Some people suggest that the government should spend money putting more works of art like paintings and statues into towns and cities to make them attractive places. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic and presents a balanced view on the issue of government spending on art versus essential services. Key strengths include a logical structure with distinct paragraphs and a clear position. However, critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy, vocabulary precision, and the development of ideas with more specific examples. Structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, enhancing transitions between ideas, and refining vocabulary choices. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include providing more concrete examples of the benefits of art and elaborating on the consequences of neglecting essential services. 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 logical structure with clear paragraphs, but the flow of ideas could be improved. Some transitions between sentences and ideas are abrupt, which affects the overall coherence. For instance, the transition from discussing the benefits of art to the importance of essential services could be smoother. Using more cohesive devices, such as 'furthermore' or 'in addition,' would enhance the clarity of the argument.
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 several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('government have' should be 'government has') and incorrect verb forms ('if roads has holes' should be 'if roads have holes'). While the meaning is generally clear, these errors detract from the overall quality. To improve, the writer should focus on grammatical accuracy and vary sentence structures to demonstrate a wider range of grammatical competence.
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 instances of repetition and some misused words, such as 'status' instead of 'statues' and 'definately' instead of 'definitely.' The writer demonstrates some range in vocabulary, but to achieve a higher score, they should aim for more varied and precise word choices. Incorporating synonyms and avoiding repetition 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 sides of the argument regarding government spending on art. It presents a clear position, agreeing to some extent with the idea. However, the development of ideas could be more thorough, with more specific examples and a clearer conclusion. To improve, the writer could elaborate on the benefits of art with more concrete examples and strengthen the argument against prioritizing art over essential services.
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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