IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 Academic · Discussion (both views)
Working From Home vs the Office: Band 8 Sample Essay
348 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 8 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularyThe rapid spread of video-conferencing and cloud-based software has made it possible for a large share of office work to be done from almost anywhere. Some argue that working from home serves employees and employers equally well, while others maintain that nothing can replace a shared workplace. Having weighed both positions, I believe that the most productive model combines the two.
Advocates of remote work emphasise gains on both sides of the employment relationship. For employees, eliminating the commute can free up an hour or more each day, time that can be reinvested in sleep, exercise or family life, and this greater autonomy often translates into higher job satisfaction. Employers, meanwhile, can cut overheads by reducing office space and can recruit from a far wider talent pool, since candidates no longer need to live within travelling distance. Remote work may also suit tasks demanding sustained concentration, which open-plan offices constantly interrupt.
Nevertheless, the case for the office rests on something that is difficult to measure but easy to lose: informal collaboration. Many useful ideas emerge from unplanned conversations rather than from scheduled calls, and problems that would be resolved in a two-minute chat at a colleague's desk can drag on for days over email. The office also play a vital role in the development of junior staff, who absorb professional norms largely by observing more experienced colleagues — a process that video calls replicate poorly. Moreover, for employees in cramped or shared housing, home is far from an ideal workplace, and the boundary between work and rest can easily become blurred.
For these reasons, I favour a hybrid model in which teams agree on shared office days for meetings, mentoring and creative work, while focused individual tasks are left for days at home. Such an arrangement preserves the flexibility employees value without sacrificing the team cohesion that organisations depends on.
In conclusion, remote working offers genuine benefits in time, cost and concentration, yet the office remains essential for collaboration and learning. Rather than choosing one over the other, companies should design working patterns that captures the strengths of each.
Word count: 348
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Why this is Band 8: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 8Both views are discussed in depth and the writer's opinion is clear from the introduction ("the most productive model combines the two") to the conclusion. Ideas are relevant, extended and supported: the case for home working covers benefits to both employees and employers, exactly as the prompt frames it, and the case for the office is built around a well-chosen central idea, informal collaboration, which is then applied to junior staff. The hybrid proposal is justified by assigning each type of work to the setting that suits it. For Band 9 the writer might acknowledge the practical difficulty of coordinating office days across a team.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 8Information and ideas are sequenced logically, and cohesion is managed well. Paragraphs open with sentences that frame the whole argument ("the case for the office rests on something that is difficult to measure but easy to lose"), and reference chains are precise ("this greater autonomy", "a process that video calls replicate poorly", "Such an arrangement"). Linking words such as "meanwhile", "Nevertheless" and "Moreover" are used appropriately rather than mechanically. Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate, which supports Band 8.
Lexical Resource
Band 8A wide range of vocabulary is used fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings: "cut overheads", "talent pool", "absorb professional norms", "cramped or shared housing" and "team cohesion" are all natural and accurate. Less common items are used skilfully, for example "reinvested in sleep, exercise or family life" and "drag on for days". There are no errors in word choice, spelling or word formation, and only a slightly more idiomatic touch in places would be needed for Band 9.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 7The range of structures is wide: participle clauses ("Having weighed both positions"), passive forms, relative clauses, a colon introducing a key idea and a dash introducing an explanation. However, accuracy lags slightly behind the range. There are three subject–verb agreement errors — "The office also play" (plays), "organisations depends on" (depend on) and "working patterns that captures" (capture) — and all three appear in sentences that are otherwise sophisticated. Good control with a few errors is the Band 7 descriptor; for Band 8 the majority of sentences must be completely error-free, with only very occasional slips.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- free up
- to make time or resources available for something else; natural phrasal verb that suits formal essays.
- cut overheads
- reduce the fixed running costs of a business, such as rent and utilities.
- talent pool
- the group of qualified people an employer can recruit from; ideal for work and globalisation topics.
- sustained concentration
- focus maintained over a long period; more precise than focus.
- become blurred
- lose clear boundaries; often used with the line between work and home.
- team cohesion
- the sense of unity that makes a group work well together.
How this essay could reach Band 9
- 1Proofread every present-simple verb against its subject: the office plays, organisations depend, patterns that capture. Removing these three slips would bring grammar up to Band 8, in line with the other three criteria.
- 2Add a sentence that anticipates a weakness in the hybrid model — for example, colleagues choosing different office days — and show how it could be managed.
- 3Keep this level of precise, natural vocabulary, but vary sentence openings in the final paragraphs so the conclusion does not mirror the body so closely.
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