This is an IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer from the real test/exam related to entertainers and politicians.
It’s an interesting question and topics about salary are fairly common on IELTS writing and speaking.
Before you read it, you can listen to the audio first and make some notes on ideas/vocabulary:
Dave
Be sure to check out my Patreon exclusive essays as well.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer Essay: Entertainers & Politicians (Real Past IELTS Tests/Exams)
Nowadays, entertainers get paid more than politicians.
What are the reasons for this?
Is this a negative or positive development?
Real Past IELTS Tests/Exams
These days entertainers invariably earn higher wages than politicians. In my opinion, this is the result of technological growth in the entertainment industry and it is a positive development because politics should not be a means to amass a fortune.
Entertainment is one of the most lucrative industries today largely due to developments in media distribution. Vaudeville actors and musicians in the early 20th century were looked down on and earned little. The birth of cinema in the 1920s and the rise of television in the 1950s allowed entertainers to reach a wider audience. From there the rise has continued not only with the diversification of television but also the invention of CDs, portable music players, the internet, and streaming websites like Netflix and YouTube. All this new media reaches the majority of the world’s population who then pay for the content by subscribing or watching paid advertisements.
This is a positive development because politics should not be a profit driven profession. A good example of this would be the early American founding founders, including Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, both of whom sacrificed private wealth for public service. Hamilton was the leading lawyer in New York and when he enthusiastically joined Washington’s cabinet he took a drastic cut in salary. By the end of his term, he was mired in debt but had no regrets as he viewed public political action as far more valuable than private capital. Politicians ought to earn a good salary but this should never subvert their chief motive in serving their country.
In conclusion, entertainers make more money due to the advent of the media age and politicians should not be jealous of their wealth. Unfortunately, many politicians are selfishly compelled by economic gain when they ought to be more self-interested in terms of their role in public life.
Word count: 296
Analysis
1. These days entertainers invariably earn higher wages than politicians. 2. In my opinion, this is the result of technological growth in the entertainment industry and it is a positive development because politics should not be a means to amass a fortune.
- Paraphrase the overall topic. I wrote a short sentence here – that is fine!
- Give your opinion and be 100% clear – don’t sit in the middle. For this one, you must answer both questions and write a paragraph about each.
1. Entertainment is one of the most lucrative industries today largely due to developments in media distribution. 2. Vaudeville actors and musicians in the early 20th century were looked down on and earned little. 3. The birth of cinema in the 1920s and the rise of television in the 1950s allowed entertainers to reach a wider audience. 4. From there the rise has continued not only with the diversification of television but also the invention of CDs, portable music players, the internet, and streaming websites like Netflix and YouTube. 5. All this new media reaches the majority of the world’s population who then pay for the content by subscribing or watching paid advertisements.
- Write a clear topic sentence with your main idea at the end of the sentence.
- Begin to develop the main idea. Here I start with a comparision to the past.
- Make your example specfic and detailed.
- List specific details, services, etc. if possible.
- Relate it back to your main idea to show how this clearly leads to more money for entertainers.
1. This is a positive development because politics should not be a profit driven profession. 2. A good example of this would be the early American founding founders, including Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, both of whom sacrificed private wealth for public service. 3. Hamilton was the leading lawyer in New York and when he enthusiastically joined Washington’s cabinet he took a drastic cut in salary. 4. By the end of his term, he was mired in debt but had no regrets as he viewed public political action as far more valuable than private capital. 5. Politicians ought to earn a good salary but this should never subvert their chief motive in serving their country.
- Another topic sentence with a new main idea to answer the second question.
- Start your example as soon as possible.
- Develop it by focusing specifically. I wrote this example because I’ve recently been reading Alexander Hamilton’s biography and I knew I could include a lot of specific detail (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/13/alexander-hamilton-by-ron-chernow-review).
- Keep developing the same example.
- Make your example more general with the last sentence of your paragraph.
1. In conclusion, entertainers make more money due to the advent of the media age and politicians should not be jealous of their wealth. 2. Unfortunately, many politicians are selfishly compelled by economic gain when they ought to be more self-interested in terms of their role in public life.
- Repeat your opinion. This sentence isn’t too important – the next one is more important…
- Add in an extra detail or final thought to get full marks for task achievement.
Vocabulary
Try to figure out what the words in bold below mean:
These days entertainers invariably earn higher wages than politicians. In my opinion, this is the result of technological growth in the entertainment industry and it is a positive development because politics should not be a means to amass a fortune.
Entertainment is one of the most lucrative industries today largely due to developments in media distribution. Vaudeville actors and musicians in the early 20th century were looked down on and earned little. The birth of cinema in the 1920s and the rise of television in the 1950s allowed entertainers to reach a wider audience. From there the rise has continued not only with the diversification of television but also the invention of CDs, portable music players, the internet, and streaming websites like Netflix and YouTube. All this new media reaches the majority of the world’s population who then pay for the content by subscribing or watching paid advertisements.
This is a positive development because politics should not be a profit driven profession. A good example of this would be the early American founding founders, including Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, both of whom sacrificed private wealth for public service. Hamilton was the leading lawyer in New York and when he enthusiastically joined Washington’s cabinet he took a drastic cut in salary. By the end of his term, he was mired in debt but had no regrets as he viewed public political action as far more valuable than private capital. Politicians ought to earn a good salary but this should never subvert their chief motive in serving their country.
In conclusion, entertainers make more money due to the advent of the media age and politicians should not be jealous of their wealth. Unfortunately, many politicians are selfishly compelled by economic gain when they ought to be more self-interested in terms of their role in public life.
