Band 7 Example

Question: What skills do you think teenagers should have?

Idea 1

Emotional and Social Development
Model Answer
Teenagers should know how to work in a team and cooperate with others. They are almost adults, moving from thinking everything is about them to understanding the need to work with others. This smooth change is important for their success in studying and working with people.
Teenagers need to be able to work in a team and collaborate with their peers. They are on the verge of moving into the adult world and moving from a child’s world view where everything revolves around them, to one where they have to cooperate with other people. A smooth transition here is vital if they are to study and work with other people successfully.
Grammar Analysis
Passive voice: "need to be able to work" - This expression uses the passive voice, emphasizing the abilities that teenagers need to have, rather than specific people or methods teaching these abilities, increasing the objectivity and universality of the sentence. Present continuous: "They are on the verge of moving" - This expression uses the present continuous tense, describing the important transition that teenagers are about to go through, emphasizing the urgency and continuity of this process. Conditional sentence: "if they are to study and work with other people successfully" - This conditional sentence describes the necessary condition for success, emphasizing the importance of teamwork skills, adding logic and depth to the sentence.
Vocabulary
  • collaborate
  • on the verge
  • revolves
  • cooperate
  • smooth transition
  • vital
  • successfully

Idea 2

Personal Responsibility and Independence
Model Answer
I believe teenagers need basic life skills, like cooking and cleaning. As they enter adulthood, they need to be independent. This includes being able to cook healthy meals and clean up after themselves. If they can't do these simple tasks, they'll find it difficult.
I think they need the basics. By this, I mean basic life skills like cooking and cleaning. They are branching out into the adult world and to do this, they need a level of independence. This means that they need to be able to cook basic nutritious meals and also do the washing and tidy up after themselves. If they can’t do these basic things then they are going to struggle.
Grammar Analysis
Present Simple Tense: "They need the basics" and "they need a level of independence" these expressions use the simple present tense, clearly expressing the basic skills and independence needed by teenagers, highlighting their universality and longevity. Present Continuous Tense: "They are branching out into the adult world" uses the present continuous tense to describe the process of teenagers entering the adult world, emphasizing the dynamic and continuous nature of this transition.
Vocabulary
  • basic
  • branching out
  • independence
  • nutritious
  • struggle