Some people today prefer to get advice for medical problems and do not want to visit a doctor. Why is this? Is this a positive or a negative development?
Sample Response
Many individuals today would rather seek out medical advice themselves instead of seeing a licensed professional. In my opinion, this is a result of online convenience and it is a positive development on the whole.
The main cause of this transition is the proliferation of information available on the internet. In the past, an ailing individual had little recourse other than to visit a doctor for tests. Now, there are a variety of question and answer websites as well as diagnosis ones that are free of cost and faster than a trip to a hospital. The slight conveniences of saving some money, time, and effort may not seem decisive, but mass behaviour is often driven by marginal advantages. For instance, posting a question to a forum such as Reddit.com where qualified professions may provide free advice is a powerful incentive to avoid a costly and time-consuming consultation with an experienced doctor.
Though there are risks associated with misdiagnosis, seeking advice online is generally more reliable. Doctors vary in their quality and numerous studies in recent years support the counter-intuitive conclusion that websites actually provide more trustworthy advice. This is a result of the accumulation of many years’ worth of data and the standardizing of detection, prognosis, and treatment. For example, the website WebMD.com allows users to search for their symptoms online, discover a range of possible causes and then decide themselves on the best path forward. This may include a visit to a hospital if further tests are required that can only be conducted in person, but at least the patient has saved time and money at the initial stage of diagnosis.
In conclusion, fewer people today visit doctors because there are cheap, convenient alternatives online and this is largely positive. There are risks that must be guarded against but this change cannot be reversed.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the cause Original: a result of online convenience Suggested revision: a result of the convenience of online resources Why it matters: The revised phrase identifies what is convenient more precisely.
- 2. Use the correct term Original: diagnosis ones Suggested revision: diagnostic websites Why it matters: Diagnosis ones is not an idiomatic label for websites that help identify conditions.
- 3. Use concise wording Original: free of cost Suggested revision: free Why it matters: Free expresses the same meaning more naturally and economically.
- 4. Improve the collocation Original: The slight conveniences Suggested revision: The modest advantages Why it matters: Advantages fits the listed savings better than the countable phrase slight conveniences.
- 5. Remove unnecessary determiner Original: Doctors vary in their quality Suggested revision: Doctors vary in quality Why it matters: The general uncountable noun quality does not require their in this construction.
- 6. Use parallel noun form Original: standardizing Suggested revision: standardization Why it matters: Standardization is the natural noun alongside accumulation in this sentence.
- 7. Fix reflexive structure Original: decide themselves on Suggested revision: decide for themselves on Why it matters: The expression requires for before the reflexive pronoun.
- 8. Align future timing Original: the patient has saved time and money Suggested revision: the patient will have saved time and money Why it matters: The future perfect better matches the possible later hospital visit described in the condition.
- 9. Add clause comma Original: guarded against but Suggested revision: guarded against, but Why it matters: A comma is needed before but because it joins two independent clauses.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: For instance, posting a question to a forum such as Reddit.com where qualified professions may provide free advice is a powerful incentive to avoid a costly and time-consuming consultation with an experienced doctor. Suggested revision: For instance, posting a question on a forum such as Reddit.com, where qualified professionals may provide free advice, is a powerful incentive to avoid a costly and time-consuming consultation with an experienced doctor. Why it matters: The rewrite fixes the forum preposition, the relative clause punctuation, and the incorrect noun professions.
Suggested Rewrites
- a result of online convenience a result of the convenience of online resources
- diagnosis ones diagnostic websites
- free of cost free
- The slight conveniences The modest advantages
- Doctors vary in their quality Doctors vary in quality
- standardizing standardization
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay answers both questions directly, sustains a clear position, and develops its reasoning through a coherent comparison of online advice and conventional consultations. The main weakness is a small cluster of imprecise word choices and an insufficiently qualified claim that online sources are generally more reliable. Make that evaluation more balanced and support it with careful, credible reasoning while polishing collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both the cause and the writer's positive evaluation are fully addressed with relevant explanation, examples, and acknowledgment of risk.
Qualify the broad reliability claim and explain more precisely when online advice is beneficial and when professional assessment remains necessary.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is logically organised, paragraphs have clear purposes, and cohesive links guide the reader without disrupting the flow.
Make the transition from recognising misdiagnosis risks to claiming greater online reliability more explicitly reasoned.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, but occasional choices such as diagnosis ones, slight conveniences, and qualified professions are inaccurate.
Check noun forms and collocations carefully so ambitious vocabulary remains consistently idiomatic and exact.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with most sentences remaining clear and well controlled.
Polish occasional agreement, reference, and reflexive-pronoun choices to remove the few remaining lapses.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people today prefer to get advice for medical problems and do not want to visit a doctor. Why is this? Is this a positive or a negative development?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.