Answers
these days nowadays
invariably always
higher wages good salary
technological growth new technologies
entertainment industry movies, TV, music, etc.
means the method
amass a fortune make a lot of money
lucrative wealthy
largely due to mainly because of
media distribution how movies, music, etc. reach people
vaudeville actors actors in plays/shows from a long time ago
early 20th century early 1900s
looked down on didn’t think highly of
reach a wider audience more people can see it
diversification more variety
portable music players iPods, walkman, mp3 players, etc.
streaming websites Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.
content programmes
subscribing signing up for and paying monthly/weekly
watching paid advertisements watching ads
profit driven profession job just for the money
early American founding founders Hamilton, Washington, Franklin, etc.
Alexander Hamilton the most important founding father
George Washington the first President of the United States
sacrificed private wealth gave up personal money
public service good for all people
leading lawyer best lawyer
enthusiastically happily/with a lot of energy
cabinet advisors
drastic cut lots a lot
term period when you are president/senator
mired in debt owing a lot of money
regrets feeling bad about what you did
public political action efforts to help society/the country
far more valuable more important
private capital personal money
subvert undermine
chief motive main reasons for
serving their country working for their nation
advent beginning of
unfortunately too bad
selfishly compelled did it for themselves
economic gain to make money
self-interested thinking about yourself
role in public life political life
Pronunciation
ðiːz deɪz
ɪnˈveərɪəbli
ˈhaɪə ˈweɪʤɪz
ˌtɛknəˈlɒʤɪk(ə)l grəʊθ
ˌɛntəˈteɪnmənt ˈɪndəstri
miːnz
əˈmæs ə ˈfɔːʧən
ˈluːkrətɪv
ˈlɑːʤli djuː tuː
ˈmiːdiə ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃən
ˈvəʊdəvɪl ˈæktəz
ˈɜːli ˈtwɛntɪəθ ˈsɛnʧʊri
lʊkt daʊn ɒn
riːʧ ə ˈwaɪdər ˈɔːdiəns
daɪˌvɜːsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən
ˈpɔːtəbl ˈmjuːzɪk ˈpleɪəz
ˈstriːmɪŋ ˈwɛbˌsaɪts
ˈkɒntɛnt
səbˈskraɪbɪŋ
ˈwɒʧɪŋ peɪd ədˈvɜːtɪsmənts
ˈprɒfɪt ˈdrɪvn prəˈfɛʃən
ˈɜːli əˈmɛrɪkən ˈfaʊndɪŋ ˈfaʊndəz
ˌælɪgˈzɑːndə ˈhæməltən
ʤɔːʤ ˈwɒʃɪŋtən
ˈsækrɪfaɪst ˈpraɪvɪt wɛlθ
ˈpʌblɪk ˈsɜːvɪs
ˈliːdɪŋ ˈlɔːjə
ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk(ə)li
ˈkæbɪnɪt
ˈdræstɪk kʌt
tɜːm
ˈmaɪəd ɪn dɛt
rɪˈgrɛts
ˈpʌblɪk pəˈlɪtɪkəl ˈækʃ(ə)n
fɑː mɔː ˈvæljʊəbl
ˈpraɪvɪt ˈkæpɪtl
sʌbˈvɜːt
ʧiːf ˈməʊtɪv
ˈsɜːvɪŋ ðeə ˈkʌntri
ˈædvənt
ʌnˈfɔːʧnɪtli
ˈsɛlfɪʃli kəmˈpɛld
ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk geɪn
sɛlf-ˈɪntrɪstɪd
rəʊl ɪn ˈpʌblɪk laɪf
Listen and repeat:
Vocabulary Practice
Remember and fill in the blanks:
____________ entertainers ____________ earn ____________ than politicians. In my opinion, this is the result of ____________ in the ____________ and it is a positive development because politics should not be a ____________ to ____________.
Entertainment is one of the most ____________ industries today ____________ developments in ____________. ____________ and musicians in the ____________ were ____________ and earned little. The birth of cinema in the 1920s and the rise of television in the 1950s allowed entertainers to ____________. From there the rise has continued not only with the ____________ of television but also the invention of CDs, ____________, the internet, and ____________ like Netflix and YouTube. All this new media reaches the majority of the world’s population who then pay for the ____________ by ____________ or ____________.
This is a positive development because politics should not be a ____________. A good example of this would be the ____________, including ____________ and ____________, both of whom ____________ for ____________. Hamilton was the ____________ in New York and when he ____________ joined Washington’s ____________ he took a ____________ in salary. By the end of his ____________, he was ____________ but had no ____________ as he viewed ____________ as ____________ than ____________ Politicians ought to earn a good salary but this should never ____________ their ____________ in ____________.
In conclusion, entertainers make more money due to the ____________ of the media age and politicians should not be ____________ of their wealth. ____________, many politicians are ____________ by ____________ when they ought to be more ____________ in terms of their ____________.
Listen and check:
Listening Practice
Learn more about Alexander Hamilton here:
Reading Practice
Read more about how much entertainers make here:
All this new media reaches the majority of the world’s population who….
Is it right to use IS & REACHES for media?
I’m not sure what you mean – we usually talk about media like ‘The media is’ not ‘The media are’ though I think that is an area where the technically correct usage has been overtaken by common usage.
She got mixed up about the plural/singular form of medium. Media in this case is used as a mass noun implying all means of communication and not a specific medium say Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube. I know this because my ex-boss wrote “follow us on all sociall medias,” which is kind of hillarious and a huge tell that she is not a native speaker.
Thank you for the detailed explanation and especially the anecdote, Duy Anh!