IELTS Writing Task 2 – Band 9 Strategies – Workers in Everyday life

Hi Students! Here is the Task 2 writing question that we covered recently. Remember to get editing feedback on your writing by clicking, “Task 1 or Task 2” green buttons in your My Student Account at www.gieltshelp.com/full-course/ (Use code A8TW9 to get a 10% discount when you join the Premium Package) Good studies.

IELTS Task 2 Writing

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Many people work long hours to make enough money for everyday life and have little time to spend with family and entertainment. What are the causes and solutions to this situation?

Give explanations and examples to support the arguments in the essay.
Write at least 250 words.

STEP 1, Paraphrase the question for clarity, ideas, and vocabulary

Millions of individuals work many hours to earn enough money for sustenance needs but have only a few hours to be with loved ones and to have fun. What creates this situation and how can it be avoided? -> This is not your introduction, but it may be useful in some parts of the essay!

TOPIC = working long hours for sustenance!
Controlling Idea (what in connection to the topic?) = Discussing its causes and solutions so that people can engage more with family and entertainment

What does it mean to work long hours for sustenance?
Working morning until night – 12 hours – to pay for food, shelter, and clothes.

Why do people work for long hours for their basic needs?
This happens because wages are low and the cost of living is very high – rapid inflation (money is losing its value).

How can we see this in society? (think an example)
Nurse makes 30 dollars/hour, rent is 2000 dollars a month

***Always start the ‘what’ ‘why’ and ‘how’ with the TOPIC; this will often reveal answers for the Controlling Idea.

What are the causes of this?
Low wages, inflation, low demand, lack of education, poor economy

What are the solutions to working too many hours for everyday needs?
Further education, find different sources of income, learn to make passive income, immigrate, increase salary, start investing wisely, change jobs, start a business,

Further education -> better job

Invest so money makes money.

***In the IELTS you do not have enough time to include all of the ideas here, so you MUST choose just two or three of the best ideas to write about that are easy and clear (be original)

Causes -> low wages, high prices

Solutions -> education and investing

Thesis: The causes of being overworked are low wages and high prices while the solutions lie in more education and investing.

INTRODUCTION (hook, background, thesis) hook – a simple, interesting fact that includes the topic and should be just 8 – 12 words so that you avoid mistakes in your first sentence.

Band 9 Introduction

Millions of people suffer from being overworked to survive. (background = definition of the key ideas and importance of the essay) Individuals slave away in their workplace for 14 hours each day to afford food, rent, commute, and clothes. This trend has a detrimental effect on people’s relationships and overall quality of life. (Thesis) The causes of long-working hours are low wages and high prices while the solutions lie in more education and investing.

Band 6 Introduction

Millions of individuals work many hours to earn enough money for sustenance needs but have only a few hours to be with loved ones and to have fun. This essay will discuss the causes and possible solutions to this phenomenon.

BODY 1 – Topic sentence = a deeper definition of your first thesis point(s). Many of the popular and necessary professions in today’s world are awarded relatively small salaries while the cost of living has significantly increased over the past few decades which leads people to work much more than the 40-hour full-time week. (Explain) Since the early 2000s, salaries for many professions, such as nurses and teachers have only increased by about 10% while the average rent cost has quadrupled, and the cost of groceries has tripled. This means that these employees need to work at least twice as many hours to afford monthly expenses. (Example) The Canadian consensus shows that teachers were paid $20 at the turn of the millennium and in 2020, they made $22, while average rent costs soared from $800 to $2100 during the same period. Clearly, this has created an additional strain on employees as they need to spend more time at their jobs.

BODY 2 – Topic Sentence (Solutions more education and investing)
In order to create more time for loved ones and hobbies, individuals need to increase their hourly wage through higher education and their budget through smart investments. (Explanation). Both teachers and nurses can continue higher education to better their careers and become professors and doctors thereby tripling their hourly wage and decreasing the demand for working hours. In addition, they can use any disposable income to invest in blue-chip stocks which can earn a passive income in the long-run. (Example) Arguably, a professor who makes $65 an hour can much more easily afford a $2100 monthly rent while working fewer hours.

CONCLUSION (main points + argument + take-home-message)
In conclusion, millions of individuals work many hours to earn enough money for sustenance needs because they get little pay but have many expenses. Nevertheless, through further learning and stock investing people can increase the value of their time. Therefore it is a good idea to do more with the available time a person has so that they can be with loved ones and be relaxed more often.

National statistics which include age, employment, birth/death rate = national consensus

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