"Some people believe that arts education (e.g., music, drama, visual arts) is as important as other school subjects, while others think it is less important. Do you agree or disagree with the idea that arts education is as important as other subjects? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience."
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay presents a clear position in favour of arts education and provides relevant reasons and examples to support this stance. Key strengths include a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, as well as a generally appropriate vocabulary. However, critical areas for improvement include the need for more thorough development of ideas, smoother transitions between paragraphs, and grammatical accuracy. Structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, improving sentence clarity, and enhancing cohesion with varied linking words. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include expanding on examples with more specific details and varying the vocabulary to avoid repetition. 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 an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited, and transitions between ideas could be smoother. For example, phrases like 'Firstly,' 'Second,' and 'Lastly' are used, but more varied linking words could enhance the flow of the essay. Additionally, some sentences are awkwardly constructed, which affects overall clarity.
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 that hinder clarity (e.g., 'some are argue,' 'arts classes has less important,' 'childs,' 'importance for be successful'). These errors, along with awkward phrasing, detract from the overall effectiveness of the writing. Improving grammatical accuracy and varying sentence structures would enhance this aspect.
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, with some attempts at more sophisticated language (e.g., 'imagination,' 'express,' 'appreciate'). However, there are instances of repetition (e.g., 'arts,' 'student,' 'childs') and some inaccuracies (e.g., 'equal important' should be 'as important as'). Expanding the range of vocabulary and using more precise terms would improve this score.
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 presenting a clear position in favor of arts education and provides relevant reasons and examples to support this stance. However, the development of ideas could be more thorough, and some points could benefit from further elaboration. For instance, the examples provided could be more specific and detailed to strengthen the 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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