Television has had a significant influence on the culture of many societies. To what extent would you say that television has positively or negatively affected the cultural development of your society?
Sample Essay with Corrections
Expert Feedback
The essay effectively addresses the prompt by discussing both the positive and negative impacts of television on culture, which is a key strength. The structure is logical, with clear paragraphs for each main idea, and the overall flow is maintained. However, there are critical areas for improvement, particularly in grammatical accuracy, where subject-verb agreement and verb forms need attention. The use of more varied cohesive devices would enhance coherence, and the vocabulary could be more sophisticated to avoid repetition and awkward phrasing. Structural changes included correcting grammatical errors and improving transitions between ideas. For further improvement, the writer could elaborate on specific examples and provide a more decisive conclusion. 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 logical structure with clear paragraphs for each main idea. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited, and transitions between ideas could be smoother. For example, phrases like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are used, but more varied linking words could enhance the flow. Improving the overall coherence by ensuring that each point clearly connects to the thesis would be beneficial.
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 ('Television have' should be 'Television has') and incorrect verb forms ('have affect' should be 'has affected'). While the meaning is generally clear, these errors detract from the overall quality. To improve, the writer should focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and using correct verb tenses throughout the essay.
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 awkward phrasing, such as 'big influence' and 'have affect.' More sophisticated vocabulary could be employed to enhance the essay, such as using 'significant impact' instead of 'big influence.' Additionally, some phrases could be more idiomatic, which would improve the overall lexical range.
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 the positive and negative impacts of television on culture. However, the development of ideas could be more thorough, with more specific examples and clearer explanations. For instance, elaborating on how educational shows improve education levels or providing more detailed examples of cultural heritage promotion would strengthen the argument. Additionally, the conclusion could be more decisive in summarizing the main points.
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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