Task 2: Today more people put personal and private information (address, telephone and plastic card numbers) online to do their daily activities such as banking, shopping, and socializing. Is this a positive or negative development?
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay presents a clear argument against the sharing of personal information online, effectively addressing both positive and negative aspects. Key strengths include a clear position and a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, critical areas for improvement include grammatical accuracy, vocabulary range, and coherence. The structural changes made include correcting grammatical errors, improving spelling, and enhancing transitions between ideas. Suggestions for further improvements not implemented in the corrected version include providing specific examples to support claims, such as real-world instances of identity theft, and varying sentence structures to demonstrate grammatical range. The tone used is appropriate for an academic essay, maintaining a formal and analytical style throughout.
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 sometimes disrupted by awkward phrasing and a lack of clear transitions between points. For example, using cohesive devices like 'furthermore' or 'in addition' could enhance the logical progression of ideas. Improving the organization of paragraphs would also contribute to better 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 contains numerous grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'are happen', 'is keeped'). While the meaning is generally clear, these errors detract from the overall quality of the writing. To improve, the writer should focus on using correct verb tenses and ensuring subject-verb agreement, as well as varying sentence structures to demonstrate 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 generally appropriate, but there are several instances of repetition and misspellings (e.g., 'puttin', 'informations', 'convinience'). While some phrases are effective, such as 'identity thief', the overall range of vocabulary is limited. To improve, the writer should aim to use a wider variety of synonyms and ensure correct spelling to enhance clarity and sophistication.
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 the positive and negative aspects of sharing personal information online, ultimately presenting a clear position that it is a negative development. However, the development of ideas could be improved with more specific examples and a clearer structure. For instance, elaborating on the consequences of identity theft with a real-world example would 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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