Giving lectures in auditoriums to large numbers of students is an old way of teaching. With the technology available today there is no justification for it, and everything should be done online. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your own opinion.
Sample Response
It is argued that teaching in lecture halls to large numbers of students is outdated and that instead, these should take place exclusively on the internet. This essay disagrees with the above statement. The essay will first discuss how interaction between students and teachers is essential to the learning process, followed by a discussion of how demotivating learning online can be. Learning via computer may be convenient, but it stops students and teachers actually talking to each other about their subject. Pupils need to ask the teacher questions in order to fully understand the material and they also need to talk about the topic to help them remember and fully understand it. For example, the School of Law at Queen’s University allows students to question the professor at the end of each lecture and then they have a seminar in which learners can debate each topic, resulting in some of the best exam results in the UK. Presenting lectures solely online also presents the problem of students not being motivated to watch them. It would be very difficult to know who actually viewed the lecture and if students know this, it is likely to result in more people not watching and not being fully prepared for the exam at the end of the course. For instance, Udemy, the online learning company, found that only 12% of people who purchased their online courses actually watched all the videos and completed the online tasks, principally due to lack of supervision. In conclusion, exclusively online lectures are a bad idea because they do not allow face-to-face communication and they can lead to a drop-off in student attendance.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add required preposition Original: stops students and teachers actually talking Suggested revision: stops students and teachers from actually talking Why it matters: Stop takes from before a following gerund phrase.
- 2. Clarify reference Original: about their subject Suggested revision: about the subject matter Why it matters: The subject matter refers more clearly to the content being taught.
- 3. Avoid nearby repetition Original: and fully understand it Suggested revision: and grasp it Why it matters: Grasp preserves the meaning while avoiding repetition of fully understand in the same sentence.
- 4. Clarify pronoun and action Original: then they have a seminar Suggested revision: then attend a seminar Why it matters: The revision removes the ambiguous they and uses the natural verb for participating in a seminar.
- 5. Avoid word repetition Original: Presenting lectures solely online also presents Suggested revision: Delivering lectures solely online also creates Why it matters: The revision removes the distracting repetition of present while preserving the claim.
- 6. Use concise clause Original: the problem of students not being motivated Suggested revision: the risk that students will lack motivation Why it matters: The finite clause expresses the potential consequence more directly.
- 7. Use natural verb Original: viewed Suggested revision: watched Why it matters: Watched is the natural verb for consuming a recorded lecture.
- 8. Clarify affected group Original: result in more people not watching Suggested revision: lead to more students not watching Why it matters: Students is the precise group under discussion, and lead to reads more naturally here.
- 9. Correct possessive reference Original: their Suggested revision: its Why it matters: The courses belong to Udemy, so the singular possessive its is required.
- 10. Add missing article Original: due to lack of supervision Suggested revision: because of a lack of supervision Why it matters: The countable expression a lack requires an article in this construction.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: It is argued that teaching in lecture halls to large numbers of students is outdated and that instead, these should take place exclusively on the internet. Suggested revision: It is argued that teaching large numbers of students in lecture halls is outdated and that, instead, lectures should take place exclusively on the internet. Why it matters: The rewrite gives these a clear noun referent and places the linking adverb correctly.
Suggested Rewrites
- stops students and teachers actually talking stops students and teachers from actually talking
- about their subject about the subject matter
- and fully understand it and grasp it
- then they have a seminar then attend a seminar
- Presenting lectures solely online also presents Delivering lectures solely online also creates
- the problem of students not being motivated the risk that students will lack motivation
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response gives a clear, consistent position and develops two persuasive reasons with specific, relevant examples; its language is also flexible and largely accurate. The main limitation is presentation as one continuous paragraph, which obscures the otherwise strong progression between introduction, arguments, and conclusion. The highest-priority improvement is to divide the essay into purposeful paragraphs while preserving its concise reasoning and evidence.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is explicit and fully supported by two well-developed, directly relevant arguments and concrete examples.
Refine the discussion by briefly acknowledging why online delivery is attractive before showing why it cannot fully replace live lectures.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses clearly through two reasons to a consistent conclusion, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens the organisation substantially.
Separate the introduction, each main argument, and the conclusion into distinct paragraphs with clear internal focus.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, precise, and well suited to the educational context, with only minor repetition and occasional awkward phrasing.
Vary repeated wording around understanding and lectures while retaining the essay's precise academic tone.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used with strong control, and the few awkward or overextended constructions do not impede meaning.
Polish pronoun references and punctuation in long conditional or coordinated sentences to improve accuracy further.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Giving lectures in auditoriums to large numbers of students is an old way of teaching. With the technology available today there is no justification for it, and everything should be done online. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.