IELTS Task 1 Writing
Task 1: The line chart shows the percentage of spending in an European country from 1960 to 2000 |

Example
The line graph compares how consumers from a particular European nation allocated their budget to various expenses over a four-decade period starting from 1960.
Overall, all the varieties of spending experienced a downward trend except for the amount spent on clothes. In addition, energy bills always made up the lowest expenditure throughout the period.
Nearly 35% of the total spending, the highest recorded percentage in the survey, was for food in 1960. This was followed by a fifth spent on leisure activities. The following years saw a narrowed gap between these figures as they declined to a low of roughly 15% each in 2000. Transport and energy spending bore a striking similarity when their proportions fell dramatically by approximately 5% from 10% and 5% respectively over the span.
Expenditure on clothing, in contrast, increased after starting below a tenth. This category doubled by the end of the period, becoming the most expensive spending among those listed.
Vocabulary
- allocate one’s budget to (v): phân bổ ngân sách cho
- expense (n): chi phí
- expenditure (n): sự chi tiêu
- the highest recorded percentage in the survey (n): tỷ lệ phần trăm cao nhất được ghi nhận trong cuộc khảo sát
- see a narrowed gap (v): chứng kiến khoảng cách được thu hẹp
- bear a striking similarity (v): có một điểm tương đồng nổi bật
Analysis
– All expenditures tended to decrease except for clothing expenditures.
– Expenditure on energy consistently remained the lowest throughout the period.
– Spending on food was highest in 1960, whereas spending on clothing peaked in 2000.
IELTS Task 2 Writing
Task 2: Many people say that we now live in ‘consumer societies’ where money and possessions are given too much importance. Others believe that ‘consumer culture’ has played a vital role in improving our lives. Discuss both views and give your opinion. |
Example
Some believe that society places too much value on materialism, while others insist that such a lifestyle contributes to improving living standards. Although the latter is justifiable to a certain extent, the former is more convincing.
Among the various factors underlying the promotion of consumerism, the principal one is that material possessions form a tangible measurement of success. It is commonplace today for one to make hasty judgements about another’s achievements based on their residence and manner of dress. This urges working adults, especially recent graduates, to strive to move up the career ladder, hence securing better pay and increased monetary benefits. An income rise is bound to create more consumer demand for higher-quality products and services. When manufacturing thrives, more jobs are created, which in turn benefits the society as a whole.
Despite this legitimate argument, consumer culture should be regarded as more detrimental than beneficial as it threatens work-life balance and engineers other negative implications. In order to afford more material possessions, many workers have become workaholics, and overworking is now a widely popular work practice. The less time workers spend on their personal lives, the more their sense of well-being is negatively impacted. Not only can their mental and physical health deteriorate, but their relationships with friends and family may also suffer. Worse is that the mindset of acquiring wealth at all costs is nurtured by many individuals, some of whom may even resort to wrongdoings like embezzlement and fraud. This partly explains today’s moral decadence and individualism, leading to increasing indifference and selfishness.
In conclusion, despite the economic benefits of consumerism, it undoubtedly diminishes quality of life and leads to several serious societal consequences.
Vocabulary
- Materialism (n): chủ nghĩa vật chất
- Consumerism (n): chủ nghĩa tiêu dùng
- Material possessions (n): của cải vật chất
- A measurement of success (n): một thước đo thành công
- Move up the career ladder (v): thăng tiến trong sự nghiệp
- Embezzlement (n): sự tham ô
- Moral decadence (n): sự suy đồi đạo đức
- Individualism (n): chủ nghĩa cá nhân
Analysis
Quan điểm: Xã hội đang quá trọng vật chất.
Vì sao quan điểm 1 đúng?
Material wealth is a measure of success.
=> This encourages people to strive in their careers to achieve good income.
=> Increased social spending demand will create more jobs.
Vì sao quan điểm 2 đúng?
To accumulate material wealth, many workers have become addicted to their jobs.
=> This negatively affects mental and physical health, as well as relationships in life.
The idea of getting rich at all costs can promote illegal behavior, as well as a careless and selfish lifestyle.We hope the sharing of Writing samples: Consumerism has helped you gather more vocabulary, grammar structures, and ideas to analyze this topic better when preparing for the IELTS exam. Wishing you high scores in your IELTS exam.