IELTS Band 9 Vocab Secrets Bài 1

Topic 1: Work and careers
About Topic 1
The Work and careers topic includes issues of opportunities and problems at
work, ways of motivating and rewarding workers, the work/life balance, changes in
patterns of jobs and work (for example, the growth in working from home), career
choices and training, and occasionally the relationship between government and
businesses or industries.
You are not expected to know any vocabulary connected to specialised areas of
finance, marketing and so on.
Topic 1 Example Task
Some employers offer their employees subsidised membership of gyms and

sports clubs, believing that this will make their staff healthier and thus more effective at
work. Other employers see no benefit in doing so.
Consider the arguments from both aspects of this possible debate, and reach a
conclusion.
Explanation of the Task
This is an Opinion>Discussion type Task. You should introduce the topic, present
two or three ideas on each side of the discussion, and then give your opinion in the
conclusion.
If you are not already familiar with the different types of IELTS Academic Task 2
essay, please see the ‘Overview’ at the end of this book. It is essential to be familiar with
these different essay types before you take the exam.
The following model essay shows you key words and phrases which you can use
to increase your band score when discussing this topic, in both writing and speaking.
The key words are highlighted in bold.
Band 9 model essay
Employers are always seeking ways to enhance their employees’ productivity,

and subsidising healthy pursuits may be one way of achieving this. There are arguments
on both sides, however, which we will discuss here.
On the one hand, it might be said that if workers are fitter and less stressed, their
working time will be more efficient, leading to higher levels of output and service.
Furthermore, the work/life balance of the staff will hopefully be improved, because their
leisure time will be more fulfilling.
This may even be more motivating than pay increments, perks, or financial rewards
such as bonuses or incentives which may be hard to attain. Finally, feeling healthier may
lead to better job satisfaction which is in itself a motivating factor.
Conversely, the problem with such leisure-based subsidies is that their efficacy is virtual
impossible to quantify. For example, with target-related payments, employers can at
least see whether the objectives are reached or not. It might also be said that, if this budget
was spent on (for instance) on the job training or day release programmes, the
employees would achieve better career progression and have better job prospects.
These matters are all easier to measure, especially in performance reviews and
appraisals, and may even help to reduce the risk of redundancy if the company
restructures, downsizes or outsources its workforce.
Overall, it seems that, while health-related subsidies are superficially attractive,
the lack of measurability is a substantial drawback. Spending funds on ongoing
training would appear to be a better use of company or Human Resources budgets.
(259 words)
Explanation of the topic vocabulary and examples in Speaking
These words and phrases are listed in the order that they appear in the essay
productivity = the ability of people to produce useful results at work.
Example of using this vocabulary item in the IELTS Speaking Test:
‘My country is not as advanced as some other countries in our industrial sector.
Productivity and quality are still quite low.’
Important: Please remember that these extra example sentences are designed to
show you ways of using this vocabulary in IELTS Speaking, and so the examples may
include contractions (‘don’t’ etc) and personal stories about the speaker and their family
or friends. This is fine in the Speaking test, but not in Task 2 writing, which should never
have contractions or personal stories.
These Speaking examples also sometimes include less formal words such as
‘really’ or ‘good.’ Again, these words are acceptable in Speaking, but try to use more
formal words in Writing, such as ‘substantially’ or ‘positive.’
to subsidise = to pay part of the cost of something, usually in order to help people.
Example of using this vocabulary item in the IELTS Speaking Test:
‘The government could encourage children to be healthier by subsidising swimming lessons

and sports coaching at weekends.’
output = the amount of work or goods produced.
In Europe, industrial output has decreased, maybe because of competition from producers in
other continents.
work/life balance = the ability to work hard but also enjoy a good quality family and
social life
People are working long hours these days, and so their work/life balance is affected,
leading to stress.
to motivate people = to give them positive reasons for working hard
If employees are given regular feedback, they will probably be well motivated and
committed.
pay increments = pay rises/increases
In my country, pay increments have been very low because of the financial crisis.
perks = reward from an employer which are not financial (eg free lunches, a car
etc)
Personally, I’d like to work for a company that gives lots of perks, because I would find this
very enjoyable.
financial rewards = any form of money payment (salary, commission, pension etc)
Being a primary teacher may be satisfying, but the financial rewards are not high
bonuses = money given in addition to salary, usually in return for
achieving targets
Apparently some investment bankers can earn millions of dollars in bonuses.

