Some people believe that exams are an inappropriate way of measuring students’ performance and should be replaced by continuous assessment. Do you agree or disagree with this view?
Sample Response
Exams have always been used as a method of measuringused as a way to measure students’ ability and level of learning. However, I contend that exams are not an appropriate way to determine students’ performanceit is not an appropriate way to determine one’s performance and it should be replaced withsubstituted by a continuous assessment approach. The reasons for my contention are as follows. Nowadays, cheating on exams is commonplaceis a commonplace. Therefore, it is not uncommonTherefore it is not uncommon for students who do not perform well in classdo not do well in the class to score highly in examsscore high on the exams. Thus, when something like this occurs, there is no way for authorities to confirm whether or not the answers on the exams are really from the student and not the results of an unfair play. Teachers might forestall cheating from taking place, be it by strict invigilating or by the threat to fail the students who do not abide by the rules, there’s still no way to ascertain that every student will comply with the rules. Hence the ineffectiveness of utilising exams as a way of measuring the each student's abilityability of each student is quite clearclean. Furthermore, students tend to memorisestudents have the tendency to memorise for exams without making any effort to understand thoroughlyputting any effort in trying to thoroughly understand the materialmaterials taught. They will strive to obtain the highest possible score in this wayhighest score possible by this means. Memorising is surely a quick way to obtain a good score in a short time, however, it is not an effective way to study if one wants to deeply understand the materials. Consequently, exams are not appropriate when used to measure the ability of students who rely on memorisationability of the students who memorise. In conclusion, I believe that the best way to determine a student’s ability is to continuously assess their performance in the classroom. By doing sothat, a fair assessmentfair judgment of each student’s ability will be ensured and students will also be assessed fairlystudents will also be fairly scored based on how well they do in the class.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response’s strongest feature is its consistent position, supported by two relevant explanations of how cheating and short-term memorisation can distort exam results. The main limitation is presentation: the entire argument appears as one paragraph, and continuous assessment is asserted rather than explained in comparable depth. Prioritise organising the ideas into purposeful paragraphs and developing how ongoing assessment would remedy the identified problems.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is maintained and supported by two relevant, reasonably extended criticisms of examinations.
Explain in detail how continuous assessment would reduce cheating and reward genuine understanding instead of merely asserting its superiority.
Coherence and Cohesion
The reasoning has a clear overall sequence, but the lack of paragraph divisions obscures the structure of the argument.
Give the introduction, each main reason, and the conclusion separate paragraphs, each centred on one distinct purpose.
Lexical Resource
The response demonstrates a broad formal vocabulary, although several inaccurate collocations and word choices weaken precision.
Review ambitious expressions for natural usage, particularly phrases concerning cheating, invigilation, evidence, and clarity.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex forms is generally controlled, with only occasional errors in articles, punctuation, and clause joining.
Separate independent clauses correctly and proofread article use so longer sentences remain consistently accurate.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that exams are an inappropriate way of measuring students’ performance and should be replaced by continuous assessment. Do you agree or disagree with this view?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.