Many newspapers and magazines feature stories about the private lives of famous people. We know what they eat, where they buy their clothes and who they love. We also often see pictures of them in private situations. Is it appropriate for a magazine or newspaper to give this kind of private information about people?
Sample Response
Generally, people read newspapers to find out about current affairs around the worldworld current affairs and they read magazines to be entertained. Therefore, one would expect to find articles that feature the private lives of famous people in magazines rather than newspapers. However, nowadays, more and more newspapers include stories like these which are neither informative nor useful.
In my opinion, this type of gossip about people's private lives should not be in newspapers for several reasons. For example,Firstly, for example, the fact that Princess Diana is going out with a sportsman is not important news. Secondly, if newspapers want to publish articles about famous people, theyfamous people they should focus on their public events and achievements. In other words, if there is an article about Princess Diana it should be about her charitable workher works of charity, which canwill increase public awareness of important problems. In addition, journalists should make sure that they write about only the factsthe facts only, not rumours. One should be able to rely on newspapers for the truththe actual truth.
Magazines, on the other hand, focus on social news. But I feel it is more acceptable for them to publishcontain some features about famous personalities. In addition to being popular reading, these stories often benefit the stars by giving them free publicitygiving free publicity to them, thereby helping their careers. However, I also believe that magazine stories should not mention things that are too embarrassing or untrue simply to attract buyersjust to attract people to buy the magazine. Such sensational storiesSensational stories, such as these, cause great unhappiness to the people concerned.
In conclusion, I think newspapers should concentrate on real news, but magazinesreal news but magazines can feature some articles on people's private lives.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is easy to follow and presents a clear, nuanced distinction between the responsibilities of newspapers and magazines, supported by relevant examples and qualifications. Its main limitation is that some ideas rely on broad assumptions about each medium and are developed only briefly. The highest-priority improvement is to examine the privacy principle more deeply and explain why publicity does or does not justify disclosure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is answered directly with a consistent position that distinguishes newspapers from magazines and sets limits on private reporting.
Deepen the justification by discussing consent, public interest, or the consequences of disclosure rather than relying mainly on publication type.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is organised into purposeful paragraphs and progresses clearly from newspapers to magazines and a concise conclusion.
Use less mechanical sequencing within the newspaper paragraph and make the links among its reasons more conceptually explicit.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and appropriate for discussing journalism, privacy, publicity, and social consequences, with only occasional awkward phrasing.
Refine collocations such as world current affairs and actual truth to make the wording more natural and precise.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a good range of sentence forms with generally accurate grammar and consistently clear meaning.
Polish punctuation and article use in longer sentences so that complex ideas read more smoothly.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many newspapers and magazines feature stories about the private lives of famous people. We know what they eat, where they buy their clothes and who they love. We also often see pictures of them in private situations. Is it appropriate for a magazine or newspaper to give this kind of private information about people?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.