Some people say that television is a very useful tool when it comes to education. Others argue that television is a much overused, ineffective teacher. Discuss both of these views and give your opinion as to the usefulness of television as an educational tool.
Sample Response
There is a lot of controversy on the topic whether TV can play a role of a teacher. Some people hold a viewpoint that it can never be educational at all. Others, although, disagree, referring to TV's high potential of teaching through amusement. As a matter of fact, television nowadays can hardly be called educational. All those talk shows and soap operas we see every day are a complete waste of time and can even have negative effects by distracting young and undisciplined people from their studies. Moreover, the most of the so-called educational programs in channels like National Geographic channel can not replace books and academic lectures because they tend to entertain people and have not an aim to give deep and concentrated knowledge. However, TV can be a powerful mean of delivering information and a nice part of learning process. Educational Methodists have proved that the more senses are involved at the time of studying; the more effective result can be achieved. Television produces both picture and sound, so its usefulness is obvious. Many teachers already use this advantage actively by showing students video cassettes which go as supplementary material to many language courses. So why not to broadcast such movies through television? The problem of the ineffectiveness of television as an educational tool is in fact not a problem of television itself, but of people who decide the content of the particular channel. It is hardly unlikely that content directors would abandon their high profits and change talk shows to lectures and video lessons. Therefore, those, who insist on the uselessness of TV, maybe right, but let us not forget that as technology improves new cheap ways of broadcasting appear, for instance, video broadcasts. They can prove the exclusive power of such learning tool as television.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix the collocation Original: controversy on the topic whether Suggested revision: controversy over whether Why it matters: “Controversy over whether” is the natural concise construction for introducing a disputed question.
- 2. Use the definite article Original: a Suggested revision: the Why it matters: The fixed expression is “play the role of,” with the definite article.
- 3. Use concise wording Original: hold a viewpoint that Suggested revision: hold the view that Why it matters: “Hold the view that” is the conventional and more concise expression.
- 4. Use the correct linker Original: although Suggested revision: however Why it matters: “However” is the appropriate sentence adverb for contrasting the two groups' positions.
- 5. Fix the preposition Original: of Suggested revision: for Why it matters: The noun “potential” takes “for” before a gerund in this construction.
- 6. Remove the extra article Original: the most of the Suggested revision: most of the Why it matters: The quantifier phrase is “most of the” without an article before “most.”
- 7. Fix the media preposition Original: in Suggested revision: on Why it matters: Television programmes are broadcast “on” channels, not “in” them.
- 8. Use one word Original: can not replace Suggested revision: cannot replace Why it matters: The negative modal is normally written as the single word “cannot.”
- 9. Fix negation and verb Original: have not an aim to give Suggested revision: do not aim to provide Why it matters: The revision uses standard verbal negation and the natural pattern “aim to provide.”
- 10. Use natural modifiers Original: deep and concentrated knowledge Suggested revision: in-depth, focused knowledge Why it matters: “In-depth” and “focused” naturally describe detailed, concentrated educational content.
- 11. Use the singular form Original: mean Suggested revision: means Why it matters: “Means” is the correct singular noun for a method of delivering information.
- 12. Add the article Original: a nice part of learning process Suggested revision: a useful part of the learning process Why it matters: The specific process requires “the,” while “useful” is more precise than the informal “nice.”
Suggested Rewrites
- controversy on the topic whether controversy over whether
- a the
- hold a viewpoint that hold the view that
- although however
- of for
- the most of the most of the
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response’s strongest feature is its balanced exploration of television’s limitations and educational potential, supported by relevant examples of entertainment programming and classroom video use. Its main limitation is a somewhat unstable final position, compounded by the contradictory phrase “hardly unlikely,” while recurring awkward collocations reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to state the opinion unambiguously and develop the content-versus-medium distinction more consistently throughout.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views are addressed with relevant explanations and examples, but the final opinion is not expressed with complete clarity.
State a precise position in the introduction and conclusion, then make each main point explicitly support that position.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through contrasting perspectives, although the single-block presentation weakens paragraph-level organisation and some linking is awkward.
Divide the discussion into clear paragraphs for the opposing view, supporting view, and final judgement, using fewer mechanical transitions.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a good range of topic vocabulary, but recurring inaccurate collocations and word choices reduce precision.
Replace awkward combinations such as “powerful mean” and “have not an aim” with natural, context-appropriate collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of sentence structures is used and meaning remains clear, despite recurring errors with articles, prepositions, negation, and clause construction.
Proofread complex sentences for article and preposition accuracy, and check that negative constructions express the intended meaning.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say that television is a very useful tool when it comes to education. Others argue that television is a much overused, ineffective teacher. Discuss both of these views and give your opinion as to the usefulness of television as an educational tool.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.