In the past, many people had skills such as making their own clothes and doing repairs to things in the house. In many countries, nowadays, skills like these are disappearing. Why do you think this is happening? How far is this situation true in your country?
Sample Response
In the past, people tend to make hand-made clothes or repair items at home so that they can earn a living. Many people believe that this trend is dropping tremendously today. I agree that people no longer use these skills to earn a living and in fact, this phenomenon is also happening in my country. In the following paragraph, I will explain my views and the reasons why the skills are vanishing around the world. Many people remain convinced that the vast technological development has brought the disappearance of these skills. Take the case of computers, for example. It is true that the development of a trend of sending emails through computers take place in recent decades and these developments have replaced the traditional practice of writing letters with pens or pencils. Similarly, after the inventions of a cloth making the machine or repairing the machine, the majority of people have become more relied on these machines rather than the manpower. Since these inventions make the whole manufacturing or repairing process become more time and cost effective, it is easy to see why more and more businessmen choose to build factories with machines while hiring fewer and fewer people who have the skill of making clothes or repairing items. At the same time, I think that similar situations are happening in my country. Considering the fact that more and more people are switching the jobs from a manufacturing or repairing worker to a machine technician in the past few years, this cannot be denied. Given that the trend of industrialisation is still growing in my country, people eventually forget all these skills secondary to disuse. In the employees' mind, new factories with machines have higher profits and if they quit the job as a worker, they will be more likely to get a better-paid job and thus increase their living standards in future. Therefore, there is no doubt that the technical advances in my home country result in the disappearance of these skills as fewer people are willing to continue working for their original job. 20-30 years earlier, people did not have the technological advancements and that's why they were taught from their childhood how to do certain household things like repairing a tool or making clothes. Nowadays, parents do not focus that much on teaching their children of those skills. People mostly rely on machines, technological tools and skilled professionals for such things while they focus on education and getting specialised on their own field rather than gaining those short of skills. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the technical development has brought the disappearance of these skills as the whole process has become efficient whereas in many employees' perspective, the incentive of not adopting these skills by switching their job nature allows them to become more wealthy and successful in future and this phenomenon is also commonly seen around the world including my country.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use past tense Original: tend Suggested revision: tended Why it matters: The past-time reference requires the past-tense verb tended.
- 2. Use trend collocation Original: this trend is dropping tremendously Suggested revision: this trend is declining sharply Why it matters: A trend declines rather than drops tremendously.
- 3. Match essay structure Original: paragraph Suggested revision: discussion Why it matters: Discussion fits the response because all ideas appear in one continuous paragraph.
- 4. Use natural modifier Original: the vast technological development Suggested revision: rapid technological development Why it matters: Rapid naturally describes the pace of technological change.
- 5. Use singular process noun Original: inventions Suggested revision: invention Why it matters: Invention is uncountable when referring generally to the creation of machinery.
- 6. Name repair equipment Original: repairing the machine Suggested revision: repair machines Why it matters: Repair functions as the modifier for machines used in repair work.
- 7. Use adjective form Original: relied Suggested revision: reliant Why it matters: People become reliant on machines; relied is not an adjective here.
- 8. Use labour term Original: rather than the manpower Suggested revision: rather than human labour Why it matters: Human labour is the natural uncountable expression in this comparison.
- 9. Remove general article Original: switching the jobs Suggested revision: switching jobs Why it matters: Jobs is used generally here and does not take the.
- 10. Use parallel work nouns Original: from a manufacturing or repairing worker Suggested revision: from manufacturing or repair work Why it matters: The revision creates parallel categories of work rather than mismatched worker labels.
- 11. State cause directly Original: secondary to disuse Suggested revision: through disuse Why it matters: Through disuse clearly expresses how the skills are forgotten.
- 12. Fix plural agreement Original: In the employees' mind Suggested revision: In employees' minds Why it matters: A general plural group requires the plural noun minds.
Suggested Rewrites
- tend tended
- this trend is dropping tremendously this trend is declining sharply
- paragraph discussion
- the vast technological development rapid technological development
- inventions invention
- repairing the machine repair machines
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response gives a clear explanation based on technological change and confirms that the trend is widespread in the writer's country, with several relevant supporting points. However, it often shifts from household skills to factory employment, repeats ideas, and presents the entire discussion as one paragraph. The highest-priority improvement is to answer each question in a distinct paragraph and focus examples specifically on why individuals no longer learn or practise domestic skills.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are answered, but substantial discussion of factory workers and industrial production only partly addresses the loss of personal household skills.
Develop reasons directly tied to individuals learning, using, or replacing clothes-making and home-repair skills in the named country.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence of technology, national change, and generational habits is broadly traceable, but the single-paragraph format and repetition weaken progression.
Divide the response into an introduction, one paragraph for causes, one for the national situation, and a concise conclusion.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary shows some range for technology and employment, although frequent awkward collocations and imprecise word choices reduce clarity.
Use natural phrases such as declining practice, labour-saving machinery, and household skills, and avoid strained expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally understandable, but frequent errors in tense, agreement, articles, prepositions, and sentence construction limit control.
Edit each sentence for consistent tense and subject-verb agreement, then shorten overloaded sentences to improve accuracy.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In the past, many people had skills such as making their own clothes and doing repairs to things in the house. In many countries, nowadays, skills like these are disappearing. Why do you think this is happening? How far is this situation true in your country?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.