During the last twenty years, the assessment of students has undergone a major transformation. Many educational institutions have shifted their focus from traditional examination towards a variety of innovative assessment techniques, as they believe traditional examination results are not often true to student’s ability. To what extent do you agree with the claim that traditional examination results are not true to the student’s ability?
Sample Response
A change in the student evaluation process could be observed in the last two decades and formal examination has been less frequently used in many educational institutions in different parts of the world. The results of paper-based exams, though used extensively in many schools, are believedThe result of the paper-based exam, though used extensively in many schools, is believed to be less suitable for assessing learners' abilitiesassessing the ability of learners, and I believe that paper-based examinations should be replacedit should be replaced by modern evaluation approaches.
To begin with, formal examinations, in many cases, do not reflect a pupil’s true ability and knowledge. An examination or any other assessment testExamination or any assessment test is meant to scrutinize a student objectively, but a formal test fails to do soit, especially because it involvesinvolved the memorisation-and-reproduction techniquememorise-and-pass technique. Some students take more time to produce any result and though they take a longer time, they have a better result in producing capability. Traditional exams may therefore scorewould also score these sorts of students poorly.
On the other hand, modern assessment systems to test a student’s skill and knowledge can be quite effective and bring out far better results. For instance, oral presentations, assignments, popsudden quizzes, class tests, course work, and other modern methods of evaluation can examine students from various perspectives and when the results are combinedthe result is combined, the overall indication is far more accuratethe indication is far more accurate. These tests scrutinise a learner’s creativity, depth of knowledge and abilitydepth of knowledge, creativity, and ability to use the knowledge in practiceknowledge in the practical world, and are important measures of a student’s reasoning and learningimportant parameters of a student’s reasoning and reflection of learning ability.
In conclusion, evaluating a learner accurately is important, and the best method for this should be adoptedshould be in place. Although the formal examination system has been used for a long time,No doubt the formal examination system had been used for a long, but the time has come to adopt a more accurate and practical assessment system, and hence the shift towards a combination of innovative assessment methodssystems is imperative.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response maintains a clear position and uses a logical discussion of traditional examinations and alternative assessment methods to address the question directly. Its main limitation is that some supporting claims, particularly about slower students, are expressed vaguely and several awkward word choices reduce precision. The highest-priority improvement is to develop each reason with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and a specific, convincing example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is sustained, and both the limitations of examinations and the value of alternative assessment are relevantly developed.
Explain the point about slower-performing students more precisely and support it with a concrete example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically through a clear introduction, two focused body paragraphs, and a consistent conclusion.
Use transitions that reflect the exact relationship between ideas and tighten progression within the first body paragraph.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently wide vocabulary supports the discussion, although several collocations are awkward and creativity is unnecessarily repeated.
Replace vague phrases such as producing capability and reflection of learning ability with precise, natural academic wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, but agreement, tense, and article errors recur.
Proofread complex sentences for consistent tense and accurate singular-plural agreement, especially around examination and result.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
During the last twenty years, the assessment of students has undergone a major transformation. Many educational institutions have shifted their focus from traditional examination towards a variety of innovative assessment techniques, as they believe traditional examination results are not often true to student’s ability. To what extent do you agree with the claim that traditional examination results are not true to the student’s ability?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.