People succeed because of their hard work; luck has nothing to do with success. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Sample Response
There has been a debate about whetherThere has been a debate whether or not luck plays a part in success. Some people argueargued that hard work is the only thing that helps people succeedhelps people to succeed, whereas others think that luck also contributes to success. Personally, I believe luck also contributes to successI agree with the latter.
Hard work is definitely crucial when it comes to success. Without sustained effortWithout any hard work, it is highly unlikely that someone would succeed. For instance, there might be a good opportunity for someone to establish a cyber-security company given the current demand inon that field, but if he is unwilling to work hard on building the companydeveloping the firm, it might not flourish.
In my opinion, success occurs when one is willing to commit to one goal, prepare for opportunities, and seize themcommit to one thing, prepare for the right opportunity to come and snatch it when it arises. Steve Jobs would be a good example of this when he developed iPhones despite the popularity of other non-touch-screen phonesnon-touch screen phones at the time. Thus, when touchscreen phones were finally boomingin a boom, he was well-prepared and made good use of the opportunity.
Nevertheless, I believe that luck is also needed for success to be achievedluck is also needed to be accomplished. This is because one has to be in the right place at the right time, with access to the right peopleright place at the right time. An example of this would be a person who has the ability and perseverance to develop a website similar to Google. While he might work really hard on it, if the person does not have any connections in the technology industryconnection to the technology world, it is unlikely that his website would attractgain much attention.
In conclusion, I think being hardworking is really important to be successful. Still, luck plays a role where having the right opportunity to the right person is also required for success. I do believe, however, that it is more important to keep working hard rather than simply waiting for luck to come to uswaiting for luck to approach us.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response presents a clear, balanced position and develops a logical case that effort and favourable circumstances both contribute to success. Its main weakness is that the discussion of luck remains broad, while recurring grammar and collocation problems reduce precision. Make the challenge to the statement's absolute claim more explicit, support it with one sharply developed example, and edit key phrases for naturalness.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The essay gives a clear disagreement with the statement and argues that both hard work and luck matter. The response is relevant and developed, although the luck argument depends on broad examples rather than a deeper explanation of opportunity, timing, and social context.
State more explicitly that the prompt's absolute claim is too strong, then develop one precise example where effort alone is not enough.
Coherence and Cohesion
The organisation is clear, with separate paragraphs for hard work, opportunity, luck, and a balanced conclusion. Progression is logical, but some paragraph links repeat the same idea of opportunity.
Use topic sentences that distinguish preparation, timing, and external support so the argument does not circle around one repeated point.
Lexical Resource
The range is adequate for discussing success, opportunity, and perseverance. Some collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as demand on that field, in a boom, and luck to approach us.
Use natural collocations such as demand in that field, the market was booming, seize an opportunity, and wait for luck to come.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are attempted successfully in many places, but tense consistency, article use, and verb patterns create regular noticeable errors.
Check past tense in general statements about debates and use correct verb patterns after need, contribute to, and opportunity.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
People succeed because of their hard work; luck has nothing to do with success. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.