Some countries have introduced laws to limit working hours for employees. Why are these laws introduced? Do you think it is a positive or a negative development?
Sample Response
Many parts of the world have adopted laws to curb the working hours of workers. This essay will expound on why safeguarding workers’ health is the primary aim of introducing the Working Hours Limit Act, and I contend that this is a negative development because it endangers the economy by challenging small companies operating in a competitive market.
The primary reason for limiting the working hours of employees is that it safeguards the physical and mental health of an employee. Excessive hours of work can cause work pressure, and therefore it can lead to stress as well as physical and mental fatigue, which is likely to develop various health issues. By limiting maximum working hours, nations ensure that workers have adequate time to relax and unwind, thus promoting overall well-being. A case in point is Australia's Fair Work Act 2009. The act has enforced standards by setting provisions for maximum working hours, ensuring that employees are not subjected to long working hours that could drive them to exhaustion.
However, tight restrictions on working hours can pose a real threat to business and the economy. To commence with, businesses that require non-stop operations, for instance, transportation, healthcare, or emergency services, can face enormous challenges in providing emergency services if working hours are severely limited. Besides, industries operating in a fiercely competitive environment, it is inevitable that some companies will go out of business, resulting in an adverse impact on the economy. By way of illustration, consider a small business trying to establish itself in a cut-throat world of business may face challenges if its founders cannot dedicate adequate time to business due to the severe working hour restrictions of employees.
To conclude, although limiting working hours promotes employees’ health, I think this is a negative development because it could adversely affect the business and the economy.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Avoid repetition Original: curb the working hours of workers Suggested revision: limit employees' working hours Why it matters: The revision avoids repeating “work” and uses the precise employment term from the task.
- 2. Avoid an undefined title Original: introducing the Working Hours Limit Act Suggested revision: introducing working-hour limits Why it matters: No single named act has been established, so a generic phrase is clearer and more accurate within the response.
- 3. Clarify cause and effect Original: endangers the economy by challenging small companies Suggested revision: harms the economy by creating challenges for small companies Why it matters: Restrictions create challenges for companies; they do not “challenge” the companies directly in this sense.
- 4. Use concise possession Original: working hours of employees Suggested revision: employees' working hours Why it matters: The possessive form conveys the same relationship more naturally.
- 5. Match the general claim Original: health of an employee Suggested revision: health of employees Why it matters: The sentence discusses employees generally, so the plural noun is appropriate.
- 6. Use natural phrasing Original: Excessive hours of work Suggested revision: Excessively long working hours Why it matters: The replacement is the conventional expression for an excessive amount of time spent working.
- 7. Improve the collocation Original: work Suggested revision: workplace Why it matters: “Workplace pressure” is a more natural phrase for pressure arising from employment.
- 8. Correct the causal verb Original: develop Suggested revision: cause Why it matters: Fatigue can cause health issues but cannot itself develop them in this construction.
- 9. Use consistent present tense Original: The act has enforced standards by setting provisions Suggested revision: The act sets standards by establishing provisions Why it matters: The present tense fits an act that remains in force, and “establishing provisions” is the natural legal collocation.
- 10. State the policy action Original: limiting Suggested revision: setting Why it matters: Governments set a maximum threshold rather than limit the maximum itself.
- 11. Remove repetition Original: relax and unwind Suggested revision: rest Why it matters: “Relax” and “unwind” overlap, so one concise verb conveys the idea.
- 12. Use direct wording Original: not subjected to long working hours Suggested revision: not required to work excessively long hours Why it matters: The revision states the employment condition more directly and precisely.
Suggested Rewrites
- curb the working hours of workers limit employees' working hours
- introducing the Working Hours Limit Act introducing working-hour limits
- endangers the economy by challenging small companies harms the economy by creating challenges for small companies
- working hours of employees employees' working hours
- health of an employee health of employees
- Excessive hours of work Excessively long working hours
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response answers both questions directly, sustains a clear judgement, and develops its health rationale with a relevant real-world illustration. The main limitation is that the economic argument relies on partly questionable or imprecisely connected examples, while a few malformed sentences interrupt otherwise strong control. The highest-priority improvement is to explain how working-hour limits create specific business costs and support that link with a fully relevant example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both parts are fully addressed through a clear negative position and developed reasons concerning employee health and economic effects.
Strengthen the negative case by showing more convincingly why staffing limits, rather than weak workforce planning, would harm businesses.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are arranged in a clear sequence, with focused paragraphs and generally effective cohesive links.
Make the progression within the economic paragraph more explicit by connecting each industry example directly to the central claim.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often precise, with effective language for health, regulation, competition, and economic consequences.
Refine occasional awkward or overstated collocations, such as curb the working hours of workers and tight restrictions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used with good control, despite a few sentence-construction errors in the third paragraph.
Revise sentences beginning with Besides and By way of illustration to remove dangling structures and competing main verbs.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
Some countries have introduced laws to limit working hours for employees. Why are these laws introduced? Do you think it is a positive or a negative development?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.