Road accidents are more frequent these days and claim many lives each year. As a result, some people suggest that drivers should take regular driving tests throughout their lives, rather than one single driving test, to improve the situation. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of repeat driving tests? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Response
Taking appropriate measures to stop road accidents is important due to their direct impact on the social environment, and forcing drivers to take regular driving tests could possibly be one such measure. ButBut, this measure has more disadvantages than advantages. This essay will outline the advantages and disadvantagesdemerits of repeat driving tests, and try to explain the reasons why it has more drawbackswhy this had more drawbacks.
To begin with the advantages, repeat driving tests would eventually remove some, if not all, reckless and dangerous drivers from the roadsflush some, if not all, bad, crazy, and dangerous drivers out of the system. It would also put some “restrictions” on those drivers who can not drive properly anymore because of their old age or some debilitating illnesses. It is also possible that regular driving tests would alert or motivate some drivers to become more careful with their driving for fear thatbecause of the fear that their driving licenses could be cancelled at any time.
The major disadvantage of repeat driving tests is that none of its benefits can be achievednone of its advantages can be ensured or achieved without a high cost, as well as extra effort and time. After all, the state would need to allocateemploy additional resources, and provide an additional budgetand thereby an additional budget as well, to administer the additional driving teststo take care of the additional driving examinations. In all probabilityprobabilities, governments would then probably pass these additional costs or expenses on to the vehicle owners or drivers as extra taxes to cut government expenditures. These additional taxes would certainly place a heavy burden on these drivers and vehicle ownersweigh down heavily on these drivers and vehicle owners.
Now, even if these vehicle owners are ready to carry the burden of extra tax money and time, they would not necessarily be ready to remain under constant fear of being stripped of their driving privileges because of some “one-off” mistakes during the regular driving tests. Essentially, the same sentiment was echoed by a former director of AAA (American Automobile Association) of traffic safety advocacy and research who said that regular driving tests had been shown to reduce mobility by way of drivers voluntarily giving up their licenses due to fear of getting them taken away rather than any legitimate concerns about their driving.
To conclude, the disadvantages of regular driving tests would outweigh their advantages. This is why the authority should think wisely before taking such measures when it comes to repeat driving tests and road safety.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is strongest in its full treatment of both sides and its consistently clear conclusion that the disadvantages are greater, with each main point receiving relevant support. Its main limitation is occasional awkward or informal wording and some overconfident claims about likely outcomes. The highest-priority improvement is to express the drawbacks with more precise, measured language and directly weigh their severity against the safety benefits throughout the discussion.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response fully addresses the advantages, disadvantages, and required comparison, supporting a clear position with well-developed relevant ideas.
Make the weighing process even more explicit by comparing the scale of each cost or mobility concern directly with the expected safety benefit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically sequenced across focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader clearly through the argument.
Use slightly less overt signposting and create smoother conceptual links between the two disadvantage paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, though a few informal or awkward choices reduce the consistently academic tone.
Replace expressions such as “bad, crazy” and “in all probabilities” with more precise, natural academic wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a wide range of complex structures with good control, although several minor tense, agreement, and punctuation errors remain.
Proofread for tense consistency and unnecessary commas, particularly in the introduction and longer conditional sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Road accidents are more frequent these days and claim many lives each year. As a result, some people suggest that drivers should take regular driving tests throughout their lives, rather than one single driving test, to improve the situation. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of repeat driving tests? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.