As computers are being used more and more in education, there

will be soon no role for teachers in the classroom.

There is no doubt that education and the learning process has changed
since the introduction of computers: The search for information has
become easier and amusing, and connectivity has expedited the data
availability. Though experts systems have made computers more
intelligent, they have not yet become a substitute of the human
interaction in the learning process. In my opinion what can be expected is
a change of the teachers role, but not their disappearance from the
classroom.
Nobody can argue that the acquisition of knowledge is more fun and
easier with computers. The mere activity of touching and exploring this
device constitutes an enjoyable task for a child. This, accompanied by the
relaxing attitude and software interactivity, usually contributes to a better
grasping of new knowledge. At a higher educational level the availability
of digital books, simulators and other academic materials provide the
student with an ever accessible source of information, that otherwise
would not be at hand.
But, besides the increasing complexity and behavior of intelligent
software, which is usually embedded in the academic digital material, the
need for human interaction in the learning process will always be present,
at least in the foreseeable future. There is the necessity for a human being
to be able to determine what the specifics needs of each individual are.
The expertise of a teacher in how to explain and adapt complex concepts
to different individuals can hardly be mimicked by a computer, no matter
how sophisticated its software is.
As computers are becoming a common tool for teaching, teachers should
be more aware of their role as guides in the acquisition of knowledge
rather than transmitters of facts. They have to be open minded to the
changes that are taking places, keep updated and serve as problem
solvers in the learning process, thus allowing students to discover
the fact for themselves.
To summarize, in my personal view, teachers play and will continue to
play an important role in the classroom, especially at the primary level. No
matter how complex computers become, there will be no replacement for
the human interaction, but in the way haw this interaction takes place.

This is an excellent essay! Are you a native English speaker? Well

done. The only problem is that this essay is too long, 365 words
instead of 250-265 maximum.

As computers are being used more and more in education, there

will be soon no role for teachers in the classroom.
There have been immense advances in technology in most aspects of
peoples lives, especially in the field of education. Nowadays, an
increasing number of students rely on computers for research and to
produce a perfect paper for school purposes. Others have decided to
leave the original way of learning and to get knowledge through online
schools. These changes in the learning process have brought a special
concern regarding the possible decrease of importance of teachers in the
classroom.
Some people believe the role of teachers started to fade because
computers have been helping some students to progress in their studies
quicker compared to studies in an original classroom. For example, in the
same classroom, students have different intellectual capacities, thus some
would be tied to a slow advance in their studies because of others
incapability of understanding. In this way, pupils could progress in their
acquisition of knowledge at their own pace using computers instead of
learning from teachers.
However, the presence of a teacher is essential for students because the
human contact influences them in positive ways. Firstly, students realize
that they are not dealing with a machine but with a human being who
deserves attention and respect. They also learn the importance of
studying in a group and respect for other students, which helps them
improve their social skills.
Moreover, teachers are required in the learning process because they
acknowledge some students deficiencies and help them to solve their
problems by repeating the same explanation, giving extra exercises or

even suggesting a private tutor. Hence, students can have a better

chance of avoiding a failure in a subject.
In conclusion, the role for teachers in the learning process is still very
important and it will continue to be such in the future because no machine
can replace the human interaction and its consequences.
This is a great essay. Seems worthy of Band 8. No improvements
are necessary, keep up the good work!

Popular events like the Football World Cup and other

international sporting occasions are essential in easing
international tension and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe
way.
Every four years, the whole world stops to watch international sporting
events such as the Olympics and the Football World Cup in which athletes
show their best performance to make their country proud. These sporting
occasions have proved to be helpful in easing international tension in
difficult times when powerful leaders were trying to control the worlds
economy and other governments were fighting over the land.
The Olympic Games are one of the best examples which prove how
sporting events can bring nations together, at least temporarily. From the
ancient History, when Greeks and Romans would interrupt battles to
participate in the games, to the more recent international disputes, when
athletes from Palestine and Israel would forget their differences, compete
peacefully and even embrace each other after an event. Moreover, these
popular events have called the worlds attention to the terrible
consequences of wars; thus some leaders have tried to reach agreements
to end their disputes and live peacefully.
Similarly, international sporting events show benefits in some developing
countries which live in a daily internal civil war. For example, Brazil has a

high rate of unemployment, lack of education, hunger, crime, poverty and

corruption which leads to an immense embarrassment of being Brazilian
and a low self-esteem. However, when the Football World Cup starts, the
Brazilian squad, which is considered the best team in the world, provokes
an amazing feeling of pride in their country. Most people seem to forget all
their problems and even the criminal activity decreases. They paint roads
with the national colors, wear the Brazilian team shirts and buy national
flags. Moreover, the competition brings families and neighbors together
and even rival gangs watch the games and celebrate peacefully.
In conclusion, popular sporting events play an important role in
decreasing international tensions and liberating patriotic feelings as
history has shown.
This is a great essay, the ideas, language, structure of
paragraphs and sentences, and your grammar show a good
command of the English language. In my opinion it is Band 8.
Keep up the good work.

Improvements in health, education and trade are essential for the

development of poorer nations. However, the governments of
richer nations should take more responsibility for helping the
poorer nations in such areas.
Todays world has been divided into developing and industrialised
countries which the main difference between them are the amount of
money that governments apply in important sectors such as education,
health and commerce. Most of the poorer nations are buried in debts as a
result of their unbalanced finances which are reflect in afailed health care,
an unstructured education system and a weak international trade. This
vicious cycle will continue indefinitely unless wealthier nations show

interest in minimizing the worldwide economic differences, as well as

taking more responsibility for assisting less fortunate countries.
Most of the African countries live in sub-human conditions because of the
extreme poverty, upheaval, hunger, disease, unemployment, lack of
education and both inexperienced and corrupt administrations. The
devastating consequences of the AIDS epidemic in those countries could
improve if the infected population were to receive free drugs to control the
disease, have access to health professionals and get information on how
to prevent its spread. But this can only be achieved through international
help programs in which leaders of the worlds richest countries donate
medicine and also send doctors and nurses to treat and educate those in
need.
Moreover, most of the poor countries rely on selling agricultural products
and raw materials to rich nations and buying industrialized products from
them resulting in a huge financial deficit. Consequently, they borrow a
significant amount of money from the World Bank to try to improve their
broken economies, but sometimes the money disappears with no
significant changes and they cannot even pay the interest to the bank.
Regarding this issue, last year the G8, which is comprised of leaders of the
eight richest nations, decided to forgive billions of dollars worth of debt
owed by the worlds poorest nations. In addition, they developed
adequate loan programs to financially assist those countries.
In conclusion, leaders of the industrialised countries play an indispensable
role in assisting developing nations in dealing with essential areas such as
health, education and trade. Also, their aid is the key to breaking the
vicious cycle, which results in poverty and death.
This is a great essay, seems to be on a Band 8 level, theres
nothing to improve here.

Financial education should be a mandatory component of the

school program. To what extent do you agree or disagree with
this statement?
It is an obvious fact that financial aspects are a major part of the daily life,
as an adult and even as a young individual. Each and every one of us has
to make financial decisions concerning recreation, health, education and
more. The question is whether to start with financial education as part of
school program or to postpone it for a later stage in life.
To begin with, being able to understand the value of money, the way the
economic system works and to interpret financial news and its
implications is a virtue. Without this virtue, an individual, even a young
one, might suffer to some extent. For an example, a child who doesnt
understand the concept of money might find it more difficult
toexcept choosing only one present out of more possible ones.
In addition, many adults are lacking capability of financial analysis. Quite
often, the reason can be the lack of sound foundations or insecurity when
it comes to financial terms and concepts. Starting from an early age,
building a strong background, can very likely prevent such situation.
However, financial education necessarily involves quantifying and setting
prices and value for services and goods. It can easily turn young people
into cynical human beings who lack emotion. Furthermore, a tendency to
self-concentration and egoism might rise when one start measuring
everything from a profit-making perspective.
In conclusion, financial education has both pros and cons. In my opinion,
the advantages are more significant than the disadvantages, making
financial education an advisable component of the school program. The
disadvantages should be thought of as a certain price that young people
have to pay due to the characteristics of the world that we live in.
This is a wonderful essay. It covers the task, is correctly
structured, the paragraphs are logically connected, the structure
of sentences shows excellent command of the English language.
The vocabulary is fine and both spelling and grammar are very
good. See comments underlined in blue for some minor
corrections. Overall, looks like a Band 7.5 Band 8 essay.

