Task 2 · · 18 samples

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?

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Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

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.

Sample answers

AI-completed learning example

343 words · Illustrative target band

In contemporary society, there is a growing emphasis on individuals inclining to opt for face-lift procedure, which has become a subject of widespread debate and discussion. This essay will detail the explanations for this mainstream and explain why it is a completely negative phenomenon To begin with, there are a range of accounts why many people choose an operation. One reason is that people compare themselves wit…

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AI-completed learning example

342 words · Illustrative target band

Nowadays, more people undergo beauty(plastic) surgery to enhance their beauty. The reason for this plastic surgery differs from person to person. For some, it may be a corrective surgery and maybe a beauty enhancement for others. In my opinion, having cosmetic surgery has both positive and negative impacts and I’ll be illustrating both in the following paragraphs. One reason is that people compare themselves with id…

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AI-completed learning example

345 words · Illustrative target band

It is getting more common that many people opt for plastic surgery in order to enhance their look, largely due to the high society’s expectations for beauty. In spite of some visible benefits, I concur that this trend cause more potentially significant drawbacks. Undeniably, cosmetic surgery is in high demand because it brings advantages in the confidence people hope to gain. One reason is that people compare themse…

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