Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
Opinions are divided on whether pursuing higher education is the most effective route to career success or entering the workforce immediately after school offers greater advantages. In my view, entering the workforce without delay offers greater benefits.
Many believe that higher education provides a strong foundation for long-term career success for several reasons. Chief among these is that university degrees are often essential for entering professional fields such as medicine, law, or engineering. These sectors require formal qualifications and in-depth theoretical knowledge that can only be acquired through structured academic study. As a result, graduates from such programmes tend to enjoy higher salaries, better job security, and clear career progression. Furthermore, studying at university supports broader personal development and professional networking. For example, students often gain critical thinking skills, improved communication, and exposure to diverse perspectives. This is because campus life offers opportunities to connect with professors, mentors, and future colleagues, which can significantly expand career opportunities and contribute to long-term personal and professional growth.
Nevertheless, starting work immediately after school offers more significant real-world advantages. A key benefit is the opportunity to earn money and build experience from a young age. By entering the workforce early, individuals can develop practical skills, gain financial independence, and avoid the burden of student debt. Over time, this hands-on learning often leads to faster career advancement and a deeper understanding of workplace dynamics. Moreover, it is important to recognize that not all well-paying jobs require a university degree. For instance, trades such as plumbing, carpentry, or IT support place a higher value on technical ability and vocational training than academic credentials. In such cases, practical experience and on-the-job learning provide a more direct and efficient route to employment and financial stability.
In conclusion, while higher education is essential for many professional careers and provides valuable life experiences, immediate employment after school offers more significant practical benefits, especially for those pursuing skill-based roles.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the relationship Original: career success for several reasons Suggested revision: career success in several ways Why it matters: The revised phrase connects the foundation metaphor more naturally to the benefits that follow.
- 2. Use a concise collocation Original: entering professional fields Suggested revision: entering professions Why it matters: This is a more concise way to refer to beginning careers in medicine, law, or engineering.
- 3. Choose a precise verb Original: tend to enjoy higher salaries Suggested revision: often earn higher salaries Why it matters: People earn salaries, so this verb is more precise in an employment context.
- 4. Refine the collocation Original: clear career progression Suggested revision: clearer career progression prospects Why it matters: Adding “prospects” expresses the idea of future advancement more precisely.
- 5. Use a stronger verb Original: supports Suggested revision: promotes Why it matters: “Promotes” is a more natural verb for describing how education encourages development.
- 6. Improve the collocation Original: gain critical thinking skills Suggested revision: develop critical-thinking skills Why it matters: Skills are more naturally described as being developed in this context.
- 7. Complete the parallel noun Original: improved communication Suggested revision: stronger communication skills Why it matters: Naming the skills directly makes this list more parallel with “critical-thinking skills.”
- 8. Remove an unclear reference Original: This is because campus life Suggested revision: Campus life also Why it matters: The revised transition avoids the vague reference of “This” and links the additional benefit directly.
- 9. Use the standard collocation Original: build Suggested revision: gain Why it matters: “Gain experience” is the conventional collocation for accumulating workplace knowledge.
- 10. Use a natural comparison Original: deeper Suggested revision: better Why it matters: “A better understanding” is more idiomatic when describing improved practical knowledge.
- 11. Tighten the expression Original: place a higher value on Suggested revision: place greater value on Why it matters: The revised comparative is more concise without changing the meaning.
- 12. Restore parallel prepositions Original: than academic credentials Suggested revision: than on academic credentials Why it matters: Repeating “on” makes the two objects of the comparison grammatically parallel.
Suggested Rewrites
- career success for several reasons career success in several ways
- entering professional fields entering professions
- tend to enjoy higher salaries often earn higher salaries
- clear career progression clearer career progression prospects
- supports promotes
- gain critical thinking skills develop critical-thinking skills
Why this response received Band 8.0
This is a well-developed response with a clear position, balanced treatment of both views, and consistently precise, controlled language. Its main limitation is that some claims about graduate outcomes and early career advancement are stated broadly rather than examined in depth; the highest-priority improvement is to qualify those comparisons and add sharper supporting detail that directly strengthens the stated preference.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response fully discusses both routes, maintains a clear preference, and develops each view with relevant explanations and examples.
Qualify broad claims about salaries and advancement and compare the routes more directly to make the preference even more persuasive.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices used clearly and unobtrusively.
Refine the links between supporting points so each paragraph builds toward a sharper comparative judgment.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is wide, precise, and appropriately academic, with strong control of career and education terminology.
Reduce repetition of terms such as career and practical by using equally precise alternatives where natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately and flexibly, with only negligible lapses.
Maintain this control while varying sentence openings and balancing clause length for an even more polished rhythm.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.