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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 2 Band 6.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

347 words AcademicTask 2
Task 2

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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Ideas to explore

  • Explain how cultural or spiritual beliefs, including beliefs about luck, can influence decisions about facial features.
  • Discuss the potential benefits of improved confidence and surgery following an accident or medical condition.
  • Balance those benefits against medical risks and pressure to conform to a narrow beauty ideal.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the trend and state a qualified overall opinion.
  2. Explain key motivations, linking cultural beliefs and social beauty standards to the decision to have surgery.
  3. Present benefits with a personal-confidence example and a medical or reconstructive example.
  4. Discuss risks and social pressure, then conclude by stating the conditions under which the development is positive.
Useful vocabulary & examples
evolving beauty standards
Changing social expectations about what appearance is considered attractive.

Evolving beauty standards can influence how people judge their own appearance.

feel compelled to
Feel strongly pressured or obliged to do something.

Some people feel compelled to change their appearance to meet a narrow ideal.

realistic expectations
Beliefs about likely outcomes that are sensible and achievable.

Patients should have realistic expectations before deciding on cosmetic surgery.

reinforce insecurity
Make a person’s doubts or lack of confidence stronger.

A procedure may reinforce insecurity if it is chosen mainly to satisfy social pressure.

Task Prompt

An increasing number of people are choosing to have cosmetic surgery in order to improve their appearance. Why do people have operations to change the way they look? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 6.0

With the development of modern technology nowadays, it helps to change human lives in different aspects, which includes changing their appearance by doing cosmetic surgery. While some people agree that plastic surgery can bring confidence and happiness to anyone who does it, others disagree that it causes a lot of negative effects and should not be encouraged by pressure to meet an ideal.

One reason is that people compare themselves with idealised images. Advertising and carefully selected photographs can make a particular appearance seem normal or necessary. Someone may hope that changing a feature will reduce embarrassment or improve how others respond to them. The decision may therefore reflect both a personal wish and pressure from a wider environment, rather than a single motive shared by everyone.

Greater visibility can also make an operation appear more familiar. Seeing clinics advertised or hearing someone describe their experience may encourage a person to consider an option they had previously ignored. However, familiarity does not establish that a procedure is suitable, and an anecdote cannot predict another individual's experience. Decisions should not be treated as ordinary fashion purchases merely because they are widely discussed.

The possible gain in confidence deserves recognition. Nevertheless, the expectation that normal features must be corrected can create dissatisfaction rather than resolve it. A person may continue comparing themselves with new ideals after a change. Operations also involve costs, uncertainty and a recovery period. These considerations make social pressure to undergo one particularly troubling, even when the choice remains personal.

I would therefore distinguish an informed individual decision from a culture that treats altered appearance as a requirement for acceptance. People should be able to value their features without being dismissed as unsuccessful or unattractive. An account of a successful result does not make the trend beneficial for society as a whole.

In conclusion, comparison, confidence and increased visibility explain the appeal. I view the pressure behind the trend negatively because acceptance should not depend on meeting a changing ideal. The individual's circumstances still matter, so this judgement does not describe every operation or every person.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Use the direct opening to answer the precise task and keep that judgement consistent.
2
Develop a relevant example through cause and consequence rather than leaving it as a name or list item.
3
Check the quoted clauses in context and qualify statements that imply a guaranteed outcome.

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