Some people believe that one-on-one lessons are better for learning while others think that group lessons are superior. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
Many concerned parties feel that education is best done in private sessions while others feel that group lessons are better. In my opinion, the pacing of individual lessons is an advantage but a classroom setting is superior as it allows for a wider range of skills to develop.
On the one hand, one-on-one lessons enable learners to work at an individualised pace. In the classroom, students either fall behind or get bored because they understand the lessons too easily. A tutor can observe their student’s progress and tailor lessons accordingly. This could result in a situation where a student who is gifted at math progresses well beyond their grade level. If they struggle in another subject, such as English, a Grade 5 aged student could effectively be studying Grade 4 English and Grade 8 math at the same time. This kind of pacing is only possible with one-on-one lessons.
On the other hand, group lessons open up opportunities for collaboration in and outside the classroom. Groups foster a classroom dynamic of debate. Students and teachers can exchange views and learn more from a plurality of perspectives. This is further exemplified in the project work that is commonplace in high schools and university classrooms in the United States. The rationale for assigning these projects is that students must improve their teamwork skills by getting along with classmates, taking on responsibility for given tasks, learning to compromise, and managing different temperaments. Many schools today assign roles within teams, such as team leader, presenter, primary researcher, and so on. These collaborative projects can then be brought into a group lesson and debated.
In conclusion, group lessons are a better way to learn. It is important that educators do not blindly follow the latest academic fads and instead carefully analyse the consequences before making drastic reforms to established educational practices.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use a precise subject Original: Many concerned parties Suggested revision: Many people Why it matters: 'Concerned parties' sounds unnecessarily formal and does not identify any specific stakeholders here.
- 2. Fix the collocation Original: done Suggested revision: delivered Why it matters: Education is conventionally 'delivered' or 'provided' rather than 'done'.
- 3. Use natural phrasing Original: work at an individualised pace Suggested revision: work at their own pace Why it matters: 'At their own pace' is the standard expression for individually adjusted progress.
- 4. Fix the noun phrase Original: a Grade 5 aged student Suggested revision: a Grade 5 student Why it matters: 'Grade 5 aged' is not a grammatical modifier for 'student'.
- 5. Use a balanced phrase Original: in Suggested revision: inside Why it matters: The paired expression 'inside and outside' is more natural and parallel.
- 6. Improve the collocation Original: dynamic Suggested revision: culture Why it matters: 'Culture of debate' more naturally describes an environment that encourages exchanging views.
- 7. Use accessible wording Original: plurality Suggested revision: range Why it matters: The revision conveys the same idea more naturally in this context.
- 8. Clarify the reference Original: This is further exemplified in Suggested revision: This benefit is further exemplified by Why it matters: Naming the benefit and using 'by' makes the link to the project-work example clearer.
- 9. Make the comparison parallel Original: high schools and university classrooms Suggested revision: high-school and university classrooms Why it matters: The revision compares classroom settings at both educational levels.
- 10. Use concise wording Original: taking on responsibility for given tasks Suggested revision: taking responsibility for assigned tasks Why it matters: This is the more concise and idiomatic collocation.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: These collaborative projects can then be brought into a group lesson and debated. Suggested revision: These collaborative projects can then be discussed and debated in a group lesson. Why it matters: Projects are discussed or debated in lessons rather than literally 'brought into' them.
- 12. Tighten the progression Suggested revision: Place the project-work example directly after the claim about collaboration, then keep the teamwork explanation and role list together. Why it matters: This order would make the movement from general benefit to concrete example easier to follow.
Suggested Rewrites
- Many concerned parties Many people
- done delivered
- work at an individualised pace work at their own pace
- a Grade 5 aged student a Grade 5 student
- in inside
- dynamic culture
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response directly covers both views, maintains a clear preference for group learning, and develops each side with specific, persuasive examples. The principal weakness is the conclusion's reference to academic fads and drastic reforms, which is not established in the preceding argument and slightly weakens the ending. The highest-priority improvement is to conclude by synthesising the actual comparison and the reason group lessons are preferred.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views and the writer's opinion are fully addressed through focused explanations and specific educational examples.
Replace the unrelated final comment about academic fads with a concise synthesis of why collaborative development outweighs individualized pacing.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is logically organised, with clear progression within paragraphs and well-managed movement between the competing views.
Make the conclusion echo the comparison developed in the body so that the final paragraph completes the argument more cohesively.
Lexical Resource
A broad and precise vocabulary supports nuanced discussion of pacing, collaboration, classroom dynamics, and teamwork.
Refine the few less natural expressions, such as 'education is best done' and 'Grade 5 aged student', for consistently idiomatic phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence forms are varied and controlled, with the great majority of sentences accurate and easy to read.
Polish occasional noun-phrase construction and pronoun agreement to make the already strong grammatical control more exact.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that one-on-one lessons are better for learning while others think that group lessons are superior. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.