IELTS essay, topic: Public libraries should only provide books, not videos or DVD, agree or disagree?

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 it’s 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 audio-visual 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a daily basis; in contrast, books typically take multiple months to be published, which in turn render their contents outdated to some extent.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 are equipped 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!

IELTS essay, topic: Children should be engaged in paid work, agree or disagree?

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 child’s learning and development, I contend that it would bring harm to the child’s heath and learning.

First of all, a workplace designed for adults is normally shortage of child-friendly 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 that is required by the job. Further, without sufficient support, a child’s misunderstanding or inappropriately communicating with adults would only disappoint him and prevents him from active learning and interacting with other people.

To conclude, a child’s paid employment experience would lead to a negative impact on their health and active learning. However, recognizing the importance of children’s 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!

IELTS Speaking Test in Oman – March 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Where do you live?
- May I see your ID?
- Do you do some housework at home?
- What housework do you dislike to do at home?
- Is it important for a child to do household chores? Why?
- Do you live in a house or an apartment?
- Do you like your home?
- What kind of home would you like to have in the future?

Cue Card
Talk about a meal that you were invited to. Please say

- When and where it took place?
- Who has invited you?
- Explain why you enjoyed the meal.

Discussion
- Explain the importance of having a meal together as a family.
- What are the problems that working parents are facing with meal preparation?
- What is the difference between a daily meal and a meal prepared for a special occasion?
- Do you agree that there are more foods available these days as compared to the past?

IELTS Speaking Test in Almaty, Kazakhstan – February 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- What do you do to have a healthy lifestyle?
- What activities would you like to do for healthier lifestyle?
- Can you tell me about seasons in your country?
- What season did you like the most as a child? Why?

Cue Card
Talk about an interesting lesson or training that you have attended. Please say
- Where did it take place?
- What was the lesson/training?
- Why did you like/dislike it?

Discussion
- Should lessons taught at school be fun? Why?
- Describe an image of the perfect teacher, in your view.
- What do you think about the statement “It is never too late to learn”?
- Do you agree with it? Why?
- Do you think government should support elderly people who want to study?

IELTS essay, topic: Should people spend a lot on weddings and birthday parties?

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 photos took 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.

IELTS Speaking Test in Sri Lanka and Australia – February 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- Have you ever visited a museum?
- How many times?
- What were the benefits of these visits to you?
- Did you visit museums as a student?
- Is there any museum that you would like to visit in the future?
- Do you think children should visit museums as a part of their studies?

Cue Card
Talk about your neighbor or roommate. Please say
- Who is he/she?
- When did you meet?
- Do you see each other a lot?

Discussion
- What is the difference between neighborhood and neighbors?
- What are the characteristics of a good neighbor?
- What is the difference between a real neighborhood and the one shown on TV?

IELTS Speaking Test in Azerbaijan – February 2013

Interview
- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- Do you work or study?
- What subject are you studying?
- Do you like it?
- Do you use computer in you daily life?
- Did somebody explain to you how to use computer in the first place?
- When did you use a computer for the first time?
- What did you use it for, the first time?

Cue Card
Describe a present that you have given to someone. Please say
- What was it?
- Who did you give it to?
- Why did you choose it?

Discussion
- Did he/she like the present?
- What kinds of things are usually given as gifts in your culture?
- On what occasions are you expected to give presents?
- What kind of presents do people give to little kids?
- Is the cost of gift of any importance?