Back to Writing Hub

User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 2 Band 8.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

361 words AcademicTask 2
Task 2

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • A calculated professional risk, such as proposing a new workplace system, can lead to career advancement; even rejection can offer useful experience.
  • Taking an educational opportunity in a new city may involve loneliness at first but can foster independence and broaden a person's perspective.
  • Balance potential rewards against possible financial, emotional and family costs; distinguish careful decisions from impulsive risk-taking.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the topic and state clearly whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
  2. Acknowledge meaningful risks and explain why they are more manageable when decisions are carefully assessed.
  3. Develop a professional-life example, including both its possible downside and potential benefit.
  4. Develop a personal-life example and explain its longer-term effects.
  5. Conclude with a direct judgement that restates the importance of calculated risk.
Useful vocabulary & examples
a calculated risk
A risk taken after considering its possible consequences.

Proposing a new system at work can be a calculated risk if the employee has assessed its likely costs and benefits.

career development
Progress in a person's work skills, responsibilities or professional opportunities.

Taking on an unfamiliar project may support career development.

financial or emotional costs
The monetary or psychological difficulties that may result from a decision.

A move to another city can bring financial or emotional costs during the initial adjustment.

weigh the possible costs
Consider the likely disadvantages before making a choice.

People should weigh the possible costs before committing to a major change.

Task Prompt

It is important for people to take risks, both in their professional lives and their personal lives. Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 8.0

From entrepreneurs starting their businesses to investing time in a unique topic, risk-taking has perennially been considered advisable by many, both in professional and personal lives, but whether risk-taking is worthwhile or not remains unclear. This essay will explore the benefits and disadvantages of risk-taking, and ultimately discuss whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Many people to prefer certainty, although complete certainty is rarely available.

In professional life, uncertainty can accompany a useful opportunity. Volunteering to lead a new project may lead to rejection, but planning the project can reveal strengths and skills that still need development. Taking on a new responsibility can also create experience that routine work would not provide. These are reasons to consider a challenge rather than remain in the same situation simply because it is familiar.

Personal risks can have similar value. Joining an unfamiliar group or moving to a new place may initially feel uncomfortable, yet it can introduce someone to interests and relationships they would otherwise miss. A person who always waits for certainty may never try activities with a reasonable chance of benefiting them. This does not mean discomfort proves a decision is good; it means uncertainty alone does not establish that it is bad.

The disadvantages become serious when the possible loss threatens essential responsibilities. Leaving employment without resources or committing money needed for household costs can affect other people as well as the decision-maker. An unsuccessful outcome may also damage confidence. Before acting, people should consider what could go wrong, whether they can reverse the choice and what support is available if the plan fails.

Preparation can change the balance. A person considering a new business might test demand on a small scale before making a large commitment. Someone moving could investigate accommodation and work first. Such steps cannot remove every risk, but they distinguish informed action from confidence unsupported by a plan. The benefit is learning while keeping a setback manageable.

In conclusion, risk-taking can support growth and discovery in both areas of life. Its advantages outweigh its disadvantages when the opportunity is meaningful and the downside is proportionate, rather than when every uncertain choice is treated as inherently admirable.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Use the direct opening to answer the precise task and keep that judgement consistent.
2
Develop a relevant example through cause and consequence rather than leaving it as a name or list item.
3
Check the quoted clauses in context and qualify statements that imply a guaranteed outcome.

Related examples for this topic

Compare different bands on the same IELTS prompt.

Browse all