The main purpose of public libraries is to provide books, and they should not waste their limited resources and space on providing expensive hi-tech media such as computer software, videos and DVDs. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Sample Response
Traditionally, a library is a place that shelves many books that readers can read or borrow. However, technological advancement and its tremendous effects on the way we learn new things and share information have redefined the concept of a library in recent days. Thus digital content and technological facilities are widely used in public libraries all around the world, and I quite disagree with the notion that these amenities are a waste of resources or space for a library. To begin with, libraries with modern facilities are far more useful to readers, and allow the librarian to manage its collection in a more organised fashion. Multimedia resources offer readers a dynamic combination of images, sounds, videos and virtual tours. Thus listening to a famous historical speech or taking a virtual tour of a historical site is far more interactive and exciting than just reading about them. Moreover, multimedia facilities and DVDs in a library may initially seem expensive, but they preserve valuable resources for a longer time and contain important information for future research and reference. To cite an example, a single DVD can store the entire volume of Encyclopedia Britannica which would otherwise occupy a large shelf of a library. Interestingly, a public library can actually save money and space and attract more readers with the use of technology and interactive content. When they have computers and library management software, they barely need many staff members. Besides, it takes great effort to protect books from moisture, fire and human damage but digital contents can easily be copied and preserved for as many years as we want. As for attracting young generations, a high-tech library is more successful. To conclude, the transformation of public libraries has made them more beneficial to readers and researchers as they now work as centres for interactive learning and knowledge sharing. It is expected that traditional libraries would start including digital and modern facilities to enhance human knowledge and experience.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural library verb Original: shelves Suggested revision: houses Why it matters: Libraries ‘house’ collections; ‘shelves’ normally describes the act of placing books on shelves.
- 2. Match plural developments Original: technological advancement and its tremendous effects Suggested revision: technological advances and their significant effects Why it matters: The plural nouns agree, and ‘significant’ is more measured than ‘tremendous’.
- 3. Use suitable time scale Original: days Suggested revision: years Why it matters: A broad institutional change is more naturally described over years than days.
- 4. Add transition comma Original: Thus digital content Suggested revision: Thus, digital content Why it matters: A comma is required after the introductory conjunctive adverb.
- 5. Use clear degree adverb Original: quite Suggested revision: strongly Why it matters: ‘Strongly disagree’ communicates the intended degree more naturally.
- 6. Use precise duration phrase Original: time Suggested revision: period Why it matters: ‘Period’ is a more precise formal term for duration.
- 7. Add relative-clause comma Original: Encyclopedia Britannica which Suggested revision: Encyclopedia Britannica, which Why it matters: The following clause adds supplementary information and should be preceded by a comma.
- 8. Use uncountable content Original: contents Suggested revision: content Why it matters: ‘Content’ is uncountable when referring generally to digital material.
- 9. Use natural age group Original: young Suggested revision: younger Why it matters: ‘Younger generations’ is the standard comparative phrase for newer age groups.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: To begin with, libraries with modern facilities are far more useful to readers, and allow the librarian to manage its collection in a more organised fashion. Suggested revision: To begin with, libraries with modern facilities are more useful to readers and allow librarians to manage their collections efficiently. Why it matters: The rewrite removes an unnecessary comma and corrects number and possessive agreement.
Suggested Rewrites
- shelves houses
- technological advancement and its tremendous effects technological advances and their significant effects
- days years
- Thus digital content Thus, digital content
- quite strongly
- time period
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response maintains a clear disagreement and develops several persuasive benefits of high-tech libraries, especially improved access, space efficiency, and preservation. Its main weakness is that a few claims, such as greatly reducing staffing needs, are asserted too broadly, while the lack of paragraph breaks obscures the otherwise logical progression. Prioritise more nuanced support for the cost argument and structure each main reason as a distinct paragraph.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is sustained and supported by several well-developed, relevant arguments and a specific example.
Qualify the claim about reduced staffing and explain the longer-term costs of digital preservation more realistically.
Coherence and Cohesion
The reasoning progresses logically through access, storage, cost, and preservation, but all ideas appear in one paragraph.
Group the benefits into distinct body paragraphs with topic sentences that make the argument's hierarchy immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, topic-specific, and generally precise, with only occasional awkward choices or word-form issues.
Refine expressions such as 'shelves many books', 'in recent days', and the uncountable use of 'digital content'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately overall, with minor reference and agreement lapses.
Check noun-pronoun consistency in phrases such as 'the librarian ... its collection' and 'libraries ... they'.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
The main purpose of public libraries is to provide books, and they should not waste their limited resources and space on providing expensive hi-tech media such as computer software, videos and DVDs. 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.