It is important for people to take risks, both in their professional lives and their personal lives. Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages? IELTS Writing Topic
Bhargavee Sisodia16 Nov 2024

The internationally renowned IELTS exam consists of four main sections: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. To get hired overseas and to be admitted to certain universities, you must pass this test.
The IELTS Academic test is necessary for university admission, whereas the IELTS General test is necessary for potential employment. Task 1 and Task 2 are the two components of the writing component for both Academic and General Tests.
The two sections of the IELTS writing component for the General and Academic Tests are made up of Tasks 1 and 2. Task 2 of the General and Academic parts differ only in the essay subjects and writing styles while Task 1 is the same for both.
Academic Task 1: You need to describe the visual data presented in a specific graph, table, chart, or diagram on your own. You must answer in at least 150 words within the allotted 20 minutes.
General Task 1: You have twenty minutes to prepare a letter of 150 words on the given situation in 20 minutes.
Task 2 of the Academic and General Writing examinations ask you to offer an answer to a specific argument, point of view, or issue. You have 40 minutes to compose an essay that is at least 250 words long. Now let's look at how the topics and formats of the responses in Task 2 of the IELTS Academic and General Writing Test differ from one another.
IELTS Writing Academic Section Task 2: Science, education, and society are the topics addressed in this section. It is necessary to have a formal writing style and a wide range of words.
IELTS Writing General Section Task 2: This area of the test covers real-life occurrences, circumstances, pursuits, or hobbies. The writing style and terminology are informal.
To help you aim for your target IELTS writing band score, this blog will provide you with all the knowledge you need for the IELTS writing essay section.
In essay writing, there are a total of 6 types of them and you are only going to write one type of them depending on the topic that you are given. Depending on the nature of the particular type of essay question, the approach is formed and the structure is defined. So, first of all, we need to know the types of essays.
- Opinion-based: These essays allow you to express your opinions or arguments on a certain topic. You must decide whether you agree with it or not.
- Problem/solution or Cause/Effect: In a cause/effect essay, you must identify or examine the reasons for an issue while also suggesting valid solutions.
- Discussion: You must briefly discuss both sides of a statement or an argument. However, you may be asked to express your feelings on a certain side that you support or oppose.
- Advantages/ Disadvantages: In this kind of essay, you will be required to discuss both the pros and disadvantages of a particular topic.
- Balanced opinion: In these essays, you are required to present a well-rounded perspective and demonstrate that you partially agree with one side while not completely disagreeing with the other.
- Two Questions or Direct Question: In this scenario, a direct question will be posed to you, and you will need to write an essay answering it with relevant examples.
How to improve your writing spelling?
- Remember that words are not spelled the way they are pronounced. For example, "hatch" is pronounced as "hach" without the "t" which is the incorrect spelling.
- Be careful of the silent letters in words like debt, psychology, etc.
- Follow either American spellings or British spellings and do not mix up. For example, analyze and analyse both are acceptable, however, you need to stick to only one throughout your essay.
Criteria of scoring in the Writing Task 2
The essay portion of the IELTS writing test is graded based on a few elements, just like the other sections of the test. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of the main evaluation criteria for the IELTS writing essay section. This will help you identify the sections of your work that need more attention and polish for a better IELTS writing band score. A total of 25% of the IELTS writing band score is determined by each of the four criteria that are used to evaluate the essay section of the writing test. The contributing elements are as follows:
- Task Achievement: This section's objective is to provide an effective response to the question. You must be able to articulate the circumstances precisely and offer a response that sticks to the subject. You have to write at least 250 words and adhere to all guidelines for organizing the response in a way that fits the essay's style.
- Coherence and Cohesion: Your topic articulation abilities will be evaluated using this standard. Your band will be determined by how well you use the right words, link the paragraphs, avoid using the same terms multiple times, and write in an understandable manner.
- Lexical Resource: You'll do better in this part if you have an extensive and sophisticated vocabulary. Additionally, using simple language and avoiding spelling and word construction errors will help you do better in this assessment area.
- Grammatical Accuracy and Range: To meet this condition, you must employ a range of appropriate tenses and grammatical constructions. You must also compose your sentences and use proper punctuation.
IELTS writing task 2 topics:
It is important for people to take risks, both in their professional lives and their personal lives. Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages?
The format of this essay is “advantages/disadvantages.” However, you are asked to express your perspective on whether you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks or vice versa with regard to this particular topic. We will see the answers pertaining to different bands but before that let's go through the structure of the essay.
- Introduction: Begin with a summary of the question.
