Today, we will be discussing the recent IELTS Writing task 2 exam question – Many people like having a fixed daily routine, while other people enjoy a change in their life. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
We will be going through a sample student essay to understand how it has been written. We will then be evaluating the student essay on parameters such as task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resources and grammar. After the evaluation, we will be talking about ways in which the student could have brainstormed about the topic and the pointers that he/ she could have included in his/ her essay. After understanding the nitty gritties of how to go about writing such essays, we will be attempting an ideal essay that will fetch us the band score that we need.
Doing well in the IELTS Writing task pulls up the overall band score that a candidate receives in IELTS Writing.
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Sample Student IELTS Essay – Fixed Routine or a Change in Routine
Evaluation Of The Student Essay
After having gone through this sample student essay, we can say that the student has more or less understood the question and has given points in support of it.
Let us begin with the first band descriptor- Task Response. This band basically assesses if a question has been answered properly and whether all parts of it have been addressed.
Here, the student has indeed done that and provided a balanced view. If we look at the introduction- All of us need a purpose in life to keep going. One can have many purposes as one has different areas of life that need to be taken care of – personal, social, professional and the like. The recent IELTS essay topic debated how some people feel more comfortable following a streamlined routine while few prefer deviations from their usual routine in order to keep the monotony at bay. Both views will be discussed in this essay but in my personal opinion, I would prefer a change in my routine every now and then.
The highlighted lines are unnecessary and the student could have begun from the later part. These lines do not add any value to the overall introduction. These lines are also distracting us from what the student intends to do in this essay. There is a lack of punctuation as well.
Looking at the second paragraph, he has written – The primary reason behind why people prefer a fixed daily routine is because they are fixated on the idea of discipline
When you’re starting with something such as the primary reason, you are simply required to state the cause of it. He could have said – The primary reason behind why people prefer a fixed daily routine is their fixation with the idea of discipline.
The tense too keeps changing here. There are full stops in between sentences and that makes no sense. The points and the supporting points used are not very strong
The second paragraph is written well but the first paragraph could have used stronger supporting points. The conclusion too is written properly.
Let’s take a look at the band descriptor’s chart for Band 6 and Band 7
This essay is a prototype of band 7 when it comes to task achievement.
Coming to coherence and cohesion, we will assess how connected all the paragraphs seem. By and large, there is some connectivity between the paragraphs. Let us look at band 6 for this parameter.
This description is not apt for the essay that we have just read. The essay is definitely better than what’s stated here. Let us look at band 7 now.
We will be awarding this student a band 7 when it comes to coherence and cohesion.
The next parameter that we will be evaluating is grammatical range. We will be evaluating how articulate the student has been while writing this essay. How his ideas and thoughts have come together is also seen.
We notice that there are punctuation errors here and there but the overall meaning that the student has tried to convey is clear here. Let us look at the band descriptors chart and see which band fits here.
Band 6 fits accurately when it comes to grammatical range and accuracy for this essay type.
Now, we will be checking the last part that is lexical resources. We can observe that the student has used a good range of vocabulary and has used appropriate words wherever needed. Not only does he stick to an advanced vocabulary but also uses words that are befitting and not too complex.
Let us look at band 8 of lexical resources.
TASK ACHIEVEMENT: 7
COHERENCE & COHESION: 7
GRAMMATICAL RANGE: 6
LEXICAL RESOURCES: 8
Overall, the student has achieved a band score of 7 on this essay.
The entire essay was quite well written. The only hiccups that have brought down the readability of the entire essay are the first few lines of the introduction as well as the punctuation errors committed. There are many areas within the paragraphs where coherence and cohesion are lost. However, achieving a band score of 7 on the IELTS Writing task 2 is not easy and so, the student deserves an applause.
Essay Plan
When we first read the question, what comes to our mind? “Many people like having a fixed daily routine, while other people enjoy a change in their life. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Here, the question is asking us to discuss both points of view i.e. how some people prefer a disciplined routine whereas others prefer a deviation from it. Both of these views need to be elucidated upon here and strong supporting points need to be used in the two paragraphs.
The conclusion should contain a summary of the entire essay as well as your personal opinion. You should also substantiate your opinion with relevant pointers.
Many people like having a fixed daily routine, while other people enjoy a change in their life. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
A change every now and then in one’s regular routine is refreshing. However, some people prefer following the same regime day after day. This essay will delve deep into both points of view and substantiate the point of view that I agree with.
On one hand, following the same routine day after day brings about monotony and makes things less interesting for us. If a general boredom about the way in which we do things sets in, we will have to drag ourselves to achieve daily tasks such as working, exercising, commuting, eating etc. Breaking this pattern helps us in expanding our creativity and also reduces the risk of burning out. Imagine an entrepreneur who is trying to come up with a new business idea for his cafe. Unless he does things a little differently, he will never be able to explore ideas that could work for his new venture and help him gain new customers.
On the other hand, following a routine brings about discipline in the way in which we do things. A routine is especially necessary in the lives of people who have a lot to accomplish within a single day. It helps them attend to every single priority. People who belong to the older generation are often comfortable with doing things in a stipulated manner. They feel more in control of their day if they have a regime that they stick to such as walking, eating well, meditating, sleeping on time etc.
To conclude, I would like to say that an occasional change in one’s schedule can help rejuvenate both the body and the mind. Being disciplined when it comes to priorities is essential but remaining rigid about how to go about them will only fill you with regrets in the long run. A change in the way in which you do things regularly will help you remain flexible and make your life more interesting.
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