Skip to content

IELTS Essays – Band 8

IELTS Writing – Band 8 IELTS Sample Essays

IELTS essay, topic: Nowadays that many women have full time jobs, it is logical to share the housework evenly between men and women (agree/disagree)

Nowadays in many countries women have full time jobs. Therefore, it is logical to share household tasks evenly between men and women. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Nowadays an ever-increasing number of women work full time, and in this reality it is widely believed that house chores should be shared between men and women equally. I strongly agree with this statement.

One of the reasons for sharing housework between is to promote gender equality. A stereotype that has existed a long time is that females ought to stay home, taking care of the family once they got married. This includes looking after the children and doing all of the housework, which is fairly labour-intensive. However, this approach could have quite a few disadvantages. It would render women less able of keeping abreast of what is happening in the job market, thus forming a lifestyle where they might find it arduous to step into the society again. To avoid this, many women are willing to get back into the workforce soon after their maternity leave, and once they do, it makes sense that their husbands should share part of the household chores, to fulfill their family responsibilities.

Nevertheless, we cannot be oblivious several drawbacks of this trend. One potential downside is that men are less experienced in dealing with household tasks. This is because many seldom take an active role in doing housework, according to customs of many countries. As a result, they may end up doing household tasks in a less than perfect way, which could contribute to some unnecessary quarrels between partners, hindering their family bond. However, the likelihood of this happening isn’t very high, because wives can offer some tips or guidance to their husbands when they learn how to share house chores such as mopping floors or doing laundry.

To sum up, although some conflicts might be triggered when equally sharing the duties of household tasks, the benefits of this trend are relatively oblivious.

The writer covered the task well by discussing the positives and negatives of sharing housework equally between men and women. Each paragraph has a clear purpose and assists with orderly presentation of ideas, making this essay easy to follow. The ideas are explained and substantiated, and the writer’s opinion is clear. The range of vocabulary is wide enough to avoid unnecessary repetition. Accuracy of expression could be improved (see corrections underlined in blue), but all in all this essay seems worthy of IELTS Band 8.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8

a better way to say this is ‘male and female partners’
the correct preposition here is ‘to’

IELTS essay, topic: Some believe the government should take care of retirees, while others think everyone should save for their own retirement (opinion)

Some people believe that the government should take care of old people and provide financial support after they retire. Others say individuals should save during their working years to fund their own retirement. What is your opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include examples from your own experience.

It is true that when people advance into their golden years, they require more help and attention. For that reason, a significant number of people hold the opinion that the government should provide financial assistance to the elderly. However, I tend to agree with those who argue that workers should be saving a portion of their income to have a nest egg in their retirement.

To begin with, a culture of saving rather than depending on the government may foster the overall economic development of a country. In other words, if people were to accumulate their own savings for their pension age, it would lessen the financial burden on the government. As a result, the government would be able to release more funds to more productive purposes, such as development of infrastructure, industries, hospitals, and so on, which may expedite the overall progression of a country.

In addition to economic factors, putting money aside has some personal benefits. Since savings-oriented people are not dependent on the state for their living expenses, this may instill a sense of self-respect and pride in them. On the other hand, those who are reliant on financial assistance very often face the negative societal stigma, as many people consider them to be inferior and unworthy members of society. Hence, to live a life with dignity and pride, taking responsibility for funding one’s own retirement is evidently a better option from individual perspective.

In contrast, the provision of monetary outlays for retirees has proven unfeasible in many countries. Since in many nations the number of senior citizens is on the rise, in the long run governments are likely to struggle to sustain the cost of providing for the elderly. The early signs of this have been seen in many countries that were forced to raise the retirement age, including my home country where men can now retire at the age of 67 instead of 65. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, these kinds of support may become completely unsustainable.

In conclusion, the provision of state monetary support may undoubtedly lessen the concern of retirees to some extent. However, considering the issue of sustainability of this provision, it is better to opt for individual savings from the very beginning of working life, for the benefit of both individual and national development.

This response addresses all parts of the topic, by discussing the merits of funding one’s own retirement versus relying on government pension. The writer’s opinion has been stated as well and is very clear. The neat presentation of ideas has been helped by appropriate paragraphing, and cohesion and coherence are maintained throughout the essay. The author’s vocabulary seems to be rich and there is a variety of sentence structures used in this essay. Overall, this essay deserves an IELTS Band 8.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8