- Body 1: You will rephrase the question and state whether you are discussing advantages or disadvantages in the opening sentence. In the sentences that follow, list the advantages or disadvantages.
- Body 2: If you listed the benefits in the paragraph before, list the disadvantages here, and vice versa.
- Body 3: This is optional and you can use it as per convenience to break the previous paragraphs into chunks.
- Conclusion: Summarize the question again.
IELTS writing task 2 topics with answers:
It is important for people to take risks, both in their professional lives and their personal lives. Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages?
Band 6
There are certain advantages and disadvantages of taking risks. However, according to me the advantages of it overshadows the disadvantages.
People should be willing to take chances in both their personal and professional lives but there are quite a few advantages to this argument like taking risks opens up new avenues and opportunities for people. For example, deciding quit a job for higher education can seem to be risky in terms of the future prospects and availability of a job at a later stage but it can also be beneficial in terms of career growth. Once the leap of faith are taken and a person decides to polished their skill, they will be viable to get a better job so the risk becomes worth it.
However, taking chances is something that people should do in both their personal and professional lives and it have its disadvantages as well. There might be a possibility of failure after taking the risk. For instance, not always taking the risk of higher education works out in someone's favor after quitting their job but after a couple of years of further education, there might be a possibility that due to external factors like recession or low grades, the person doesn't end up with their expected job. This can have a serious impact on a person's professional and personal life.
Thus, take risks is crucial for individuals to succeed in both their personal and professional lives. Despite its various advantages and disadvantages, I feel the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages if we plans our path properly with backups.
Clarification on the band: The question is not rephrased in the introduction which falls under the task achievement part of the evaluation. The sentences highlighted in italics are complex and long and thus fall under the coherence and cohesion part of the evaluation. The grammatical errors are blod and italic which falls under the Grammatical Accuracy and Range of the evaluation.
Band 7
Taking risks is crucial for people who want to succeed in both their personal and professional lives. This have some benefits and drawbacks. In my view, the former carries more advantages than the latter.
The action plan should suggests certain receptiveness to risks in the multiple aspects of one’s life because this approach may bring a number of benefits. Risk-taking can only open up new areas and possibilities. For instance, an individual may wish to quit his or her job because of the desire to further their education. Though this decision may seems uncertain as to acquiring the expected job in the future, it may benefit when it come to climbing up the career ladder. Thus, by risking it and developing the skills, the person become more employable and is able to get a better position, which, in turn, would justify the initial risk.
However, it is necessary to note that risk-taking may have some negative outcomes. One major disadvantage are that of failure. For instance, an individual might spend years training and looking forward to getting a job after resigning from one only to be faced with adversity like an economic downturn that denies him /her the opportunity to get the job. Such outcomes can have deep implications for the work and personal spheres of a person’s life.
Thus, it must be understood that risk-taking, as a crucial process in a person’s personal and professional growth, has its strengths and weaknesses. I firmly believe that when a person takes his/her time to plan, plus develop a backup plan, the outcome of risky undertakings shall always be a bonus rather than a drawback.
Clarification of the band: The sentences highlighted in italics are complex and long and thus fall under the coherence and cohesion part of the evaluation. The grammatical errors are bold and italic which falls under the Grammatical Accuracy and Range of the evaluation.
Band 9
Embracing risks is imperative for people to succeed personally and professionally. This is expedited by a range of advantages and drawbacks but according to me the advantages far outnumber the downsides.
A strategic standpoint should recommend that a specific level of openness to risk within different areas of an individual’s life is beneficial. Individuals can also consider risk-taking as a way of opening up a new frontier. For instance, someone plans to quit his/her job so as to attend a better learning institution. While this basic decision may yet appear fraught in terms of job opportunities, it can be a rather instrumental one in terms of the promotion of career progression. The above-calculated risk is compensated by the improvement of the individual’s employability, which leads to acquiring a better job position and hence vindicating the risk.
However, it must be noted that the process of risk-taking is not without possible negative consequences. A notable limitation is the risk of a failure. For instance, a person may devote several years of his/her time in the pursuit of advanced education expecting to obtain employment after resignation. Yet he/she is faced with aspects like an unfavorable market that impedes job acquisition. Such eventualities, just like success, can significantly affect the professional as well as personal spheres of an individual including their mental health and finances.
Therefore in conclusion, it becomes critical for one to understand that, as a significant part of personal and career growth, risk-taking has its advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, with contingency strategies, the consequences will majorly have beneficial outcomes rather than detriments.
Clarification of the band: There are no errors and the vocabulary is of high level.
Conclusion
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