Many people feel that media coverage has become increasingly biased today. Why is this? What can be done to fix this problem?
Sample Response
Media is counted as a mirror of society, but nowadays, many people believe that our news channels and media have become biased and they do not represent the actual scenario. There are a few reasons for this, such as political pressure, corruption, and competition in the industry. In the upcoming paragraphs, I will discuss these reasons and some plausible solutions.
India is a democratic country, and here journalists have the right of freedom to press according to which they can speak, print and show the truth without fear or any pressure. They can show the facts which are against the ruling government so the people can be made aware of their decision. However, people are currently misusing this right of freedom and fulfilling their personal agenda. In other words, many news channels show only one side of the story, which is beneficial to a certain political party. For instance, Republic Bharat, a news channel run by Arnab Goswami, is all attached to BJP and never shows anything against the Modi government. Sometimes they receive money for doing this, or sometimes these channels or newspapers receive threats from political parties.
Another reason for the bias is competition; today, hundreds of news channels, magazines and newspapers are available for local, national and international news, and everyone wants the highest TRP for their channels. To achieve this, they add unnecessary drama to the news to make it more interesting. They know how religious news can trigger the sentiments of people. To cite an example, if the channel owner is against the Muslim community, he will repeatedly show all the stories against that community. Most Hindu bhagats are affected by this, promoting this bias further.
To deal with this bias and maintain news transparency, it is necessary to ensure that no media person or journalist is pressured by anyone, either the ruling government or another political party. If they receive death threats, they must be provided with police protection. If any media tries to create religious tension in society, they must receive punishment for this shameful act. Moreover, in the journalism course, emphasis must be made on teaching how to deal with difficult situations when covering sensitive news.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural collocation Original: is counted as Suggested revision: is considered Why it matters: ‘Is considered’ is the natural verb choice for describing a common view.
- 2. Avoid category overlap Original: our news channels and media Suggested revision: news channels and other media Why it matters: This wording avoids treating news channels and media as separate categories.
- 3. Choose precise wording Original: actual scenario Suggested revision: true situation Why it matters: ‘True situation’ expresses the intended contrast with biased coverage more directly.
- 4. Use conventional signposting Original: upcoming Suggested revision: following Why it matters: ‘Following paragraphs’ is the conventional phrase for referring to later parts of an essay.
- 5. Correct fixed expression Original: the right of freedom to press Suggested revision: freedom of the press Why it matters: ‘Freedom of the press’ is the established expression for this right.
- 6. Clarify clause link Original: according to which Suggested revision: which means that Why it matters: The original relative construction does not connect the right clearly to its consequence.
- 7. Use media verbs Original: speak, print and show the truth Suggested revision: speak, publish, and report the truth Why it matters: ‘Publish’ and ‘report’ are more precise verbs for journalistic activity.
- 8. Remove unnecessary determiner Original: without fear or any pressure Suggested revision: without fear or pressure Why it matters: ‘Pressure’ is used naturally as an uncountable noun here without ‘any’.
- 9. Clarify intended meaning Original: facts which are against Suggested revision: facts that reflect poorly on Why it matters: Facts are not literally ‘against’ a government, so the revision states the intended relationship clearly.
- 10. Use clear subject Original: people are currently misusing this right Suggested revision: some journalists are currently misusing this right Why it matters: ‘People’ has no clear referent after the preceding focus on journalists.
- 11. Use formal phrasing Original: is all attached to BJP Suggested revision: is closely aligned with the BJP Why it matters: ‘Aligned with’ expresses political affiliation more naturally and precisely.
- 12. Avoid repeated linker Original: Sometimes they receive money for doing this, or sometimes Suggested revision: They may receive money for doing this, or Why it matters: Removing the repeated ‘sometimes’ makes the alternative causes more concise.
Suggested Rewrites
- is counted as is considered
- our news channels and media news channels and other media
- actual scenario true situation
- upcoming following
- the right of freedom to press freedom of the press
- according to which which means that
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response directly covers both causes and remedies, with relevant explanations and concrete examples that make its argument easy to follow. Its main limitation is uneven precision: several claims are overgeneralised or awkwardly expressed, and some solutions would benefit from clearer links to the causes identified. Prioritise more measured, well-supported examples and revise recurring collocation and grammar errors so the otherwise strong development sounds consistently controlled.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both questions clearly and develops multiple relevant causes and solutions with examples.
Support general claims more carefully and explain how each proposed remedy directly counters an identified cause.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically sequenced in focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices generally guide the reader effectively.
Refine referencing and connections within paragraphs so that each example follows its claim more smoothly.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a sufficiently broad topic vocabulary, although several collocations and word choices are awkward or imprecise.
Replace expressions such as unusual fixed phrases with more natural, neutral language and check collocations systematically.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring errors in articles, agreement, and phrasing.
Edit each complex sentence for subject-verb agreement, article use, and consistent singular or plural reference.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many people feel that media coverage has become increasingly biased today. Why is this? What can be done to fix this problem?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.