In the modern world, there is a movement away from written exams to more practical assessment. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.
Same question Compare all 2 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
One of the burning issues in today’s world is the accurate method of evaluating students with practical tests instead of traditional written ones. There are some debates over the more usefulness and precision between these two methods and in this essay, I shall discuss both the benefits and negative consequences of this trend. To begin with, it is widely accepted that the technology has dramatically changed the way we teach and evaluate students. So, in order to follow new and improved developments and methods, we need new techniques in teaching. Therefore, the new trend of evaluating are needed in order that old ones can no longer assess how much students understand their courses. There is a convincing evidence that written exams are time-consuming and cannot illustrate student’s knowledge correctly since some people only memorise everything very fast, but eventually, they forget everything even faster. Having said that, it must not be ignored that it is actually difficult to score students by their performance even if the practical approach of evaluating is followed. It also depends on the perception of examiners and having experienced teachers in our educational institutes is also a challenge. In addition, more time and money have to be spent on practical tests with fixed criteria of grading. Thus it is the obvious reason why traditional methods have been kept its popularity till now. Additionally, in some courses such as history and so on there are no sufficient requirements on practical assessment, hence traditional methods can estimate appropriately and in areas like this, a combination of exam system should exist. Overall, despite some drawbacks of practical tests, it has become one of the main procedures of evaluating students recently but written exams are also widely used all around the world. I believe that both types of exams are required for investigating students skills and abilities.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Missing superlative Original: the accurate method Suggested revision: the most accurate method Why it matters: The comparison requires a superlative form to identify the best method.
- 2. Uncountable noun form Original: There are some debates Suggested revision: There is some debate Why it matters: Debate is normally uncountable when referring generally to disagreement.
- 3. Awkward comparison Original: the more usefulness and precision between Suggested revision: the relative usefulness and accuracy of Why it matters: This phrasing expresses the comparison between the two methods naturally and precisely.
- 4. Remove article Original: the technology Suggested revision: technology Why it matters: Technology is used generally here and does not take the definite article.
- 5. Natural collocation Original: follow new and improved developments and methods Suggested revision: keep pace with new developments and improved methods Why it matters: Keep pace with is the natural expression for adapting to developments.
- 6. Agreement and form Original: the new trend of evaluating are needed Suggested revision: new assessment methods are needed Why it matters: The replacement fixes subject-verb agreement and uses the correct noun phrase.
- 7. Faulty logical link Original: in order that old ones can no longer assess Suggested revision: because old ones may no longer assess Why it matters: The original connector incorrectly presents the limitation as a purpose.
- 8. Uncountable evidence Original: a convincing evidence Suggested revision: convincing evidence Why it matters: Evidence is uncountable and cannot take the article a.
- 9. Wrong assessment verb Original: illustrate student’s knowledge Suggested revision: measure students’ knowledge Why it matters: Measure is the appropriate verb for evaluating students' knowledge.
- 10. Wrong preposition Original: by their performance Suggested revision: based on their performance Why it matters: Scores are assigned based on performance, not by performance.
- 11. More precise wording Original: the perception of examiners Suggested revision: examiners’ judgement Why it matters: Judgement more precisely describes the subjective evaluation being discussed.
- 12. Natural noun phrase Original: fixed criteria of grading Suggested revision: fixed grading criteria Why it matters: Grading criteria is the standard collocation.
Suggested Rewrites
- the accurate method the most accurate method
- There are some debates There is some debate
- the more usefulness and precision between the relative usefulness and accuracy of
- the technology technology
- follow new and improved developments and methods keep pace with new developments and improved methods
- the new trend of evaluating are needed new assessment methods are needed
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response covers both advantages and disadvantages and offers several relevant points, particularly about memorisation, subjective marking, cost, and subject suitability. Its main weakness is that some ideas are expressed unclearly or asserted without enough explanation, while the absence of clear paragraph breaks weakens organisation. Prioritise developing one concrete advantage and one disadvantage fully in distinct body paragraphs, using more accurate sentence structures and collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response addresses both sides and reaches a relevant conclusion, but several main points remain general, implicit, or only partly developed.
Explain clearly how practical assessment improves evaluation and support each side with a specific, fully developed example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a recognisable sequence and uses linking expressions, but it is presented as one long paragraph and some connections are mechanical or unclear.
Separate the advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion into distinct paragraphs with one central idea in each.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, although recurrent awkward collocations and imprecise word choices reduce naturalness.
Use more conventional combinations such as assessment methods, measure knowledge, and retain popularity, checking each phrase for precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures conveys the main meaning, but agreement, article, possessive, and noun-form errors recur.
Proofread systematically for subject-verb agreement, articles, plural forms, and possessive apostrophes before finalising the response.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In the modern world, there is a movement away from written exams to more practical assessment. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.
Your response
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