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ielts writing

IELTS essay, topic: People today find their lives more and more dominated by their jobs (agree/disagree)

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 6 General Training book, Practice Test 29

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

People today find their lives more and more dominated by their jobs. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

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

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Band 9 Essay

It is certainly true that many people around the world find their lives dominated by the work that they have to do. This is shown when you realise how people’s work, and how much time, effort and resources they devote to it, is often the subject of conversation.

Most people depend on their jobs to generate an income to pay for their lives’ necessities and luxuries, and so work can naturally become a dominating focus. As this is an important part of nearly everyone’s everyday life, it can seem that people’s lives are indeed becoming more influenced by their jobs. Whether this emphasis on work is more significant now than in previous years is debatable. In many developed countries around the world, there are procedures in place to help people with finding work, providing unemployment benefits, ensuring education, and offering pension payments. In times past, these provisions were not in place and a job or business was required to provide the necessary income.

Therefore, in spite of increases in the cost of living in many places around the world, it can be argued there is actually less pressure than in previous years to keep one’s job and perform well at it. This, in turn, would lead to people’s lives being less influenced by their jobs today. It is also true that in the past, people were as responsible and focused on doing well in their responsibilities as today and so, in this respect, the people of the past would be equally dedicated to their work as people are today.

While I agree that people’s lives today are often dominated by their jobs, I feel that the current situation is not necessarily worse than before. In fact, it may be more positive, due to the fewer pressures to earn money in many countries.

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IELTS Letter, topic: Describing your visit to the museum

This is a model response to a Writing Task 1 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 4 General Training book, Practice Test 18

Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You recently visited a museum in your local town and you had a mixed experience. Write a letter to the museum’s manager.

In your letter,

– explain when you visited and what you saw
– explain the positive parts of your experience and what you liked
– explain the negative parts of your experience and give some advice for improvements.

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir / Dear Madam,

Sample Band 9 Letter

Dear Sir,

My name is Peter Jones and last weekend on the twenty-third of May I visited your American History Museum. Being a history enthusiast, I was looking forward very much to learning about the important events that your museum covers and looking at the displays. In general, the exhibits were well-presented and interesting. I was also impressed with the recreation of various American Revolution events that were acted out by your staff.

However, there were certain aspects of my visit that were quite unsatisfactory and I would suggest that these be improved as soon as possible. I heard that several of the tour guides I passed were giving incorrect information regarding dates, people, events and the impact of certain events. I also found the order of exhibits, though detailed, difficult to follow, for many were not in chronological order. Some exhibits had their information missing and so it was impossible to understand what I was looking at. I would also suggest improving the lighting, for it is quite harsh and creates an unwelcome atmosphere.

Your museum is very interesting, and I hope you can act on my advice to create a more worthwhile experience. I look forward to visiting again soon.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Jones

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