Logical Writing in IELTS Writing Task Two (10 of 10)
Well, here we go with the next of the IELTS ‘logic’ posts. Remember, in IELTS essays, one of the biggest problems is a lack of logical thinking, especially if you memorise material from the many IELTS ‘magic books’ out there.
Always remember, IELTS Task-Two essays require a detailed and coherent argument. It must make sense! You need to have the ability to know what makes sense and what does not. Here are five more sentences, but each one has a logic issue. Can you see what it is?
Try to work out the logic problems with the following sentences.
- This is a problem, especially in developed and developing countries.
- With the growth of developing nations, the living cost nowadays has been increasing.
- The world is facing an energy shortage. Therefore, nuclear energy has become more efficient.
- There are many types of electricity.
- To reduce smoking, government could raise the price of cigarettes.
The answers will be given in the next ‘logic’ post.
Answers to Logic (9 of 10)
- ‘Justic’ does not take away the criminals lives. It is the ‘justice system’.
- ‘In other words’ should not be used in IELTS writing. It is not a formal written phrase, and it causes problems, such as here. ‘Attract visitors’ is not a different set of words for ‘create jobs’. I could give a correct version, but remember, ‘in other words’ is not good anyway, so I don’t want to use it.
- The correct logic is …
‘Without something’ + [Logical Result].
For example,
‘Without preparation, you could fail the test’.
If the ‘Without’ is at the beginning, you usually put a bad thing. If it is at the end, it doesn’t matter much.
‘I went to the party without asking her.’
The student has written a sentence where the second part is not a logical result. A better sentence could be …
‘Without capital punishment, people will be more inclined to commit crimes.’
or
‘Capital punishment is need. Criminals are not afraid of other forms of punishment.’
- ‘Capital punishment’ is not ‘behavior’. The student needs the word ‘system’ or ‘method’. Another problem is that capital punishment is instant death, and thus not particularly violent at all (since it can’t last over a period of time). The student needs to not use ‘extremely’, and use an adjective such as ‘brutal’ or ‘inhuman’.
- The correct logic should be ‘Instead of [A], [B] is a good idea’ but [A] and [B] should be a similar thing. You can’t say …
‘Instead of apples, buses are efficient.’
A correct sentence might be ..
Instead of execution, society should use life imprisonment, while always investigating the root causes of crime in order to reduce the problem in the first place.
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