The subjects that children are taught in schools are decided by central authorities. Some people say that teachers, not politicians, should be responsible for this task. To what extent you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
In most of the countries, the academic curriculums are decided by a board of people who mostly come from higher positions of education board and from other ministry or cabinet. They review the subjects taught in schools and do necessary modification and amendment. Some people opine that this responsibility should be given to the teachers who have better teaching experience and closely understand the students who study those subjects. I personally believe that politicians who have no previous teaching or educational institute related experience should not be included on this review board. Rather teachers with good experience and qualified persons from the education ministry, who came from the educational background, should decide this important agenda.
First of all, if politicians, who have no teaching experience and have little knowledge about the students, are included on this board, that would negatively impact the overall syllabus. Their primary motive would be to add topics and subjects that somehow politically help them. This often includes adding political and controversial topics on subjects like history.
Secondly, which subjects should be taught to students in a country has a major influence on the overall education system of a country. If the politicians are to decide this utmost important issue rather than the subject matter experts, which would be a disaster for the country. No one would accept that some teachers are picked up to decide a change in the election rule and amendment of the necessary constitution of a country. So why do the reverse?
Finally, the political persons are experts in their own field. They should not be picked up to decide the subjects that should be taught in schools only because they held some important government positions. If necessary, experts from other countries who have similar experience could be hired to get their opinion on this issue.
In conclusion, I totally agree that teachers and people who have experience in teaching and syllabus formation should be included in the committee to decide what subjects should be taught in schools. Relying on the politicians is the worst idea in my opinion.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unnecessary article Original: In most of the countries Suggested revision: In most countries Why it matters: Most takes the plural noun directly when speaking generally.
- 2. Use standard plural Original: curriculums Suggested revision: curricula Why it matters: Curricula is the conventional plural in formal academic writing.
- 3. Clarify board roles Original: higher positions of education board Suggested revision: senior positions on education boards Why it matters: The revision expresses membership and seniority naturally.
- 4. Correct number and structure Original: other ministry or cabinet Suggested revision: government ministries or the cabinet Why it matters: The original phrase lacks the required number and article forms.
- 5. Use natural revision phrase Original: do necessary modification and amendment Suggested revision: make necessary modifications and amendments Why it matters: Make is the correct collocation and both count nouns need plural forms.
- 6. Use natural reporting verb Original: opine Suggested revision: argue Why it matters: Argue is more natural than opine in this context.
- 7. Remove generic article Original: given to the teachers Suggested revision: given to teachers Why it matters: Teachers is used generally here, so the definite article is unnecessary.
- 8. Use quantity with experience Original: better Suggested revision: more Why it matters: Experience is compared by amount rather than quality in this claim.
- 9. Use natural adverb position Original: closely understand the students Suggested revision: understand the students well Why it matters: Well naturally describes the degree of understanding.
- 10. Correct board preposition Original: on Suggested revision: in Why it matters: Members are included in a board rather than on it in this construction.
- 11. Punctuate transition Original: Rather teachers Suggested revision: Rather, teachers Why it matters: The sentence-opening transition requires a following comma.
- 12. Use concise background phrase Original: who came from the educational background Suggested revision: with backgrounds in education Why it matters: The relative clause has an incorrect article and an unnatural verb choice.
Suggested Rewrites
- In most of the countries In most countries
- curriculums curricula
- higher positions of education board senior positions on education boards
- other ministry or cabinet government ministries or the cabinet
- do necessary modification and amendment make necessary modifications and amendments
- opine argue
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear position that experienced teachers and education specialists should shape the curriculum, and its paragraphs provide several relevant reasons. The main weakness is frequent awkward grammar and vocabulary, which makes parts of the conditional argument difficult to follow and sometimes overstates politicians’ motives. Prioritise complete sentence structures and natural policy vocabulary, then support claims about political bias with more measured explanation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is consistent and supported by relevant arguments about expertise, political influence, and specialist consultation, though some claims are asserted broadly.
Explain more carefully how political control could distort subject selection rather than assuming that politicians would necessarily act for personal advantage.
Coherence and Cohesion
Clear paragraphing and sequential topic markers create a logical progression from the position through three supporting arguments to the conclusion.
Strengthen the second body paragraph by linking its curriculum-policy analogy more explicitly to the preceding claim about subject expertise.
Lexical Resource
The response has enough range for education and policy issues, but frequent unnatural collocations and word choices reduce precision.
Use standard phrases such as “curriculum,” “education officials,” “make revisions,” “subject specialists,” and “serve on the board.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning remains generally clear, but errors in articles, prepositions, plural forms, relative clauses, and conditional structures recur throughout.
Rewrite incomplete conditionals such as “If the politicians are to decide … which would be” with a complete main clause and check article use.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
The subjects that children are taught in schools are decided by central authorities. Some people say that teachers, not politicians, should be responsible for this task. To what extent you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.