IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
One should never judge a person by external appearances.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
People very often tend to make a judgment about a person based on his first impression. They judge the person by his or her looks or dress up, external appearances. But I disagree with the notion and want to suggest that never judge a book by its cover. Because judgment based on outlook can avert us from knowing the person, reinforces our stereotypes, and can lead us to a conclusion that may be far from the truth.
To start with, judging people by external appearances prevents us from acquainting them and gives us just a superficial idea. In my school days, I had two friends. One seemed too amiable and I thought one day if I need him, he would have helped me. On the other hand, another one was some kind of rustic. I thought he is not helpful. But when they were needed to help me to come out from my frustration, I could not get my amiable friend, it was that rustic friend who accompanied me, counseled me, and helped to get rid of the condition. Then, I realized that judging people by outlook not only prevented me from really getting to know my friends, but equally gave me a superficial notion.
In most cases, judging people by outlook can firm our prejudice. We might think a type which is not true and is unfair. Take the novel To Kill a Mockingbird of Harper Lee for an example. In the novel, a man is wrongly trialed and convicted because of his race.
Similarly, judgment based on external appearance can lead us to the conclusions that are not true. In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, the heroine Elizabeth forms a strong opinion of a man’s character before she hears his side of the story. But the balance of the facts reveals that she made a wrong judgment.
In conclusion, judgment based on external appearance creates a wrong perception. External appearance often does not expose everything about a man. Judging people by external appearance hinders us for fully knowing a people, and reinforces prejudice which ultimately leads us to wrong conclusions. So we should be aware of judging people by their appearance.