People say that it is a waste of time for high school students to learn literature such as novels and poems. Do you agree or disagree with this idea?
Sample Response
Some people believe that it is a waste of time for students to study literature in high school. Personally, I couldn’t disagree more with this opinion.
Firstly, there are a range of benefits for high school students who study literature. Studying novels can give students a deeper insight into the history and culture of a particular place or time. For example, although the storyline in many novels may be fictional, the reader can still gain a good sense of the culture and customs of certain places and periods of time, and this is usually a much more entertaining way of understanding history compared to reading regular history books. Secondly, studying literature helps students to learn more about language, which increases their ability to express themselves and communicate with others. This is particularly important these days as the use of the internet and social media has had a myriad of negative impacts on people’s communication skills.
Furthermore, literature is a form of art, and it cannot be argued that the world needs artists to make it a better place to live. Without art, the world would be a ghastly, boring place. I believe that literature should be considered as an important part of any high school curriculum as it helps to stimulate students’ artistic intelligence and provides them with a break from the monotony of logic-based subjects such as math and science. All subjects play an important role in the development of students, and literature is no exception. These days, there seems to be too much attention given to the importance of science and math-based subjects, as they are what many people believe drive a country’s economy, however I believe that art and culture should be considered as important as the economy.
In conclusion, not only does literature hold an important place within a high school’s curriculum, but also within society itself, and therefore I believe it should be held in high regard.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use formal position Original: couldn’t disagree more Suggested revision: strongly disagree Why it matters: The replacement states the same position in a more formal academic register.
- 2. Make phrasing concise Original: certain places and periods of time Suggested revision: particular places and historical periods Why it matters: ‘Historical periods’ avoids the wordy phrase ‘periods of time’ and makes the reference more precise.
- 3. Refine comparison wording Original: compared to reading regular history books Suggested revision: compared with reading conventional history books Why it matters: ‘Compared with’ and ‘conventional’ give this direct comparison a more precise academic phrasing.
- 4. Improve collocation Original: a myriad of negative impacts Suggested revision: numerous negative effects Why it matters: ‘Negative effects’ is a more natural collocation for changes in communication skills.
- 5. Correct intended meaning Original: argued Suggested revision: denied Why it matters: ‘Cannot be argued’ contradicts the intended claim that the need for artists is undeniable.
- 6. Use measured wording Original: a ghastly, boring place Suggested revision: a dull and uninspiring place Why it matters: The replacement preserves the negative description in a more measured academic register.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: intelligence Suggested revision: awareness Why it matters: ‘Artistic awareness’ is a more established expression for the capacity developed through literature.
- 8. Reduce wordiness Original: too much attention given to the importance of Suggested revision: too much emphasis placed on Why it matters: The replacement expresses the same idea more concisely and naturally.
- 9. Clarify shared modifier Original: science and math-based subjects Suggested revision: science- and math-based subjects Why it matters: The suspended hyphen shows that both ‘science’ and ‘math’ modify ‘based subjects’.
- 10. Fix comma splice Original: a country’s economy, however I believe Suggested revision: a country’s economy; however, I believe Why it matters: A semicolon separates the independent clauses, and ‘however’ requires a following comma.
Suggested Rewrites
- couldn’t disagree more strongly disagree
- certain places and periods of time particular places and historical periods
- compared to reading regular history books compared with reading conventional history books
- a myriad of negative impacts numerous negative effects
- argued denied
- a ghastly, boring place a dull and uninspiring place
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response gives a direct, consistent position and develops a persuasive set of benefits through well-selected explanations and examples. Its main limitation is that a few claims become broad or rhetorically absolute, while occasional sentence-level slips slightly reduce polish; the best improvement would be to qualify those claims and tighten the longest sentences so the reasoning remains consistently precise.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is fully addressed through a clear position and well-developed, relevant arguments about literature's educational and social value.
Qualify broad assertions about art and social media to make the argument more consistently measured and convincing.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are logically sequenced in clear paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader smoothly with only minor lapses in sentence flow.
Break or repunctuate the longest sentence in the third paragraph to preserve effortless progression.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and flexible, with effective less common expressions and only occasional slightly awkward phrasing.
Refine small collocational choices, such as considered as important, to make the style fully natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with only minor agreement and punctuation errors that do not impede communication.
Check agreement in phrases such as there are a range and avoid comma splices in long compound sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
People say that it is a waste of time for high school students to learn literature such as novels and poems. Do you agree or disagree with this idea?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.