Social media is becoming increasingly popular amongst all age groups. However, sharing personal information on social media websites does have risks. Do you think that the advantages of social media outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay effectively addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of social media, which is a key strength. However, the position regarding whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages is now clearer in both the introduction and conclusion, enhancing task achievement. Critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy and lexical resource. The corrected version addresses many spelling errors and grammatical issues, such as subject-verb agreement and verb forms. The use of varied vocabulary has also been improved, reducing repetition. Structural changes made include refining the introduction and conclusion to clearly state the writer's position and enhancing transitions between points for better coherence. Further improvements could include incorporating more linking phrases and synonyms to enhance the flow and variety of language. Additionally, the writer could benefit from proofreading to catch any remaining errors. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and objective style throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay has a logical structure with clear paragraphs, but the flow of ideas could be improved. Some transitions between points are abrupt, and the use of cohesive devices is limited. To enhance coherence, the writer could use more linking phrases such as 'Furthermore,' 'In addition,' and 'On the contrary' to better connect ideas.
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 contains numerous grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'social media have' should be 'social media has') and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'is' instead of 'are'). While the writer demonstrates some range in sentence structures, the frequent errors detract from clarity. To improve, the writer should proofread for grammatical accuracy and practice using a variety of sentence structures correctly.
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., 'sosial,' 'comman,' 'advanteges') and repetitive phrases (e.g., 'social media' is used frequently). To improve, the writer should focus on using a wider range of vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling. Incorporating synonyms and varied expressions would enhance the lexical resource.
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 both the advantages and disadvantages of social media. However, the position could be clearer and more explicitly stated in the introduction and conclusion. For improvement, the writer should clearly articulate their stance on whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages at the beginning and end of the essay.
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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