Some employers believe that job applicants’ social skills are more important than their academic qualifications. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
Job applicants’ social skills are often considered more important than their academic qualifications in the modern workplacein this modern world. Personally, I agree with the opinion that candidates’ social skillsthe social skills of candidates are more vital than their academic qualificationsresults, and in this essay, I will explain the reasonsreason for this belief.
The benefits of a job seeker’s excellent social skillsexcellent social skills of a job seeker are apparent. Firstly, communication is the key to career success nowadaysin modern days. This is primarily because the 21st century is characterised bybest portrayed by constant interaction with different people, regardless of the medium, whether in person or onlineno matter the communication media - in person or online. Secondly, the ability to sell products or services is of paramount significance in any business – this requires strong social skills. For example, an employee with excellent social skills is able to make an impression onhave an impact in front of customers or clients; as a result, customers may perceive products or services as valuableproducts or services can be perceived as high-value. This is why employersThis is why, employers put more emphasis on job seekers' social skills than their educational qualifications in such sectors.
Furthermore, employees with better social skills are generally easier to work withmore easygoing, which is very important into the workplace, including the employer. After all, as the saying goes, “who you work with is as important as what you do”, and an enjoyable work environment benefits froman enjoyable work environment needs socially skilful employees. Finally, social skills are important for forming a teamimportant to form a team and for the team to perform better. In the dynamic professional arena of today's world, individual work is now uncommonworking individually is almost absent in organisations and offices, making it importantoffices making it important for people to have social skills to work in a team.
In conclusion, I believe employees’ social skills are of extreme importance for a company or organisation, even more than their educational qualifications. Also, I would suggest employers consider job applicants’ social skills first, which I believe would bring long-term benefits for the company and make a positive impact on its growth.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response states a clear position and develops a coherent case through communication, sales, workplace relationships, and teamwork. Its main limitation is that these points establish the value of social skills more fully than their superiority to academic qualifications, while some wording is awkward or imprecise. The highest-priority improvement is to make the comparison explicit in each main idea and support it with a sharper workplace example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The opinion is clear and supported by several relevant reasons, though the relative value of academic qualifications is only lightly examined.
Develop an explicit comparison showing why social skills outweigh qualifications in particular roles or workplace outcomes.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through focused paragraphs, with clear sequencing and generally effective linking between supporting points.
Reduce mechanical enumeration and connect related claims more organically within each body paragraph.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary shows sufficient range for the topic, but several collocations and comparative expressions sound unnatural or imprecise.
Refine phrases about workplace impact, communication media, and employee behaviour to achieve more natural professional language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex sentence forms is handled with good control, and the few grammatical or punctuation lapses do not impede meaning.
Check comparative forms, unnecessary commas, and the attachment of participial clauses in longer sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some employers believe that job applicants’ social skills are more important than their academic qualifications. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.