Some people believe that once a person becomes a criminal, he will always be a criminal. Do you agree with this statement? Provide specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay effectively addresses the prompt and presents a clear position against the notion that criminals will always remain criminals. Key strengths include a well-structured argument with relevant reasons and examples, demonstrating an understanding of the topic. However, critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy, particularly in verb forms, and the need for more varied vocabulary to avoid repetition. Structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, enhancing transitions between points with phrases like 'Moreover' and 'In addition,' and slightly varying the vocabulary to improve lexical richness. Further improvements could involve incorporating specific examples or statistics to strengthen the arguments and using more complex sentence structures to showcase a higher level of grammatical range. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and persuasive style throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay is generally well-organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Ideas are logically sequenced, and cohesive devices are used appropriately. However, the transitions between some ideas could be smoother to enhance the overall flow. For instance, using phrases like 'Moreover' or 'In addition' could help in linking the second and third points more effectively.
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. For example, 'I am not agree' should be 'I do not agree,' and 'once a person become' should be 'once a person becomes.' While these errors are not overly distracting, they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading and grammatical accuracy. More complex sentence structures could also be employed to showcase a higher level of grammatical range.
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 and conveys the intended meaning. Phrases like 'turn their life around' and 'second chances' demonstrate a good range of vocabulary. However, there are some repetitive phrases, such as 'criminal' and 'change,' which could be varied to enhance lexical richness. Incorporating synonyms or more sophisticated expressions could elevate the score in this area.
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 against the statement that criminals will always remain criminals. The writer provides relevant reasons and examples to support their opinion, such as the potential for change and the varying severity of crimes. However, the argument could be strengthened with more specific examples or statistics to enhance the persuasiveness of the points made.
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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