Some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age. Some think they should begin at least 7 years old. Discuss both views give your opinion.
Sample Response
There has been recent debate surrounding the age at which children should begin formal education: while some people argue that children should start as early as 7 years old, others believe they should begin even earlier. I personally contend that although starting early might be economically beneficial for familiesbeneficial for the family in the short run, it might ultimately be a futile endeavour as the children would be unable to absorb the information in the long run.
One could argue that by starting children on their path of formal education sooner may help support parents financially. Parents often struggle to findarrange babysitters and have to resort to expensive daycares that offer little benefitare of no real benefit to them or their children, and if schooling started earlier, this would be a financial stress they would not have to cope with. Primary education in many Western countries, for example, is free for this reason: it allows parents to save money to spend on other family needsother things for their family.
However, as children are still in the early developmental stages for the first few years of their lives, they would undoubtedly lack the abilityabilities to understand what they are taughtthe things taught to them adequatelyto a sufficient degree. More specifically, since children may not be capable of recalling their lessons, time and money invested in their educationtime and money spent on them would simply be wasted. Most adults today, for example, will find it almost impossible to recall what they have learnt in primary school. It could be argued that these early years of a children’s life should instead be spent being emotionally bonded with the parents instead of being taught skills they would forget later on anyway.
Ultimately, I argue that despite short term economic benefits to the family, the inability of young children to learn what is presented to them means that they should not start education at too early an ageat too early of an age.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response takes a clear position and develops two relevant sides with well-selected explanations, while its language is generally varied and controlled. The main weakness is that the contrast between beginning very early and waiting until at least seven is sometimes blurred, especially when the financial argument is framed simply as starting sooner. Make each body paragraph explicitly defend one stated age option and support the comparison with more precise evidence.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views and a consistent opinion are presented and developed, although the distinction between the two proposed starting ages is not always explicit.
Frame each body paragraph around one exact age option and explain directly why that timing is preferable.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, two focused body paragraphs, and a concise conclusion, with generally natural linking.
Tighten a few long sentences so that the relationship between claims, examples, and conclusions is immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
A broad and precise vocabulary supports the argument effectively, with only occasional awkward collocations or word forms.
Refine phrases such as references to financial stress and emotional bonding to make the wording consistently natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately overall, despite a few noticeable construction and agreement errors.
Edit faulty patterns such as combining 'by starting' with 'may help' and check singular possessive forms carefully.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age. Some think they should begin at least 7 years old. Discuss both views give your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.