IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Some people think social and vocational skills are as important as academic qualifications.
To what extent do you agree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1:
The globalization and the shift to service-based economy has made the acquisition of social and vocational skills more important than ever before. Consequently, some people theses competencies are as vital as academic qualification. From my perspective, I think that the idea indeed squares with the job demand.
Globalization has changed the nature of organizations removing national boundaries, thereby gaining the opportunity to connect teams and expand business around the world. As a result, a growing number of distributed teams are working cross-culturally. However, conflicts often occur about work methods, projects and assignments, group goals, and workloads. So, team members with good social skills are better equipped to deal those issues, to listen and comprehend different perspectives, and to devise solutions to the problems in mutually beneficial ways, and an executive with the competences works his way up the corporate ladder. For instance, recent studies show that social skills, for example being able to communicate effectively and lead a team as well as being multi-functional, having the appropriate level of self-esteem, and so on, are becoming more crucial in determining a distinguished career.
Likewise, vocational skills are key to the successful career in the service-based economy. The service sectors are booming day by day. As a result, many vocational skills are now in great demand, particularly among medical professionals, financial service, and food service. A recent study, conducted by the Edge foundation and City & Guides, revealed that for the first time about 75% employers now deem vocational qualifications as being just as important as their academic alternative.
In pithy, the nature of both the organization and the function has been changed with the globalization and service-based economy. This change has clear the way for the employees armed with social and vocational skills to obtain a successful career. So, there is no doubt in my mind that vocational and social competencies are as crucial as academic qualifications.
Sample Answer 2:
Undoubtedly the views over the importance of social and vocational skills cannot be denied and the skills are indeed essential as like the academic skills are needed in life. There are no chances to disagree with the statement about the importance of vocational and social skills. A good number of reasons could be placed backing the statement.
Social and vocation skills are essential to be a good member of the society and to become successful in someone’s professional life. For instance, a man is highly educated and has many academic degrees while most of the degrees belong to foreign universities. But the man has no social skills. He does not know how to meet or greet people. He is unable to comply with any unexpected real life situations. Even he fails to reply against any sudden question. So, surely one has nothing much to do with the higher degrees pursued from foreign universities. But if he had the social skills in line with the academic activities, it would have been better for him. The social and vocational skills motivate a person to help others in need. He will even do better in his professional life.
In certain cases, it has been found that only academic skills make people caged with the theories and they do not know how to deal with the real life situation. One of my cousins, Robert, is fond of books and academically he is sound and his performances are outstanding. But simply if he is asked to bring some necessary items from the nearby grocery, he is unable. He lacks the social skills. Thus I have real doubt about his professional success in the future. Another example may make it comprehensible. Imagine you need to repair your personal computer. But you do not have idea how to open the CPU casing and you asked for a professional. The professional who comes to repair the computer certainly owns some vocational skills. Hiring a professional is expensive, I believe. But if you had the skill to repair a computer by yourself, you would have done that easily and could have cut the cost of hiring a professional.
Based on the arguments above, it could be summed up that only academic skills will make people unfit to live in the society. Without having some sort of command over social and vocational skills in life, it is tougher for people to move ahead. Thereby, social and vocational skills in line with the academic activities should be mastered for all for their own.