Though we learn many valuable things from our teachers, friends, colleagues and relatives, parents are still our best teachers in our life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Sample Response
It is obvious that parents play a huge role in children's lives. Generally, most of the children start their lives with their parents and thus learning basic things from them. It is our father and mother who teach us how to communicate with others, how to speak and how to behave. I believe that parents influence the future of children in so many ways.
First of all, we not only receive physical traits from our parents but also we get their habits and manners. Sometimes, we do not even realise that we are copying the behaviours of our parents. For example, my mother has brought me up to value the time. She told me to get on time to school and to submit the homework in a timely manner. She also encouraged me to prepare in advance. She showed a good example to me. She prepared everything beforehand and she has never been late to her work or any social events. She was praised by families and friends for being punctual and I wanted to be like her. Examples set by parents shape the way their children are.
In addition, parents are the one whom the children spent most of their time with. Numerous studies have proven that the young age, between the ages of three to five, when children start learning is an important period. At the early age, children tend to learn and memorise what parents do and they accept it as the right thing to do in their lives as well. For instance, the first words of the toddler who has to live with the parents who usually swear will be the abusive words. The children who have to live the smoking parents are more likely to smoke at teenage.
To conclude, the parents are the driving force and steer the children's lives. Parents are the most responsible persons of what a child would grow up to be.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unnecessary article Original: most of the children Suggested revision: most children Why it matters: A general plural noun after 'most' does not take 'the'.
- 2. Restore finite verb Original: learning Suggested revision: learn Why it matters: The coordinated clause needs a finite verb parallel to 'start'.
- 3. Fix paired structure Original: but also we get Suggested revision: but also acquire Why it matters: The revision creates a parallel 'not only ... but also' structure.
- 4. Use natural time phrase Original: value the time Suggested revision: value time Why it matters: 'Time' is used without an article when referring to punctuality generally.
- 5. Use arrival collocation Original: get on time to school Suggested revision: arrive at school on time Why it matters: 'Arrive at school on time' is the natural expression for punctual attendance.
- 6. Use correct determiner Original: the Suggested revision: my Why it matters: The possessive determiner fits the writer's own schoolwork.
- 7. Use example collocation Original: showed a good example to me Suggested revision: set a good example for me Why it matters: 'Set an example for someone' is the standard collocation.
- 8. Keep past tense Original: has never been late Suggested revision: was never late Why it matters: The surrounding account is in the past, so the verb tense should remain consistent.
- 9. Fix number and preposition Original: parents are the one whom Suggested revision: parents are the ones with whom Why it matters: The plural subject requires 'ones', and the preposition belongs before the relative pronoun.
- 10. Use present tense Original: the children spent Suggested revision: children spend Why it matters: The essay makes a general present-time claim rather than describing a completed past action.
- 11. Use indefinite article Original: the Suggested revision: an Why it matters: The general singular phrase requires the indefinite article 'an'.
- 12. Clarify whose parents Original: what parents do Suggested revision: what their parents do Why it matters: The possessive determiner makes the reference to the children's parents explicit.
Suggested Rewrites
- most of the children most children
- learning learn
- but also we get but also acquire
- value the time value time
- get on time to school arrive at school on time
- the my
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay maintains a clear favourable view of parental influence and develops it through relevant examples of punctuality and early imitation. Its main limitation is frequent grammatical and collocational inaccuracy, which makes some points awkward despite remaining understandable, while the claim that parents are the best teachers could be addressed more directly. Prioritise sharper comparison with other influences and careful sentence-level editing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response presents a consistent position and develops two relevant reasons with examples, though it focuses more on parental influence than on why parents are the best teachers.
Compare parents explicitly with teachers, friends, or colleagues to demonstrate why parental teaching is more influential.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay follows a logical introduction-body-conclusion structure, and each body paragraph develops a distinct aspect of parental influence.
Condense repetitive details in the punctuality example and make the main point of the early-childhood paragraph more direct.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate range for discussing upbringing, behaviour, and influence, but frequent inaccurate collocations reduce precision.
Use natural phrases such as “value time,” “arrive at school on time,” “grow up with parents who smoke,” and “smoke as teenagers.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses both simple and complex structures, but frequent errors in agreement, tense, articles, prepositions, and clause formation reduce control.
Focus on complete verb structures and agreement, especially in sentences describing what children learn and who they spend time with.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Though we learn many valuable things from our teachers, friends, colleagues and relatives, parents are still our best teachers in our life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.