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Target Band 7.5-IELTS Writing-Task 2- Nature or Nurture

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:36 am
by adaxli
Hi, guys. I am new to the forum. I am very interested in improving my IELTS writing. I have referred to the official IELTS tips and familiarise myself with four aspects of assessment. Currently I am struggling with how to develop my arguments more logically and variety of vocabulary. I would be very grateful to have your comments.

Research indicates that characteristics we are born with much more influence on our personalities and development than any experience we may have in our lives.

Which do you consider to have the greater influence?

The latest trend in psychological studies has revealed that a person’s characteristic is highly likely to be predetermined by the genes. However, some advocate that a person’s personality and development is more shaped by life experiences rather than heredity. I firmly believe the latter side.

First, life experience has played a more essential role in forming a person’s traits than genes. In other words, each individual distincts himself from others more due to after-birth experiences which vary from person to person. For instance, a person who has travelled to a range of countries tends to be more inclusive and open-mined than that without any overseas experiences. Therefore, it is the life experiences rather than genes that decide who we are.

Further to this point, a great many personal traits which contribute to further development can only be acquired via learning through trials and errors in real life. One such example is diligence. The characteristic of being fully committed is unarguably cultivated by showing persistence and commitment when confronting countless problems in life drill. However, no such scientific proof has been found that diligence is a trait which is programmed into the genes so far.

Last but not the least, a personal character is more likely to be influenced by external environment. Undeniably, a child who grows up a well-educated family are more likely to possess the qualities such as integrity and honesty than that from a drug-abusive one. Conversely, a child exposed to gang and smuggling has greater tendency to resort to violence or even get involved in illegal trafficking later on than that from a well-disciplined environment. Therefore, it is self-evident that the external influence has a greater impact on moulding a person’s character.

To sum up, I strongly believe a person’s character and development is mainly determined by life experience instead of genetic inheritance based on the abovementioned arguments.

Re: Target Band 7.5-IELTS Writing-Task 2- Nature or Nurture

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:09 pm
by Flick
adaxli wrote: Research indicates that characteristics we are born with much more influence on our personalities and development than any experience we may have in our lives.

Which do you consider to have the greater influence?

The latest trend in psychological studies has revealed that a person’s characteristics are highly likely to be predetermined by their genes. However, some advocate that a person’s personality and development is more shaped by life experiences rather than heredity. I firmly believe the latter.

First, life experience plays a more essential role in forming a person’s traits than genes. In other words, each individual distinguishes himself from others more due to after-birth experiences which vary from person to person. For instance, a person who has travelled to a range of countries tends to be more inclusive and open-mined than those without any overseas experiences. Therefore, it is the life experiences rather than genes that decide who we are.

Further to this point, a great many personal traits which contribute to further development can only be acquired via learning through trial and error in real life. One such example is diligence. The characteristic of being fully committed is unarguably cultivated by showing persistence and commitment when confronting countless problems in life. However, no scientific proof has been foundto suggest that diligence is a trait which is programmed into the genes.

Last but not least, a personal characteristic is more likely to be influenced by external environment. Undeniably, a child who grows up in a well-educated family is more likely to possess qualities such as integrity and honesty than that from a drug-abusive one. Conversely, a child exposed to gangs and criminal activity has a greater tendency to resort to violence or even get involved in illegal trafficking later on than that from a well-disciplined environment. Therefore, it is self-evident that external influence has a significant impact on moulding a person’s character.

To sum up, I strongly believe a person’s character and development is mainly determined by life experience instead of genetic inheritance based on the above mentioned arguments.