Many employers think that social skills are as important as good qualifications for employing people. To what extent do you agree that social skills are as important as good qualifications for success in the job?
Sample Response
Regarding how social skills and qualifications contribute to a person's success in the career, I think both factors are equally important.
Academic qualifications cannot be acquired without many years of study and continued practice, so they reflect a person's academic background and mastery of specialized knowledge and skills. Many employers require job applicants to possess a certain level of qualification, which is an important criterion to evaluate whether the applicant is qualified for the position or not. Therefore, a high-level academic qualification obtained in a renowned university can bring a person more opportunities in the/job market and a good starting point in his or her path towards career success. In addition to this, people have also become increasingly aware of the importance of social skills in the workplace. Those with sophisticated social skills can develop and maintain good relationships with colleagues. With mutual support and active interaction, employees tend to have higher efficiency and enjoy their working lives. This is particularly important in today's society, where employees often face complicated tasks that require close cooperation among different departments. Also, good social skills enable/people to establish wide connections at work and in life, directly associated with their performance in some occupations. For example, a sociable salesman, even though he may not possess very high qualification, can sign more contracts than those who are not good at Socializing with others.
Overall, there is no doubt that good academic qualifications are important in job-hunting and personal development. However, since communicating and cooperating with others have become an essential part in the workplace, social skills should also be highly valued.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix collocation Original: success in the career Suggested revision: career success Why it matters: Career success is the natural expression for professional achievement in general.
- 2. Avoid absolute claim Original: cannot be acquired without many years of study and continued practice Suggested revision: typically require years of study and sustained effort Why it matters: The revision keeps the point while avoiding an absolute and awkwardly phrased claim.
- 3. Use concise phrasing Original: level of qualification Suggested revision: qualification level Why it matters: The noun phrase is more concise without changing the meaning.
- 4. Fix preposition pattern Original: criterion to evaluate Suggested revision: criterion for evaluating Why it matters: Criterion normally takes for followed by a gerund when stating its purpose.
- 5. Remove redundancy Original: or not Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: Whether already introduces both possibilities, making or not unnecessary here.
- 6. Improve collocation Original: high-level academic qualification Suggested revision: advanced academic qualification Why it matters: Advanced is a more natural modifier for a qualification.
- 7. Correct preposition Original: obtained in a renowned university Suggested revision: awarded by a renowned university Why it matters: A university awards a qualification, so by expresses the relationship accurately.
- 8. Fix verb pattern Original: bring Suggested revision: offer Why it matters: Offer fits the double-object pattern naturally in this context.
- 9. Remove stray slash Original: the/job market Suggested revision: the job market Why it matters: The slash incorrectly interrupts the noun phrase.
- 10. Tighten expression Original: a good starting point in his or her path towards career success Suggested revision: a strong foundation for career success Why it matters: The revision expresses the same idea more directly and naturally.
- 11. Tighten transition Original: In addition to this Suggested revision: In addition Why it matters: The shorter transition connects the next point without a vague reference to this.
- 12. Use natural collocation Original: sophisticated social skills Suggested revision: well-developed social skills Why it matters: Well-developed is the more natural adjective for a person's social skills.
Suggested Rewrites
- success in the career career success
- cannot be acquired without many years of study and continued practice typically require years of study and sustained effort
- level of qualification qualification level
- criterion to evaluate criterion for evaluating
- or not Delete
- high-level academic qualification advanced academic qualification
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is strongest in its clear balanced position and its relevant explanation of how qualifications and interpersonal abilities contribute to workplace success. Its main limitation is that both sides are compressed into one dense body paragraph, while several awkward collocations and transcription-like slips reduce polish; the highest-priority improvement is to separate the two arguments and refine expressions such as those concerning efficiency, connections, and qualifications.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is clear, and both qualifications and social skills are explained with relevant reasons and an example.
Develop the comparison more explicitly by explaining why the two factors deserve equal weight across different jobs.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a logical sequence and uses a suitable range of linking expressions, despite dense paragraphing.
Give qualifications and social skills separate body paragraphs so that each main idea has a clearly defined focus.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of topic-specific vocabulary, although several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Revise combinations such as higher efficiency, wide connections, and high qualification into more natural professional English.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures is used with generally good control, and errors rarely interfere with meaning.
Proofread articles, prepositions, capitalization, and stray slash marks, especially around qualification and workplace phrases.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many employers think that social skills are as important as good qualifications for employing people. To what extent do you agree that social skills are as important as good qualifications for success in the job?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.