Even though globalization affects the worlds economies in a very

positive way, its negative side should not be forgotten. Discuss.
Globalization is such a commonly used term in the twentieth century. It
simply means that the world has become integrated economically,
socially, politically and culturally through the advances of technology,
transportation and communication. It is undeniable that globalization has
resulted in both positive and negative effects which must be addressed
accordingly.
To begin with, globalization has contributed to the worlds economies in
many beneficial ways. The advances in science and technology have
allowed businesses to easily cross over territorial boundary lines.
Consequently, companies tend to become more productive and
competitive thereby raising the quality of goods, services and the worlds
living standard.
Secondly, several companies from the more developed countries have
already ventured to establish foreign operations or branches to take
advantage of the low cost of labor in the poorer countries. This kind of
business activity will provide more influx of cash or investment funds into
the less developed countries.
However, one cannot deny the negative effects which have derived from
globalization. One crucial social aspect is the risk and danger of epidemic
diseases which can easily be spread as the transportation becomes easier
and faster in todays advanced society. This is evidenced in the recent
birds flu disease which has infected most Asian countries over a short
period of time.
As large corporations invest or take over many offshore businesses, a
modern form of colonization will also evolve which may pose certain
power pressure on the local governments of the less developed countries.
Unemployment rates in the more developed regions such as Europe may
also escalate as corporations choose to outsource to the cheaper work
force from Asian countries.

In conclusion. I like to reiterate that globalization is inevitable and we

must urge individuals, companies and governments to use a more
balanced approach by taking the appropriate steps to deal with matters
relating to the financial or economical gains verses the social, political or
ecological concerns of the world.
This essay is too long, 318 words instead of 250-265. Otherwise
(except for some minor grammatical errors) it is a very nice work.
It covers the task, has the right structure, the paragraphs are
coherent and are logically connected by elegantly used linking
words, the structure of sentences is fine and so is your
vocabulary. Seems worthy of Band 7.5 or 8.

In some countries children have very strict rules of behavior, in

other countries they are allowed to do almost anything they like.
To what extent should children have to follow rules?
The extent to which children have to follow rules is in itself a very complex
issue, since children across the world grow up in very different cultures.
In India for example, children are expected to be very submissive to their
parents as well as other adults around them. This, however, is not the
case with the Western countries of the world where children follow the
motto Thou shalt do what thou wilt as promoted by celebrities and rock
stars. I believe that following strict rules has both advantages as well
as serious drawbacks as discussed below.
Firstly, strict rules of behavior create responsible and respectful children
who in turn mature into respectful adults. This forms a stable society
which is virtually free from negative trends such as prostitution and drug
abuse. Secondly, if children do not follow strict rules of behavior, they may
get out of hand and become work-shy and indolent. This may then create
a burden on the society since the government has to find ways to cater for
these social ills.
However, forcing children to follow strict rules of behavior doesnt always
yield positive results as discussed above, most of the time it backfires and
works against society. For example, teenagers are more likely to do the

opposite of what theyre told to do simply because they want to be

independent. Children should also have rights to exercise their free will
and develop their own pattern of behaviors. Imposing strict rules may
simply destroy the individuality of children.
At the end of the day, it is clear that children should be guided by rules,
but these rules should not be imposed on them because as human beings,
they need to have room to develop their own traits of character and adopt
a behavioral pattern of their own.
This essay is too long (309 words instead of advised 250-265).
Otherwise this work is a very good one; it covers the task, your
position is clear, the ideas are well-organized, expressed,
explained and supported. The sentences show a wide range of
language structures, cohesive devices and your grammar is fine.
Overall, this seems to be a band 7.5 or higher essay.

Even though globalization affects the worlds economies in a

positive way, its negative side should not be forgotten. Discuss.
In the present age, globalization is playing an increasingly important role
in our lives. But in the meantime whether it is a blessing or a curse has
sparked a heated debate. Some people argue that globalization has a
fundamentally beneficial influence on our lives, while many others
contend that it has a detrimental effect as well.
A convincing argument can be made about globalization not only playing
a pivotal role in the development of technology and economy, but also
promoting the cultural exchange between different countries. To start
with, it is the globalization that impelled many corporate to become
international groups, thereby making a contribution to the local
technology and employment. Specifically, when a multinational
group establish a factory in a developing country, the new equipment, the
new management skills and the job vacancies are all in the best interest

of the local society. Moreover, people worldwide can get to know each
other better through globalization. It is easy to see that more and more
Hollywood blockbusters show cultures different from American, some
recent examples are Kungfu Panda and The Mummy.
Admittedly, the profit driven side of globalization has severely affected
young people. Today, in the metropolises in different countries, it is very
common to see teenagers wearing NIKE T-shirts and Adidas footwear,
playing Hip-Hop music on Apple iPods and eating at KFC. The culture that
took a thousand years to form just seems similar in these cities; it seems
as though you can only distinguish them by their language. Meanwhile, in
some developing countries, sweat workshops are always a concerning
issue. For instance, reports show that some teenagers employed by NIKEs
contractors work in smelly factories over 14 hours a day, but are only paid
fifty cents per hour.
To sum up, I would concede that globalization does come with some
adverse effects. Despite that fact, benefits created by it far outweigh the
disadvantages. Overall, I am convinced that we should further promote
globalization and meanwhile the local government should take measures
to combat culture assimilation and sweat workshops.
This essay is extremely long (338 words instead of the advised
250-265). It has a sound structure, your position is clearly
expressed, the information is well-organized, and structure-wise
the sentences are fine. The vocabulary is impressive and there
were only a few grammatical errors (see comments underlined in
blue). Overall, this seems to be a band 7.5 + essay.

Some people think that spending a lot on holding wedding

parties, birthday parties and other celebrations is just a waste of
money. Others, however, think that these are necessary for
individuals and the society. Discuss both views and give your
opinion.

Throwing parties can be expensive. While some people do not find these
fancy parties worth what they cost, others believe parties are important to
both individuals and the society.
People choose to throw parties for a number of reasons. For starters,
parties can make better teams. Project kick-off parties are good
opportunities to break the ice and help team members to know each other
better. Victory parties create a sense of success and belonging.
Companies do not see parties as wastes of money and allocate budget to
support such events. Moreover, parties often leave good memories. From
our own experiences, we all have happy memories of our birthday parties
when we were little. Every family has great photostook on family parties in
their album. In addition, contrary to what some people believe that
spending on parties is a waste of social resources, parties actually create
value, either by employing people in the party planning business or by
offering people better party experiences.
The popularity of parties, however, causes some tension in the society.
Parties are hard on introverted people who find themselves uncomfortable
in parties. This is a clinic symptom which psychologists call it social
anxiety disorder. There are other ways to celebrate important events
that may have greater value for their cost. For instance, companies could
send out gifts after successful projects and parents could take their
children on family trips to celebrate birthdays.
In my opinion, while a party is a form of social event that brings many
benefits to individuals and the society, other choices should also be
considered, either to cut spending or to relieve the stress of those who are
not fond of parties.
This is a very good essay. Other than minor inaccuracies there are
no problems (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows
corrections). Seems to be worth IELTS Band 8.

In many countries children are engaged in different kinds of paid

work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others
consider it a valuable work experience, important for learning
and taking responsibility. What is your opinion?
The issue of whether or not children should be engaged in some paid work
has sparked a heated debate. While some argue that having some
employment experience is conducive to a childs learning and
development, I contend that it would bring harm to the childs heathand
learning.
First of all, a workplace designed for adults is normally shortage ofchildfriendly facilities. Desks and chairs are too high for a child; the light
switches are installed on the walls unreachable by children; also
emergency training and facilities such as phones are only provided to
adults. Furthermore, various hazards such as polluted air and chemical
fumes are still produced in factories and farms. Undoubtedly young people
would suffer in such workplaces.
Also, children would find it frustrating when they are not properly inducted
before starting a job. A child working in a cement factory would feel a
setback when he could not get immediate support while struggling with
the procedures of recording different raw materials thatis required by the
job. Further, without sufficient support, a childs misunderstanding or
inappropriately communicating with adults would only disappoint him and
prevents him from active learning and interacting with other people.
To conclude, a childs paid employment experience would lead to a
negative impact on their health and active learning. However, recognizing
the importance of childrens learning and their awareness of responsibility,
it is advisable to encourage them to be involved in some volunteering
opportunities where they can meaningfully learn and interact with other
people with sufficient care and support in place for such jobs.
This is a good essay. There are only a few errors (mouse over the
words underlined in blue shows corrections), but otherwise this
work seems worthy of Band 7.5 or 8. Remember to always
proofread your essay before submitting it. Keep up the good
work!

Public libraries should only provide books and should not waste
their limited resources on expensive high-tech media such as
software, videos or DVDs. Do you agree or disagree?
With the proliferation of high-tech media, some people hold that the public
libraries would be rendered obsolete if they do not offer software, videos
or DVDs to their users while other assert its only a waste of limited
resources and the libraries should offer books only.
High-tech media is, in many ways, indeed superior to the books in terms
of entertainment, attraction, and functionality. For instance, videos and
DVDs function as a visual means to assist people to have a first-hand
experience even though those people have not physically visited or seen
the objects which are introduced in the books. Also, despite the audiovisual equipment would be prohibitive to install, the capital cost would be
lowered by appealing to a sizable number of users.
More importantly, software could assist the library goers to access the
Internet to update their knowledge on a daily basis; in contrast, books
typically take multiple months to be published, which in turn rendertheir
contents outdated to some extent. In addition, upon learning that the
computer literacy has become an essential skill recently, public libraries
should take on the responsibility to educate its users how to operate a
computer.

