Some people think it is a good thing for senior managers to have much higher salaries than the other workers in a company. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
It is widely believed that the significant disparities in salary between senior executives and other employees within a company are justified. I wholeheartedly support this viewpoint as it reflects the demanding nature of high-level positions.
The significant gap between the salaries of managers and other employees mostly arises from the stringent requirements of high-level positions. For a start, those working as senior executives in an organization usually bear more weighty responsibilities. Indeed, while junior employees typically focus on specific tasks, their senior counterparts are entrusted with shaping the strategic direction of a company, navigating complex challenges, and ensuring its long-term success. When companies encounter issues, boards of directors are often the first to be held accountable. Such positions are not an easy role, which is why I believe it is justified for senior executives to earn significantly higher salaries than other workers.
Another point worth mentioning is that senior managers are required to possess a vast amount of experience and skills, because of which, a generous salary is totally worthwhile. To attain a high-level position, it is not uncommon to encounter job descriptions requiring a minimum of five years of experience, in addition to the acquisition of multiple degrees and certifications to demonstrate competence. Furthermore, a generous salary for managers could also serve as effective motivation for employees. With a competitive salary package, staff tends to be encouraged to strive for promotion. If the salary differences among staff stay insignificant, individuals may feel demotivated to exert effort.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that the rationale for higher remuneration for senior managers is justified because it mirrors the value added by senior leadership as well as generate the necessary motivation in the workers.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural collocation Original: disparities in salary Suggested revision: salary disparities Why it matters: The noun modifier creates a more natural and concise expression.
- 2. Improve the collocation Original: bear more weighty responsibilities Suggested revision: shoulder heavier responsibilities Why it matters: This is the more natural collocation for substantial professional duties.
- 3. Match plural nouns Original: Such positions are not an easy role Suggested revision: Such positions are not easy roles Why it matters: The plural subject requires a plural complement.
- 4. Fix quantity expression Original: a vast amount of experience and skills Suggested revision: extensive experience and a wide range of skills Why it matters: Amount cannot naturally quantify the countable noun skills.
- 5. Repair the relative clause Original: because of which, a generous salary is totally worthwhile Suggested revision: which makes a generous salary entirely worthwhile Why it matters: The revised clause connects the qualifications to the salary without a faulty prepositional relative structure.
- 6. Remove nominalisation Original: in addition to the acquisition of multiple degrees and certifications Suggested revision: as well as multiple degrees and certifications Why it matters: The shorter wording states the job requirements more directly.
- 7. Add article and collocation Original: serve as effective motivation Suggested revision: serve as an effective incentive Why it matters: The singular countable noun needs an article, and incentive fits the meaning more precisely.
- 8. Fix subject agreement Original: staff tends to be encouraged Suggested revision: employees tend to be encouraged Why it matters: The plural noun and verb provide clear, consistent agreement.
- 9. Clarify the comparison Original: salary differences among staff stay insignificant Suggested revision: salary differences between staff levels remain small Why it matters: The revision identifies what is being compared and uses a more natural verb.
- 10. Use natural phrasing Original: exert effort Suggested revision: make an effort Why it matters: Make an effort is the standard collocation in this context.
- 11. Restore verb agreement Original: as well as generate Suggested revision: and generates Why it matters: The singular subject rationale requires generates in the coordinated clause.
- 12. Use the right preposition Original: motivation in the workers Suggested revision: motivation among workers Why it matters: Among naturally describes a quality distributed across a group.
Suggested Rewrites
- disparities in salary salary disparities
- bear more weighty responsibilities shoulder heavier responsibilities
- Such positions are not an easy role Such positions are not easy roles
- a vast amount of experience and skills extensive experience and a wide range of skills
- because of which, a generous salary is totally worthwhile which makes a generous salary entirely worthwhile
- in addition to the acquisition of multiple degrees and certifications as well as multiple degrees and certifications
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response maintains a clear position and develops several relevant reasons with assured organization and a broad, generally precise vocabulary. Its main limitation is that support remains largely general and some claims, especially the promotion-motivation point, are asserted rather than explored in depth, while a handful of awkward or inaccurate constructions reduce polish. Prioritize deeper, more concrete explanation of each reason and edit carefully for agreement, parallel structure, and natural collocation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear, consistent position is supported by several relevant reasons, though some development remains general or briefly asserted.
Develop each main reason with a more specific illustration or a fuller explanation of how it justifies the salary gap.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader smoothly without obscuring relationships.
Refine internal links so the shift from qualifications to employee motivation feels more explicitly connected to the paragraph's central claim.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad range of topic-appropriate vocabulary, although several combinations sound awkward or imprecise.
Replace unnatural combinations such as "more weighty responsibilities" and "salary differences stay insignificant" with more idiomatic phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex structures is used with generally strong control, but occasional agreement and parallelism errors remain.
Proofread noun-number agreement and coordinated verb forms, especially in sentences such as "Such positions are not an easy role" and the conclusion.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think it is a good thing for senior managers to have much higher salaries than the other workers in a company. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.