Some universities offer online courses as an alternative to classes delivered on campus. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
Sample Response
Online courses are offeredopen as an alternative to traditional classroom teachinga replacement for traditional classrooms at many universities. From my point of view, although distance learning has its drawbacks, this could be consideredconsidered as a significant positive developmenta vital and positive development.
On the one hand, online courses prove to bring positive development despite. First, as many universities have introduced online learningschools have facilitated online learning, many students, regardless of their financial background and places of residenceliving places, have the chance to pursue higher education at a lower cost. For example, Coursera is a website that works with multiple well-known institutions and organizations to offer a wide range of courses with the same level of recognition at reasonable prices. Furthermore, distance learning can provide students with free and easy access to learning materials and other online resources, which allowsallow them to have a better learning experiencebetter learning experience and more knowledge than in a traditional learning environmentgreater knowledge compared to the traditional learning environment.
On the other hand, online students cannot comprehend and retain knowledge as well as students pursuing a brick-and-mortar education dothe way students pursuing a brick and mortar education. During online courses, students will have little interaction with their teachers and friends, as there are fewer activities that can be organized through online platforms. Compared to online courses, traditional classes can offer students a more interactive learning environment through on-class activities and presentations. In additionSecondly, students who enrol in online programsjoin online programs have a tendency to procrastinate and fall behind in their studiesdelay their study progress. Therefore, online learning is more suitable forto those who have stronggreat self-discipline and time management skills.
In conclusion, despite having some disadvantages, courses delivered through online platforms are beneficial foradvantageous to tertiary education.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear positive judgement and supports it with logically contrasted benefits and drawbacks, including a relevant example. Its main limitation is uneven language control: several incomplete or awkward constructions interrupt otherwise clear development. The highest-priority improvement is to revise sentence structures and collocations so that each comparison is grammatically complete and precisely expressed, especially in topic sentences and claims about learning outcomes.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear positive position is maintained while relevant advantages and disadvantages are developed with explanation and a concrete example.
Make the final judgement more analytical by explicitly explaining why the access and affordability benefits outweigh the interaction and self-discipline drawbacks.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organised and easy to follow, although a few linking expressions are incomplete, inaccurate, or mechanically sequenced.
Use complete topic sentences and ensure enumerating devices such as first and secondly follow a consistent, meaningful sequence.
Lexical Resource
The response shows sufficient range for discussing education, but noticeable collocation and word-form problems reduce precision and naturalness.
Replace awkward phrases such as living places, on-class activities, and advantageous to tertiary education with established academic collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied complex sentences are attempted and meaning remains clear, but several omissions and incomplete structures recur across the response.
Check every comparison and subordinate phrase for a finite verb, required article, and complete complement before submitting.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some universities offer online courses as an alternative to classes delivered on campus. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.