Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: High schools should allow students to study the courses that students want to study. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Sample Response
The question whether a high school should allow students to study the courses that students want to study is the one that is open for debate. Some people believe that students in high school should have the right to study the courses they like. However, other people disagree and stand that teenagers can not totally be sure what they like and what they need to know at their age. In this essay, I will analyse these points and present my view in favour of people who believe that some courses must be required to study by students. From the one side, having a chance to choose what one likes to study can bring many benefits. First of all, a student can be better prepared for the career he likes because he can spend more time studying what he is interested in. Second of all, students will learn with more enthusiasm because they will learn what they like. From the other side, teenagers often can not completely understand what they want to do in the future. So, given a chance to choose, they can choose classes, which are easy to learn and do not take much time to study. As a result of this after graduation, many students can be unprepared to enrol in universities and, of course, make careers. Personally, I think that some courses such as mathematics, literature, writing English must be required for studying by students. This will help them to gain more knowledge and experience, develop the ability to think logically, improve writing skills, etc. So, students will be better prepared for the real world and independence life. To sum up, I think that high school should have required courses because it is essential for a student to have a good base for the future life. Required courses, as a rule, are more complicated but they give the opportunity for students to extend their range of interests and help them to develop many important characteristics such as self-confident, persistent, patience, etc.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Add required preposition Original: question whether Suggested revision: question of whether Why it matters: The noun question takes of before an embedded whether-clause in this structure.
- 2. Remove wordiness Original: is the one that is open for debate Suggested revision: is open to debate Why it matters: The revision expresses the same idea more directly and naturally.
- 3. Use reporting verb Original: stand Suggested revision: argue Why it matters: Stand does not naturally introduce a stated position in this structure.
- 4. Use natural modifier Original: can not totally be sure Suggested revision: cannot be entirely sure Why it matters: Entirely naturally modifies sure, and cannot is conventionally written as one word.
- 5. Clarify support Original: in favour of people Suggested revision: in support of those Why it matters: In support of those is a more concise way to refer to the group whose view follows.
- 6. Fix passive structure Original: must be required to study by students Suggested revision: should be compulsory for students Why it matters: The original passive construction incorrectly makes courses the object of study after required.
- 7. Use correct linker Original: From the one side Suggested revision: On the one hand Why it matters: On the one hand is the standard expression for the first side of a contrast.
- 8. Use concise reference Original: the career he likes Suggested revision: their chosen career Why it matters: The revision avoids an awkward relative clause and maintains a gender-neutral reference.
- 9. Use formal sequence marker Original: Second of all Suggested revision: Second Why it matters: Second is the conventional formal counterpart to First of all.
- 10. Complete the contrast Original: From the other side Suggested revision: On the other hand Why it matters: On the other hand correctly pairs with On the one hand.
- 11. Improve modifier order Original: often can not completely understand Suggested revision: often cannot fully determine Why it matters: The revision places the adverbs naturally and better matches the following decision about the future.
- 12. Use defining clause Original: classes, which are easy Suggested revision: classes that are easy Why it matters: The clause identifies which classes students might choose, so it is defining and needs no comma.
Suggested Rewrites
- question whether question of whether
- is the one that is open for debate is open to debate
- stand argue
- can not totally be sure cannot be entirely sure
- in favour of people in support of those
- must be required to study by students should be compulsory for students
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear, qualified position and considers both student choice and the value of compulsory subjects with relevant supporting reasons. Its ideas progress logically, but the absence of paragraph breaks and several awkward or inaccurate expressions limit clarity and polish. The most valuable improvement would be to organise the contrasting arguments into distinct paragraphs and edit recurring collocation and grammatical errors.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses the issue fully, sustains a clear position, and develops relevant advantages and risks, although some support remains general.
Strengthen the argument with one concrete example showing why a compulsory subject produces a necessary future skill.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument has a clear overall sequence and effective contrast, but the lack of paragraph breaks and some formulaic linking reduce organisational control.
Divide the response into an introduction, separate body paragraphs for each side, and a conclusion, using less mechanical transitions.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but recurring awkward collocations and incorrect word forms reduce precision and naturalness.
Review common academic collocations and noun forms, especially expressions for holding opinions, compulsory study, independent life, and personal qualities.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of sentence forms is used and meaning remains clear, though errors in articles, plurals, word forms, and passive constructions recur.
Proofread noun phrases and passive structures carefully, ensuring adjectives and nouns use the correct form in lists and descriptions.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: High schools should allow students to study the courses that students want to study. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.