Some people believe that visitors to other countries should follow local customs and behaviour. Others disagree and think that the host country should welcome cultural differences. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Sample Response
There are different opinions on whether visitors should comply with local traditions, or the locals should accept foreign lifestyles. In my opinion, the host country should welcome new patterns of belief and culture.
On the one hand, there are several reasons why some people think tourists should adhere to the new customs. Firstly, such adherence would enable them to integrate more easily and quickly into the new environment. For example, if a person from the US understood table manners or learnt how to use chopsticks, he would have familiarized himself with Vietnamese tradition after a few days. Secondly, following the customs of the new country would help in avoiding social conflicts and, sometimes, hostility. A sense of isolation and loneliness could be the price for those who refuse to adapt to the new environment.
On the other hand, I would argue that the host country should accept the culture of the tourists. Culture diverges tremendously across different countries and regions, depending on their historical backgrounds. Therefore, it is rather absurd to compel tourists to comply with the new country’s lifestyles. Besides, being flexible would be a powerful way to develop the host country’s tourism industry. On being allowed to behave according to their cultural standards, visitors would feel respected and satisfied. Also of great significance is their recommendation to their friends and relatives to travel to those places, leading to the growth of tourism.
In conclusion, I would agree with the people who support the idea of appreciating new culture.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unnecessary comma Original: local traditions, or the locals Suggested revision: local traditions or the locals Why it matters: The comma is unnecessary between the two alternatives governed by ‘whether’.
- 2. Clarify cultural reference Original: new patterns of belief and culture Suggested revision: different beliefs and cultural practices Why it matters: The revision refers more precisely to the cultural differences introduced in the task.
- 3. Use consistent reference Original: adhere to the new customs Suggested revision: adhere to local customs Why it matters: ‘Local customs’ is clearer because the customs are not necessarily new to the host community.
- 4. Use direct verb pattern Original: help in avoiding Suggested revision: help them avoid Why it matters: The direct pattern ‘help them avoid’ is clearer and identifies who benefits.
- 5. Improve expression Original: the price for those Suggested revision: the price paid by those Why it matters: The revised phrase makes the relationship between the consequence and the affected people clearer.
- 6. Reflect cultural variety Original: the culture of the tourists Suggested revision: tourists’ cultures Why it matters: The plural form better matches visitors arriving with different cultural backgrounds.
- 7. Use natural collocation Original: Culture diverges tremendously Suggested revision: Cultures differ considerably Why it matters: ‘Cultures differ considerably’ is a more natural and precise collocation.
- 8. Clarify host reference Original: the new country’s lifestyles Suggested revision: the host country’s way of life Why it matters: The revision uses a clearer reference and avoids treating a country as having several imposed lifestyles.
- 9. Clarify reference Original: being flexible Suggested revision: such cultural flexibility Why it matters: The revised phrase links the claimed tourism benefit explicitly to accepting cultural differences.
- 10. Use accurate expression Original: appreciating new culture Suggested revision: appreciating cultural differences Why it matters: The revision accurately expresses support for welcoming visitors’ differing cultures.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: For example, if a person from the US understood table manners or learnt how to use chopsticks, he would have familiarized himself with Vietnamese tradition after a few days. Suggested revision: For example, if a person from the US understood table manners or learnt how to use chopsticks, he would become familiar with Vietnamese traditions after a few days. Why it matters: The rewrite corrects the mixed conditional and uses the countable plural ‘traditions’ appropriately.
- 12. Sentence rewrite Original: Also of great significance is their recommendation to their friends and relatives to travel to those places, leading to the growth of tourism. Suggested revision: Their recommendations to friends and relatives are also significant because they can contribute to tourism growth. Why it matters: The rewrite fixes the awkward inversion and clarifies how recommendations relate to tourism growth.
Suggested Rewrites
- local traditions, or the locals local traditions or the locals
- new patterns of belief and culture different beliefs and cultural practices
- adhere to the new customs adhere to local customs
- help in avoiding help them avoid
- the price for those the price paid by those
- the culture of the tourists tourists’ cultures
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay presents both perspectives clearly, maintains an explicit opinion, and develops each side with relevant consequences and examples. Its main limitation is occasional lexical and grammatical awkwardness, particularly when referring to cultures and in the conditional example, although meaning remains clear. The highest-priority improvement is to use more precise cultural terminology and ensure tense relationships are accurate in complex sentences.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views are explored in a balanced, relevant way, and the writer’s position is clear throughout.
Develop the final opinion slightly further by briefly restating why cultural acceptance outweighs compulsory adaptation.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is logically sequenced, with effective paragraphing and smooth progression within each viewpoint.
Use a less formulaic transition into the opposing view while preserving the clear contrast.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and suitably academic, though a few expressions about culture and recommendation are imprecise or unnatural.
Choose more exact collocations, such as ‘cultural practices’ and ‘recommend the destination’, in place of vague or nominalised phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is used with strong control, with only occasional non-impeding errors.
Correct the tense sequence in hypothetical examples so conditional relationships are expressed consistently.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that visitors to other countries should follow local customs and behaviour. Others disagree and think that the host country should welcome cultural differences. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.