The question below has been taken from British Council.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions. Old-fashioned values, such as honour, kindness and trust, no longer seem important.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
SAMPLE ANSWER 1
We are living in a world surrounded by people with goals, however, sadly the goals seem to be centrally oriented towards the career. In times, when we judge the potential of the other person on the basis of how well off her or she is ,there are some who believe that no matter what the behaviour does comes first.
A person cannot help another individual until and unless he or she is able to help himself or herself. In a world, where money can buy almost everything, judging a person’s worth based on the social status, surely seems more logical. Even more, with millions of people all over the world fighting for success, a person who gets it must have definitely worked smarter than others. For example, there are millions of those who code, but it was ultimately Mark Zukerberg who could bring out the idea of Facebook.
On the other hand, judging a person only on the basis of the money might not be the right thing to do. A person who cannot share is similar to the person who does not have. For example, although Steve Jobs was more of a genius that Bill Gates, it is ultimately Bill Gates who helped millions of people get education. Even more, there are people like Mother Teresa or Malala who have changed the way we see at others.
Overall, in my opinion, certainly people are judged on the basis of the credit they have, but we have still not forgotten the good deeds that make a person. No matter how successful a person is, he or she is ultimately judged on the basis of his or her behaviour.
SAMPLE ANSWER 2
With the advancement of technology and media the lives of individuals have become much more vulnerable than ever. People know about others more than ever in the last few decades. There are some people who believe in modern times, the worth of an individual depends on the social status that he or she has while many others are of the opinion, that the behaviour of the person still has a very important role to play.
We are in times when the lives of all the successful people is like an open book for us. Although, this has helped people in understanding how to gain success, people have started comparing every successful person with the one they know about. So, for example, Sandeep Maheshwari might not be considered as successful as Bill Gates, simply because he does not have that much of money. Even more, people with madness rushing in their lives have surely started judging the success on the external factors.
However, no matter how successful an individual is, ultimately he or she is also judged on the basis of the good deed he or she has done. It is the good work that does make an impression on other people lives. For instance, Steve Jobs might be considered a revolutionary figure by many, but it is Bill Gates who is admired by all. Even more, there are people like Mother Teresa and Malala that are loved more than anyone in the world.
Overall, in my opinion, surely people have become litel materialistic with the changing times. However, ultimately it is the kindness and the nature of the individual that impacts the people all around the world.
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