incentives = any reward that makes people work harder
Some employers offer vacations or parties as incentives if the team hits its sales targets.
job satisfaction = enjoyment of a job for non-financial reasons
I get a lot of job satisfaction from my work at the wildlife centre, although the financial
rewards are quite low.
target-related = dependent on hitting a target
My boss once offered me a target-related bonus, but it was almost impossible to achieve!
on the job training = training while working, not by leaving work to go to college
etc
My sister has found that the on the job training she gets at her bank is very useful, and she
has progressed well because of this
ongoing training = training throughout your time in a job, not just at the start
I enjoyed my work at the airline at first, but I soon found that there was no ongoing
training and my skills weren’t really developed.
. day release programmes = programmes of training or education when employees

can spend entire days out of work
I feel that employers should be much more flexible regarding training, for example by
subsidising day release programmes or job exchanges with other companies.
career progression = the ability to advance your career
The problem with being a freelance photographer is that there’s no real career progression,
unless you become very famous.
job prospects = the possibility of promotion or higher level work in future
I remember an interview when the employer told me there were excellent job prospects
in their firm for young people. In reality, this was not really true.
to measure = to assess the dimensions of something
Job satisfaction may be important, but can we really measure it?
superficial = not addressing deep or important issues
I’m not a big fan of traditional music. I find the lyrics rather old-fashioned and superficial
for modern listeners.
performance reviews/appraisals = meeting at which an employer gives feedback

to a worker on their work over a fixed period.
I remember being worried about my job at first, but at my six month appraisal my manager
told me she was pleased with my efforts.
redundancy = a situation where a worker loses their job because of changes in the
company (not because of personal mistakes) (verb = to make someone redundant)
In my home town, the textile factories have closed and many people have been
made redundant.
to restructure = to change the organisation of a company, usually in order to make it

more effective or to save money.
We used to have a large training department in my office, but in our recent restructure it
was eliminated and the staff were made redundant.
to downsize = to make an organisation smaller and employ fewer people
My father’s college used to employ almost one thousand people, but then it downsized and
now has less than five hundred.
to outsource = to stop doing work inside the company and send it to other
companies or other countries, usually to save money
Many American companies have outsourced their IT operations to Asian countries,

where productivity is similar and salaries are lower.
the workforce = the total number of people working in an organisation, company
or country
The workforce in Northern Europe is skilled, but it’s also inflexible and much older
than in other parts of the world.
Human Resources (or HR) = the department in a company which manages

recruitment, employment and training
When I graduate, I plan to work in the Human Resources area of the oil industry, possibly
in the Middle East.
Summary of Topic 1
This completes our Module for Topic 1.

Remember, please don’t try to learn or memorise all of these words immediately.
Go through the whole book from Module 1 to 10, and try to practise using a small group
of words from all of the Modules, then go back and expand on each group.
***

IELTS Band 9 Vocab Secrets Bài 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

IELTS Band 9 Vocab Secrets Bài 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

IELTS Band 9 Vocab Secrets Bài 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Topic 1: Work and careers

Topic 1 Example Task

Some employers offer their employees subsidised membership of gyms and

Explanation of the Task

Band 9 model essay

Employers are always seeking ways to enhance their employees’ productivity,

Explanation of the topic vocabulary and examples in Speaking

productivity = the ability of people to produce useful results at work.

Example of using this vocabulary item in the IELTS Speaking Test:

Example of using this vocabulary item in the IELTS Speaking Test:

‘The government could encourage children to be healthier by subsidising swimming lessons

output = the amount of work or goods produced.

to motivate people = to give them positive reasons for working hard

pay increments = pay rises/increases

bonuses = money given in addition to salary, usually in return for

Apparently some investment bankers can earn millions of dollars in bonuses.

job satisfaction = enjoyment of a job for non-financial reasons

target-related = dependent on hitting a target

. day release programmes = programmes of training or education when employees

Job satisfaction may be important, but can we really measure it?

superficial = not addressing deep or important issues

performance reviews/appraisals = meeting at which an employer gives feedback

to restructure = to change the organisation of a company, usually in order to make it

to downsize = to make an organisation smaller and employ fewer people

Many American companies have outsourced their IT operations to Asian countries,

than in other parts of the world.

Human Resources (or HR) = the department in a company which manages

This completes our Module for Topic 1.

You might also like