Furthermore, it is a common practice for most public libraries to share

their resources via the Internet. In this way, even if one book of interest
cannot be found in one library, the borrower still could locate the
book from other libraries and then request the librarians to transfer the
book to that particular library.
In conclusion, public libraries would benefit in multiple ways if
they areequipped with the high-tech media.
This is a good essay. There are only a few errors indicating that
the writer needs to take care with verbs, prepositions and
sentence formation (mouse over the words underlined in blue
shows corrections). Overall, this work seems worthy of IELTS
Band 8. Remember to always proofread your essay before
submitting it. Keep up the good work!

Modern children are suffering from the diseases that were once
considered to be meant for adults only. Obesity is a major disease
prevalent among children. What are its causes and what solutions
can be offered?
Nowadays, the increasing rate of overweight children and adults is a
worldwide health issue. Obesity is a major problem which is increasing day

by day in school going children. There are various reasons behind it. This
essay will discuss the causes of obesity and offer some solutions.
The first cause of obesity is junk food. It is often seen that mostly children
are fond of burgers, pizzas, noodles and coke. These types of foods are
easily available to them in school canteens. Children love to purchase
chips, chocholates, - ice-cream for lunch. Moreover, in this modern era,
parents are working and they do not have time to cook at home. Parents
often buy dinner for their children instead of preparing food at home. This
calorie-rich diet is making children obese. This problem can be solved by
teaching children to cook healthy foods for themselves and banning junk
foods and fizzy drinks in schools. This diet can be replaced by milk, juice
and fruits for lunch.
The second cause of obesity is sedentry life style. It is true that the use of
computers and television is increasing in children. They spend most of
their time watching television or playing video games on a computer. This
technological advancement has reduced the level of physical activity in
this specific age group. This issue can be resolved by encouraging children
to do physical exercises. Parents can take their children to park to
encourage playing with friends. Furthermore, schools can add sports in
their curriculum to maintain physical fitness in their students.
To sum up, it is clear that main causes of obesity are unhealthy eating and
not enough physical activities. This ailment can be prevented and treated
by healthy eating habbits and physical exercises.
This is a good essay. There are only a few minor errors that could
have been easily prevented by proofreading this essay one last
time before submission (mouse over the words underlined in blue
shows corrections). Overall, this work seems worthy of IELTS
Band 8. Keep up the good work!
Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8

Some people think that schools should select students according

to their academic abilities, while others believe that it is better to
have students with different abilities studying together. Discuss
both views and state your own opinion.
Some people contend that mixed ability classes are more beneficial for
childrens development than streaming them on the basis of judgement
about their academic abilities. However, from my perspective, I disagree
with this contention.
Admittedly, mixed ability classes provide a better environment for
childrens all-round development. In such classes, children with different
abilities study together and in turn they can learn from one another. From
example, a student, who is good at academic study but weak in dancing
or painting, can learn how to dance or paint form his peers. In this sense,
mixed ability classes allow students to develop their abilities in different
subjects instead of only academic abilities.
Despite the argument above, I believe streaming students brings more
benefits to teachers and students. As for teachers, separating children
with better academic abilities from others facilitates effective teaching.
This practice helps teachers to control their students more conveniently
and easily. Compared with mixed ability in which teacher should consider
students differences when they are using teaching methodologies,
streaming makes this situation simpler. To be more specific, students are
at the same level of academic ability in a class, and in turn teachers can
use the same methodologies for them all. In this way, the narrower the
spread of ability in the class, the more convenient the teaching can be.
On top of this, steaming enables students to learn in an effective way.
According to students different abilities, they are taught in different ways
that are more suitable for them. In the top streams, students use more
difficult materials, therefore, they can learn more. In sharp contrast,
teachers can explain the material more slowly to those in bottom streams.

Under this circumstance, students with different academic abilities can

study effectively and efficiently.
In the final analysis, mixed ability classes are beneficial for students
versatile development, but in my opinion, segregating students based on
different academic ability is better for both teachers and students.
The writer presented a balanced discussion of the topic,
effortlessly delivered in a form of a fluent, well-written IELTS
essay. The arguments and reasoning are laid out in a coherent,
logical way. A wide range of vocabulary is used in this work.
There are very few spelling errors that could have been caught in
an additional round of proofreading (mouse over the words
underlined in blue shows corrections). Keep up the good work!
Overall, this essay seems worthy of IELTS Band 8.

Many offenders commit more crimes after serving the first

punishment. Why is this happening, and what measures can be
taken to tackle this problem?
It is true that some criminals commit crimes again after they have been
punished. While there are several reasons for this alarming trend, some
effective measures can be taken by governments to tackle this problem.
There are two main reasons for re-offenders. Firstly, the prison system can
make the situation worse. Criminals put together in prison and they make
friends with other offenders. While they are locked up in prison, they do
not have much to do there, and they would exchange information about
what they have done before they came to the prison or they may plan

crimes with other inmates. Secondly, offenders often do not have any
other means of earning money. They are poor, uneducated and lacking
skills needed to maintain a job. Also, a criminal record makes finding a job
difficult as people usually avoid hiring ex-convict.
To solve this problem, governments should focus on rehabilitation of
criminals rather than punishment. Above all, prisons need vocational
training which makes inmates to prepare for life outside the prison. They
can learn practical skills such as computer programming, car maintenance
and graphic design. In this way, they can be hired for a position that
requires this certain knowledge and skills. Community service is another
way to reform offenders. Rather than being locked up in prison with other
inmates, offenders can help society and become useful to their local
community, and these activities would eliminate the negative influence
that prisons can have.
In conclusion, it is true the re-offenders are one of the problems in our
community; it can be solved by focusing rehabilitation rather than
punishment itself.

This is a good essay. The requirements of the task statement are

covered, the reasoning is logical and presented in a coherent,
easy to follow way, the range of vocabulary is wide enough and
the writer shows fluency and flexibility. Some minor errors in this
essay include word choice and preposition errors (mouse over the
words underlined in blue shows suggested corrections). Overall
this looks like an IELTS Band 8 essay.

When a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and

ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive.To
what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Nowadays, technological advances and their rapid and wide applications
are having a significant impact on a nations traditional skills and ways of
life. Some argue that such impact is so extraordinary that it would make
conventional skills and life styles obsolete. However, I believe they would
continue to thrive by providing alternatives to modern ways of life, and
innovative ideas for modern technologies.
First of all, traditional skills and ways of life are becoming an alternative
solution to the problems caused by mainstreamed ways of life which are
greatly influenced by modern technologies. For instance, a cozy restaurant
where traditional, home-brewed beer is served, offers another experience
to people who are bored with branded beers that have the same flavor
and come out of mass production with new technologies. It is in such a
venue where traditional skills are preserved, people become relaxed and
educated. Providing diversity and thus enriching modern ways of life, such
traditional skills and ways of life would continue to have their place.
Furthermore, conventional skills provide innovative ideas to the
development of modern technologies. For example, sparkled by how the
word Love is traditionally knitted into a sweater by some ethnic minority
women in some parts of Asia, some business managers from textile
industry have developed some production lines by applying the traditional
skills to Computer-Aided Designs (CAD). The products have boosted the
companies sales which in turn have increased their investment in
preserving traditional skills for further developing their technologies.
To conclude, traditional skills and life styles are increasingly becoming a
useful alternative to the homogeneity brought by global applications of
modern technologies. However, the evolution of technologies is a
selection process, whereby some would become obsolete, but there is no
doubt that some would thrive when their roles are appreciated.
This is a good essay. The requirements of the task statement are
covered, the arguments make sense and are presented in a
coherent, easy to follow way, the range of vocabulary is wide

enough and the writer shows fluency and flexibility. There are
only a few errors (mouse over the words underlined in blue shows
suggested corrections). Overall this looks like an IELTS Band 8
essay.

I ELT S ess ay, t op ic: th e d eve lop me nt of tec hno log y

ca u se s trad iti onal sk ills to d ie o ut, ag ree or d isag re e?
When a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and
ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive.To
what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Nowadays, technological advances and their rapid and wide applications
are having a significant impact on a nations traditional skills and ways of
life. Some argue that such impact is so extraordinary that it would make
conventional skills and life styles obsolete. However, I believe they would
continue to thrive by providing alternatives to modern ways of life, and
innovative ideas for modern technologies.
First of all, traditional skills and ways of life are becoming an alternative
solution to the problems caused by mainstreamed ways of life which are
greatly influenced by modern technologies. For instance, a cozy restaurant
where traditional, home-brewed beer is served, offers another experience
to people who are bored with branded beers that have the same flavor
and come out of mass production with new technologies. It is in such a
venue where traditional skills are preserved, people become relaxed and
educated. Providing diversity and thus enriching modern ways of life, such
traditional skills and ways of life would continue to have their place.

