It is sometimes possible to pay somebody to do things you don't want to do, or don't have time to do, for example, household chores or looking after children. Is this a good way of providing work for others? Should people do these things themselves?
Sample Response
In today's modern and fast-paced world, hiring others to perform tasks like household chores or childcare has become increasingly common. This practice provides employment opportunities for many while enabling individuals to focus on more important aspects of their lives. I firmly believe that paying others to handle time-consuming responsibilities is beneficial, both in terms of creating jobs and improving work-life balance.
Hiring people for household work contributes significantly to employment generation, particularly for individuals with limited formal education and access to decent jobs. Many domestic workers, childcare providers, and cleaners rely on such jobs as their primary source of income. By paying for these services, wealthier households help sustain a sector that offers livelihoods to millions worldwide. For instance, in countries like the UK and the US, domestic work is a major industry that supports migrant workers and local employees alike.
Delegating household responsibilities allows people to focus on their careers, family, and personal well-being. Many professionals work long hours, and handling domestic duties on top of that can lead to stress and exhaustion. Hiring a cleaner or babysitter ensures that individuals can allocate more time to their families or personal growth. For example, busy parents can spend quality time with their children rather than being overwhelmed by chores, leading to stronger family bonds. Moreover, outsourcing routine tasks enables people to pursue hobbies, education, or personal interests. Instead of spending hours on laundry and cleaning, individuals can engage in activities that enrich their lives, such as fitness, learning new skills, or socializing. This, in turn, enhances overall happiness and productivity.
In conclusion, hiring others for household work provides employment and allows individuals to focus on higher priorities. As long as fair wages and working conditions are ensured, this practice is beneficial for both employers and employees.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove redundant wording Original: today's modern and fast-paced world Suggested revision: today's fast-paced world Why it matters: “Today's” already conveys that the world is modern.
- 2. Use a formal example marker Original: tasks like household chores Suggested revision: tasks such as household chores Why it matters: “Such as” is the more formal way to introduce examples.
- 3. Avoid an absolute ranking Original: more Suggested revision: other Why it matters: “Other” preserves the idea without implying that domestic responsibilities are inherently unimportant.
- 4. Use a natural collocation Original: employment generation Suggested revision: job creation Why it matters: “Job creation” is the standard expression for generating employment opportunities.
- 5. Clarify the alternatives Original: limited formal education and access to decent jobs Suggested revision: limited formal education or limited access to decent jobs Why it matters: Repeating “limited” and using “or” clearly identifies two possible disadvantages.
- 6. Use formal example wording Original: countries like the UK and the US Suggested revision: countries such as the UK and the US Why it matters: “Such as” is preferable when naming examples in formal academic prose.
- 7. Use consistent number Original: family Suggested revision: families Why it matters: The plural “families” matches the multiple people referred to by “their.”
- 8. Use formal phrasing Original: on top of that Suggested revision: in addition Why it matters: “In addition” is a more formal way to express the cumulative burden.
- 9. Name the activity clearly Original: fitness Suggested revision: exercising Why it matters: “Exercising” names an activity and fits the surrounding list of actions.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: Hiring a cleaner or babysitter ensures that individuals can allocate more time to their families or personal growth. Suggested revision: Hiring a cleaner or babysitter can give individuals more time for their families or personal growth. Why it matters: The modal avoids presenting the time benefit as an automatic certainty.
- 11. Separate the benefit groups Suggested revision: Split the paragraph between family and stress benefits and the later discussion of hobbies, education, and personal interests. Why it matters: The paragraph currently combines two distinct groups of benefits in one long sequence.
Suggested Rewrites
- today's modern and fast-paced world today's fast-paced world
- tasks like household chores tasks such as household chores
- more other
- employment generation job creation
- limited formal education and access to decent jobs limited formal education or limited access to decent jobs
- countries like the UK and the US countries such as the UK and the US
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay answers both questions decisively, showing how paid domestic work creates livelihoods and allows households to protect time, well-being, family relationships, and personal growth. Its strongest feature is the sustained, well-supported reasoning, reinforced by relevant examples and a fair-wages qualification. The main limitation is slight imbalance because the possible value of doing some tasks oneself is not explored; prioritise briefly addressing that counterpoint to deepen the judgment.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are fully addressed through a clear position, well-developed reasoning, relevant examples, and an appropriate qualification about fair employment conditions.
Acknowledge briefly that people may choose to do some chores themselves for cost, responsibility, or family reasons, then explain why outsourcing remains beneficial overall.
Coherence and Cohesion
Focused paragraphs, clear topic sentences, and natural progression create a cohesive argument from job creation to household benefits and conclusion.
Split the long third paragraph between family and well-being benefits and personal development to make the hierarchy even sharper.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad, precise, and natural across employment, domestic work, well-being, and productivity, with minimal repetition.
For further refinement, vary repeated forms of 'individuals' and 'people' where a more specific noun such as 'professionals', 'parents', or 'households' fits.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately and flexibly, with only rare minor imperfections.
Maintain this control while tightening occasional long sentences so each example and consequence remains maximally concise.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It is sometimes possible to pay somebody to do things you don't want to do, or don't have time to do, for example, household chores or looking after children. Is this a good way of providing work for others? Should people do these things themselves?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.