News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think to influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?
Sample Response
It is an undeniable fact that broadcasting the news on media (print or visual media) is written by news editors. And this decision is influenced by the current authority and rating or competition. In my opinion, yes, we had indulged in seeing the more negative news. But, it is not a better idea to show only the positive news in media because it reduces the real purpose of media.
To begin with, many factors influence the decision of editors. The main one is politicians or current authorities; the politician suppresses many media houses. For example, in China and Saudi Arabia nations, during the Corona Pandemic, their media were prohibited from displaying written content suffered from Corona. Another one, many news channels display news to get high ratings or TRP compared to their competitor. These new channels fixed the timing for a particular show, for example, 9 Pm for debate expert. All media houses use the same time for the same episode and sensationalize the news for high ratings or reviews. Thus, the above factors have influenced the decision of editors.
In my opinion, ‘yes’, we are becoming used to negative news because different forms of media influence people’s views or subconscious toward negativity. They focus on sensationalizing the news. People feel monotonous without the sub-title of breaking news. And most of the time, breaking news is bad news.
The answer to the question is clearly ‘no’; it is not an effective idea to present only positive news in front of the public as it will lose the real objective of media, which means to show every aspect of society except if it is good or bad.
In conclusion, I reiterated my opinion; the editor’s decision is affected by the power of politicians and competition for review. While I believe we have done our thinking to see more bad news these days, it is not mean that only showing the positive news in media can solve all the problems due to forgetting the real purpose of media.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the authority Original: the current authority Suggested revision: the authorities in power Why it matters: The plural phrase naturally refers to the governing bodies that may influence editors.
- 2. Fix number and linkage Original: rating or competition Suggested revision: ratings and competition Why it matters: 'Ratings' should be plural, and both factors influence the decision rather than forming an either-or choice.
- 3. Fix tense and phrasing Original: had indulged in seeing the more negative news Suggested revision: have become accustomed to seeing more negative news Why it matters: The present perfect and the fixed expression 'become accustomed to' correctly describe a continuing habit.
- 4. Improve formal transition Original: But Suggested revision: However Why it matters: 'However' provides a smoother formal contrast at the start of this sentence.
- 5. Use concise wording Original: a better idea Suggested revision: advisable Why it matters: 'Advisable' expresses the intended evaluation more directly in formal writing.
- 6. Add the article Original: show only the positive news in media Suggested revision: show only positive news in the media Why it matters: 'Media' requires the definite article in this general reference, while 'news' does not need 'the' here.
- 7. Use logical wording Original: reduces the real purpose Suggested revision: undermines the primary purpose Why it matters: A purpose cannot be reduced in this sense, but it can be undermined.
- 8. Fix agreement Original: The main one is politicians or current authorities Suggested revision: The main factors are politicians and the current authorities Why it matters: The plural subject and verb must agree with the two groups being identified.
- 9. Use the plural noun Original: the politician suppresses Suggested revision: politicians suppress Why it matters: The statement refers generally to politicians, so the plural form is required.
- 10. Complete the transition Original: Another one, Suggested revision: Another factor is that Why it matters: The original fragment does not grammatically introduce the next factor.
- 11. Use plural reference Original: competitor Suggested revision: competitors Why it matters: News channels generally compete with multiple other channels, so a plural noun is needed.
- 12. Correct the word Original: new Suggested revision: news Why it matters: 'News channels' is the intended noun phrase; 'new channels' changes the meaning.
Suggested Rewrites
- the current authority the authorities in power
- rating or competition ratings and competition
- had indulged in seeing the more negative news have become accustomed to seeing more negative news
- But However
- a better idea advisable
- show only the positive news in media show only positive news in the media
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response maintains clear positions on all three questions and organizes them into distinct, easy-to-follow sections. Its main limitation is that several explanations and examples are unclear or only briefly developed, while frequent grammatical and word-choice errors sometimes strain meaning. Prioritize rewriting each supporting point in accurate, natural sentences and extending it with a specific, clearly explained example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
All parts of the task receive a clear answer, but the reasoning is uneven and some examples are insufficiently explained or unclear.
Develop each position with one accurate example whose connection to the argument is explicitly explained.
Coherence and Cohesion
The paragraph sequence is easy to follow, but cohesion is sometimes mechanical and short fragments interrupt the flow.
Combine closely related points into complete sentences and use referencing rather than repeatedly announcing opinions and conclusions.
Lexical Resource
The response has enough vocabulary for the topic, but frequent inaccurate collocations and word choices reduce precision and occasionally obscure meaning.
Use simpler, established expressions and check combinations such as "audience ratings," "become accustomed to," and "the purpose of the media."
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex forms is attempted, but frequent errors in tense, articles, agreement, sentence boundaries, and clause construction limit control.
Prioritize complete clause structures and consistent tense and agreement before attempting longer complex sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think to influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.