It costs a lot of money for a country to host an international sports event, such as the Olympic Games or football World Cup. Some people think that this is a waste of money, while others believe the opposite. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
Many people are divided over having a sports tournament for international competitors occuring in their country. While some believe that money is wasted in hosting it, others believe the event’s benefits justify its costs. Although these justifications seem reasonable, I am inclined to express my disapproval toward this decision.
Organizing global sporting events might not be a wasteful venture. Certainly, new jobs will be created, particularly those in the construction and service industries. The former is expected to need more workers to build sporting facilities and lodging for the arriving athletes, while the latter obviously demands more hospitality providers for the sports tourists. Altogether, this results in a higher income overall for the population. Another point of note is that hosting international sports tournaments produces an opportunity to improve a country’s recognizability on the global stage. Such events, it is claimed, may leave lasting impressions in foreign visitors and allow a nation’s tourism industry to flourish for many years to come. The values created from organizing these events seem significant enough to justify the decision.
However, I firmly believe that a nation is squandering its wealth by hosting international sporting events. The expenses involved in such an endeavor, from lobbying for the rights to host to constructing sporting facilities, are massive to the point of extravagance. As a consequence, the home government incurs an exorbitant amount of debt, which ultimately falls to the taxpayers to foot the bill. After a tournament has concluded, meanwhile, the constructed facilities might end up a waste as well. This is likely the case for the host of Olympic-style events, as arenas and sports complexes for less popular disciplines fall into disuse. Even when they are used, the purpose is usually particular, and the public, as usual, has to pay for their maintenance. It is hence reasonable to oppose the holding of international sports tournaments.
In conclusion, organizing sports events for athletes from all over the globe is largely a waste of money, and can be one of the worst financial decisions a nation can make. Any government which likes to explore the possibility of doing so, in my opinion, would need a good reason for it.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise hosting verb Original: having Suggested revision: hosting Why it matters: Hosting is the precise verb for a country organising an international event.
- 2. Correct the spelling Original: occuring Suggested revision: occurring Why it matters: Occurring is spelled with a double c and a double r.
- 3. Clarify the reference Original: justifications Suggested revision: benefits Why it matters: Benefits refers more clearly to the advantages mentioned in the preceding sentence.
- 4. Use natural collocation Original: disapproval toward Suggested revision: opposition to Why it matters: Opposition to expresses this stance more naturally in formal English.
- 5. Clarify the employment claim Original: demands more hospitality providers for the sports tourists Suggested revision: requires more hospitality workers to serve sports tourists Why it matters: This wording states the employment relationship more directly and naturally.
- 6. Improve word order Original: higher income overall Suggested revision: higher overall income Why it matters: Overall naturally modifies income before the noun.
- 7. Use a natural collocation Original: produces Suggested revision: creates Why it matters: Creates an opportunity is the standard collocation in this context.
- 8. Choose the natural noun Original: recognizability Suggested revision: recognition Why it matters: Recognition is the natural noun for a country's prominence on the global stage.
- 9. Correct the preposition Original: in Suggested revision: on Why it matters: The expression leave an impression takes the preposition on.
- 10. Make the claim concise Original: massive to the point of extravagance Suggested revision: extremely high Why it matters: This concise phrase conveys the scale of the expenses without awkward abstraction.
- 11. State the outcome directly Original: the constructed facilities might end up a waste Suggested revision: the newly constructed facilities might ultimately go unused Why it matters: Go unused states the practical consequence more precisely than end up a waste.
- 12. Clarify the meaning Original: the purpose is usually particular Suggested revision: their use is usually limited Why it matters: The original phrase is unclear, while this wording directly describes the facilities' restricted use.
Suggested Rewrites
- having hosting
- occuring occurring
- justifications benefits
- disapproval toward opposition to
- demands more hospitality providers for the sports tourists requires more hospitality workers to serve sports tourists
- higher income overall higher overall income
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response’s strongest feature is its thorough, logically balanced treatment of both views, with a firm position supported by relevant economic and practical consequences. Its main limitation is that several ambitious word choices and collocations sound unnatural despite remaining understandable. The highest-priority improvement is to favor precise, idiomatic phrasing when describing employment, tourism, and post-event facilities while retaining the current depth of argument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views and the writer’s opposition are fully addressed through relevant, well-developed economic and practical arguments.
Strengthen the case further with one specific real-world illustration of the long-term financial burden or legacy benefits.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, balanced body sections, and a conclusion that consistently reinforces the position.
Refine a few internal transitions so connections such as the shift to unused facilities feel more natural and less signposted.
Lexical Resource
A broad topic-specific vocabulary supports precise discussion, though several collocations are awkward or overly engineered.
Replace phrases such as “sports tourists,” “recognizability,” and “the purpose is usually particular” with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide variety of complex structures is handled accurately, with only occasional minor errors that do not impede meaning.
Proofread carefully for isolated spelling and preposition errors, including “occuring” and “impressions in foreign visitors.”
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It costs a lot of money for a country to host an international sports event, such as the Olympic Games or football World Cup. Some people think that this is a waste of money, while others believe the opposite. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.