The media should include more good stories which report good news. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
It is now not uncommon to see negative news hit the headlines and appear frequently in the mass media. For this reason, many people believe that more positive media coveragemedia positivity should be encouraged and I do agree with this idea for two main reasons.
First, audiences are increasingly bombarded with negative stories and therefore, good news should be reported more often to provide balanceto balance out. In fact, journalism’s commitment to being society’s watchdog is understandable, but excessive negativity in the news can be harmful. For instance, after a tragic plane crash in Malaysia was broadcast, news agencies the world over started to report similar accidents over the following monthsduring the next months. This created collective fear offor air travel, which consequently hurt the aviation industry despite the fact that air transport is still the safest option, with incident rates far lower than those for road and rail transport. In this way, an excessive amount of bad news causes distorted views and this is why more good newsthe more good news is worth reporting.
Secondly, happiness is highly contagious, hence the need for positive media coverage. Good news can inspire readers or viewers to take action, which can benefit themthemselves and even society as a whole. The success of Flappy Bird, a mobile game created by Dong Nguyen that caused a global sensation in 2013, was an encouraging storyhas been an encouraging story. Thousands of Vietnamese app developers have subsequently tried to start their own businesses in order to follow in Dong Nguyen’s footsteps. Although very few of them have achieved similar successcan achieve similar success, entrepreneurship has been promotedentrepreneurship is promoted, which comes as good news for both developers themselves and the country’s economy.
In conclusion, my belief is that news agencies should devote more coverage to positive newsdedicate more to positive news because it can create a healthy balance in journalismhealthy journalism balance and also spread positivity.
Why this response received Band 8.0
This is a persuasive, well-organised response whose two main reasons are developed with specific, relevant examples and expressed through a broad range of controlled language. Its main limitation is occasional awkward wording that slightly reduces precision, especially in the final sentences of the first body paragraph and conclusion. The highest priority is to refine these collocations while preserving the essay's clear argumentative progression.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response presents a clear agreement throughout and develops two relevant reasons with extended, persuasive examples.
Make the link between each example and the precise value of positive reporting even more explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader smoothly without becoming conspicuous.
Tighten the final sentence of each body paragraph so that it encapsulates the argument more crisply.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary supports nuanced discussion, with only occasional awkward collocations.
Replace phrases such as 'dedicate more to positive news' with more natural combinations such as 'devote more coverage to positive news'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, and the few slips do not impede communication.
Polish article use and comparative phrasing in sentences such as 'the more good news is worth reporting'.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
The media should include more good stories which report good news. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.