Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay presents a clear opinion supporting early language learning, which is a key strength. However, it lacks depth in discussing potential disadvantages, which is critical for a balanced argument. The flow of ideas has been improved with better transitions and clearer topic sentences. Grammatical accuracy has been enhanced, addressing several subject-verb agreement issues and awkward phrasing. The vocabulary has been varied to avoid redundancy, although further expansion of lexical resource could still be beneficial. For further improvements, the writer could include more specific examples to illustrate points and enhance the depth of the argument. Additionally, varying sentence structures could improve the overall quality of the writing. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and objective stance throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay has a basic structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the flow of ideas is somewhat disjointed, and transitions between points could be smoother. For instance, using cohesive devices like 'Furthermore' or 'In addition' would enhance the logical progression of 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 ('child should start' should be 'children should start'), incorrect verb forms ('he have' should be 'he has'), and awkward sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, improving grammatical accuracy and using a wider range of sentence structures would enhance the overall quality.
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 instances of repetition and awkward phrasing, such as 'outside language' instead of 'foreign language' and 'child minds' instead of 'children's minds.' To improve, the writer should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary and avoid redundancy.
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 task by presenting a clear opinion that supports early language learning. However, it lacks depth in discussing the disadvantages, which is a crucial part of the prompt. To improve, the writer could include specific examples of potential drawbacks, such as the pressure on children or the resource allocation in schools.
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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