IELTS Task 2 sample essay: Working from Home
Advantages / disadvantagesWork
The question
Many people now work remotely from home. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Try writing your own answer first, then compare. Reading a model before you write tends to make you copy it.
The plan
Position: Advantages outweigh disadvantages, if companies manage the drawbacks.
- Advantages: no commute, more flexibility, wider job opportunities.
- Disadvantages: isolation and blurred boundaries; manageable with office days and clear hours.
Model answer
261 wordsWorking from home, once rare, has become normal for millions of office workers. Although remote work brings real drawbacks, I believe its advantages outweigh them, provided employers take steps to limit the downsides.
The most obvious benefit is the end of the daily commute. A worker who used to spend ninety minutes a day in traffic gains more than seven hours a week, time that can be spent with family, exercising or simply resting. Remote work also offers flexibility: parents can collect children from school and finish their work in the evening, and people with disabilities can work in an environment suited to their needs. Furthermore, it widens opportunity, because employees no longer need to live near expensive city centres to access well-paid jobs.
The disadvantages are nonetheless real. Many remote workers feel isolated, missing the informal conversations through which colleagues share ideas and new employees learn. There is also a risk that work spreads into every part of the day when the office is the kitchen table, making it harder to switch off. For young employees in particular, learning a job by watching experienced colleagues is much harder over video calls.
However, these problems can largely be managed. Many companies now combine home working with one or two office days a week, which preserves contact and training, while clear rules on working hours protect personal time.
In conclusion, remote work saves time, increases flexibility and widens access to good jobs. Its costs, mainly isolation and blurred boundaries, are significant but manageable, so overall I see it as a positive development.
Scored by the MyBandPrep checker on 7 October 2026. An estimate, not an examiner’s mark. How scoring works
Why it works
- Task Response
- The question asks whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and the essay answers clearly in the introduction and conclusion, with reasons for the verdict.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Advantages, then disadvantages, then why the disadvantages are manageable: the order builds toward the verdict.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise phrases: “blurred boundaries”, “switch off”, “widens opportunity”.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- A range of structures, including participle clauses and relative clauses, accurate throughout.
Phrases worth reusing
- once rare, has become normal
- widens opportunity
- the office is the kitchen table
- blurred boundaries
- significant but manageable
Compare: a band 6 version
247 wordsThe same question, answered the way many essays stuck at band 6 are. Read it, then the notes below.
In this modern world, many people work from home instead of going to the office every day. This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working from home, and give my opinion.
There are many advantages of working from home. Firstly, people do not need to travel to the office, so they can save a lot of time and money. For example, they do not need to pay for petrol or bus tickets. Secondly, they can spend more time with their family, which is very important for parent with young children. Thirdly, they can work in a comfortable place and wear comfortable clothes, so they feel more relaxed and happy.
On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages. People can feel lonely because they do not see their colleagues every day, and it is more hard to work in a team. Also, sometimes the internet connection is not good and they cannot finish their works on time. Moreover, some people are not disciplined at home, so they watch TV or use social media instead of working. This can make their work more worse.
In my opinion, the advantages of working from home are more than the disadvantages. People save time and money, and they can have a better balance between work and family life. Companies can also save money on offices.
In conclusion, working from home has both advantages and disadvantages, but I believe the advantages are more important because people save time and money.
What holds it back
- Recurring grammar errors: “for parent”, “more hard”, “their works”, “more worse”.
- The verdict appears late and rests on one brief reason (“save time and money”) rather than guiding the whole essay.
- Points are listed, not developed: the saving in time is never quantified or explained.
- Some points are minor (“wear comfortable clothes”) and take space from stronger arguments.
- Memorised phrases (“In this modern world”, “This essay will discuss”) and mechanical sequencing.
- “The advantages are more than the disadvantages” is an awkward expression for “outweigh”.
Now write your own
Answer this question in 40 minutes and get an estimated band with the sentences to fix.