Some people think that the best way to be successful in life is to get a university education. Others disagree and say that nowadays, this is no longer true. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay effectively addresses the task by discussing both views on the importance of university education for success and providing a personal opinion. Key strengths include a clear structure and logical flow of ideas. However, critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy, vocabulary variety, and the depth of examples provided. Structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, enhancing transitions between ideas, and refining vocabulary for clarity and sophistication. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include incorporating more diverse examples of successful individuals without degrees and elaborating on how alternative paths can lead to success. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and objective stance throughout.
Detailed Scores
What this means:
The essay is generally coherent, with a logical structure that presents both sides of the argument. However, some transitions between ideas could be smoother, and the use of cohesive devices could be more varied. For example, using phrases like 'on the contrary' or 'in addition' could enhance the flow of ideas. Improving the linking of paragraphs would also strengthen coherence.
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 several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement ('people has differents opinions'), incorrect verb forms ('believes' should be 'believe'), and awkward constructions ('I thinks that success can mean different things'). To improve, the writer should focus on proofreading for grammatical accuracy and varying sentence structures.
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 (e.g., 'university education' and 'success') and some awkward phrasing (e.g., 'things you know about'). The writer could benefit from using a wider range of vocabulary and more sophisticated expressions. For instance, instead of 'good reasons,' they could use 'compelling arguments' or 'significant advantages.'
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 discussing both views on the importance of university education for success and provides a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas could be more thorough, with more specific examples and a clearer conclusion. For improvement, the writer could include more diverse examples of successful individuals without degrees and elaborate on how alternative paths can lead to success.
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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