Day: 30 September 2016

IELTS Essay Sample Answer # Living Alone

You should spend 40 minutes on this task.
In some countries, people are choosing to live alone nowadays than in the past. Do you think this is a positive or negative development? Answer in at least 250 words

The question above is majorly for people preparing for IELTS academic, however you can treat it as a sample answer for essay. Now, the first thing that you need to keep in mind while answering this question is that you have got 40 minutes and in these 40  minutes you need to put up your best show.

No matter how well you know the topic, but simply starting to write the essay will surely land you up in trouble. So, start with taking notes, figure out the points you will bring up in the essay, what will be the flow of those points, what kind of vocabulary you are going to use and the kind of phrases you want to use. When you are clear on these things, move on with writing the essay.

POINTS:

  1. People who choose to live alone become more independent and self-reliant.
  2. Living alone however, can increase the housing demand.
  3. There are chances of people feeling isolated, lonely and feel more stressed up.
  4. Increase in the pricing of houses.
SAMPLE ANSWER

The last decade has seen the rise in people who live alone, particularly in large cities in developed world. In my opinion, this trend can have both positive and negative consequences in equal measure.

The rise in one-person households has some great positive effects for both personal and broader economic reasons. On an individual level, people who choose to live alone tend to become more independent and self-reliant than those who live with their family members. Certain things like paying electricity bills, managing budget, cleaning and taking care of oneself can be learnt only when you have to live alone. From an economic perspective, the trend towards living alone will result in a greater demand of housing, leading the construction industry, estate agents and other companies that rely on homeowners to buy their products or services.

However, there are certain negative impacts as well of living alone. Firstly, people living alone often get surrounded by increased feelings of lonliness, isolation and worry. Most people miss out on the emotional support that only family and friends can provide. Secondly, with increase in the demand for housing, there will be a rise in the property prices and rents. While this may benefit some businessmen, for the general population, this is an issue that might hinder their living alone decision.

In conclusion, the increase in one-person households will have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the individuals and on the economy. (238 words)

IELTS BAND7

IELTS Speaking # Work And You

We all work for our living and it could be anything. Let us today have a look at some questions that figure out the relation between work and you.

What do you do for living?

Professionally, I am a software engineer but I also work as a content writer for various websites.

Describe your workstyle.

I really don’t have a very specific work style. On weekdays, I work for living on and during weekends I work for myself. I love travelling and writing, so during weekends I pursue my passion.

What are your responsibilities at work.

I am a data analyst in the project that I am working on. My task is to ensure that accurate data comes to the final data ware house so that the next team, the one that does reporting gets clean and right data. As a travel blogger, I am responsible for writing post that tells the reader everything about the place and the people and the culture.

How do you handle pressure at your workplace?

Well, I usually do a physical exercise whenever pressure comes in. It could be either dancing or running. But, when I am not able to do either of these, I settle for either writing or listening to music.

How many hours do you work each day?

I work 9 hours each day, which includes a break of 2 hours.

How did you get this job?

Well, I am done my Bachelors in technology in Information Technology. So, during the last year, lot of companies came in for campus recruitment and I got selected at Infosys.

Work and you

Do you enjoy your work?

Oh! Yes I do. It is lot of fun interacting with so many people and grilling each other to get to the best option available and then we can always go out and play and be part of lot of things I never thought I could be.

What do you dislike about your work?

The only think that I really don’t like about being a software engineer is that apart from being a great job, it is not something very close to my heart. At hear, I am a writer, traveler and a reader. And I would definitely would want to do something near to it.

Describe your career goals.

To be very frank, I would say I don’t have any definite career goals as such. I just want to follow what steve jobs said, ” Do what you  love and love what you do”. I really want to be someone who wakes up every morning feeling great about the day and sleeping at night feeling satisfied with the work that I have done.

Do you prefer to work alone or on a team?

I think both work fine for me. As a software engineer, it is always a great idea to start off the work as a team because you get to know lot of ideas that you can work upon. Different approaches that could be followed and simpler ways by which the task could be done. After that, I think it is good to work alone and bring in your creativity to the work.

Do you think team work is important?

Definitely yes. When you are working on a big project or even a small task, the creativity that team work brings along, can never be replaced by what an individual can do. Because, when one person does the same thing, there are more chances of bugs, but when an entire team does it, you can find lot of new aspects of the work, which might have remained hidden.

If you could change your job or profession, what would you do?

I would definitely become a professional travel blogger and travel around the world, write about it, make videos and interact with people, get to know about cultures and may be just show everyone what truly the world holds. After this, may be I would open a company that gives equal education rights to everyone, because I think education is something very important for everyone.

Do you think your way of work will change in future?

I hope so. Because, I wish to  be able to open my own company and do work for myself, not only on weekends but everyday.

Describe the process of getting a job in your country.

For getting a job in my country, it is very important that you have done some sort of graduation or post graduation. Most of the companies look out for the college degrees and then grant the job. One can even clear different exams held at national level to land up an exciting job, but having a degree is a must. But, yes if one wants to do the unconventional jobs, like photography or writing, I think what matters is your work and not a degree.

IELTS BAND7