Some people claim that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a car.
Sample Response
In our lives, we travel from one place to another for a great variety of reasons and while travelling we greatly depend on cars, whether it is a private car or a public bus. The number of car owners is increasing every day because every person expects the freedom to travel and comfort while travelling. And that is why most of us want to own a car. However, owning a car hasHowever owning a car have many advantages and disadvantages as well.
The main advantage of owning a car is that it gives the freedomis it gives the freedom to travel. If you have a car then you are not limiteddon't need to be limited to fixed routes and timetables. Moreover, a car-owner can take hisis/her family members with him/her and other necessary goods whenever he/she wisheswish which might have been impossible otherwise. In addition, personal cars give comfort while travelling unlike public buseson the contrary to the public buses which are so crowded and uncomfortabledisgusting. You can read books, listen to music or even playor even can play with kids while you are in your own car but all of those activities seemthose all seem to be impossible in public transport. On the contrary, owning a car is very expensive. The price of the car, the cost of taxesthe cost of the tax, insurance and fuel costsinsurance cost, fuel cost, driver's salary, car repairsrepairing etc. all must be considered before buying a car and that is why it is unaffordable for middle-class peopleout of reach of the middle-class people.
Moreover, private cars have limited passenger capacityprivate cars can not carry many passengers at a time yet occupy space on the roadoccupy spaces in the street. As the number of cars is increasing in the road so does the traffic jam. Perhaps the major disadvantage of cars, in general, is the huge damage they do to human health and to the environment. More cars mean more pollution. Environmental pollutionThe environment pollution is a serious issue today and at any cost, we must reduce the amount of pollution and if we consider it then owning a car is never a good idea.
To sum up, having a car gives someone freedom but if the public transportation system is easily accessible, safe and efficient, then the idea of buying and owning a car should be abandoned.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response covers both the personal benefits and wider costs of car ownership, maintains a clear conditional position, and supports its points with relevant explanations. Its main limitation is the frequency of awkward wording and grammatical slips, while some ideas remain broad rather than precisely illustrated. The highest-priority improvement is to develop each main point with a specific, well-explained example and edit sentences for agreement, pronoun, and collocation accuracy.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both advantages and disadvantages and reaches a clear, qualified conclusion, although support is mostly general.
Develop the principal benefit and drawback with specific examples that show their practical consequences.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through the discussion, but the long second paragraph combines opposing points and some linking is mechanical.
Separate advantages from disadvantages more consistently and use transitions to clarify relationships rather than merely signal them.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate and sometimes varied, but recurring awkward collocations and imprecise choices reduce naturalness.
Replace expressions such as environmental pollution and occupy spaces with more precise, natural topic vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring agreement, pronoun, article, and word-form errors.
Proofread systematically for subject-verb agreement and pronoun consistency, especially in longer sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people claim that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a car.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.