Sample Points 01 - IELTS task 2: The characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life.

Research indicates that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life.

Which do you consider to be the major influence? You should write at least 250 words.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

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The task asks you to draw a detailed comparison between a human's in-born characteristics versus the experiences he gains in life and the impacts they have on an individual's way of living/ personality.

Always remember, the safest way to attempt such questions is to always take a partial agreement - partial disagreement stand for the issue. The following points can be structured in an error-free manner to draft a decent BAND 7.0 answer.

Also keep in mind, that your answer should ALWAYS BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR KEY PARAGRAPHS - Introduction, Body Paragraph 01, Body Paragraph 02 and Conclusion. This is the ideal way of dividing your task into relevant sections so that it looks controlled and well drafted.

Introduction -  

In the modern world, it is often observed that an individual's lifestyle is primarily shaped by the events and occurrences around them. However,sometimes it is more of a convergence of both their hereditary traits and real-world experiences during the course of their lives rather than the dominance of any one of the factors mentioned above. Some people believe that the characteristics we are born with have a major influence on how our personality shapes up in the future years, while others feel, experiences play a major part in the same. In my personal opinion, both our in-born traits and experiences play a deciding factor on our persona and future development.

Body Paragraph 01 - Supporting points for In-Born Characteristics -

1. Genetically transferred characteristics serves as a foundation stone for future years.
2. At times due to characteristics transferred via a family chain, an individual can show more interest / inclination towards a particular field of study / work. Example - Music, Arts or any other working profession.
3. However, sometimes genetic disorders can also be transferred to an individual, which can prove to be a hindrance for their future development.    

Body Paragraph 02 - Supporting points for Life Experiences -

1. When an individual undergoes real-world experiences, his perception towards life can completely change.
2. There are certain things,which can only be taught / learned by experiences. For example - a person can be extremely talented in any particular field like music / art / sports but only through constant practice and learning from his own mistakes / observing the mistakes of others can he learn how to be perfect in his craft / skill.
3. In addition to it, at times, experiences in one's professional life also helps in shaping one's personality. For example - an introvert person can learn to socialize with people / society when he joins a work place, as he will constantly experience mutual interaction with colleagues and superiors.

NOTE - Do not forget, a well-structured writing task 02 should always contain a conclusion / concluding paragraph which will be an overall summary of your stated points/ facts / examples in the Body paragraphs. It is one of the most important part of the Task 02 structure and should never be avoided.   

(These points can be followed as an example of a very good answer. However, please note that this is just one example out of many possible approaches.)