Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Sample Response
It is true that some secondary schools require their students to wear uniforms, while others allow their students to wear clothes of their choicefree clothing. Both policies have their own advantagespositive points, but I personally think that it is better for high school students to wear uniforms.
To begin with, it is common for some high schools not to requireit is common that some high schools do not require their students to wear uniforms. They believe that uniforms should not be the main concern of education, and schools should focus more on the quality of the curriculumthe curriculum quality and learning process rather than on clothingthan focusing on dresses. MoreoverBesides that, they also believe that spending money on school uniforms is a wastespending on school uniforms is also a waste of money, as the moneyfund could be allocated for other important matters such as books or stationerystationary.
On the other hand, for a number of reasons, manyfor a number of reasons many secondary education institutions requirenecessitate their students to wear school uniforms. These institutions believe that by wearing school uniforms, students will learn about discipline anddiscipline; and how to wear appropriate formal clothingproper and formal clothing. By allowing studentsBy allowing the students to wear free clothes, there might be a risk that students will wear inappropriate clothing during school hours. And then with the existence of school uniforms, it will not differentiate the economic class of students. Although some students might come from a wealthy family, they must wear clothing of the same quality as that worn by other studentsthe same quality clothing as the other students who come from various backgrounds.
In conclusion, it is a fact that wearing school uniforms has become mandatory for several secondary education institutions, but there are other institutions thatwho allow their students to choosedecide their own clothes. Both points of viewviews have their own advantages, but I believe that high school students wearing uniformswearing school uniforms for high school students is more favourable than wearing clothes of their choicewearing free clothes.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response is strongest in maintaining a clear preference for uniforms and supporting it with relevant points about discipline, appropriate clothing, and reduced visibility of economic differences. Its main limitation is that these reasons remain general and the requested specific examples are missing, while some awkward vocabulary and grammar weaken precision. The highest-priority improvement is to develop the equality argument through a concrete school scenario and explain more directly why its benefit outweighs the cost and freedom objections.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear opinion is sustained and supported by several relevant reasons, but development remains general and no specific example is provided.
Add a concrete example showing how uniforms reduce social pressure or clothing-based comparison and explicitly connect it to the preferred policy.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay follows a clear progression through the alternative policy, the preferred policy, and a consistent conclusion, with effective paragraphing.
Make the comparison sharper by linking each objection to non-uniform clothing directly to a corresponding benefit of uniforms.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate for the topic, but recurring awkward collocations, repetition, and an incorrect word choice reduce precision.
Replace phrases such as “free clothing,” “focus on dresses,” and “necessitate their students” with natural alternatives, and use “stationery” for school supplies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses both simple and complex structures, but errors in agreement, articles, punctuation, pronouns, and sentence openings recur.
Check subject-verb agreement and avoid fragments or loosely attached sentences beginning with “And then.”
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.