Some people think that formal education should start for children as early as possible, while others think that it should not start until 7 years of age. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Sample Response
While some people are of the opinion that the optimum time for children to begin their formal education is as soon as possible, others disagree and believe that it should not commence until they are seven years oldaged 7. Personally, I believe that later is better.
Those who argue for beginning earlier give several reasons for thisbase this on several reasons. Firstly, they believe that the earlier a child starts to learn, the greater their intellectual development will bebetter their intelligence will be. This is because they will have a head-start over those starting later who will fall behind. Another reason is that children will learn to be competitive, independent, and motivated as they aim to get the best scores and to complete their homework on their own. These are strong arguments in a world that rewardsworld which these days rewards the highest achievers with the best jobs.
Despite these arguments, I believe starting at age 7 is the right choice. This is due to the fact that overburdeningover-burdening them with academic study and trying to beat others simply leads to stress. This is not a good situation for the very young, who should be encouraged to enjoy their lives rather than competeenjoy their lives not compete with their peers. Also, focusingAlso focusing on play-based programmes at home or elsewhere develops cognitive abilities most effectively. For example, in countries such as Sweden and Finland, childrenFinland children start formal education later and they have shown better schooling results than many other countries. Thus, there is clear evidence of the benefits of starting laterevidence of its benefits.
In conclusion, I think that children should start school later because they can learn more through play-based activities than they can through formal educationthan formal education. Formal education at an early age simply leads to stress and does not help children achieve higher grades in the long termhigher grades long-term.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response clearly discusses both positions, maintains a firm personal view, and develops the case for later schooling with relevant explanation and comparison. The opposing view is somewhat less critically developed, while a few awkward or compressed constructions reduce linguistic polish; the main improvement is to deepen the reasoning for early education and edit minor clause-linking and collocation issues.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views and the writer's opinion are addressed clearly, with relevant reasons and support throughout.
Develop the early-education case with a more specific explanation or example to match the depth of the preferred view.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically organised, and the progression between contrasting positions is easy to follow.
Use slightly less demonstrative referencing so links such as 'This' and 'Thus' identify their antecedents more precisely.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and appropriately academic, with only occasional awkward combinations.
Refine phrases such as 'better schooling results' and 'achieve higher grades long-term' for more natural precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are used flexibly and accurately, although a few minor clause and coordination lapses remain.
Edit constructions such as 'a world which' and 'enjoy their lives not compete' to ensure complete, precise clause linking.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that formal education should start for children as early as possible, while others think that it should not start until 7 years of age. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.