IELTS Writing task 2

Topic ome students prefer to study alone, while other students prefer to study with others. Indicate which you prefer and why.

Whether students should study alone or learn in a group to get the most out of their time has been a debatable topic. Although learners can obtain some benefits from group study, individual study has a lot to offer.

Minimizing students' weaknesses and tailoring study to their own speed are the first undeniable advantages of studying on their own. First, when studying by themselves, it is possible for students to personalize their study to fix their weak points. For example, if one finds it hard to learn by just listening to others, but can absorb knowledge rapidly with flashcards, he can do that at home through self-study, which may be more difficult to do so when studying in groups. Second, learning rate of each person varies so significantly that they may hinder people's understanding of new knowledge if they study with a group of people. Regardless of how similar learners' levels are, there will be the time when someone slows down the speed of others as they cannot comprehend something during a lesson, which is detrimental to the absorption of other people.

It is also clear that due to some unnecessary interactions in a studying group, learners may have difficulty maintaining their focus. Firstly, it is hard to resist the temptation to discuss something off-topic within studying sessions with other people, prolonging their studying time without helping them make much progress. According to recent research, people usually have a tendency to move away from their intended topic after a certain amount of time, especially when they study or work in a group of more than six people, resulting in much less productive performance than usual. Secondly, even if they are not inclined to join in these meaningless small talk, it still hurts their focus when they surround themselves with people who are not concentrating on their work. This is because they may be constantly distracted and bothered by other voices.

In conclusion, personalization of learning style and speed, and deep concentration are key values that individual study can offer, but studying in groups falls short. Therefore, schools and parents should take steps to encourage students to study by themselves more not only at home but also at school.