Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature of their own country than other countries. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
It is argued by some people that local literature is of greater importance in children’s education compared to foreign literature. From my perspective, I disagree with this view since both types of literature play equal roles in the development of children.
On the one hand, locally written works come with numerous benefits to students. Firstly, these pieces of art can enrich student’s skills to use their own language. Indeed, through learning literature of their mother tongue, students can learn the art of using the language such as the flexibility in the vocabulary highlights used, the syntax of sentences, different ways to convey ideas. Hence, linguistic knowledge will gradually be built up and benefit the students not only in their study but also in social communication. Secondly, national literary works give students an insight into their own culture. For example, through traditional literature, namely fairy tales, legends and fables, students can become familiar with their traditions, native terms and also national values which have been passed down from generation to generation. As a result, they will naturally develop a sense of national identity and patriotism.
On the other hand, studying foreign literature is also advantageous for the following reasons. To begin with, it gives learners opportunities to expand their horizons by showing them a bigger picture of the outside world. Having access to foreign historical events and cultures, commentaries on politics, society, and stereotypes in literature from countries abroad will foster students’ awareness of the diversity of the world. Additionally, the students will be equipped with a broader range of knowledge to help them be more prepared for the globalized world that we are living in today. To be more specific, the students will have a grasp of the culture of foreign countries and how to adapt themselves in terms of manners, customs or behaviours if they live in that new environment or dealing with foreigners.
In conclusion, it seems to me that there is a need to teach both local and foreign literature at schools so that students can develop comprehensively.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use direct comparison Original: compared to foreign literature Suggested revision: than foreign literature Why it matters: Than forms the comparison more directly after greater importance.
- 2. Clarify equal importance Original: play equal roles Suggested revision: play equally important roles Why it matters: The revision states precisely what is equal about the two roles.
- 3. Use precise terminology Original: locally written works Suggested revision: works of local literature Why it matters: This phrase refers more precisely to the category being discussed.
- 4. Use formal collocation Original: come with numerous benefits to students Suggested revision: offer students numerous benefits Why it matters: Offer benefits is a more natural academic collocation.
- 5. Fix number and noun Original: student’s skills Suggested revision: students’ ability Why it matters: The plural possessive matches the general reference to students, and ability fits the infinitive that follows.
- 6. Name the works accurately Original: pieces of art Suggested revision: literary works Why it matters: This precise term avoids referring to literature through a vague visual-art expression.
- 7. Correct the prepositions Original: through learning literature of their mother tongue Suggested revision: by studying literature in their mother tongue Why it matters: By introduces the method, while in correctly links literature to its language.
- 8. State the skill clearly Original: the art of using the language Suggested revision: how to use their language effectively Why it matters: The revision expresses the practical language skill more clearly.
- 9. Repair unclear wording Original: the flexibility in the vocabulary highlights used Suggested revision: flexible vocabulary choices Why it matters: The original phrase is not intelligible because highlights cannot describe vocabulary use here.
- 10. Complete the list Original: the syntax of sentences, different ways to convey ideas Suggested revision: sentence structures, and different ways to convey ideas Why it matters: The conjunction completes the list, and sentence structures is the natural countable expression.
- 11. Use the plural noun Original: study Suggested revision: studies Why it matters: Studies is the conventional plural noun for students’ academic work.
- 12. Choose a clearer term Original: native terms Suggested revision: traditional expressions Why it matters: Native terms is unclear in a list of cultural knowledge gained from traditional literature.
Suggested Rewrites
- compared to foreign literature than foreign literature
- play equal roles play equally important roles
- locally written works works of local literature
- come with numerous benefits to students offer students numerous benefits
- student’s skills students’ ability
- pieces of art literary works
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response presents a clear position and develops a balanced, logically organised case for the value of both domestic and foreign literature. Its main limitation is that the claim that the two deserve equal importance is supported mostly by listing separate benefits rather than directly comparing their educational value; more explicit comparative reasoning, alongside tighter control of awkward phrases and sentence structures, would strengthen the argument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response maintains a clear disagreement and supports it with relevant, extended benefits of both literary traditions.
Compare the two traditions directly to demonstrate more convincingly why neither should receive greater priority.
Coherence and Cohesion
The four-paragraph structure and clear topic progression make the argument easy to follow despite somewhat mechanical signposting.
Create smoother links within and between ideas instead of relying heavily on enumerating transitions.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and topic-appropriate, though several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Replace phrases such as language skill combinations and cultural adaptation wording with more natural academic collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex structures with generally good control, but a few agreement and parallelism errors remain.
Check possessives, list structures, and parallel verb forms carefully when constructing longer sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that it is more important to teach children the literature of their own country than other countries. Do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.