The subjects that children are taught in schools are decided by central authorities. Some people say that teachers, not politicians, should be responsible for this task. To what extent you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
While some people argue that the decision about what subjects are taught at school should be decided by teachers. I believe that it is rather governments’ responsibility to decide.
There are many reasons why the decision of school subjects should be taken by central authorities. Firstly, governments have a better idea about the society and the economic needs of the people. Their knowledge is built upon studies, research and experiences gathered by experts from different fields. For example, in Sudan, the school curriculum has been changed to a new one since the year 2000. To involve more subjects that teach students practical skills such as farming, as a measurement to tackle the unemployment problem in the country. Secondly, teachers should be more concerned about how to deliver the information. They decide when and how to teach several subjects based on their experience about children’s capabilities. In other words, teachers are more experienced in teaching than in social or economic issues.
On the other hand, the authorities’ role is to ensure the best quality of schooling throughout the country. They compare different schools to know their needs of education resources in order to reach the aimed level of education. However, it would be difficult to identify those needs if each school has its own curriculum for its unique requirements. In addition, if school teachers decide what are the subjects to be covered then we would have a situation of too much variation in standards and qualification, which is obviously unfair, because some young children, for instance, would receive a better education than others as a result of this and in turn people might lose their faith in the education system in the country.
In conclusion, it seems to me that both governments and teachers have their distinctive role in education. However, it would more beneficial for the society if governments are kept to be responsible for setting schools’ curriculum.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Repair responsibility phrase Original: rather governments’ responsibility Suggested revision: rather the responsibility of governments Why it matters: The noun phrase requires an article, and the ‘of’ construction is clearer here.
- 2. Clarify curriculum decision Original: of Suggested revision: about Why it matters: A decision is made ‘about’ a topic rather than ‘of’ it.
- 3. Use decision collocation Original: taken Suggested revision: made Why it matters: Decisions are ‘made’, not ‘taken’, in this context.
- 4. Use precise understanding Original: a better idea about the society Suggested revision: a better understanding of society Why it matters: ‘Understanding of society’ is the natural academic collocation.
- 5. Use uncountable experience Original: experiences Suggested revision: experience Why it matters: ‘Experience’ is uncountable when referring generally to accumulated expertise.
- 6. Fix completed-time tense Original: has been changed to a new one since the year 2000 Suggested revision: was revised in 2000 Why it matters: A completed change at a specified past time requires the simple past.
- 7. Use teaching collocation Original: concerned about how to deliver the information Suggested revision: focused on how to deliver instruction Why it matters: ‘Deliver instruction’ is more natural and precise in an educational context.
- 8. Use correct preposition Original: about Suggested revision: of Why it matters: The noun ‘experience’ takes ‘of’ when referring to knowledge of a subject.
- 9. Use parallel prepositions Original: in teaching than in social or economic issues Suggested revision: with teaching than with social or economic issues Why it matters: Parallel comparison requires the same preposition before both complements.
- 10. Use quality superlative Original: best Suggested revision: highest Why it matters: ‘Highest quality’ is the standard collocation for an educational standard.
- 11. Clarify resource needs Original: know their needs of education resources Suggested revision: identify their educational resource needs Why it matters: The revised phrase uses natural word order and a more precise verb.
- 12. Use target collocation Original: the aimed level of education Suggested revision: the desired standard of education Why it matters: ‘Desired standard’ is more natural than ‘aimed level’.
Suggested Rewrites
- rather governments’ responsibility rather the responsibility of governments
- of about
- taken made
- a better idea about the society a better understanding of society
- experiences experience
- has been changed to a new one since the year 2000 was revised in 2000
Why this response received Band 7.0
The essay maintains a clear preference for central control and supports it with relevant arguments about national needs, teacher expertise, and consistent standards. Its main limitation is language control: sentence fragments, awkward collocations, and one very long final body sentence weaken otherwise logical development. Prioritise turning the Sudan example into a complete cause-and-effect explanation and expressing the division of responsibilities between governments and teachers more precisely.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
A clear position is maintained and supported by relevant points about national planning, teacher expertise, resource allocation, and consistent standards.
Develop the Sudan example more explicitly by showing how centrally selected practical subjects addressed a documented national employment need.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay has clear overall progression and appropriate paragraphing, although ‘On the other hand’ mislabels a supporting point and the final body sentence is overloaded.
Group the government-planning reasons separately from the teacher-role argument and divide the long standards sentence into two linked claims.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a sufficient range of education and policy vocabulary, but inaccurate collocations occur regularly despite generally clear meaning.
Use natural forms such as ‘curriculum decisions’, ‘society’s economic needs’, ‘a measure to tackle unemployment’, and ‘educational resources’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of sentence types is attempted, but fragments, missing words, agreement errors, and faulty clause structures recur throughout.
Repair the opening and example fragments, then check forms such as ‘it would be more beneficial’, ‘distinctive roles’, and ‘school curricula’.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
The subjects that children are taught in schools are decided by central authorities. Some people say that teachers, not politicians, should be responsible for this task. To what extent you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.