Some people believe that success in sports depends on physical ability. Others believe that there are more important factors. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
While some attribute sportspeople’s success in their sportsdominance of their games to their physical capability, there are other factors that are also important. To be a high achiever in sports, I believe that more than just physical ability is required. Good physical conditionconditions evidently support performance in any sportfuel any sports activity. Michael Phelps, a highly celebrated American swimmer, is known for his unusual body proportionsunusually disproportionate torso and legs. These explain his exceptionally powerful and rapid movementsunprecedentedly powerful and fast motions, which have enabled him to be a multiple-time Olympic gold medallist. Through tailoredparticular nutrition and physical training, sports professionals’ innate traits can be further developed to boost their athletic performance, especially for those doing physically exhausting sports like triathlon, road cycling and ice hockey. Physical health also proves its vital role regarding injury rates. Along with necessary prevention techniques and medical interventions, fitness helps reduce injuries and speed recovery. That said, sportspeople could barely deliver peak performance without other qualities, especially consistency and poise under pressure. Self-discipline and hard work often top the list of elements needed to succeed in sports. The legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo exemplifies this well. He shows great dedication to his rigorous diet and fitness regime to compete in the most demanding football leagues, even in his late thirties. In addition, being subjected to close public scrutiny causes undue stress and difficulties in athletes’ professional and personal livesrenders undue stress and trouble in athletes’ professional and personal lives. Anxiety before competing and self-doubt after losing further aggravate their mental health issues. Only when they nurture a positive attitude and resilience in the face of failureresilience to failure may they become the top players in their games. In summary, I believe that physical skills combined with the dedication to training and mental toughness play integral parts in the secret of elite athletes ‘ success.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response provides a clear opinion and develops both perspectives with apt, detailed sporting examples, while complex sentence structures are handled confidently. Its main weakness is presentation as one long paragraph, which obscures the otherwise logical shift from physical attributes to discipline and mental resilience; several collocations are also strained. The priority is to divide the argument into purposeful paragraphs and refine awkward word combinations for greater clarity and naturalness.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views are addressed directly, and the writer's opinion is clear and developed through relevant examples and explanations.
Sharpen the comparison between physical attributes and psychological qualities to make the final judgement even more discriminating.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a logical sequence and uses effective transitions, but the entire response is presented as one dense paragraph.
Separate the introduction, the two viewpoints, and the conclusion into purposeful paragraphs with clear central topics.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is wide-ranging and topic-specific, although a few collocations and formulations sound unnatural.
Refine phrases such as dominance of their games and renders undue stress to achieve more idiomatic precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a wide variety of complex structures accurately, including controlled relative clauses and inversion.
Preserve the strong structural control while proofreading punctuation and possessive forms in the final sentence.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that success in sports depends on physical ability. Others believe that there are more important factors. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.