Society is based on rules and laws. It could not function if individuals were free to do whatever they wanted to do. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
In defining society, many insist that it consists of rules and laws, and would not be able to function if individuals were to operate without restrictions. I agree with this view, and believe that although society should allow individuals a level of autonomy, an effective legal system is necessary for a well functioning society, and ensure the safety of the general population.
On the one hand, I believe that a level of autonomy is necessary for a society to flourish. Individual freedom allows the whole of society to move forward - by each person doing what he or she wants to a certain extent (so long as it does not harm others), society can benefit from greater creativity and flexibility. Furthermore, this would also improve the state of civil society, since individuals would be able to debate one another on issues that concern their common governance, and as such make place for a healthier democracy. This is for example, the case in Western Europe, where a more individualist societal set up has created the longest surviving democracies and richest countries in the world.
On the other hand, one could also rightly point that no man exists as an island, and that individuals are connected within a society through a set of laws. These rules not only ensure that individuals do not exploit one another, it also sets the expectations for societal interactions - this standardization of behaviour allows people to treat each other with a degree of similarity and upholds societal stability, which could be said to be sorely lacking from an archaic society. For instance, in areas of war, where societal trust has broken down, we can see that individuals are much more skeptical of one another.
Therefore, I overall argue that while people should be given a certain amount of autonomy in order for society to flourish both economically and creatively, this should nonetheless be confined to a pre agreed set of rules and laws.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Restore parallel clause Original: and would not be able to function Suggested revision: and that it would not be able to function Why it matters: Repeating that and the subject it makes the two reported clauses grammatically parallel.
- 2. Remove unnecessary comma Original: view, and believe Suggested revision: view and believe Why it matters: The two verbs share the same subject, so a comma is not needed before and.
- 3. Match verb agreement Original: ensure Suggested revision: ensures Why it matters: The verb must agree with the singular subject an effective legal system.
- 4. Clarify the link Original: move forward - by Suggested revision: move forward: by Why it matters: A colon clearly introduces the explanation of how individual freedom benefits society.
- 5. Correct the collocation Original: place Suggested revision: way Why it matters: Make way for is the idiomatic expression meaning to enable something to develop.
- 6. Position the interrupter Original: This is for example, the case Suggested revision: This, for example, is the case Why it matters: The parenthetical phrase for example should be enclosed by commas in this position.
- 7. Improve word choice Original: individualist societal set up Suggested revision: individualistic social structure Why it matters: The replacement uses the appropriate adjective and a more natural noun phrase.
- 8. Complete the phrasal verb Original: point that no man Suggested revision: point out that no man Why it matters: The verb meaning to draw attention to a fact is point out.
- 9. Use a natural verb Original: operate Suggested revision: act Why it matters: Act is more natural than operate when referring generally to individual behaviour.
- 10. Use idiomatic phrasing Original: the whole of society Suggested revision: society as a whole Why it matters: Society as a whole is the more idiomatic expression for the entire community.
- 11. Clarify the reference Original: so long as it does not harm others Suggested revision: provided that their actions do not harm others Why it matters: Naming their actions removes the vague pronoun reference while preserving the condition.
- 12. Clarify the phrase Original: issues that concern their common governance Suggested revision: issues concerning how they are governed Why it matters: The replacement expresses the intended meaning more naturally and precisely.
Suggested Rewrites
- and would not be able to function and that it would not be able to function
- view, and believe view and believe
- ensure ensures
- move forward - by move forward: by
- place way
- This is for example, the case This, for example, is the case
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response’s strongest feature is its clear, consistent position that individual autonomy should operate within an effective legal framework, supported by logically paired arguments. Its main limitation is uneven precision: several claims and examples are broad or awkwardly framed, and some grammar slips weaken otherwise fluent reasoning; prioritise sharpening the evidence and revising sentence-level agreement and collocation so the argument sounds consistently exact.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The qualified agreement is clear throughout, and both autonomy and legal constraint are explored with relevant supporting ideas.
Make the examples more precisely demonstrate how laws enable society to function instead of relying on broad claims about regions or conflict.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organised around two complementary sides of the position, and progression is easy to follow.
Tighten the internal progression of the legal-system paragraph so each sentence develops the central claim more directly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and suitably academic, but several imprecise collocations reduce naturalness and exactness.
Replace awkward combinations such as make place for, rightly point and pre agreed with idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are used flexibly, though recurring agreement and coordination errors remain noticeable.
Check subject-verb agreement and parallel structure carefully, especially in sentences joining singular subjects to multiple verbs.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Society is based on rules and laws. It could not function if individuals were free to do whatever they wanted to do. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.