Many people believe that formal "pen and paper" examinations are not the best method of assessing educational achievement. Discuss this view and give your own opinion.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic and presents a coherent argument against traditional exams while advocating for alternative assessment methods. Key strengths include a logical structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, critical areas for improvement include addressing spelling and grammatical errors, enhancing coherence through smoother transitions, and providing more thorough development of ideas with specific examples. Structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, improving clarity, and ensuring proper subject-verb agreement. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include expanding on the benefits of alternative assessment methods and providing specific examples of their implementation. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and persuasive style throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay has a logical structure, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the transitions between ideas could be smoother, and some sentences lack clarity. For instance, phrases like 'this factors can prevent students to show them real skills' could be rephrased for better coherence. Using more cohesive devices would enhance the flow of the essay.
How to improve:
- Use a clear paragraph structure
- Connect ideas with appropriate linking words
- Maintain logical progression
- Use referencing effectively
What this means:
The essay demonstrates a basic range of grammatical structures, but there are several grammatical errors (e.g., 'traditional tests has', 'student taking exam', 'this factors', 'they has') that affect clarity. The use of singular and plural forms is inconsistent, and sentence structures could be more varied. To improve, the writer should focus on subject-verb agreement and practice using more complex sentence structures.
How to improve:
- Use complex sentence structures
- Maintain grammatical accuracy
- Use a variety of sentence patterns
- Check for common grammar errors
What this means:
The vocabulary used is generally appropriate, but there are several spelling errors (e.g., 'toadys', 'usualy', 'knoweledge', 'nerwous', 'comfotable', 'pratical', 'presantations', 'interactiv', 'thier', 'comunication', 'diverce') that detract from the overall quality. While some varied vocabulary is present, the frequent errors limit the effectiveness of the lexical resource. To improve, the writer should proofread for spelling and consider using a wider range of synonyms.
How to improve:
- Use a wider range of vocabulary
- Demonstrate awareness of collocations
- Avoid word repetition
- Use more sophisticated vocabulary accurately
What this means:
The essay addresses the prompt by discussing the limitations of traditional 'pen and paper' exams and presenting an alternative view on assessment methods. However, the development of ideas could be more thorough, with clearer examples and a more explicit conclusion. To improve, the writer could elaborate on the benefits of alternative assessment methods and provide specific examples of how they can be implemented.
How to improve:
- Address all parts of the task fully
- Support ideas with specific examples
- Develop each point thoroughly
- Stay relevant to the topic
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