It is often said that education is more important these days than it ever had been. Is the ability to read and write more important today than in the past? Why or why not?
Sample Response
The human, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted mammoth herds on the walls of a cave to nowadays when he works on a computer with a large amount of information. From my everyday experience and observation, I can state several factors, which defend the statement that the ability to read and write is very important today. At old times people did not depend on information that much. They did not have to fill out many application forms, write a lot, read news from a newspaper about an economic situation, etc. Now the situation has changed. Knowledge and the ability to analyse information are more important now than man's physical strength. First of all, it is essential for a person to be literate in Informational Age. Every day one needs to withdraw money from cash machines, to pay a bill, to write out a check, to fill some forms, to read instructions, ads, job requirements and applications. It is almost impossible to survive in modern society without these basic abilities. Almost every job requires these important skills. Imagine that one does not have them and one has a family to care about. So, one's first step is to find a job. One can do it either through newspapers or by asking help from one's friends. One can not read, so one chooses the second way. The second step is to pass a job interview and fill out some forms. Moreover, one has to sign a job contract - an important document that concludes all one's rights and terms. So, basically, it is almost impossible to get a job for a literate person in the modern world, especially in developed countries. Second of all, the number of jobs that do not require the ability to read and write, is dramatically decreasing. Almost every employer wants to have an employee with basic communication and computer skills. In fact, more jobs on the labour market are for literate persons. A lot of primitive jobs are done by machines nowadays. So, it is a very good chance for illiterate people to be constantly on unemployment lists. In conclusion, I think that every country must have strong programs against illiteracy.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use accurate phrasing Original: factors, which defend the statement Suggested revision: factors that support the view Why it matters: Arguments support a view rather than defend a statement in this context.
- 2. Correct time phrase Original: At old times Suggested revision: In the past Why it matters: ‘In the past’ is the standard expression for an earlier period.
- 3. Use formal phrasing Original: depend on information that much Suggested revision: depend so heavily on information Why it matters: The revision expresses the degree of dependence more precisely.
- 4. Improve concision Original: read news from a newspaper about an economic situation Suggested revision: read newspaper reports about the economy Why it matters: The revision removes repetition and uses a natural collocation.
- 5. Remove repeated time marker Original: important now than Suggested revision: important than Why it matters: The preceding sentence already establishes the present-time comparison.
- 6. Correct fixed expression Original: in Informational Age Suggested revision: in the Information Age Why it matters: The conventional name requires the article ‘the’ and the noun ‘Information’.
- 7. Correct phrasal verb Original: about Suggested revision: for Why it matters: ‘Care for’ means to support or look after family members.
- 8. Add required preposition Original: asking help from Suggested revision: asking for help from Why it matters: The verb ‘ask’ requires ‘for’ before the thing requested.
- 9. Add required particle Original: fill some forms Suggested revision: fill in some forms Why it matters: The phrasal verb ‘fill in’ is required when completing forms.
- 10. Correct the collocation Original: pass a job interview Suggested revision: succeed in a job interview Why it matters: A candidate succeeds in an interview rather than passes it.
- 11. Use precise legal wording Original: concludes all one's rights and terms Suggested revision: sets out all one's rights and conditions Why it matters: A contract ‘sets out’ rights and conditions rather than concluding them.
- 12. Correct reversed meaning Original: get a job for a literate person Suggested revision: get a job for an illiterate person Why it matters: The surrounding example concerns someone who cannot read, so ‘literate’ reverses the intended meaning.
Suggested Rewrites
- factors, which defend the statement factors that support the view
- At old times In the past
- depend on information that much depend so heavily on information
- read news from a newspaper about an economic situation read newspaper reports about the economy
- important now than important than
- in Informational Age in the Information Age
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response clearly argues that literacy is more important today and supports this view with numerous practical examples involving daily transactions and employment. Its main weakness is presentation: the entire essay forms one paragraph, while several points repeat the same idea and one sentence reverses the intended meaning. The highest-priority improvement is to structure the argument into focused paragraphs and edit examples for precision.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers both questions, maintains a clear view, and develops relevant reasons through practical examples.
Reduce repetition and end with a conclusion that explicitly restates why literacy matters more now than in the past.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence of ideas is broadly understandable, but the absence of paragraphing and repetitive progression weaken organisation.
Separate the introduction, daily-life argument, employment argument, and conclusion into distinct, logically focused paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, though several awkward or inaccurate expressions reduce precision.
Use more natural collocations and correct misleading choices such as literate where illiterate is intended.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of simple and complex structures is used with generally clear meaning, although errors and awkward constructions recur.
Edit article use, prepositions, punctuation, and clause phrasing, especially in longer sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It is often said that education is more important these days than it ever had been. Is the ability to read and write more important today than in the past? Why or why not?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.