Films that are based on true stories or historical events ought to be completely accurate. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Some people claim that movies that touch on real events should be entirely accurate. I disagree with this statement because I think that filmmakers require compelling narratives and dramatic effects in order to engage audiences. That is why they should have the freedom to make the story compelling even if it means deviating from the truth to some extent.
The cogent reason why historical films may not be perfectly accurate is that captivating narrative plays an essential role in engaging audiences. Directors often fictionalise characters to craft narratives so that they can enhance audience engagement. In simple words, screenwriters create storytelling by crafting narratives that interweave historical facts and characters with enchanting plotlines. A case in point is “Braveheart” (1995), a Mel Gibson’s blockbusting film. The film portrays the life of Sir William Wallace, a Scottish Knight who fought for his country’s independence. The director exaggerates certain personality traits of Wallace to create a more fascinating narrative, yet it captures the very essence of the historical events.
The second strong reason why films based on true stories suffer from inaccuracy is that dramatic effect exceeds all other matters in importance so as to make a film. Directors often use creative liberty to make historical facts more dramatic. In order to do so, they add fictionalised characters, manipulate the sequence of events, or place emphasis on dramatic moments. While cinematic liberty can create a touching effect, a film may deviate from strict factual accuracy. By way of illustration, consider the film “Titanic” (1997) which is an artful blend of a love story and the real-life sinking of the Titanic. While the overall portrayal of the ship’s sinking remains true to history, the love story of Jack and Rose is completely fictional and crafted for dramatic impact. This film helped make the history of Titanic popular all around the world despite not being completely authentic in terms of its historical accuracy.
To conclude, movies based on historical events contain factual inaccuracy because captivating narratives and dramatic effects are the core components of making a film. Despite this slight deviation, such films make many historical events or personalities more popular than they ever were.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise verb Original: touch on real events Suggested revision: depict real events Why it matters: “Depict” expresses the relationship between films and real events more precisely.
- 2. Natural verb choice Original: require Suggested revision: need Why it matters: “Need” is the more natural verb for expressing what filmmakers depend on.
- 3. Natural opening phrase Original: The cogent reason Suggested revision: A compelling reason Why it matters: This phrase introduces one supporting reason more naturally.
- 4. Add article Original: captivating narrative plays Suggested revision: a captivating narrative plays Why it matters: The singular countable noun “narrative” requires an article here.
- 5. Clarify reference Original: so that they can enhance Suggested revision: to enhance Why it matters: The infinitive removes the unclear pronoun reference and states the purpose directly.
- 6. Correct collocation Original: storytelling Suggested revision: stories Why it matters: “Create storytelling” is not a natural English collocation.
- 7. Lowercase common noun Original: Knight Suggested revision: knight Why it matters: “Knight” is a common noun here and should not be capitalised.
- 8. Clarify pronoun Original: yet it captures Suggested revision: yet the film captures Why it matters: Naming the film prevents “it” from appearing to refer to Wallace.
- 9. Clarify awkward wording Original: dramatic effect exceeds all other matters in importance so as to make a film Suggested revision: dramatic effect is central to filmmaking Why it matters: The revision states the intended importance clearly and idiomatically.
- 10. Stronger collocation Original: create a touching effect Suggested revision: create an emotional impact Why it matters: “Emotional impact” is a more natural collocation for a film's effect on viewers.
- 11. Improve expression Original: make the history of Titanic popular Suggested revision: popularise the history of the Titanic Why it matters: The revision is more concise and includes the article required with the ship's name.
- 12. Use concise purpose Original: in order to engage audiences Suggested revision: to engage audiences Why it matters: The shorter infinitive expresses the same purpose more directly.
Suggested Rewrites
- touch on real events depict real events
- require need
- The cogent reason A compelling reason
- captivating narrative plays a captivating narrative plays
- so that they can enhance to enhance
- storytelling stories
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents a consistently clear position and supports it with two relevant, well-explained film examples, producing a persuasive and logically ordered argument. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision and awkwardness in otherwise varied vocabulary and phrasing. The highest-priority improvement is to replace inflated or unnatural expressions with more idiomatic, exact wording while preserving the strong development of ideas.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question with a clear disagreement and develops two relevant reasons through specific film examples.
Deepen the distinction between narrative appeal and dramatic effect so the two supporting arguments feel more conceptually separate.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader clearly without disrupting the argument.
Reduce repeated references to narratives, dramatic effects, and historical accuracy to make progression even more economical.
Lexical Resource
A broad vocabulary supports precise discussion, although several combinations such as creating storytelling and a touching effect sound unnatural.
Prefer idiomatic, restrained collocations and check article and possessive patterns when describing films and their makers.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used with strong control, and the few grammatical slips do not impede meaning.
Polish occasional article, possessive, and sentence-construction errors to make complex phrasing consistently natural.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Films that are based on true stories or historical events ought to be completely accurate. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.