IELTS Writing Task 2 Examiner Feedback

What's Costing You Marks

1. Lack of Depth: The candidate states, "the advantages are much more than the disadvantages," but does not adequately elaborate on specific advantages. Providing statistics or specific case studies could enhance the argument.

   • Correction: Expand on the benefits beyond a simple statement. For example, "Studies have shown that students who engage in community service not only develop essential skills but often perform better in academics due to improved time management."

2. Grammatical Errors: The phrase "make them more confident person" should be "make them more confident people." This error reflects a lack of grammatical precision.

   • Correction: "make them more confident individuals."

3. Clarity Issues: The sentence, "However, I believe that if schools organise it in a reasonable way, for example only few hours per month..." is somewhat awkward. Clarifying this improves flow.

   • Correction: "However, I believe that if schools organize it in a reasonable manner — such as limiting it to only a few hours each month — it will not significantly impact their academic performance."

4. Repetitive Language: The term "community service" is used consistently but could be replaced with synonyms to enhance lexical variation.

   • Correction: Use terms like "volunteer work" or "charitable activities" for variety.

5. Agreement Errors: In the phrase "between different social groups because students meet people from various background," "background" should be plural.

   • Correction: "...from various backgrounds."

Rewritten Model Paragraph

Original: "First of all, doing community service can help teenagers to develop important life skills. For example, when they work for a charity or teach sports to younger children, they learn how to communicate, cooperate and take responsibility. These skills are very useful for their future job and also make them more confident person."

Rewritten: "To begin with, engaging in community service allows teenagers to cultivate essential life skills. For instance, working for a charity or coaching younger children in sports enables them to learn effective communication, cooperation, and accountability. These competencies are invaluable for their future careers and contribute to their growth as confident individuals."

What I changed: I improved vocabulary and varied sentence structure to enhance clarity and sophistication.

Top 3 Priorities

1. Expand Arguments: Provide more depth and specific examples to support the claims made about the benefits of community service.
2. Correct Grammatical Errors: Pay attention to singular/plural forms and structure sentences more carefully to avoid awkwardness.
3. Enhance Lexical Variety: Introduce synonyms and diverse vocabulary to avoid repetition and improve the overall quality of writing.