Furthermore, conventional skills provide innovative ideas to the

development of modern technologies. For example, sparkled by how the
word Love is traditionally knitted into a sweater by some ethnic minority
women in some parts of Asia, some business managers from textile
industry have developed some production lines by applying the traditional
skills to Computer-Aided Designs (CAD). The products have boosted the
companies sales which in turn have increased their investment in
preserving traditional skills for further developing their technologies.
To conclude, traditional skills and life styles are increasingly becoming a
useful alternative to the homogeneity brought by global applications of
modern technologies. However, the evolution of technologies is a
selection process, whereby some would become obsolete, but there is no
doubt that some would thrive when their roles are appreciated.

7 Bands
Popular events like the football world cup and other international
sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions
and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way. To what extent do
you agree or disagree with this opinion?
The World Cup football match and the Olympics are held worldwide with
great national support and expectations. As a fan of those competitions, I
agree with the idea that sporting events can be necessary for
international relations and national unity. In this essay, I will think about
the effects of these popular sporting events.

First of all, the World Cup, Olympics and other international games work
for easing tensions among different nations. For example, South and North
Korea have football games regularly which give two nations a chance to
understand each other deeply. In the mid 1990s, a hundreds of North
Korean supporters came to South Korea with the footballers and they were
very excited during the sporting events. Even if it sounds ridiculous, many
South Koreans were quite surprised at that moment when North Koreans
shouted and cried during the match. We all realized that they were very
normal sports fans even though they were occasionally very secretive.
Through the sports, two divided nations could reduce their political and
ideological tensions and could feel the patriotic unity.
On the other hand, some sports matches can make international relations
worse. For instance, football or baseball games between Korea and Japan
are always big matches in two countries where full of tensions overflow.
Sometimes, after the matches, the two rivals blame each other and their
patriotic emotions explode in an aggressive way.Even much
worse scenario is that the troubles caused by losing games affect the
players directly. As far as I know, a couple of Korean players in
Japan are suffered from invisible discrimination after the match between
two countries.
In conclusion, I think that international sporting occasions can be one of
the good ways to ease tensions or to release patriotism safely. However, I
believe that games can not be the fundamental ways for the sound
patriotism or peaceful international relations.

Some people say that the Internet is making the world smaller by
bringing people together. To what extent do you agree that the
internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one
another?
In today?s world _ due to the advancement of technology new inventions
are coming into existence. It is true that Necessity is a mother of
invention. _ Internet is just like a wonder box, which contains every type
of information. Besides it has also proved as a very important tool to
connect people with one another.
In todays modernized era nobody has sufficient time to write letters to
their loved ones. Moreover it also takes longer to send or receive any
information. But the Internet is the easiest way to send messages to our
loved ones. Communication can be either in the form of e-mail or through
text messages sent via internet to mobile phones. We can send and
receive messages straight way.
In other hand todays young generation mostly prefers to do chatting
through the Internet. During such chatting we can write messages and get
replies straight away. Moreover voice chatting is going to be very popular
day-by-day.
As it is a reality the advantages and disadvantages resemble two sides of
one coin, which usually runs parallel. So like other things
internetalso have some downsides, like causing people health
problems for example, poor eye-sight, back ache or migraines. Todays
teenagers usually prefer to spend their time on the internet rather than to
participating in other physical activities, which causing them to have a
weaker physical health.
To conclude, I would like to say that the Internet is one of the most
modernized and most successful tools, not only for communication, even
to get most relevant information regarding every field in a very short
period of time.
This is a great essay, well done! Remember, the Internet is a
proper noun, currently, there is only one. Pay attention to your
punctuation many commas are missing after linking words.
Otherwise, the essay is well argued and set out.

With all the problems in the world today, spending money on

space exploration is a complete waste. The money could be better
spent on other causes.
Nations after nations, every day, every year, celebrates its achievements
in space exploration. However, it is now the time to question how
meaningful these blasts are. This essay aims to explain why it is
questionable.
First, until all urgent and important matters of the globe have been solved,
money bumped on space exploration is meaningless. It is not a common
sense at all to invest millions of dollars researching and producing foods
for astronauts (for space exploration purpose), while every day thousands
of people are starving. Furthermore, the discovery of outer space only
serves a minor group of people if the majority are even not welleducated. Those in rural areas or third-world nations do no even know
how to prevent common threatening diseases such as AIDS and lung
cancer.
Then, some may argue that the purpose of space exploration are to
discover new lands, new energy resources or to deter potential threat
to globe. Nevertheless, is it effective to do so while other alternatives are
available? Lands on earth are no yet effectively used. New energy
resources (e.g. solar and nuclear energy) have not yet been widely-used.
Threats of plagues have not yet been deterred. All of these tasks that

havent been tackled yet require money. That is why costly space
discovery programs are a waste of resources.
In a nutshell, people should only invest in space exploration provided that
urgent and important matters mentioned earlier in this essay have been
solved. Also, purposes of space exploration campaigns should be studied
carefully and other alternatives should be considered before the money is
wasted.

In some countries children have very strict rules of behavior, in

other countries they are allowed to do almost anything they like.
To what extent should children have to follow rules?
Freedom plays a pivotal role in everybodys life. We can see in todays
modernized era that nobody likes to be restricted, whether it is a child or
an adult. Some people think that there should have some strict rules of
behavior for children, but I disagree with this statement.

Wherever it is a reality that sometimes more restrictions can cause more

frustration in children, which leads to many other mental problems as
well. Morever they can be, behave like a stubborn. Sometimes they
feel themselves under pressure, which can be the main reason for their
poor performance in their field. In some cases children may insist on
doing these things from where we?ll try to keep them away.
In other words _ we have to look for other aspects as well, like if we
usually ignore our childrens bad habits, then they can't be good human
beings in their future life. Moreover_ if we never draw attention upon the
childrens main activities then they might end up in a bad company.
They can know regarding the value of respect for their elders. They can
know the importance of relationships. They can know regarding their
cultural values as well.
In a nutshell, I would like to say that children should be teach the value of
their customs, rituals and respect towards their elders for their future life,
but most of the additional restriction should be being avoided. It would be
better to make them good human beings in their future.
This is a good, well-written essay. Some sentences are too short
and could be combined together to create a more complex
structure. There is also some repetition of words, which should
be avoided. Overall, nicely done.

Some businesses prohibit smoking in any of their offices. Some

governments have banned smoking in all public places. Do you
agree or disagree that this is the right course of action? Give
reasons for your opinion.
Most of the firms, organization and companies as well as governments
impose restrictions to smoke in work places and public amenities. It has
become fashionable in the world today to blame smoking.However,
although I feel that smoking can be harmful, but I dont think it should be
forbidden completely. I would also argue that people should have
the right whether or not they should smoke.
Allow me to present the three positive sides of smoking. Firstly, smoking
certainly helps many people to relax. For some, it even improves
concentration. If someone is upset owing to debt or they
have exam, like to smoke to reduce the pressure or tension. Most of
the people like to smoke when they are relaxing with friends. Secondly,
governments throughout the world make huge profits from taxes on
cigarettes. The income obtained through taxes provides funds which are
used for building school, hospital and public places such as parks,
gardens, sports ground and foot paths. Thirdly, tobacco industry also
employs tens of thousands of people all over the world, particularly in
poorer countries such as Zimbabwe or India. Without cigarettes, these
people would have no jobs.
Despite these positive effects there are lots of negative effects to smoking
too. Initially, smoking has been proven to be very dangerous for health. As
one cigarette contains more than 4000 chemical substances, therefore,
it causes for many dangerous diseases such as heart attacks, asthma,
bronchitis or lung cancer. According to a recent report in Britain close to
3,500 people are killed each year in road accidents and 120,000 are killed
by smoking. Furthermore, smoking costs governments millions of dollars
because of the large number of people who need treatment in hospitals
for smoking-related problems. Moreover, passive smoking is also a major
concern today. Recent research shows that non-smokers can suffer from
health problems if they spend long periods of time among people who do
smoke. In the UK children whose parents are smoke are three times as
likely to start smoking themselves _.

In short, I think the world would be a better place without cigarettes.

However, the decision of whether _ smoke or not to smoke should be for
each individual to make. I suggest that people should not smoke in a room
or a place where there are non smokers, however they should be free to
smoke elsewhere.
This is a very good essay, you have made your arguments well
and set out the paragraphs as required. However, pay attention
to your use of assertive statements e.g. Without cigarettes,
these people would have no jobs. Perhaps they would gain
employment in another industry we cannot be sure. Over all,
well done!

