It is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents – for instance for sports or music, and others are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sportsperson or musician. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Here is a band 7 essay on this topic written by one of our students. The teacher’s comments are also included. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your essays, letters and reports corrected by me.
Analysis
Why is talent important? It makes success easier. Some children demonstrate a talent for singing or dancing when they are just two years old. They are obviously talented by birth. Even if they do not receive any training at all, they will still achieve some level of success. Now if they receive some training as well, it is not possible to beat them. By contrast, someone who lacks inborn talent will require several years of rigorous training to achieve some success. Still, they will not be able to compete with a talented person who has also received some training.
This is close to band 7. Overall, task response is satisfactory. However, you have to clearly explain how inborn talent makes success easier. There is a limit to what you can achieve through practice.
Grammar was okay.
Band 9 IELTS essay sample
According to some people, talent is innate. That means in their opinion some children have an innate ability to perform well in the field of arts or sports. Others, however, insist that if a child works hard enough, they will be able to acquire expertise in any field. Personally, I believe that in order to excel in dance, music or sports some inborn talent is necessary.
Some children demonstrate unique artistic or athletic abilities right since their childhood. For example, there are kids who are able to sing by the time they turn two. Some others can run faster or jump much higher than their peers without any practice. These children obviously were born with these abilities. If they practice a little, they can easily achieve excellence. In other words, there are immense benefits to being born with certain talents.
On the other hand, a child who demonstrated no such ability to sing or play may still be able to hone those skills through practice. However, they will have to work a lot harder and spend a lot more time than someone who demonstrated these abilities from early childhood. Even so, they will fall behind a born singer or athlete who works equally hard. That means hard work is not a substitute for inborn talent. Countless children aspire to be great singers, footballers or sprinters. They spend hours after hours polishing their skills. Yet, we know of only a handful of people who achieved perfection in these fields. If we dig a little deeper, it is not hard to see that these people who earned name and fame as a singer or a sportsperson had demonstrated considerable talent for their respective field even as a child. Practice only helped them achieve perfection.
To conclude, some children are indeed born with special abilities. They only need a little practice to polish those skills. By contrast, those born with no special talent have to work really hard to gain even a moderate level of success. Even so, it is impossible for them to beat someone with inherent talent.