Recent figures show an increase in violent crime among youngsters under the age of 18. Some psychologists claim that the basic reason for this is that children these days are not getting the social and emotional learning they need from parents and teachers. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay effectively addresses the prompt, presenting a clear position that aligns with the psychologists' views on the lack of social and emotional learning. Key strengths include a logical structure and relevant examples that support the main ideas. However, critical areas for improvement include a more explicit acknowledgment of opposing viewpoints and a deeper exploration of additional contributing factors to violent crime. Structural changes made include refining the introduction and body paragraphs for clarity and coherence, as well as enhancing transitions between ideas. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include varying vocabulary to reduce repetition and incorporating more sophisticated linking phrases. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and objective stance throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay is generally well-organized, with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the argument, contributing to the overall coherence. However, the use of cohesive devices could be improved; for instance, transitions between ideas could be more varied to enhance fluency. Phrases like 'Firstly' and 'Secondly' are effective but could be complemented with more sophisticated linking words.
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 reasonable range of grammatical structures, but there are some errors that affect clarity, such as 'I am agree' instead of 'I agree.' Additionally, there are minor issues with sentence structure and punctuation. While the overall meaning is clear, improving grammatical accuracy and complexity would enhance the score.
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 appropriate for the topic, with some effective phrases such as 'social and emotional skills' and 'proper guidance.' However, there is some repetition of words like 'children' and 'violent,' which could be varied to demonstrate a wider lexical range. Incorporating more sophisticated vocabulary and idiomatic expressions would elevate the writing further.
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 effectively, presenting a clear position that agrees with the opinion of psychologists regarding the lack of social and emotional learning. The main ideas are developed with relevant examples, such as the roles of parents and teachers. However, the essay could benefit from a more explicit acknowledgment of the opposing viewpoint and a deeper exploration of the other factors mentioned, which would enhance the overall argument.
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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