In some countries, young people at the age of 18 are considered adults and can drive a car, vote and get married, while other countries don't allow it. What age do you think is the best to be considered an adult? Give reasons and examples.
Sample Response
In many countries, the ageIn many countries the age at which one is considered a legal adult is typically 18, but in other countriessome other countries legal adulthood only beginsone's legal adulthood only starts when he or she turns 21. What defines a legal adult is the right to workability to legally work, enter into contractsparticipate in contracts, vote, marry, give sexual consent, and join the military. However, I personally think that the appropriate age for legal adulthoodproper age of being an adult should be 21. In this essay, I am going to explain the reasons for this positionstand.
First, although one might assume that most 18-year-olds have reached maturity, research has shown that adolescence actually extends into the early 20s. An 18-year-old's mindset has not fully maturedis not fully maturing. They are young adults still exploringon their way to explore the world, gaining experience and learning new thingsto experience and to learn new things. Thus, some of them try to act like mature adultsact cool like women and men when they do not even know how to handle responsibilities as adults. For example, they go clubbing and drinking but fail to consider the consequencesnever learn about the consequences. Accident statistics in many states in the U.S. showed a substantial jump in the number of drink-driving accidentsdrunken driving accidents involving 18 to 20-year-olds.
SecondSecond, in reality, most young adults are still in high school when they are 18 years old and they do not have a job. Therefore, they are not ready for all the physicalall of the physical and mental challenges associated withthat go along with being an adult such as raising a family or supporting themselves. For many parents, the term legal adult does not mean their children possess certain adult characteristics. For example, being an adult implies being able to make mature decisions, participate in civic lifematters, have self-control, and be responsible. Some 18-year-olds simply lack these characteristics and need morefurther time to develop them. It is quite clear that when children turn to 21 years old, they have already been in colleges and have had some life experiences, therefore, they understand how to responsible for their actions.
In conclusion, 18-year-olds are not maturematured enough to be considered adults. The best age should be 21 when one is better prepared to take on adult responsibilities.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response gives a clear, consistent choice of 21 and supports it with relevant arguments about psychological maturity, financial independence, and responsibility, including concrete examples. Its main limitation is that several claims about 18- and 21-year-olds are broad or insufficiently qualified, while recurring language errors reduce precision; the highest-priority improvement is to develop a more balanced comparison using credible evidence and carefully controlled sentence forms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The chosen age is explicit and supported by two relevant, extended reasons and examples, though some generalisations are overstated.
Qualify broad claims and explain why 21 provides a better legal threshold despite individual differences in maturity.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically through a clear introduction, two distinct reasons, and a concise conclusion, with generally effective sequencing.
Reduce minor repetition within the second body paragraph and connect each example more tightly to its controlling reason.
Lexical Resource
There is a good range of vocabulary for legal adulthood, maturity, responsibility, and civic participation, despite several awkward collocations.
Use natural expressions such as reach adulthood, become fully mature, assume responsibility, and gain life experience.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex structures, but recurring tense, verb-form, preposition, and sentence-joining errors reduce accuracy.
Check participle forms and verb complements carefully, particularly in sentences describing age, development, and responsibility.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In some countries, young people at the age of 18 are considered adults and can drive a car, vote and get married, while other countries don't allow it. What age do you think is the best to be considered an adult? Give reasons and examples.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.