Some people say that in our modern age, it is unnecessary to teach children about the skills of handwriting. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Handwriting skills involve craftsmanship and an artistic way of presenting letters, and require a great deal of time and practice. Since students are more likely to type rather than write on paper for the rest of their life, I do not believe that this skill is prevalent in this modern era where computers are used both in the academic and professional arenas. To begin with, neat handwriting was a criterion for academic success in the past, but not anymore in this digital era. Assignments, classwork, tests and other school activities are mostly done on computers and this is why a student needs to grasp the skills of computing and typing more than presenting immaculate letter formations on paper. To illustrate an example, I submitted three assignments during my last term and all of them were submitted to my teachers' emails, and not a single one was handwritten. Besides, time invested in honing excellent handwriting can be better utilised in mastering more important subjects and skills. Moreover, the use of computers and the Internet in offices is a common trend. An employee is expected to be an expert computer user, and immaculate handwriting is not a requirement to be hired by a company. Ironically, better penmanship has little value in a world surrounded by technology. Considering the future, when computers would be more predominant, parents and teachers should focus more on teaching technology to students than instructing how much a letter should be stressed or curved! To conclude, academic activities and professional needs, in this era of technology, compel students to have skills in computers and this is why it would be more practical to enhance their technical skills rather than handwriting skills- which have already become less important.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Plural agreement Original: life Suggested revision: lives Why it matters: The plural possessive 'their' requires the plural noun 'lives' in this general statement.
- 2. Correct adjective choice Original: prevalent Suggested revision: relevant Why it matters: 'Relevant' expresses usefulness, whereas 'prevalent' means widespread.
- 3. Use formal transition Original: but not anymore in this digital era Suggested revision: but no longer in this digital era Why it matters: 'No longer' is a more formal and concise way to mark the change over time.
- 4. Avoid redundant phrase Original: To illustrate an example Suggested revision: For example Why it matters: 'Illustrate' and 'example' duplicate the same function.
- 5. Correct email construction Original: submitted to my teachers' emails Suggested revision: submitted to my teachers by email Why it matters: Work is submitted to people 'by email', not to their email addresses as possessive objects.
- 6. Use infinitive pattern Original: utilised in mastering Suggested revision: used to master Why it matters: 'Used to master' is the clearer grammatical pattern for expressing purpose.
- 7. Natural proficiency phrase Original: an expert computer user Suggested revision: a proficient computer user Why it matters: 'Proficient' is the more precise adjective for practical computer ability.
- 8. Correct future clause Original: when computers would be more predominant Suggested revision: as computers become more prevalent Why it matters: The time clause needs present tense, and 'prevalent' naturally describes increasingly common computers.
- 9. Clarify handwriting action Original: instructing how much a letter should be stressed or curved Suggested revision: teaching them how to form letters Why it matters: The revision states the intended handwriting instruction clearly and idiomatically.
- 10. Use concise noun phrase Original: craftsmanship and an artistic way of presenting letters Suggested revision: craftsmanship and the artistic presentation of letters Why it matters: The revised noun phrase expresses the same idea more concisely.
- 11. Improve relative construction Original: where computers are used both in the academic and professional arenas Suggested revision: in which computers are used in both academic and professional settings Why it matters: 'In which' gives the era a clearer grammatical relationship to the following clause.
- 12. Use concise employment phrase Original: handwriting is not a requirement to be hired by a company Suggested revision: handwriting is not required for employment at a company Why it matters: The revision expresses the hiring requirement more directly and naturally.
Suggested Rewrites
- life lives
- prevalent relevant
- but not anymore in this digital era but no longer in this digital era
- To illustrate an example For example
- submitted to my teachers' emails submitted to my teachers by email
- utilised in mastering used to master
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a clear, sustained position and develops it with relevant academic and workplace examples, while vocabulary and sentence structures are varied and generally well controlled. The main limitation is that the entire argument appears as one paragraph, which weakens the visible organisation, and a few expressions are awkward. The highest priority is to divide the reasoning into purposeful paragraphs and refine occasional collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is maintained and supported with relevant, well-extended reasons from education and employment.
Deepen the argument by acknowledging a limited continuing use for handwriting before explaining why it should receive less teaching time.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically and cohesive devices guide the reader, but the absence of paragraph breaks weakens overall organisation.
Separate the introduction, academic argument, workplace argument, and conclusion into distinct purposeful paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often precise, with only occasional awkward collocations or slightly unsuitable word choices.
Refine phrases such as illustrate an example and teach technology into more natural academic formulations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with only minor agreement, punctuation, and modal-choice lapses.
Polish pronoun agreement and future modal choices, and avoid unnecessary emphatic punctuation in formal writing.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say that in our modern age, it is unnecessary to teach children about the skills of handwriting. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.