IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

Consumer goods have become the most important part of people's lives. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.


Model Answer:

In today's world, possession of materialistic goods has become an Integral part of a person's life. Consumerism has its own benefits and perils. This essay will critically analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the habit of possessioning more and more consumer goods. 

Undoubtedly, consumerism has its own advantages. Firstly, to cater to the ever-increasing demand of consumer products, the production and supply of these goods like mobiles, computers, and designer clothes have increased. So multinational companies manufacturing these goods are making huge profits, a share of which is helping the economy of the country. For instance, the sales of an Indian mobile company with a public-private company partnership has crossed the 100 crave mark, which has helped the Indian economy in the global market. Moreover, increased demand for these goods has led to a stiffer competition among manufacturers, thereby resulting in a significant decrease in the cost price of the products. To illustrate, over the last decade, the price of mobile phones has decreased steadily by about 5%. Finally, increased demand for materialistic products has given rise to various shopping malls, supermarkets, and online stores leading to increased jobs prospects for the local people. For example, our line shopping services have given employment opportunities to over 30% of the youth in urban India.



Moreover, just as a coin has two sides, consumerism has its own perils. To begin with, people often end up buying unnecessary products after being lured by attractive advertisements. This has led to a dangerous hoarding mentality. For example, a recently conducted survey showed that in an average household in the United Kingdom, 35% of the products purchased are never used! In addition, possession of these goods has become a status symbol for the consumers who are willing to run into debts in order to purchase these consumer items. A survey shows that the credit card debts have risen by 60% in urban India, and the inability of repaying often leads to total consequences like suicide and bank forgery. 

To conclude, I firmly believe that the advantages of consumerism clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Instead of criticising this trend, people should curb their mentality of buying more goods than necessary so that a balance can be struck.

 

Total Words: 360

Task Achievement: 9

Coherence & Cohesion: 9

Lexical resources: 9

Grammar: 9

Overall Score: Band 9

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