This is an IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample answer essay from the general training test on the topic of leaving school and being successful.
Enjoy it!
Please consider signing up for my Patreon here in order to support my efforts and receive exclusive Ebooks and materials related to IELTS!
Dave
Before reading, you can listen to the audio file below first:
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer General Training: Leaving School & Success (Real Past IELTS Exam/Test)
Many people who drop out of school are more successful than those who complete their studies.
Why does this happen?
What does it require to be successful?
Real Past IELTS Exam/Test
There are numerous high-profile success stories about entrepreneurs who left school early. This happens because these people hone practical skills in the absence of academics and the main requirement of success is hard work.
Those who enter the labour market without academic qualifications have no choice but to compensate and make themselves concretely valuable. The most famous examples of this including Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs make for compelling articles but are not representative of most drop-outs. Most get jobs doing some kind of manual or semi-skilled labour such as training to become an electrician, plumber or cook. These jobs can withstand market fluctuations and with accumulated experience earn a high salary comparable to most university graduates and even many doctorate students.
The cliché that no one gets anywhere without working hard is true. If you choose to remain in school or drop out and enter the workforce, concerted effort will typically yield results. The examples of people getting rich quick or without much effort are appealing outliers but not instructive. A better example of the application of sustained perseverance is Dr. Seuss. His children’s books were continually rejected for more than two decades while he worked as a newspaper cartoonist to make ends meet. He continued to hone his craft and the quality of his work ensured that as long as he stuck with it, he would eventually be published. His wild success cannot be counted upon but everyone who dedicates themselves to a quality product will at least reap modest rewards.
In conclusion, those who stop studying find themselves valued for their practical skills and the key to success is hard work. Technology has disrupted the job market drastically but hard work and commitment applied to any trade will always be eminently employable skills.
Word Count: 295
Analysis
1. There are numerous high-profile success stories about entrepreneurs who left school early. 2. This happens because these people hone practical skills in the absence of academics and the main requirement of success is hard work.
- Paraphrase the overall topic for the esay.
- State your opinion clearly.
1. Those who enter the labour market without academic qualifications have no choice but to compensate and make themselves concretely valuable. 2. The most famous examples of this including Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs make for compelling articles but are not representative of most drop-outs. 3. Most get jobs doing some kind of manual or semi-skilled labour such as training to become an electrician, plumber or cook. 4. These jobs can withstand market fluctuations and with accumulated experience earn a high salary comparable to most university graduates and even many doctorate students.
- Write a topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end.
- Begin an example to develop your main idea.
- Continue developing your main idea with specific support.
- Conclude your paragraph with more supporting ideas – not a new main idea!
1. The cliché that no one gets anywhere without working hard is true. 2. If you choose to remain in school or drop out and enter the workforce, concerted effort will typically yield results. 3. The examples of people getting rich quick or without much effort are appealing outliers but not instructive. 4. A better example of the application of sustained perseverance is Dr. Seuss. 5. His children’s books were continually rejected for more than two decades while he worked as a newspaper cartoonist to make ends meet. 6. He continued to hone his craft and the quality of his work ensured that as long as he stuck with it, he would eventually be published. 7. His wild success cannot be counted upon but everyone who dedicates themselves to a quality product will at least reap modest rewards.
- Write another topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end.
- Begin to develop your main idea.
- Here I dismiss irrelevant examples because they don’t apply to most people.
- Then I begin a better example.
- I develop that example.
- And keep developing the same example.
- I conclude the paragraph by making it more general and applying it to people who do not become famous.
1. In conclusion, those who stop studying find themselves valued for their practical skills and the key to success is hard work. 2. Technology has disrupted the job market drastically but hard work and commitment applied to any trade will always be eminently employable skills.
- Repeat your opinion.
- Add a final thought/extra detail for full marks from the IELTS examiner.
Vocabulary
What do the words in bold below mean?
There are numerous high-profile success stories about entrepreneurs who left school early. This happens because these people hone practical skills in the absence of academics and the main requirement of success is hard work.
Those who enter the labour market without academic qualifications have no choice but to compensate and make themselves concretely valuable. The most famous examples of this including Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs make for compelling articles but are not representative of most drop-outs. Most get jobs doing some kind of manual or semi-skilled labour such as training to become an electrician, plumber or cook. These jobs can withstand market fluctuations and with accumulated experience earn a high salary comparable to most university graduates and even many doctorate students.
The cliché that no one gets anywhere without working hard is true. If you choose to remain in school or drop out and enter the workforce, concerted effort will typically yield results. The examples of people getting rich quick or without much effort are appealing outliers but not instructive. A better example of the application of sustained perseverance is Dr. Seuss. His children’s books were continually rejected for more than two decades while he worked as a newspaper cartoonist to make ends meet. He continued to hone his craft and the quality of his work ensured that as long as he stuck with it, he would eventually be published. His wild success cannot be counted upon but everyone who dedicates themselves to a quality product will at least reap modest rewards.
In conclusion, those who stop studying find themselves valued for their practical skills and the key to success is hard work. Technology has disrupted the job market drastically but hard work and commitment applied to any trade will always be eminently employable skills.
