Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. Others choose not to make any plans at all for their free time. Compare the benefits of planning free-time activities with the benefits of not making plans. Which do you prefer - planning or not planning for your leisure time? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your choice.
Sample Response
Nowadays, people have become more organised and systematic and they like to plan their leisure time activities before execution. Some people argue that planning is vital for the successful implementation of any activity. Others claim that unplanned activities are full of excitements and surprises that are very difficult to achieve by planned work. I believe that proper planning plays a pivotal role in the completion of an activity within budget and resources. Firstly, investing in leisure time demands careful planning of resources and timelines. Most of the people plan occasionally because of inflation and exorbitant prices of goods and travelling. In addition to this one can enjoy and explore more by planning. For example, during my college studies, I planned to visit hill stations with my college mated. Being as students we had minimal funds available for the tour. But with excellent planning, we end up our tour with full of joy and happiness. However, unplanned free time activities also have a charm in it. Youngsters are more prevalent in exercising such activities because of its daring and adventurous nature. For instance, adults in my city start their journey on the highway without knowing their destination that followed by a decision made on run time which adds plenty of fun and surprise to their trip. To sum up, I would like to say that planning is mandatory for achieving required results. Therefore, a large number of people plan and act accordingly to get the maximum pleasure. However, sometimes unplanned activities also provide you life-changing experiences.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural phrasing Original: leisure time activities before execution Suggested revision: leisure-time activities in advance Why it matters: In advance is the natural way to express planning before an activity occurs.
- 2. Use uncountable noun Original: excitements Suggested revision: excitement Why it matters: Excitement is uncountable when referring generally to a feeling.
- 3. Improve collocation Original: achieve by planned work Suggested revision: obtain from planned activities Why it matters: Experiences are obtained from activities rather than achieved by work.
- 4. Complete the phrase Original: within budget and resources Suggested revision: within a budget and available resources Why it matters: Budget needs an article here, and available clarifies the coordination with resources.
- 5. Choose accurate wording Original: investing in leisure time Suggested revision: making use of leisure time Why it matters: Investing in leisure time does not naturally express spending free time on activities.
- 6. Remove unnecessary article Original: Most of the people Suggested revision: Most people Why it matters: General reference to people uses most without of the.
- 7. Clarify planning action Original: plan occasionally Suggested revision: plan their leisure activities carefully Why it matters: The revision states what is planned and matches the explanation about costs.
- 8. Use parallel nouns Original: prices of goods and travelling Suggested revision: costs of goods and travel Why it matters: Travel is the appropriate noun to coordinate with goods in this cost comparison.
- 9. Streamline the transition Original: In addition to this one Suggested revision: In addition, one Why it matters: This concise transition links the additional benefit clearly.
- 10. Correct word form Original: mated Suggested revision: mates Why it matters: Mates is the required plural noun, whereas mated is a verb form.
- 11. Correct opening phrase Original: Being as students Suggested revision: As students Why it matters: As directly introduces the writers' status, so Being is unnecessary.
- 12. Correct tense and verb Original: we end up our tour Suggested revision: we ended our tour Why it matters: The past-tense narrative requires ended, and end up is not transitive here.
Suggested Rewrites
- leisure time activities before execution leisure-time activities in advance
- excitements excitement
- achieve by planned work obtain from planned activities
- within budget and resources within a budget and available resources
- investing in leisure time making use of leisure time
- Most of the people Most people
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response answers all parts of the task, clearly prefers planning, and supports that choice with a relevant personal example while also acknowledging the appeal of spontaneity. Development is somewhat uneven, and recurring grammatical and collocational errors weaken polish; the highest priority is to deepen the comparison and revise sentences for accurate forms and more natural phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both approaches are discussed and a clear preference for planning is maintained, with relevant support, though the benefit of spontaneity receives less developed analysis.
Explain the distinct benefits of both approaches in equal depth before showing more explicitly why planning is preferable overall.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas follow a clear sequence from planning to spontaneity and then the conclusion, although organisation within the single block is less reader-friendly and some linking is mechanical.
Separate the introduction, contrasting benefits, and conclusion into purposeful paragraphs with clearer logical links between claims and examples.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but repeated errors in word form and collocation reduce naturalness and precision.
Check plural forms and replace awkward combinations with established phrases such as spontaneous activities, limited funds, and make decisions on the way.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex forms conveys the argument, but frequent errors in agreement, articles, pronouns, and clause construction limit control.
Proofread sentence by sentence for subject-verb agreement, article use, consistent tense, and complete relative or participle clauses.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. Others choose not to make any plans at all for their free time. Compare the benefits of planning free-time activities with the benefits of not making plans. Which do you prefer - planning or not planning for your leisure time? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your choice.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.