Most people have forgotten the meaning behind traditional or religious festivals; during festival periods, people nowadays only want to enjoy themselves. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
Some people argue that we no longer remember the original meaning of festivals, and that most of us treat them as opportunities to have fun. While I agree that enjoyment seems to be the priority during festival periodstimes, I do not agree that people have forgotten what these festivals mean.
On the one hand, religious and traditional festivals have certainly become times for celebration. In the UK, Christmas is a good example of a festival period when people are most concerned with shopping, giving and receiving presents, decorating their homes and enjoying traditional meals with their families. Most people look forward to Christmas as a holidayChristmas as a holiday period, rather than a time to practise religion. Similar behaviour can be seen during non-religious festivals, such as Bonfire Night. People associate this occasion with lighting bonfiresmaking fires, watching firework displays, and perhaps attending large eventsperhaps going to large events in local parks; in other words, enjoyment is people’s primary goal.
However, I disagree with the idea that the underlying meaning of such festivals has been forgotten. In primary schools in the UKIn UK primary schools, children learn in detail about the religious significance of Christmas, Easter and a variety of festivals in other religionsreligious reasons for celebrating Christmas, Easter and a variety of festivals in other religions. For example, in late December, children sing Christmas songs with religious contentsongs which have a religious content, and they may even perform nativity plays telling the story of Jesus’ birth. Families also play a role in passing on knowledge of the deeper significance of religious festivals to the next generationpassing knowledge of religious festivals’ deeper significance on to the next generation. The same is true for festivals that have a historical background, such as Bonfire Night or Halloween, becausein the sense that people generally learn the stories behind these occasions at an early age.
In conclusion, although people mainly want to enjoy themselves during festivals, I believe that they are still aware of the reasons for these celebrations.
Why this response received Band 9.0
The response gives a nuanced, fully consistent position and develops both sides with specific, well-chosen examples that directly answer the claim. Organisation and language are highly controlled; the only modest limitation is that the evidence is concentrated on British festivals, although this does not restrict task fulfilment. A useful refinement would be to add one brief example from another cultural context for even broader illustration.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The prompt is fully addressed through a clear qualified disagreement, with both parts of the claim explored and convincingly supported.
For further refinement, add a concise example from another cultural or religious context without diluting the focused argument.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are sequenced seamlessly, paragraphs have clear central purposes, and cohesive devices guide the argument unobtrusively.
Maintain this economical progression while ensuring any additional example is integrated into the existing paragraph logic.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad, precise, and natural, including effective topic-specific phrasing and controlled paraphrase throughout.
Continue favouring exact, natural collocations and avoid adding unnecessary sophistication to an already precise lexical style.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is used accurately and flexibly, with consistently clear punctuation and control.
Preserve this high level of accuracy when experimenting with equally complex structures under timed conditions.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Most people have forgotten the meaning behind traditional or religious festivals; during festival periods, people nowadays only want to enjoy themselves. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.