural, with effective topic-specific choices and only minor repetition.
Vary repeated references to old people and refine the few less natural phrases for greater stylistic flexibility.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is used accurately, and errors are rare and do not affect communication.
Polish occasional word-order choices, such as the placement of firstly, to make complex sentences fully natural.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many doctors recommend that older people exercise regularly, but most patients do not follow any exercise routine. Why do you think it is happening? How can people be encouraged to exercise regularly?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.