Politeness— Part 1 Report

Suggestion: Be more concise and direct by starting with a clear topic sentence, then add one or two specific examples using linking words. Avoid redundant phrases (e.g., “people who were elder to me” → “elders”). Also vary vocabulary slightly (use ‘respect’ or ‘manners’) and keep answers under five sentences.

Example: I learned politeness mainly from my parents. For example, they told me to greet elders and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ and they corrected me when I was rude, which helped me develop good manners early on.

Suggestion: Begin with a direct opinion sentence, then support it with one or two specific reasons using linking words (e.g., ‘because’, ‘for example’). Use concrete examples and avoid vague generalities like “succeed in life” without explanation. Keep it within three sentences for clarity.

Example: Yes, I believe politeness is very important because it builds trust and makes social interactions smoother. For example, saying ‘thank you’ at work can improve relationships with colleagues and create a more cooperative atmosphere.

× They often taught me to greet people who were elder to me and be kind and gentle to other individuals and not be rude to anyone without any specific reason.

✓ They often taught me to greet people who were older than me, to be kind and gentle to others, and not to be rude to anyone without a specific reason.

Use 'older than me' instead of 'elder to me' for comparison with a pronoun; 'elder' is typically used before a noun (an elder person) or with 'than' in formal contexts. Include 'to' before infinitives in a list (to greet, to be) for parallel structure. Use 'others' instead of 'other individuals' for natural phrasing. Add 'to' before 'be rude' and change 'any specific reason' to 'a specific reason' for natural article use.

× I think being polite is one of the most important qualities that an individual can exhibit in themselves.

✓ I think being polite is one of the most important qualities that an individual can exhibit in himself or herself, or that people can exhibit in themselves.

The reflexive pronoun 'themselves' does not agree with the singular antecedent 'an individual.' Use 'himself or herself' for singular 'an individual' or rephrase to plural 'people' with 'themselves' for agreement. Alternatively, use gender-neutral 'themself' in informal contexts, but standard formal English prefers 'himself or herself' or rephrase to plural.

× Being polite helps you to succeed in life.

✓ Being polite helps you succeed in life.

Both 'helps you to succeed' and 'helps you succeed' are grammatically acceptable, but omitting 'to' is more natural and concise in this context. This is a style and structure improvement rather than a strict grammatical error.

× It also tells a lot about you as a person and increases the kindness in the world.

✓ It also says a lot about you as a person and increases kindness in the world.

'Tells a lot about you' is better as 'says a lot about you' for natural collocation. 'The kindness' with 'the' is unnecessary; use 'kindness' without the definite article. This fixes pronoun/article usage and improves collocation.