Some people say children no longer need to develop handwriting skills. Others believe that handwriting is still important. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
Sample Response
With the marvel of technological progress, the process of learning and teaching have changed to a great extent and the modern children, most of the time, use computers to compose their essays, presentation and homework. One group of people thus think that handwriting skills for children are no longer relevant while many others disagree. In this essay, I shall discuss both aspects and include my verdict. To begin with, education sectors and schools in many countries have embraced the computer and the internet technology and the way of teaching and learning is no longer the same as it was in the past. For example, one of my nephews, George, who is 4 years old, have learned the alphabets, colours, digits and many rhymes from the internet which was unimaginable even in our era. University students prepare their assignments and thesis on a computer, a plagiarism checking software initially reviews it, the teacher assesses the answers on a computer and this process goes on with the help of technology. Professionals like journalists, writers, bloggers, programmers, bankers and so on, no longer need to write manually as computers are there for them. With more corporations going digital, the need for handwriting is shrinking rapidly. Furthermore, may of the standardised exams have their computerised version and this eliminates the needs for an excellent handwriting skill and demands the skill of typing on swipe a digital device like the computer. According to the second group of people, handwriting is still essential and no matter how much dependant we become on technology, it will always be a handy ability for a person. For instance, a computer literate would still be considered ignorant if he can not write something on a paper. This group of people also opine that handwriting ability enables someone to excel in his academic studies and exams. Though some exams have become digitalised most others require us to write on a paper using a pen or pencil. Thus to present our skills we still need the handwriting skills. Last but not least, use of the technology requires electric power, devices like computers and the internet connections which are yet to be available in many parts of the world. For students in such areas, handwriting skill is a must. To conclude, a thorough analysis of the topic reflects that handwriting is still an essential skill and parents, for this reason, should focus on developing this ability among their children from and early stage.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Match singular head noun Original: have Suggested revision: has Why it matters: The singular head noun process requires has.
- 2. Use natural time phrase Original: the modern children Suggested revision: children today Why it matters: Children today expresses the intended present-day reference naturally.
- 3. Use plural presentations Original: presentation Suggested revision: presentations Why it matters: The coordinated countable items require the plural form presentations.
- 4. Use education systems Original: sectors Suggested revision: systems Why it matters: Education systems is the conventional term for national educational structures.
- 5. Match singular subject Original: have Suggested revision: has Why it matters: The singular subject one of my nephews requires has.
- 6. Use singular alphabet Original: alphabets Suggested revision: alphabet Why it matters: English uses alphabet as a singular collective noun for its set of letters.
- 7. Use plural theses Original: thesis Suggested revision: theses Why it matters: The coordinated general count noun thesis requires its plural form theses.
- 8. Match plural objects Original: it Suggested revision: them Why it matters: The pronoun must refer to the plural assignments and theses.
- 9. Use adjective spelling Original: dependant Suggested revision: dependent Why it matters: Dependent is the adjective required after become.
- 10. Name the person clearly Original: a computer literate Suggested revision: a computer-literate person Why it matters: Computer-literate is an adjective and needs a noun naming the person.
- 11. Use standard spelling Original: can not Suggested revision: cannot Why it matters: Cannot is normally written as one word.
- 12. Use uncountable paper Original: something on a paper Suggested revision: something on paper Why it matters: Paper is uncountable when referring to the writing medium.
Suggested Rewrites
- have has
- the modern children children today
- presentation presentations
- sectors systems
- have has
- alphabets alphabet
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay discusses both perspectives at length, supports them with relevant educational and practical examples, and reaches a clear judgment that handwriting remains essential. Its strongest feature is comprehensive task coverage. The main limitation is linguistic control, as frequent agreement, noun-form, and phrasing errors combine with one-block presentation to reduce polish; reorganise the views into distinct paragraphs and proofread every sentence for grammar and natural academic wording.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
Both views are developed through relevant examples and the final opinion is clear, although some evidence for the declining need focuses on adults rather than children.
Keep every example centred on children's learning and explain more directly why digital tools either replace or complement handwriting development.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses clearly from the technology-based view to the case for handwriting and a conclusion, but the entire essay appears as one dense paragraph.
Use separate introduction, opposing-view, supporting-view, and conclusion paragraphs, each with a focused topic sentence.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a broad range of education and technology vocabulary, though recurring inaccurate word choices, forms, and collocations reduce precision.
Use natural terms such as children's education, presentations, letters of the alphabet, computer-based exams, typing or swiping, and dependent on technology.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is attempted and meaning remains clear, but agreement, article, plural, relative-clause, and sentence-boundary errors occur frequently.
Check subject-verb agreement throughout and divide long lists or comma-linked clauses into grammatically complete sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say children no longer need to develop handwriting skills. Others believe that handwriting is still important. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.