We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are

used in business, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly
planes. What things will they be used for in the future? Is this
dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more
suspicious of their benefits?
In the last two decades cybernetics have experienced a major
breakthrough .This led to the utilization of computers in nearly all parts of
our daily life, from personal computers to the ones performing
complicated surgeries. Surely the uptake of this technology facilitates a lot
of difficult tasks but is this excessive dependance ripping the warmth out
of our lives? In this essay, I will outline how the availability of computers
affects our lives.
Most of the daily tasks an individual experiences are time and effort
consuming. These two fundemental qualities could be tremendously saved

by the use of computers. The average period required to prepare a decent

meal for a middle-class family is around an hour to and hour and a half
when using traditional methods. This time could be literally reduced to
half if computerized decivesare used instead. Moreover, a busy
businessman is enabled to easily close a profitable deal with just a
touch on this highly programmed laptop while enjoying his family vacation
and not having to exert an extra effort of traveling long distances in order
to sign a deal.
On the other hand, new generations are growing remarkably dependent
on these modern utilities, which makes them handicapped when it comes
to preparing a cup of tea. Inaddition, psychologists suggest that one of the
main reasons for sucidal rate increase is the recent electric inventions.
This is due to the fact that humans by nature stay emotionally healthy
through socializing, but due to the importance of modern technology to
maintain a financially satisfying standard of life they
gradually isulate themselves. As time passes by each of these individuals
gets stuck in a vicious circle of loneliness that eventually leads to suicidal
attempts especially among youngsters.
In conclusion, similarly to every other invention computers have their
benefits and drawbacks, I personally think it all depends upon how we use
the given tools . Moderation is the key here to keep the balance and allow
us to live in harmony.
This is a good essay, nice vocabulary, a little too long (340 words
instead of 250), a few grammatical mistakes. The topic is not fully
covered (what about the things will they be used for in future
part?).

Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth with

poorer nations by providing them with things such as food and
education? Or is this the responsibility of the governments of
poorer nations to look after their citizens?
I think that wealthy nations should be required to share their wealth with
poorer nations. But their helping should only stop at providing such things
as food and education because of the three following reasons.
Firstly, citizens of both wealthy nations and poorer nations are human
beings. Therefore, we can not look at, hear of, or talk about people who
lack food, education, etc... without compassion and sympathy. Sharing
wealth with poorer nations is not only a good deed but is also a task .
Secondly, many nations in Africa and Asia are very very poor. Famine,
diseases, crime and illiteracy are killing the citizens of these countries.In
the contrary, many nations in Europe and America are too rich. If there are
no actions taken, this inequality will increase dramatically. Poor countries
will become more and more poorer while rich countries will become more
and more richer. As a result, the poorest countries will become slaves of
the richest countries. So, sharing wealth is anuseful way to prevent people
from that bad future.
Thirdly, although sharing wealth with poorer nations is very
necessarybut this help should only stop at providing such things as food,
medicine and education. Or else, poor nations may become dependent on
the aid. They may lose enthusiasm to build their countries by themselves.
Moreover, rich nations can take advantage of sharing wealth to interfere
with the governance of poor nations. This cant be considered a humane
action and should be prevented.
In my opinion, sharing wealth with poorer nations has both a bad side and
a good side. What we have to do is avoiding its bad side andpracticing its
good side.
This is an excellent essay, your arguments are convincing and
very well presented. There are only a few minor mistakes, please
read and consider the comments. Well done!

Should the same laws which prohibit the sale and consumption of
heroin be applied to tobacco? Discuss.
Recently, a heated debate arouse when a few reputable health
organizations suggested the application of a similar act of heroin selling
and usage prohibition _. In this assay, I will analyze why the adoption of
such a law could be a breakthrough in our youngsters safety, according to
my vision.
Firstly, tobacco does not differ much from heroin when it comes to the
addictive effect. Nicotin , the active ingredient in tobacco, exerts its effect
by acting directly on smokers brain cells. Numerous experiments carried
out by scientist on animals, specailly rats, proved that this toxic chemical
does lead by time to dependency, just similarly to the effect experienced
with herion.
Secondly, the restriction on cigerattes selling would surely show an instant
decline in tobacco smoking. Having easy access to cigarettes puts a
tremendous pressure, especially on teenagers,to resist such a temptation
Dr.Hisham , head of Pschycology department at Alexandria Medical
college , states firmly. Giving the new generation the sense that the

severity of smoking is equivilant to other lethal drugs usage woulod be a

life saving step, they will thank us for as they get older. he continues.
To recapitulate, applying of a futuristic law such as the suggested one
will definetly have a positive impact ,not only on young peoples health
but on our society as a whole.
Well done! This is a good essay, however, you should take care of
your spelling.

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less
secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is
essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you
agree or disagree?
Capital punishment is always associated with ignorance and intolerance.
In fact, we must acknowledge that some people disagree with this kind of
penalty, but others vote in its favor. Portugal was the first European

country to end this kind of penalty. Since the 19th century, tolerance and
respect for life are important values. Moreover, we can affirm that all the
Europe remains under the same codes. Maybe because of a religious view
point, the respect for life is a typical value in the Old Catholic world.
Those who are in favor of capital punishment mostly live in developing
countries. However, this is not just an image of the Third World countries.
Actually, the USA is one country where this kind of punishment has
its higher rates of application. The state of Texas, in particular, is at the
top, supporting this measure against crime, especially those involving
serial killers and crimes against children. In a society dominated by fear
and government control, it is foreseen that this penalty will continue into a
future next.
Maybe this is not a simple question. As we can see there are several
values here and of course cultural behavior. The roots of the question are
religious, cultural, ethical and even geographical. The world is divided and
the law systems show this division. The solutions, however can lead us to
other questions concerning revenge and justice. It will be better to kill a
person because of his crimes? Can we admit that a life sentence could be
a much better sentence? In fact, rehabilitation is the right way especially
with an accurate psychological evaluation first. Some people are lost
forever, and in my opinion some murderers and other criminals will suffer
more in jail. In this sense, capital punishment is an easy way out.

Nowadays environmental problems are too big to be managed by

individual persons or individual countries. In other words, it is an
international problem. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
An essential problem of the 21st century is world pollution. Currently the
environment is so contaminated that urgent measures should be taken. A
single individual cannot be blamed for the world pollution, however every
person should take care of his or her habitat. In addition, it is vital that
environmental issues are treated internationally.
Lately, many presentations, conferences and international summits are
held to deal with waste treatment, recycling, and soil and water
contamination. For sure joint efforts and consolidation can only help in the
mutual war towards the ongoing environmental disaster. For instance,
governments should offer support to companies and organizations,
involved in manufacturing, industry or agriculture in order to find
environment-friendly approaches. These could be special law regulations,
recycling programs, helping courses in order to implement ISO certificates
and many more.
However, the influence of individuals over environment should not be
ignored. If we do not confess that our planet is our home, we will never be
able to take adequately care of it. We have to contribute every day to the
preservation of nature and environment. For example, always remember
to save energy by switching off lamps, computers and everything that we
do not use. Our next obligation is to separate waste and throw bulk only in
the designated areas. Driving vehicles can also be environment friendly.
For example, we have to avoid accelerating the engines too rapidly or
using the air conditioning in the country, where it would be better to save
energy and simply open the windows.
To sum up, environmental problems should be handled by local and
international authorities as well as individuals. Every single person should
take care of the environment, moreover we have to bring up our children
to be conscious citizens of a clean and preserved planet.
This is a very good essay, a Band 7+ candidate. The structure of
this essay and sentences is correct as well as the spelling and
punctuation. Good job!

News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to

print in a newspaper. What factors do you think influence their
decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if
more good news was reported?
News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in a
newspaper. There are two factors that influence their decisions. The first is
the kind of customers they aim at. Because each kind of readers and
watchers has its own features. For example, if your customers are almost
entirely teenagers, you have to concentrate on something attracting them
such as stories, photographs of singer stars, film stars, funny tales, and
fashion. It will be very silly if you tryto provide teenagers with economic
or politic news. On the contrary,besiness men and politicians may never
read news about James Blunt or Keira Knightley. Therefore, what
influences news editors decisions the most is the taste of their customers.
The second factor is the hot, the attraction of the news. Who will readsor
watch your news if it happened a year or a month ago or even last week?
The answer is nobody absolutely. In the energetic and competitive world
nowadays, people always ask for a really new news. So that to satisfy
customers, there is a pressure on all editors to find continually what has
already happened not only yesterday but even an hour ago. Or else, they
may lose their customers. None of editors wants that bad future.

