Some people say that success is ‘10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work’. Is hard work the key to success, or is talent also important?
Sample Response
When it comes to the issue of success, a myriad of perspectives has been put forth. Some stick to the idea that hard work plays a key role in success whereas others are on the view that talent is an inseparable part of success. I personally state that the viewpoint put forward by the first group is more logical. In the following paragraphs, I will shed light on my reasons for this viewpoint.
The price of success is hard work. Perseverance gives rise to success. Individuals, who always succeed, try all times and never give up. It does not matter how many times they fail, they do not give up and stop their attempt till they reach their goal. They never call themselves failure! They really subscribe to the idea that the greatest accomplishment is not in falling down but in rising again and again after falling hard which sets the stage for success. With regard to the issue of gaining success, they really believe that winners never quit and quitters never win.
On the other hand, just hard work without believing in ourselves and certain talents does not serve to achieve success. What is in our mind and how positive we think prepares the ground for physical action and eventually gives rise to hard work and gaining success. If we believe that we can achieve to whatever we want and we remove the negative thoughts which serve as mental barriers, we certainly succeed in gaining our goals. Having purpose is also important to work hard. If we know what we really want and why we need it clarifies our purpose which has beneficial effects on hard working. So, besides being hard working person it is essential to be hard planning person too.
In my view, I really concede that success is 10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work hard. Hard work and self-disciplined perform a pivotal role in gaining success, having a purpose and believe in ourselves are also required along with the hard work.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural viewpoint phrase Original: are on the view Suggested revision: take the view Why it matters: The standard expression is 'take the view that'.
- 2. Use an opinion verb Original: state Suggested revision: believe Why it matters: 'Believe' expresses a personal judgement more naturally than 'state'.
- 3. Refer to the former group Original: first Suggested revision: former Why it matters: 'The former group' refers more precisely to the first of two groups.
- 4. Use a natural adverb Original: try all times Suggested revision: keep trying Why it matters: The original phrase is not idiomatic English.
- 5. Use the natural verb Original: stop their attempt Suggested revision: stop trying Why it matters: English normally uses 'stop trying' for abandoning an effort.
- 6. Use the plural complement Original: failure Suggested revision: failures Why it matters: The plural subject requires a plural subject complement here.
- 7. Use precise emphasis Original: just hard work Suggested revision: hard work alone Why it matters: 'Hard work alone' clearly means hard work without other qualities.
- 8. Use concise noun phrases Original: believing in ourselves and certain talents Suggested revision: self-belief and talent Why it matters: Parallel noun phrases make the list more concise and natural.
- 9. Use a natural construction Original: does not serve to achieve success Suggested revision: is not enough to achieve success Why it matters: The proposed construction expresses insufficiency directly and idiomatically.
- 10. Use the plural noun Original: mind Suggested revision: minds Why it matters: The general reference to people's thoughts requires the plural 'minds'.
- 11. Use an adverb Original: positive Suggested revision: positively Why it matters: The adverb 'positively' modifies the verb 'think'.
- 12. Clarify the outcomes Original: gives rise to hard work and gaining success Suggested revision: motivates hard work and leads to success Why it matters: The revised verbs form a clear, parallel account of the two outcomes.
Suggested Rewrites
- are on the view take the view
- state believe
- first former
- try all times keep trying
- stop their attempt stop trying
- failure failures
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response presents a clear preference for hard work and recognises that talent, self-belief, and purpose also contribute to success. Its main limitation is that the hard-work argument relies heavily on repeated slogans while talent itself receives little explanation, and frequent language errors reduce precision; the priority is to develop one concrete example for each factor and distinguish talent clearly from motivation and planning.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A relevant position is maintained and hard work is discussed at length, but talent is only briefly acknowledged and supporting ideas remain general or repetitive.
Explain how a specific talent contributes to success and compare that contribution directly with sustained effort through a concrete example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response uses clear paragraphing and a recognisable progression, although repeated slogans and a loose second body paragraph weaken development.
Give each paragraph one distinct controlling idea and replace repeated sayings with connected explanation and evidence.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but frequent repetition and inaccurate collocations reduce precision and naturalness.
Use natural phrases such as hold the view, keep trying, achieve a goal, self-discipline, and careful planning.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures conveys the main meaning, though agreement, clause construction, word forms, and articles are frequently inaccurate.
Check every complex sentence for a complete main clause and make nouns, verbs, and complements agree before adding further detail.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say that success is ‘10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work’. Is hard work the key to success, or is talent also important?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.