People Nowadays work hard to Buy More Things- IELTS Writing Task 2

People nowadays work hard to buy more things. This has made our life generally more comfortable but it is a pity many traditional values have been lost on the way to such materialism. To what extent agree or disagree with the statement?

Outline

Essay Type

Opinion Essay

Introduction

Sentences 1&2 – Paraphrase the topic with the use of synonyms. Create a base understanding for the reader, something to expand on in the essay.

Sentence 3 – State that the essay will understand how materialism leading to the loss of traditional values isn’t as bad as it seems.

Body Paragraphs

Paragraph 1 – Implore on materialism and how it affects an individual’s life. Suggest an example.

Paragraph 2 – Suggest that materialism makes lives easier in a sense, and losing out on certain traditional values shouldn’t be considered harmful.

Paragraph 3 – Acknowledge that extreme materialism is bad, but re-emphasize on the fact that materialism has made lives easier.

Conclusion

Restate your views.

Sample Essay

People nowadays are working hard to buy more things. Even though this trend has made life simpler, people are imploring that it has hindered traditional values while promoting materialism. This essay will emphasize that the said statement is incorrect.

In its truest sense, materialism is detrimental for any person. But from what has been observed, people are happy once they get what they want. Moreover, they feel like they’ve accomplished a goal, which gives them and their efforts further gratification. When an individual accomplishes a target that he sets, for instance, a car, he feels good about himself.

Suppose walking as a traditional value is substituted in the midst. In that case, there is no harm in that because a car allows the person to travel with ease and safety, makes him punctual and gives him the leisure to go the extra mile if his workplace is located far from his home. Materialism is, therefore, an evolutionary aspect of human culture as it allows redirection of focus from menial tasks to other important ones.

On the other hand, being avaricious can cause unhappiness as there is no upper limit to either satisfaction or greed. But, such cases are far too few, and in general, people’s functionality is increased. Furthermore, materialism doesn’t directly affect traditional values, rather makes lives easier and more comfortable.

Hence, people working hard to buy things has definitely made life more comfortable. So, if traditional values have been lost in the process, one has to realise it as an progressive aspect and nothing else.

Vocabulary

• Trend 

Meaning – a general direction in which something is developing or changing.
Example – The fashion trend changes very frequently.

• Imploring 

Meaning – making an earnest or desperate appeal.
Example – His face suggested an imploring look.

• Materialism  

Meaning – a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.
Example – Materialism is bad if you cannot control your spendings.

• Detrimental  

Meaning – tending to cause harm.
Example – Smoking is detrimental to our health.

• Gratification  

Meaning – pleasure, especially when gained from the satisfaction of a desire.
Example – I wish to learn how to delay gratification, so that I can focus on the task at hand.

• Menial 

Meaning – (of work) not requiring much skill and lacking prestige.
Example – I asked my boss to stop assigning me menial tasks.

• Evolutionary  

Meaning – relating to the gradual development of something.
Example – The evolutionary aspect of lifestyle corresponds to how comfortable everything is becoming.

• Leisure  

Meaning – opportunity afforded by free time to do something.
Example – In his leisure time, Jaspreet learns the piano.

• Functionality 

Meaning – the quality of being suited to serve a purpose well; practicality.
Example – With laptops, the functionality of every employee improved.

• Necessarily 

Meaning – as a necessary result; inevitably.
Example – Consuming Vitamin C tablets doesn’t necessarily means a person is deficient in it.