On television or in newspaper, we seem to become used to bad news. It is

a little of difficult for us to come across a piece of good news. We cant
deny that bad things occur on Earth day by day. However, news editors try
to gain more and more customer, which means more and more money,
using bad news as a magnet. Because bad news makes us curious. We
want to know why it is bad, what it is about, whether it influences us or
not. As a result, we will buy newspapers or watch television to find out.
And the happiest people are, of course, news editors.
I think it would be better if more good news were reported. Bad news
makes us worry and sad. Whereas good news makes us happy. There
should an equal amount of good and bad news. In that way we can give
something bad a lot of thought while still being happy about the good
news. Any inequalities between good news and bad news should be
avoided. That is the best solution.
Now, we cant live without news. Thereby, the role of news editors is very
important. We should support them. And what they have to do is try their
best to provide us with useful news, both good and bad.
Some of your sentences are too short they would look better if
joined together. Overall, this is a good essay, which seems to be
worthy of Band 7.

Some say that the Internet is making the world smaller by

bringing people together. To what extent do to you agree that the

Internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one

another?
A global village, that is certainly what the world feels like nowadays. With
the help of the world wide web, you can reach out and get to know people
you might never have met in person. Articles can be co-authored,
business deals can be finalized, degrees can be earned and at times even
medical advice can be given- and all of this is just a click away.
Electronic mail, instant messages, web cameras and microphones; all
these gadgets and programs make the presence of the other person more
real. Who knows; with the help of visual reality you might even get a 3-D
image of the speaker! I believe that the Internet is one the best inventions
of the last century, you can hardly get to miss anyone and nobody is really
out of reach. You can keep in touch with your friends, and be able to do
your work from your bedroom in your pajamas!
However, the internet can also be a major source of harassment.
Spammers and hackers can invade your privacy and get
personal/confidential information, which otherwise they will never get
access to. You are never out of anybodys reach, unless you make a
conscious decision of not checking your email, there can be always more
work waiting for you in your inbox and you might never have a moment to
yourself. Worse yet, if you were a workaholic, you might never experience
that stress-free vacation ever again in your life simply, because you
have your mobile workplace with you at all times.
As a romantic, I will always look forward to getting an occasional letter in
the snail mail. A personal letter, where I can sense the mood of the writer
by the slants in his/her handwriting and get to know him/her better. But as
a type A personality person, the internet gives me all what I dream of in
terms of communication the speed, reliability, and convenience of time
and place. I can certainly tolerate its shortcomings any day, as long as it
keeps me close to my loved ones.
This is a great essay, which seems worthy of Band 7 or perhaps
even 8. It is longer than required (340 words instead of 250)
which means that it took you more time to write and less time to
check your work.

In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid

work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others
consider it a valuable work experience, which is important for
learning and taking responsibility. What is your opinion?
Nowadays, many children involved in different types of jobs to have some
kind of financial assurance for themselves. However, whether this is good
for their development and personality is a controversial issue. I personally
believe that paid works is harmful for children for several reasons.
It is said that children gain valuable experience in the work place. This
may be true. However, I would argue that children are mainly employed in
jobs that require manual work and are poorly paid. The recent statistics
reveal the common tasks that children are assigned to are washing
dishes, mopping floors or serving food in restaurants. Meanwhile, this kind
of jobs actually do not provide children with necessary and useful skills to
apply in their future carrer.
This brings me to the second point. Defenders of child labour arguesthat it
is an effective method of learning. The point is children should be able to
apply knowledge taught to them in a real life working environment.
Although this is undoubtedly true, it also means that children may neglect
the classroom study and even fail the class. The worst thing is yet to
come. They may become so preoccupied with the benefits ahead of them
such as small salary that they may leave school.
Finally, supporters say that it helps them to build responsibility in the
family. They will understand how it is difficult to earn money and therefore
have compassion for their parents. This is true to a certain extent, but

may have a totally adverse effect on children. As children can make

money at an early age, they would feel that it is appropriate to spend it on
luxury things.
In conclusion, I think that parents should take measures to restrict their
child from work, otherwise it would have negative consequences to their
future.
This is a great essay, a Band 7+ candidate. My only suggestion is
to divide your arguments so that you would have 2 paragraphs
covering arguments against and one covering arguments for or
vise versa. Dont mix arguments for and against in one
paragraph.

We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are

used in business, crime detection and even to fly planes. What
things will they be used for in future? Is this dependence on
computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their
benefits?
Today computers are used almost everywhere, it is impossible to imagine
our life without PCs, Internet, mobile phones and other computer devices.
It is reasonable to think that people look forward to the future of

computers. In what field will be computers used for and what role will
human has in this world in future?
Besides, computers make our life easier, we can easily get information
about any product we plan to buy or place we plan to visit in a second
using a personal computer and Internet. Scientists predict that in the
nearest future it will be possible to smell a new perfume using the Internet
and watch 3D scenes at home like we do in the movie theater. According
to forecasts of HR agencies machines will replace jobs of cashiers, and
civil and military pilots. Some corporations in Japan are already selling
housewife-robots, which help old people to keep their homes clean.
Despite the fact that computers help us, they make us dependent.
Apparently, people spend more time behind monitors than ever before.
And some of them feel a need for more time to be spent with people in
live contact. In addition, a breakdown of one of the important modules of
a specific computer can entail serious consequences. Suffice to mention
the computer problem that occurred in the end of 1990s, a problem
related to the coming year 2000 (Y2K) and catastrophes that were
predicted. Fortunately imminent disasters did not happen. However, it is
difficult to imagine what could be if all the predictions came true.
We live in a technological era, computers penetrated everywhere with all
benefits they provide and all dangers they hide. However we are satisfied
with them and sometimes we even thank them because they help us in
communicating, studying, doing business, entertaining and saving lives in
critical situations.
Great essay, all the task points are covered, good language and
structure. It would probably receive a Band 7.

Some people think that students who dont take a break in

studies between the high school and the university are at
disadvantage compared to students who travel and work after
high school before further continuing their education. Do you
agree or disagree?
Nowadays, in our competitive world, to succeed, knowledge from school
and university is not enough. Therefore, students who study from the
school to university get fewer benefits and contribute less too, compared
to those student who travel or work and get experience and skills before
going high. There are two following reasons to support for my opinion. I
refer to the group of people who study from school to university as group
A and the other group as group B.
Firstly, at school and university, what group A gains is almost entirely
theory, theory and theory. Of course, theory is very neccessary, however,
you cant do everything with just theory. You must
havepraticeable experience. This is what group A lack very much.
Although in the third or fourth year at university, group A can be
apprentices in some companies, to help them approach their future jobs,
they arent trained well because of the short time spent working. And the
real job is still very strange to them. After graduating, without experience,
group A students cant accomplish their work perfectly. On the other hand,
it takes them time and money to keep up with other experienced students
and they may be scorned. Therefore, group A students can contribute less
than group B who have the two most important things: skills and
experience.
Secondly, as group A students are contributing less, they surely get less
benefit. Moreover, many companies which employ people in group A have
to train them from ground-up. These companies take this cost from group
As salary to reduce the risk of their employees leaving to other
companies after being trained. So, less benefits are unavoidable and
certain, Whereas group B members are more loyal and effective workers.
They also have useful experience and skills. Besides, their education is the
same as or even higher than that of group A. As the result, group B gets
more benefits absolutely.

In conclusion, I think a student should travel or work before going to the

university. That way, not only will they have basic knowledge but also
skills and experience which are useful for them to get a good job and have
a brilliant future.
This essay is too long (350 words instead of 250). To fight this
problem, try to write in a more general form and provide fewer
details. The use of language and ideas are good and so is the
essay structure. Seems worthy of Band 7.

Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth with

poorer nations by providing them with things such as food and
education? Or is this the responsibility of the governments of
poorer nations to look after their citizens?
I think that wealthy nations should be required to share their wealth with
poorer nations. But their helping should only stop at providing such things
as food and education because of the three following reasons.
Firstly, citizens of both wealthy nations and poorer nations are human
beings. Therefore, we can not look at, hear of, or talk about people who
lack food, education, etc... without compassion and sympathy. Sharing
wealth with poorer nations is not only a good deed but is also a task .
Secondly, many nations in Africa and Asia are very very poor. Famine,
diseases, crime and illiteracy are killing the citizens of these countries.In
the contrary, many nations in Europe and America are too rich. If there are

no actions taken, this inequality will increase dramatically. Poor countries

will become more and more poorer while rich countries will become more
and more richer. As a result, the poorest countries will become slaves of
the richest countries. So, sharing wealth is anuseful way to prevent people
from that bad future.
Thirdly, although sharing wealth with poorer nations is very
necessarybut this help should only stop at providing such things as food,
medicine and education. Or else, poor nations may become dependent on
the aid. They may lose enthusiasm to build their countries by themselves.
Moreover, rich nations can take advantage of sharing wealth to interfere
with the governance of poor nations. This cant be considered a humane
action and should be prevented.
In my opinion, sharing wealth with poorer nations has both a bad side and
a good side. What we have to do is avoiding its bad side andpracticing its
good side.
This is an excellent essay, your arguments are convincing and
very well presented. There are only a few minor mistakes, please
read and consider the comments. Well done!

