IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 Academic · Discussion (both views)
Working From Home vs the Office: Band 7 Sample Essay
315 words · Topic: Work & careers, Technology ·
The question
Since it became possible for many employees to do their jobs from home, some people argue that this is better for workers and companies alike, while others insist that working in a shared office is more effective.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Band 7 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularySince the pandemic, working from home has changed from a rare privilege into a normal arrangement for millions of office employees. While some argue that it benefits both staff and employers, others insist that a shared workplace remains more productive. In my opinion, each side has valid points, and a hybrid arrangement is the most sensible solution.
Supporters of remote work point out that it removes the daily commute, which for many city workers takes more than an hour each way. This time can be used for rest, exercise or family, so employees often feel less stressed and more motivated. For employers, the benefits is also significant: they can reduce office costs, and they can recruit talented people which live far from the city. Many technology companies, for example, now hire staff from different regions without asking them to relocate.
However, there are strong arguments for the office as well. Firstly, face-to-face interaction makes it easier to solve problems quickly and build trust between colleagues. A question that takes ten seconds to ask across a desk can take half a day by email. Secondly, junior employees learn a great deal by watching how experienced colleagues handle clients and difficult situation, something that is hard to replicate on a video call. Furthermore, not everyone has a quiet place at home, and working at a kitchen table with children around can blur the line between work and private life.
In my view, the best approach is a combination of both. Employees could spend two or three days in the office for meetings and training, and do tasks which requires concentration at home. This model keep the flexibility that workers value while protecting the collaboration that companies need.
In conclusion, although working from home offers clear advantages in time and cost, the office is still important for teamwork and learning, therefore a hybrid system is the best option.
Word count: 315
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Why this is Band 7: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 7Both views are discussed in balanced body paragraphs and the writer's opinion — a hybrid arrangement — is stated in the introduction, explained in the fourth paragraph and repeated in the conclusion, so the position is clear throughout. Main ideas are extended and supported, for example the contrast between "ten seconds to ask across a desk" and "half a day by email", which makes the collaboration point concrete. Some support over-generalises: the claim that employees "often feel less stressed and more motivated" is asserted rather than explained, and the technology-company example stays vague. A fully developed Band 8 response would link the hybrid proposal more explicitly back to each problem it solves.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 7The essay is logically organised, with a clear central topic in each paragraph and a sensible progression from the arguments for home working, to those for the office, to the writer's own view. Referencing is generally clear ("This time", "This model"), and the phrase "something that is hard to replicate on a video call" links neatly back to the preceding clause. There is some over-use of sequencing devices in the third paragraph ("Firstly", "Secondly", "Furthermore"), which makes it read like a list, but overall cohesion is managed well enough for Band 7.
Lexical Resource
Band 7There is a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow flexibility and precision, with accurate collocations such as "daily commute", "face-to-face interaction", "blur the line between work and private life" and "relocate". The writer shows awareness of style in phrases like "a rare privilege" and "hard to replicate". Some words are repeated ("office", "colleagues") and a few choices are general rather than precise ("strong arguments", "valid points"), but there are no errors that affect meaning. This matches Band 7; Band 8 would require less common items used more skilfully across the whole essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 6The essay attempts a good range of structures — relative clauses, a concessive "although" clause and a colon introducing examples — but accuracy is not consistent enough for Band 7. There are repeated subject–verb agreement errors ("the benefits is", "tasks which requires", "This model keep"), a relative pronoun error ("talented people which live" for who live), a missing plural ("difficult situation" for situations) and a comma splice before "therefore" in the conclusion, which needs a full stop or semicolon. These errors rarely reduce communication, but because they occur in many of the complex sentences, error-free sentences are not frequent enough, which places grammar at Band 6.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- hybrid arrangement
- a pattern that combines home and office work; precise and widely used in writing about work.
- daily commute
- the regular journey to work; natural collocation, e.g. eliminate the daily commute.
- relocate
- to move to a new place for work; a concise alternative to move to another city.
- face-to-face interaction
- in-person contact; useful for any essay comparing online and physical communication.
- blur the line between
- make two things hard to separate; idiomatic and precise for work–life balance.
How this essay could reach Band 8
- 1Fix the grammar patterns that hold this essay back: check every verb after a plural subject or a relative pronoun (the benefits are, tasks which require, this model keeps), use who for people, and replace ", therefore" with "; therefore,".
- 2Make the opinion paragraph answer the problems raised earlier — for instance, explain that office days are chosen specifically for training junior staff and for problem-solving that is slow by email.
- 3Vary the third paragraph's linking so it reads as a developed argument rather than a "Firstly… Secondly… Furthermore" list.
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