It is always an individual who is the impetus for innovation; the details may be worked out by a team, but true innovation results from the enterprise and unique perception of an individual. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
It is true that many explorations are nominated to a person than to a group of people. Although all members of a team might have had equal influential roles to launch a new idea, only one is considered as the prime winner. I think this is because of three reasons, having a higher degree of qualifications, better networking or being more affluent. Obviously, the first reason behind it is that one individual, being accredited to innovation, usually have a higher level of certifications from a highly recognised institution. As a prime example, although Bill Gate’s team had a prominent role for his achievements in the computer software, he became more prosperous because his degree was from the Harvard College. Another factor is that some individuals have better networking. Many of scientists or linguistics, selected for the noble prize, surpassed their coworkers working with the same project due to having better communications. Participating in more international meetings, these experts can find more opportunities to expose their talents to famous scientists, helping them to achieve their innovation, while this person had only been one member of a whole team. Lastly, I think money talks. Clearly, wealth has an important role in overstating of the success of an individual. For instance, Anousheh Ansari, a female American-Iranian explorer, could become the first space tourist because she could afford twenty million dollars. Had not she been so rich, she would not have become so prosperous in this matter. She worked as a member of a team to prepare herself to fly by a spacecraft around the Earth, but she was the only one who was recognised by the press. In conclusion, instead of appreciating the whole team of innovators, sometimes a specific individual is chosen by the judge. I personally believe that having a better communication, educational position and financial backup are the reasons why one human can become more successful than the other members of a group.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use innovation term Original: explorations Suggested revision: innovations Why it matters: The essay discusses new ideas and inventions, so “innovations” conveys the intended meaning.
- 2. Use attribution collocation Original: are nominated to Suggested revision: are attributed to Why it matters: An achievement is “attributed to” a person rather than “nominated to” one.
- 3. Complete contrast structure Original: than to Suggested revision: rather than to Why it matters: “Rather than” correctly introduces the alternative in this contrast.
- 4. Use adverb modifier Original: equal influential roles Suggested revision: equally influential roles Why it matters: The adjective “influential” requires the adverb “equally” as its modifier.
- 5. Name the role precisely Original: considered as the prime winner Suggested revision: regarded as the principal innovator Why it matters: “Principal innovator” accurately identifies the person receiving credit for an innovation.
- 6. Introduce the list clearly Original: because of three reasons, having Suggested revision: for three reasons: having Why it matters: “For three reasons” is the correct construction, and a colon introduces the list.
- 7. Use credit collocation Original: being accredited to innovation Suggested revision: being credited with the innovation Why it matters: A person is “credited with” an achievement or innovation.
- 8. Fix verb agreement Original: usually have Suggested revision: usually has Why it matters: The singular subject “one individual” requires “has”.
- 9. Use concise qualification phrase Original: a higher level of certifications Suggested revision: higher qualifications Why it matters: “Higher qualifications” is the natural concise expression for more advanced credentials.
- 10. Correct the name Original: Bill Gate’s Suggested revision: Bill Gates’s Why it matters: The surname is “Gates”, so its singular possessive form retains the final s.
- 11. Use role collocation Original: had a prominent role for Suggested revision: played a prominent role in Why it matters: The standard expression is “play a role in” an achievement.
- 12. Use achievement term Original: more prosperous Suggested revision: more successful Why it matters: “Successful” refers to achievement and recognition, whereas “prosperous” mainly refers to wealth.
Suggested Rewrites
- explorations innovations
- are nominated to are attributed to
- than to rather than to
- equal influential roles equally influential roles
- considered as the prime winner regarded as the principal innovator
- because of three reasons, having for three reasons: having
Why this response received Band 5.5
The clearest strength is the use of several reasons and examples to contrast a prominent individual with the wider team, and the argument follows a recognisable sequence. However, the response mainly explains why one person receives recognition rather than whether true innovation originates from individual insight, so its position on the actual claim remains unclear. The priority is to answer that distinction directly and support it with genuinely relevant examples.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
Although the essay discusses individuals and teams, it substantially misinterprets the task by focusing on recognition and personal success rather than the source of innovation.
State a direct agreement or disagreement about whether innovative ideas originate individually, then develop reasons and examples that test that precise claim.
Coherence and Cohesion
The three reasons follow a recognisable sequence, but the lack of paragraphing and some unclear references weaken progression and cohesion.
Divide the response into an introduction, focused body paragraphs, and a conclusion, giving each paragraph one clearly stated argument.
Lexical Resource
There is an attempt at varied vocabulary, but frequent inaccurate choices and collocations such as ‘explorations are nominated’ and ‘achieve their innovation’ reduce precision.
Choose simpler, accurate terms for invention, recognition, and collaboration, and check each word’s usual collocations before using it.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex forms is attempted and meaning is generally recoverable, but agreement, article, preposition, and clause-control errors recur.
Prioritise accurate subject–verb agreement and clause structure, including forms such as ‘an individual usually has’ and ‘Had she not been’.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It is always an individual who is the impetus for innovation; the details may be worked out by a team, but true innovation results from the enterprise and unique perception of an individual. Do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.