Should wealthy nations be required to share their wealth with

poorer nations by providing them with things such as food and
education? Or is this the responsibility of the governments of
poorer nations to look after their citizens?
I think that wealthy nations should be required to share their wealth with
poorer nations. But their helping should only stop at providing such things
as food and education because of the three following reasons.
Firstly, citizens of both wealthy nations and poorer nations are human
beings. Therefore, we can not look at, hear of, or talk about people who
lack food, education, etc... without compassion and sympathy. Sharing
wealth with poorer nations is not only a good deed but is also a task .
Secondly, many nations in Africa and Asia are very very poor. Famine,
diseases, crime and illiteracy are killing the citizens of these countries.In
the contrary, many nations in Europe and America are too rich. If there are
no actions taken, this inequality will increase dramatically. Poor countries
will become more and more poorer while rich countries will become more
and more richer. As a result, the poorest countries will become slaves of
the richest countries. So, sharing wealth is anuseful way to prevent people
from that bad future.
Thirdly, although sharing wealth with poorer nations is very
necessarybut this help should only stop at providing such things as food,
medicine and education. Or else, poor nations may become dependent on
the aid. They may lose enthusiasm to build their countries by themselves.
Moreover, rich nations can take advantage of sharing wealth to interfere
with the governance of poor nations. This cant be considered a humane
action and should be prevented.
In my opinion, sharing wealth with poorer nations has both a bad side and
a good side. What we have to do is avoiding its bad side andpracticing its
good side.
This is an excellent essay, your arguments are convincing and
very well presented. There are only a few minor mistakes, please
read and consider the comments. Well done!

Should the same laws which prohibit the sale and consumption of
heroin be applied to tobacco? Discuss.
Recently, a heated debate arouse when a few reputable health
organizations suggested the application of a similar act of heroin selling
and usage prohibition _. In this assay, I will analyze why the adoption of
such a law could be a breakthrough in our youngsters safety, according to
my vision.
Firstly, tobacco does not differ much from heroin when it comes to the
addictive effect. Nicotin , the active ingredient in tobacco, exerts its effect
by acting directly on smokers brain cells. Numerous experiments carried
out by scientist on animals, specailly rats, proved that this toxic chemical
does lead by time to dependency, just similarly to the effect experienced
with herion.
Secondly, the restriction on cigerattes selling would surely show an instant
decline in tobacco smoking. Having easy access to cigarettes puts a
tremendous pressure, especially on teenagers,to resist such a temptation
Dr.Hisham , head of Pschycology department at Alexandria Medical
college , states firmly. Giving the new generation the sense that the
severity of smoking is equivilant to other lethal drugs usage woulod be a
life saving step, they will thank us for as they get older. he continues.
To recapitulate, applying of a futuristic law such as the suggested one
will definetly have a positive impact ,not only on young peoples health
but on our society as a whole.

Well done! This is a good essay, however, you should take care of
your spelling.

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less
secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is
essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you
agree or disagree?
Capital punishment is always associated with ignorance and intolerance.
In fact, we must acknowledge that some people disagree with this kind of
penalty, but others vote in its favor. Portugal was the first European
country to end this kind of penalty. Since the 19th century, tolerance and
respect for life are important values. Moreover, we can affirm that all the
Europe remains under the same codes. Maybe because of a religious view
point, the respect for life is a typical value in the Old Catholic world.

Those who are in favor of capital punishment mostly live in developing

countries. However, this is not just an image of the Third World countries.
Actually, the USA is one country where this kind of punishment has
its higher rates of application. The state of Texas, in particular, is at the
top, supporting this measure against crime, especially those involving
serial killers and crimes against children. In a society dominated by fear
and government control, it is foreseen that this penalty will continue into a
future next.
Maybe this is not a simple question. As we can see there are several
values here and of course cultural behavior. The roots of the question are
religious, cultural, ethical and even geographical. The world is divided and
the law systems show this division. The solutions, however can lead us to
other questions concerning revenge and justice. It will be better to kill a
person because of his crimes? Can we admit that a life sentence could be
a much better sentence? In fact, rehabilitation is the right way especially
with an accurate psychological evaluation first. Some people are lost
forever, and in my opinion some murderers and other criminals will suffer
more in jail. In this sense, capital punishment is an easy way out.
This is a good essay, you should do well in the Task 2 Writing
Test.

Nowadays environmental problems are too big to be managed by

individual persons or individual countries. In other words, it is an
international problem. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
An essential problem of the 21st century is world pollution. Currently the
environment is so contaminated that urgent measures should be taken. A
single individual cannot be blamed for the world pollution, however every
person should take care of his or her habitat. In addition, it is vital that
environmental issues are treated internationally.
Lately, many presentations, conferences and international summits are
held to deal with waste treatment, recycling, and soil and water
contamination. For sure joint efforts and consolidation can only help in the
mutual war towards the ongoing environmental disaster. For instance,
governments should offer support to companies and organizations,
involved in manufacturing, industry or agriculture in order to find
environment-friendly approaches. These could be special law regulations,
recycling programs, helping courses in order to implement ISO certificates
and many more.
However, the influence of individuals over environment should not be
ignored. If we do not confess that our planet is our home, we will never be
able to take adequately care of it. We have to contribute every day to the
preservation of nature and environment. For example, always remember
to save energy by switching off lamps, computers and everything that we
do not use. Our next obligation is to separate waste and throw bulk only in
the designated areas. Driving vehicles can also be environment friendly.
For example, we have to avoid accelerating the engines too rapidly or
using the air conditioning in the country, where it would be better to save
energy and simply open the windows.
To sum up, environmental problems should be handled by local and
international authorities as well as individuals. Every single person should
take care of the environment, moreover we have to bring up our children
to be conscious citizens of a clean and preserved planet.
This is a very good essay, a Band 7+ candidate. The structure of
this essay and sentences is correct as well as the spelling and
punctuation. Good job!

News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to

print in a newspaper. What factors do you think influence their
decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if
more good news was reported?
News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in a
newspaper. There are two factors that influence their decisions. The first is
the kind of customers they aim at. Because each kind of readers and
watchers has its own features. For example, if your customers are almost
entirely teenagers, you have to concentrate on something attracting them
such as stories, photographs of singer stars, film stars, funny tales, and
fashion. It will be very silly if you tryto provide teenagers with economic
or politic news. On the contrary,besiness men and politicians may never
read news about James Blunt or Keira Knightley. Therefore, what
influences news editors decisions the most is the taste of their customers.
The second factor is the hot, the attraction of the news. Who will readsor
watch your news if it happened a year or a month ago or even last week?
The answer is nobody absolutely. In the energetic and competitive world
nowadays, people always ask for a really new news. So that to satisfy
customers, there is a pressure on all editors to find continually what has
already happened not only yesterday but even an hour ago. Or else, they
may lose their customers. None of editors wants that bad future.
On television or in newspaper, we seem to become used to bad news. It is
a little of difficult for us to come across a piece of good news. We cant
deny that bad things occur on Earth day by day. However, news editors try

to gain more and more customer, which means more and more money,
using bad news as a magnet. Because bad news makes us curious. We
want to know why it is bad, what it is about, whether it influences us or
not. As a result, we will buy newspapers or watch television to find out.
And the happiest people are, of course, news editors.
I think it would be better if more good news were reported. Bad news
makes us worry and sad. Whereas good news makes us happy. There
should an equal amount of good and bad news. In that way we can give
something bad a lot of thought while still being happy about the good
news. Any inequalities between good news and bad news should be
avoided. That is the best solution.
Now, we cant live without news. Thereby, the role of news editors is very
important. We should support them. And what they have to do is try their
best to provide us with useful news, both good and bad.
Some of your sentences are too short they would look better if
joined together. Overall, this is a good essay, which seems to be
worthy of Band 7.

Some say that the Internet is making the world smaller by

bringing people together. To what extent do to you agree that the
Internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one
another?

