Some people think that housing facilities should be built in the vacant areas of cities and towns, while others believe that parks should be set instead. Planting trees is very important for the environment. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words. You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay demonstrates a basic understanding of the topic and presents both sides of the argument regarding the use of vacant land in cities. Key strengths of the essay include a clear attempt to address the prompt and the inclusion of relevant examples, such as the situation in the writer's town. Critical areas for improvement include the need for a clearer position in the introduction, more robust development of ideas, and improved coherence and cohesion through better transitions. The vocabulary could be more varied and precise, and grammatical accuracy needs attention, particularly with subject-verb agreement and verb forms. Structural changes made include refining the introduction to clearly state the writer's position and enhancing the flow of ideas between paragraphs. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include expanding on examples with more specific details and using a wider range of vocabulary to avoid repetition. The tone used is generally appropriate for an academic essay, but it could be more formal in some instances. Overall, the essay shows potential but requires further refinement to achieve a higher score.
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 sentences and paragraphs could be improved. For example, 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 several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('this will made the costs be lower'), incorrect verb forms, and punctuation mistakes. While the meaning is generally clear, improving grammatical accuracy and using a wider range of sentence structures would enhance the overall quality of the writing.
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 informal language, such as 'enuff' and 'concret.' The writer could benefit from using a wider range of vocabulary and more precise terms. For instance, instead of 'make building for living,' they could say 'construct residential buildings.'
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 both sides of the argument regarding the use of vacant land in cities. However, the position is not clearly stated at the beginning, and the development of ideas could be more robust. For improvement, the writer should clearly state their position in the introduction and provide more detailed examples to support their arguments.
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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