IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf

IELTS Book 11 Test 3 Task 2 Writing Band 9 pdf

IELTS Book 11 Test 4 Task 1 Writing Band 9 pdf

IELTS Book 11 Test 4 Task 2 Writing Band 9 pdf

IELTS 3 Test 1 Task 2 Model Essay (IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf)

The audiences for international sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup today number in the billions. In every corner of the world, television sets are switched on and people cheer for their national team. But do these events ease or increase the tensions and rivalries that exist between nations, as each team looks for victory? In this essay I will argue that though international sporting events are important for creating an international community, we must be aware of the tensions they can create as well.

Many people saw the 2008 Summer Olympics in China as an important step for China and the international community. China’s decision to host these games meant a new openness between China and the West. The presence of so many international spectators and journalists simply would not have been possible in the recent past. We must not too easily believe, however, that all international tensions vanish during Olympic events. Many will remember the controversy surrounding the Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen at the London 2012 Olympics. An American coach accused Ye Shiwen of having cheated, stating that such a remarkable victory would not have been possible otherwise. The event became a memorable part of the Olympics as it quickly became an international incident. While these games can promote openness between old rivals, they can also create further tensions.

In the past such international events have been important for politicians and diplomats, too. One positive example is the famous use of ‘Ping-Pong diplomacy’ that was important for the meeting of Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon in 1972. The Ping-Pong team members were among the first Americans to visit China during the Cold War. This event lead to better relations between the two countries, but international sporting events do not always produce such positive outcomes. In Europe, the 1936 Olympics in Berlin were used by the Nazi Party to show the power and accomplishments of fascism. Many important political leaders were invited to be spectators, and the games were broadcast for the first time to many countries around the world. Hitler and the Nazi Party were praised for their accomplishments. So while such sporting events can be used to create positive meetings between countries, they can also be used for negative ideological purposes.

Today when international sporting events are bigger and have larger audiences than ever before, it is essential to remember both sides of the story. These events have long been useful in creating good relations between rivals, but have also been twisted to serve the wrong purposes. They may be the cause of tensions themselves, but often they create a new openness between nations.

(440 words)

IELTS 4 Test 4 Task 2 Model Essay (IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf)

Censorship of artists is a very controversial topic these days. While many agree that art is better without the rules and interferences of the government, many also feel that certain types of artistic expression can damage society and have a negative impact on its youngest members. In this essay I will argue that though we cannot say a government should never impose restrictions, these restrictions should only limit artist’s freedom in extreme cases.

Take for instance the case of the celebrated Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei was arrested in 2011 for criticizing the government, and promoting protests in Chinese cities. Many artists felt that Ai Weiwei’s arrest was a problem to do with human rights, and an international campaign was created to demand Weiwei’s release from prison. Weiwei should not have been put in prison simply for being critical of the government, or encouraging others to be critical. One cannot say that criticizing the government has a negative impact on a society. Often a government needs to hear what the public thinks of its policies, and creative artists have an important role to play in that regard.

The question remains: when can we say that a government is allowed to create restrictions? Writing or images that encourage hatred between individuals present us with a different picture. Regardless of our belief in the freedom of expression, governments are correct to get involved where people are made victims. In other cases, works of art can set negative models of behaviour which can lead to violence. Many believe that these cases are very clear. But even this is very difficult. The famous Irish novel Ulysses was banned in the United States when it was published at the beginning of the twentieth century, because it was considered to unsuitable. It is now considered to be a classic work of literature. This shows that public opinions change and that even works considered inappropriate may have a great deal of artistic value. Even in cases where we feel certain that a work of art is bad for society, not everyone will agree.

Though I have presented cases where government restriction is wrong and even presents human rights issues, we must also not forget that sometimes the government is right to get involved. Deciding each case is an extremely difficult task, and more often than not the answer is to let artists express themselves freely. In some extreme cases however, governments must risk the consequences of allowing censorship in order to prevent negative social influences, like the promotion of hatred and violence.

(426 words)

IELTS 5 Test 4 Task 1 Model Essay (IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf)

The question remains: when can we say that a government is allowed to create restrictions? Writing or images that encourage hatred between individuals present us with a different picture. Regardless of our belief in the freedom of expression, governments are correct to get involved where people are made victims. In other cases, works of art can set negative models of behavior which can lead to violence. Many believe that these cases are very clear. But even this is very difficult. The famous Irish novel Ulysses was banned in the United States when it was published at the beginning of the twentieth century, because it was considered to unsuitable. It is now considered to be a classic work of literature. This shows that public opinions change and that even works considered inappropriate may have a great deal of artistic value. Even in cases where we feel certain that a work of art is bad for society, not everyone will agree.