A global village, that is certainly what the world feels like nowadays. With
the help of the world wide web, you can reach out and get to know people
you might never have met in person. Articles can be co-authored,
business deals can be finalized, degrees can be earned and at times even
medical advice can be given- and all of this is just a click away.
Electronic mail, instant messages, web cameras and microphones; all
these gadgets and programs make the presence of the other person more
real. Who knows; with the help of visual reality you might even get a 3-D
image of the speaker! I believe that the Internet is one the best inventions
of the last century, you can hardly get to miss anyone and nobody is really
out of reach. You can keep in touch with your friends, and be able to do
your work from your bedroom in your pajamas!
However, the internet can also be a major source of harassment.
Spammers and hackers can invade your privacy and get
personal/confidential information, which otherwise they will never get
access to. You are never out of anybodys reach, unless you make a
conscious decision of not checking your email, there can be always more
work waiting for you in your inbox and you might never have a moment to
yourself. Worse yet, if you were a workaholic, you might never experience
that stress-free vacation ever again in your life simply, because you
have your mobile workplace with you at all times.
As a romantic, I will always look forward to getting an occasional letter in
the snail mail. A personal letter, where I can sense the mood of the writer
by the slants in his/her handwriting and get to know him/her better. But as
a type A personality person, the internet gives me all what I dream of in
terms of communication the speed, reliability, and convenience of time
and place. I can certainly tolerate its shortcomings any day, as long as it
keeps me close to my loved ones.
This is a great essay, which seems worthy of Band 7 or perhaps
even 8. It is longer than required (340 words instead of 250)
which means that it took you more time to write and less time to
check your work.

In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid

work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others
consider it a valuable work experience, which is important for
learning and taking responsibility. What is your opinion?
Nowadays, many children involved in different types of jobs to have some
kind of financial assurance for themselves. However, whether this is good
for their development and personality is a controversial issue. I personally
believe that paid works is harmful for children for several reasons.
It is said that children gain valuable experience in the work place. This
may be true. However, I would argue that children are mainly employed in
jobs that require manual work and are poorly paid. The recent statistics
reveal the common tasks that children are assigned to are washing
dishes, mopping floors or serving food in restaurants. Meanwhile, this kind
of jobs actually do not provide children with necessary and useful skills to
apply in their future carrer.
This brings me to the second point. Defenders of child labour arguesthat it
is an effective method of learning. The point is children should be able to
apply knowledge taught to them in a real life working environment.
Although this is undoubtedly true, it also means that children may neglect
the classroom study and even fail the class. The worst thing is yet to
come. They may become so preoccupied with the benefits ahead of them
such as small salary that they may leave school.
Finally, supporters say that it helps them to build responsibility in the
family. They will understand how it is difficult to earn money and therefore
have compassion for their parents. This is true to a certain extent, but
may have a totally adverse effect on children. As children can make

money at an early age, they would feel that it is appropriate to spend it on

luxury things.
In conclusion, I think that parents should take measures to restrict their
child from work, otherwise it would have negative consequences to their
future.
This is a great essay, a Band 7+ candidate. My only suggestion is
to divide your arguments so that you would have 2 paragraphs
covering arguments against and one covering arguments for or
vise versa. Dont mix arguments for and against in one
paragraph.

We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are

used in business, crime detection and even to fly planes. What
things will they be used for in future? Is this dependence on
computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their
benefits?
Today computers are used almost everywhere, it is impossible to imagine
our life without PCs, Internet, mobile phones and other computer devices.
It is reasonable to think that people look forward to the future of
computers. In what field will be computers used for and what role will
human has in this world in future?

Besides, computers make our life easier, we can easily get information
about any product we plan to buy or place we plan to visit in a second
using a personal computer and Internet. Scientists predict that in the
nearest future it will be possible to smell a new perfume using the Internet
and watch 3D scenes at home like we do in the movie theater. According
to forecasts of HR agencies machines will replace jobs of cashiers, and
civil and military pilots. Some corporations in Japan are already selling
housewife-robots, which help old people to keep their homes clean.
Despite the fact that computers help us, they make us dependent.
Apparently, people spend more time behind monitors than ever before.
And some of them feel a need for more time to be spent with people in
live contact. In addition, a breakdown of one of the important modules of
a specific computer can entail serious consequences. Suffice to mention
the computer problem that occurred in the end of 1990s, a problem
related to the coming year 2000 (Y2K) and catastrophes that were
predicted. Fortunately imminent disasters did not happen. However, it is
difficult to imagine what could be if all the predictions came true.
We live in a technological era, computers penetrated everywhere with all
benefits they provide and all dangers they hide. However we are satisfied
with them and sometimes we even thank them because they help us in
communicating, studying, doing business, entertaining and saving lives in
critical situations.
Great essay, all the task points are covered, good language and
structure. It would probably receive a Band 7.

Some people think that students who dont take a break in

studies between the high school and the university are at
disadvantage compared to students who travel and work after
high school before further continuing their education. Do you
agree or disagree?
Nowadays, in our competitive world, to succeed, knowledge from school
and university is not enough. Therefore, students who study from the
school to university get fewer benefits and contribute less too, compared
to those student who travel or work and get experience and skills before
going high. There are two following reasons to support for my opinion. I
refer to the group of people who study from school to university as group
A and the other group as group B.
Firstly, at school and university, what group A gains is almost entirely
theory, theory and theory. Of course, theory is very necessary, however,
you cant do everything with just theory. You must have
practicable experience. This is what group A lack very much. Although in
the third or fourth year at university, group A can be apprentices in some
companies, to help them approach their future jobs, they arent trained
well because of the short time spent working. And the real job is still very
strange to them. After graduating, without experience, group A students
cant accomplish their work perfectly. On the other hand, it takes them
time and money to keep up with other experienced students and they
may be scorned. Therefore, group A students can contribute less than
group B who have the two most important things: skills and experience.
Secondly, as group A students are contributing less, they surely get less
benefit. Moreover, many companies which employ people in group A have
to train them from ground-up. These companies take this cost from group
As salary to reduce the risk of their employees leaving to other
companies after being trained. So, less benefits are unavoidable and
certain, Whereas group B members are more loyal and effective workers.
They also have useful experience and skills. Besides, their education is the
same as or even higher than that of group A. As the result, group B gets
more benefits absolutely.
In conclusion, I think a student should travel or work before going to the
university. That way, not only will they have basic knowledge but also

skills and experience which are useful for them to get a good job and have
a brilliant future.
This essay is too long (350 words instead of 250). To fight this
problem, try to write in a more general form and provide fewer
details. The use of language and ideas are good and so is the
essay structure. Seems worthy of Band 7.

WRITING TASK 2 Model Answer

The argument over whether learning at home or at school is better for
children has not been settled yet. Whereas home education offers better
protection with individual learning and opportunities for families to bond,
schools have a superior range of material and human resources.
Ultimately, I think the school experience is best for children.
There are several advantages for children who learn at home. Firstly, they
can spend more time with their parents and siblings. Many social
problems are associated with families not spending enough quality time
together. Teaching children at home also provides them with an
individualised learning environment. Instruction is custom-designed and
moves at the childs own pace and in accordance with his or her individual

learning style. Finally, home schooling protects children from bullies and
others who might be a bad influence.
On the other hand, the school environment also offers advantages for
children. Schools encourage children to socialise with their peers and
learn how to cope with gossip, bullying and peer pressure. In addition,
children will receive better tuition across a range of disciplines, as schools
have teachers who are trained in special subjects. What is more, schools
provide better access to physical resources such as sports equipment,
musical instruments and library books.
I believe that children are better off in a school environment. Although
family time and individual learning are important, the range of expertise
and resources that schools offer cannot be matched in the home. School
environments may present difficult social situations, but so too does the
real world and children must learn to navigate these on their own.

ERSONAL SUMMARY
Highly efficient legal assistant with extensive knowledge of the administrative and secretarial procedures in a legal environment. Extensive experience and
understanding of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents and government regulations. A strong team player with excellent client facing and configuration
skills. Having an ability to communicate complex sensitive information in an understandable form to clients.
Now looking forward to a making a significant contribution in a company that offers a genuine opportunity for progression.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Solicitors Office Coventry

LEGAL ASSISTANT June 2008 - Present

Tasked with providing general legal administrative and secretarial support to solicitors & a legal team. Involved in researching legal precedent, investigating
facts and also keeping professional contact with a caseload of over 100 clients.
Duties:
Involved in cases of litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. Audio typing legal documents for private clients.
Typing, formatting, amending contracts, letters and other legal documents.
Managing and forwarding on requests from Clients for legal assistance.
Providing secretarial & paralegal support to a team of solicitors. Responsible for the management of Commercial Contracts. Recording and submitting expense
forms.
Reviewing and analysing large volumes of documentary evidence.
Writing replies to points of dispute with clients.
Investigating facts and law & calling upon witnesses to testify at hearing. In charge of Co-ordinating access to meeting & conference rooms. Managing the flow
of paperwork & communication with partners.
Greeting visitors who come to the offices and introducing them to their solicitor. Filing and administrative responsibilities.
Assisting with the completion of Confidentiality Agreements. Coordinating and arranging meetings and diary schedules.
Photocopying, scanning documents and faxing as required.
KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
Have a working knowledge of the role and responsibilities of a secretary.
Ability to work well within a team.
Can work under pressure and with limited supervision.
Creative and resourceful in producing results with minimal direction.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
L.L.B

University of the Punjab 2004- 2007

M.Sc. in History Quaid e Azam University 2003 - 2007

REFERENCES Available on request.