IELTS Essays – Band 8

Nowadays celebrities earn more money than politicians. What are the reasons for this? Is it a positive or negative development?

Sample Essay

Nowadays celebrities make more money compared to people working in politics. This essay will look at the possible causes of this tendency and explain why, in my opinion, this is a negative development.

There are two main reasons why celebrities generate more income than politicians. One of them is that with the advent of the Internet, there are more ways available for celebrities to earn money, such as online streaming services. For example, singing a song in a YouTube video with some advertisements enables them to easily make a few million dollars. Another cogent reason for this is the growing global concerns over excessively high remuneration for political leaders, which can easily lead to public discontent. In response to such criticism, many governments have decided to reform the reward system for lawmakers, sending their salaries on a downward trend.

I personally believe that this development is relatively negative for several reasons, with the main one being the potential corruption scandals this issue can create. The enormous salary gap between celebrities and political leaders might discourage the legislators from putting in work or even motivate them to commit crimes such as money laundering. In addition, the relatively low salary for stressful jobs of governors may deter people with foresight on politics from becoming politicians. This is particularly undesirable because it would result in low level of citizens’ loyalty to their incompetent government, creating unstable society with more crime and other social problems.

In conclusion, the fact that celebrities are paid more than political leaders now is caused by a wider variety of income sources available to them, and supported by the social norm that a politician should not be a profit driven professional. However, I believe this is a negative trend which may lead to more political corruption and less talented governments.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8

Some people think that it is fine for professional sportsmen and sportswomen to misbehave on or off the field, as long as they are playing well.

Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Sample Essay

Although most professional athletes are aware of their position as role models for their fans and behave accordingly, there are sportsmen and sportswomen who behave poorly during matches and in their private life. While some people find it acceptable as long as their performance on the field is not impacted, not everyone agrees with that point of view.

Those who put athletes’ performance on the field above everything else point out that competitive environment and immense pressure the sports people are under affect their behavior. They argue that athletes are entitled to privacy and their actions before and after games should not concern the general public. I find this hard to agree with, because poor behavior in sports people is incompatible with their role in public’s life and also for the reason that their actions could negatively affect their entire sports industry.

The main reason why I believe athletes should behave well at all times is that their behavior is tremendously influential. Spectators respect players and many copy their actions and behavior; therefore, if top players misbehave or violate laws, some of the fans may feel compelled to follow their example and behave badly. For example, after an acclaimed baseball player was caught using drugs some years ago, the number of people who were arrested for the same crime significantly increased. This shows quite clearly why high profile players should consider their actions very carefully in order to promote a peaceful society.

In addition, the behavior of athletes might affect the popularity of their sports. Some companies sponsor successful athletes who boost their brand recognition and sales of their products. Players and sports industry executives are financially compensated for endorsing products and participating in commercial advertisements. If they demonstrate poor behavior, sponsors could direct their money elsewhere, and as a result sports matches could suffer due to lack of funds. To illustrate, Sumo, a traditional Japanese sport, is held every season thanks to resources donated by companies. In a year when a Sumo player was involved in a violent crime, no matches were held, resulting in a large deficit of funds.

In conclusion, I completely disagree with the opinion that top athletes are permitted to behave badly because their behavior may negatively influence the public behavior and sports industry itself.

Assessor’s comment: This response addresses both sides of the argument by exploring the reasons why some people think athletes are allowed to behave poorly as long as they play well, and the reasons why others think poor behavior has no excuse. This response deserves a high score for task achievement because of that. A good range of cohesive devices is used in this essay; that and the organisation of ideas makes it easy to follow. Sentence structures are varied and the vocabulary is quite rich, the author also showed good control of grammar and spelling. It is worth noting that this sample is longer than the recommended 260 – 285 words, however, this isn’t an issue provided the author can complete an essay of this length and quality in under 40 minutes. Overall this is a good example of a Band 8 essay.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8