An increasing number of people work from home these days and stay in touch with their office using computer technology. What are the effects on employees of working from home?
Sample Response
Technology is an inevitable part of our livespart in our life, especiallyexpecially, in modern working lifein the current scenario. One cannot think of a situation where technology is absent. As a matter of fact, technology is that ‘infrastructuremoral fabric’ which binds the humans together.
Due to the technological developmenttechnological advancement/development, there have been instances where the human race has benefitted and also has been at the receiving end. One technology that hasOne of the technologies which have transformed modern workplacescut across all the ages of mankind is the Computer Technology. The concepts of working from home and flexible hours areThe concept of ‘work from home’, ‘flexible timing’ are nothing but the by-products of this ever-changingever changing, revolutionary but useful technology. ‘Work from home’ and ‘Flexible timings’ situations allow employeesprovide the people (read employees) to balance their office as well as personal work. Furthermore, with the help of computer technology, the employees are also able to be in constant touch with their office, from the comfort of their homes.
This not only increases the productivity of the employees but also strengthens their sense of belongingenhances their belongingness and commitment towards their organisation. However, due to computer technology, the employees can be contactedemployees are approachable throughout the day and sometimes even during odd hours. This may, though not quite often, blur the boundary between work and private lifelead to the breach of privacy, which ultimately results in low productivity by the employee. However, much depends on the environment and mental attitude of the employee. As the same boiling water which hardens the egg also softens the potato, similarly, there are different effects of this computer technology on different employees. A recent case, which was published in the previous week's editionthe last week edition of a well-known newspaper, had been an eye-opener for working professionals who work from home but remainwho, though, work from home but stay in touch with their employer due to this computer technology.
Due to the pressure of the year-end workloadwork pressure of year closing an employee, who used to work from home over his laptop, of XUA Company didn’t have ample rest for a week. As a result of this, the employee had to lose his lifepay for his life due to the accident which occurred while driving his family for a late night movie.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response identifies several relevant employee effects, including flexibility, work-life balance, productivity, commitment, constant availability and pressure. However, a lengthy generic opening delays the answer, the final anecdote is unclear and disproportionate, and there is no conclusion synthesising the overall impact. Focus directly on employees, organise positive and negative effects, and finish with a balanced judgement.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A reasonable range of positive and negative effects is discussed, but some material is generic, the final example is implausibly extreme, and the response lacks a concluding synthesis.
Develop two or three direct effects with realistic explanation and state the conditions under which home working helps or harms employees.
Coherence and Cohesion
There is some paragraphing and contrast, but the introduction is off-focus, ideas repeat computer technology, and the ending is abrupt.
Organise the essay into a brief introduction, benefits, drawbacks and conclusion.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts varied vocabulary and figurative language, but spelling errors, awkward collocations and unnecessary capitalisation are frequent.
Use precise work vocabulary such as remote work, boundaries, availability, isolation, autonomy and burnout.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally recoverable, but agreement, articles, punctuation, relative clauses and sentence structure errors recur.
Simplify long sentences and check singular-plural agreement and modifier placement.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
An increasing number of people work from home these days and stay in touch with their office using computer technology. What are the effects on employees of working from home?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.