Large companies should pay higher salaries to CEOs and executives compared to other workers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Many believe that executives at major companies are overpaid. In my opinion, this disconcerting wage gap is justified as there are few individuals capable of fulfilling the role responsibilities.
Critics of higher salaries for executives point out the unwarranted gap between them and other employees. For example, the average office worker or a cleaner works a similar amount of hours and, in some cases, the demanding nature of their job is arguably more strenuous. Nonetheless, CEOs and other executives get paid in the tens of millions of dollars annually, and this occurs even if the company reports disappointing results or in periods of economic downturn, such as the recent global recession. Their salaries are so many times higher it is impossible to rationalise the disparity by emphasising the hours worked alone. Therefore it is logical to decry the salaries of executives and identify corruption as a culprit.
However, in my opinion, the outsized salaries for executives are justified by supply and demand. It is an uncomfortable fact but true regardless that there is a large pool of potential applicants who would make serviceable replacements for the lowly paid positions. This is not true for executives generally and CEOs more specifically. A CEO must have a strong theoretical background (often based on attending an Ivy League institution), years of proven experience, tireless work ethic, uncommon leadership qualities, and exemplary understanding and insight into global economics. These abilities and characteristics are rare and, therefore, companies must compete to hire them by offering the greatest remuneration packages.
In conclusion, though the salaries for executives appear extravagant, they are the result of a logical calculation of supply and demand. There are more important reforms needed within the free market capitalist model.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix noun structure Original: fulfilling the role responsibilities Suggested revision: fulfilling the responsibilities of these roles Why it matters: The original sequence of nouns does not express the relationship grammatically.
- 2. Use count noun quantifier Original: amount Suggested revision: number Why it matters: 'Hours' is countable, so it takes 'number' rather than 'amount'.
- 3. Fix adjective collocation Original: the demanding nature of their job is arguably more strenuous Suggested revision: their work is arguably more strenuous Why it matters: Work can be strenuous, whereas the abstract 'nature' of a job is not normally described this way.
- 4. Make comparison parallel Original: even if the company reports disappointing results or in periods of economic downturn Suggested revision: even when the company reports disappointing results or during periods of economic downturn Why it matters: The two time conditions need parallel grammatical forms.
- 5. Complete result structure Original: so many times higher it is Suggested revision: so much higher that it is Why it matters: The 'so ... that' construction requires 'that' to introduce the result clause.
- 6. Punctuate transition Original: Therefore it Suggested revision: Therefore, it Why it matters: A sentence-opening conjunctive adverb should be followed by a comma.
- 7. Add list article Original: tireless work ethic Suggested revision: a tireless work ethic Why it matters: The singular countable noun phrase needs an article within the list.
- 8. Add noun article Original: exemplary understanding Suggested revision: an exemplary understanding Why it matters: The singular countable noun 'understanding' requires an article here.
- 9. Use precise collocation Original: the greatest remuneration packages Suggested revision: the most competitive remuneration packages Why it matters: 'Competitive' more accurately describes salary packages designed to attract scarce candidates.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: It is an uncomfortable fact but true regardless that there is a large pool of potential applicants who would make serviceable replacements for the lowly paid positions. Suggested revision: The uncomfortable fact remains that there is a large pool of potential applicants who would make serviceable replacements for lower-paid positions. Why it matters: The rewrite removes the ungrammatical sequence of stance expressions while preserving the claim.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: This is not true for executives generally and CEOs more specifically. Suggested revision: This is generally not true for executive roles, particularly CEO positions. Why it matters: The rewrite makes the general-to-specific relationship clearer and more natural.
Suggested Rewrites
- fulfilling the role responsibilities fulfilling the responsibilities of these roles
- amount number
- the demanding nature of their job is arguably more strenuous their work is arguably more strenuous
- even if the company reports disappointing results or in periods of economic downturn even when the company reports disappointing results or during periods of economic downturn
- so many times higher it is so much higher that it is
- Therefore it Therefore, it
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay presents a firm position and supports it with a well-developed supply-and-demand rationale, while also engaging seriously with the opposing view. The main limitation is that several assertions—particularly the Ivy League example and the final reference to other reforms—are broad or insufficiently connected to the central claim. Strengthen precision by qualifying those claims and ensuring every concluding point directly reflects the developed argument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question, sustains a clear position, and develops both the objection and its main justification in depth.
Qualify the narrower claims about executive credentials and omit or develop the final reference to unrelated reforms.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is organised into focused stages, and the contrast between criticism and justification creates clear progression.
Make the final sentence echo the established supply-and-demand reasoning so the conclusion closes the argument more tightly.
Lexical Resource
The essay demonstrates wide and generally precise vocabulary for discussing pay, labour, and corporate leadership, with only occasional awkward combinations.
Refine expressions such as workload comparisons and role requirements to make every collocation fully natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A broad range of sentence structures is handled accurately and fluently, with only minor local lapses.
Polish comparative constructions and article choices during proofreading to eliminate the few remaining imperfections.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Large companies should pay higher salaries to CEOs and executives compared to other workers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.