IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic: Work and Career

Some people think that work is the most important thing of people’s life. Without the success of career, life become meaningless. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Sample Answer

While it is argued that a distinguished career is regarded as the most pivotal thing in a person’s life, I firmly believe that there are other factors which can make people’s lives meaningful.

On the one hand, it cannot be denied that working plays a vital role in one’s life. According to an annual survey carried out in the UK, a person spends about 25 or 30 years on their occupation, hence working time accounts for nearly one-third of a person’s life. So if people obtain a worthwhile job that blooms, their lifetime is likely to be filled with human well-being. Additionally, the state of being stuck in an unsuccessful career might have a destructive influence on people’s spirits. Those with turbulent career or experience of job dissatisfaction could suffer from chronic stress and discouragement, which affects their mental and physical health adversely, as well as making them have a negative outlook on their lives.

On the other hand, I contend that there are more desirable goals rather than a successful career to attain in our life. A vast majority of people perceive a meaningful life as helping others living in poor and underprivileged conditions. They spend most of their lifetime devoting to charity work. Furthermore, there are other people who do not enter the workforce but seem satisfied with their lives. In some Asian countries such as Japan, dual-income families are not as common as that in Western nations. Take Japan as a telling example; men are often the breadwinners while women stay at home, take over the responsibilities related to household chores and childcare, which make them feel content as a well-established tradition.

In conclusion, while undoubtedly people can benefit enormously from a glittering career, there are still a lot of significant factors which might enable them to lead a happy life. 

Vocabulary

• Lifetime (noun) the period of time when someone is alive
• Distinguished career (phrase) successful career
• Carry out (phrasal verb) conduct
• Account for (phrasal verb)  supply or make up a specified amount or proportion of
• Human Well-being (phrase) is understood as a a state of health, happiness and/or prosperity
• A dual–income family (phrase) a family that gets money from two separate incomes
• Take something/someone as a telling example (phrase) Consider something/someone as a strong, important example