Answers
numerous high-profile success stories many well-known examples
entrepreneurs people who start their own businesses
hone perfect/improve
in the absence of without
main requirement prerequisite
labour market employment/jobs
academic qualifications degrees and certificates
compensate make up for
concretely valuable actual importance/use
compelling articles interesting news stories
not representative don’t stand in for
drop-outs people who quit school
manual using your hands/body rather than mind
semi-skilled labour work requiring some skill
electrician, plumber examples of semi-skilled labour
withstand market fluctuations not effected by economic problems
accumulated experience time spent working
comparable related/contrasting
doctorate students PhD students
cliché common expression
no one gets anywhere you will not be successful
enter the workforce get a job
concerted effort working hard
typically yield results usually successful
getting rich quick making money suddenly
appealing outliers people like to here about these fantasies
instructive teaches/shows
application of sustained perseverance continuing to work hard
Dr. Seuss a children’s book writer from the United States
continually rejected turned away again and again
newspaper cartoonist person who draws comics for papers
make ends meet make enough money
hone his craft get better at his job
stuck with it continued doing it
published released to the public
wild success became very popular
counted upon relied on
dedicates commits
reap modest rewards get at least something out of it
valued considered important
practical skills skills that have useful applications
disrupted the job market drastically the types of jobs today have changed a lot
commitment applied to any trade perseverance in any sector
eminently employable skills very valuable qualities
Pronunciation
ˈnjuːmərəs haɪ-ˈprəʊfaɪl səkˈsɛs ˈstɔːriz
ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːz
həʊn
ɪn ði ˈæbsəns ɒv
meɪn rɪˈkwaɪəmənt
ˈleɪbə ˈmɑːkɪt
ˌækəˈdɛmɪk ˌkwɒlɪfɪˈkeɪʃənz
ˈkɒmpɛnseɪt
ˈkɒnkriːtli ˈvæljʊəbl
kəmˈpɛlɪŋ ˈɑːtɪklz
nɒt ˌrɛprɪˈzɛntətɪv
ˈdrɒpaʊts
ˈmænjʊəl
ˈsɛmi-skɪld ˈleɪbə
ɪlɛkˈtrɪʃən, ˈplʌmə
wɪðˈstænd ˈmɑːkɪt ˌflʌktjʊˈeɪʃənz
əˈkjuːmjʊleɪtɪd ɪksˈpɪərɪəns
ˈkɒmpərəbl
ˈdɒktərɪt ˈstjuːdənts
klɪʃeɪ
nəʊ wʌn gɛts ˈɛnɪweə
ˈɛntə ðə ˈwɜːkˌfɔːs
kənˈsɜːtɪd ˈɛfət
ˈtɪpɪk(ə)li jiːld rɪˈzʌlts
ˈgɛtɪŋ rɪʧ kwɪk
əˈpiːlɪŋ ˈaʊtˌlaɪəz
ɪnˈstrʌktɪv
ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n ɒv səsˈteɪnd ˌpɜːsɪˈvɪərəns
ˈdɒktə zuːz
kənˈtɪnjʊəli rɪˈʤɛktɪd
ˈnjuːzˌpeɪpə kɑːˈtuːnɪst
meɪk ɛndz miːt
həʊn hɪz krɑːft
stʌk wɪð ɪt
ˈpʌblɪʃt
waɪld səkˈsɛs
ˈkaʊntɪd əˈpɒn
ˈdɛdɪkeɪts
riːp ˈmɒdɪst rɪˈwɔːdz
ˈvæljuːd
ˈpræktɪkəl skɪlz
dɪsˈrʌptɪd ðə ʤɒb ˈmɑːkɪt ˈdræstɪk(ə)li
kəˈmɪtmənt əˈplaɪd tuː ˈɛni treɪd
ˈɛmɪnəntli ɪmˈplɔɪəbl skɪlz
Listen and repeat:
Vocabulary Practice
Remember and fill in the blanks:
There are n__________________ about e__________________ who left school early. This happens because these people h__________________ practical skills i__________________ academics and the m__________________ of success is hard work.
Those who enter the l__________________ without a__________________ have no choice but to c__________________ and make themselves c__________________. The most famous examples of this including Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs make for c__________________ but are n__________________ of most d__________________. Most get jobs doing some kind of m__________________ or s __________________ such as training to become an e__________________, p__________________ or cook. These jobs can w__________________ and with a __________________ earn a high salary c__________________ to most university graduates and even many d__________________.
The c__________________ that n__________________ without working hard is true. If you choose to remain in school or drop out and e__________________, c__________________ will t__________________. The examples of people g__________________ or without much effort are a__________________ but not i__________________. A better example of the a__________________ is D__________________. His children’s books were c__________________ for more than two decades while he worked as a n__________________ to m__________________. He continued to h__________________ and the quality of his work ensured that as long as he s__________________, he would eventually be p__________________. His w__________________ cannot be c__________________ but everyone who d__________________ themselves to a quality product will at least r__________________.
In conclusion, those who stop studying find themselves v__________________ for their p__________________ and the key to success is hard work. Technology has d__________________ but hard work and c__________________ will always be e__________________.
Listen and check:
Listening Practice
Listen to Xyra below talk about why she dropped out:
Reading Practice
Read about the keys to success below:
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/3-keys-for-success-life.html
Speaking Practice
Answer the questions below from the real IELTS part 3 speaking exam:
Life Goals
- How important is it for people to set goals?
- Do people set different goals at different stages of life?
- Are personal goals more important than professional goals?
- What sort of goals do young people today set?
- Are people becoming more pessimistic about their life goals?
Writing Practice
Answer the related IELTS question below then review with my sample answer:
These days people spend more and more time at work and less time at home.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Real Past IELTS Test/Exam
0 Comments