(426 words)

IELTS 6 Test 1 Task 2 Model Essay (IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf)

Everyone complains about the amount of advertising around. You cannot go far without seeing some form of advertising, and studies suggest that the average person sees hundreds of advertising messages each day. With all these images and messages, is it any surprise that society buys things it does not need? In this essay I will argue that it is because of advertising that we consume too much, and that the power the advertisers have is used irresponsibly.

The sale of cigarettes is a case in point. With clever branding strategies and desirable, attractive images, advertisers for decades have succeeded in creating a need that did not exist beforehand. It is very clear that consuming tobacco is not a need. The power of advertising, however, is such that it is able to make a dangerous, unhealthy product into a necessity for many people.

Many will say in opposition that though advertising promotes competition between companies it does not create needs in consumers. In this light, advertising appears to be a positive force in society because it allows consumers to be informed about their choices and for companies to compete to provide the best quality goods and services. But this simply does not reflect the facts. The most heavily advertised products on children’s television, for instance, are for snacks. It is virtually impossible to turn on a television set and not see advertising for unhealthy food products. The amount of time these advertisements take up is not simply to promote competition or inform consumers. It is clear that advertising is really required when goods are not necessary, in order to create demand for them.

The way that advertisers achieve high sales is often by convincing people of a need, and then selling products to correspond. For instance, products for tooth whitening have only been around for a couple of decades. Of course, it is not that everyone in the past had terrible teeth. Rather, the need for tooth-whitening products was invented by advertising that told people to be ashamed of the way they looked. People became convinced of a new need. Today many cosmetic products, especially for women, are sold because advertisers create a demand for them through shame. In this way, advertising alters the true needs of society.

In conclusion, advertising often works to sell goods that are evidently not necessary. Moreover, advertising tries to alter the needs of a society. It is able to create needs where they did not exist before, often using people’s sense of shame to sell new products. So much of what we consume we do not need, but advertising even makes it difficult to know what is a need and what is not.

(448 words)

IELTS 7 Test 3 Task 2 Model Essay (IELTS essay samples Band 9 pdf)

Today, many people around the world live in multi-cultural societies and many more people encounter aspects of other cultures through television, the internet and other media. Because of this, when people travel, more and more they expect to be comfortable and for people to adapt to their way of life. Sometimes this expectation can lead to difficulties and disagreements. This expectation can even have a negative effect on the culture of the place these people have come to visit. In this essay I will explore both sides of the argument and try to establish a positive way to experience other cultures and societies.

When people visit cities for specific cultural reasons, these cities may try to adapt and change to be more like what tourists feel comfortable with and expect. In Florence, people expect to eat lots of pizza and look around the churches and famous buildings. As a result, restaurants in the center of the city only make dishes tourists like and other shops and restaurants the local people need cannot open. All of this means that tourists come and see what they expect. They do not feel uncomfortable in a new culture and so do not learn what it is really like to be and live in Florence or Italy. I believe that being uncomfortable and adapting to a new culture can be a very good way to learn about a new place and to grow as a person. Because visitors want cultures to be welcoming and not make them feel like outsiders, they are unable to experience real cultural differences.

At the same time, some people are so shocked by a new culture that they find their experiences as tourists very unpleasant. This can lead to a dislike of another culture and can equally make visitors feel like they do not belong. Some parts of Ireland are very unpleasant places for English people to visit because of a history of conflict. Many English people remember the IRA bombings, and the Irish remember centuries of English colonialism. Some Irish people do not like English people in their pubs even today. Consequently, these parts of Ireland are not visited by English people. Perhaps, if both tourists and locals learnt to be welcoming, these two countries could start to learn from each other and move forward from the cruelty and crimes committed. Tourism has an important role to play in helping societies understand one another.

The answer is not simple. Both locals and tourists need to learn to be welcoming and to respect each other. Visitors to a culture can learn something from these places and, perhaps, can give something back to the locals. Equally, locals should not feel as though they must adapt to tourists, but must at the same time extend a welcoming hand.

(466 words)