Topic: Work and Career

Some people think that work is the most important thing of people’s
life. Without the success of career, life become meaningless. To what
extent do you agree or disagree?

Sample Answer

While it is argued that a distinguished career is regarded as the

most pivotal thing in a person’s life, I firmly believe that there are other
factors which can make people’s lives meaningful.

On the one hand, it cannot be denied that working plays a vital role

in one’s life. According to an annual survey carried out in the UK, a person
spends about 25 or 30 years on their occupation, hence working
time accounts for nearly one-third of a person’s life. So if people obtain
a worthwhile job that blooms, their lifetime is likely to be filled
with human well-being. Additionally, the state of being stuck in an
unsuccessful career might have a destructive influence on people’s
spirits. Those with turbulent career or experience of job
dissatisfaction could suffer from chronic stress and discouragement,
which affects their mental and physical health adversely, as well as
making them have a negative outlook on their lives.

On the other hand, I contend that there are more desirable goals rather than
a successful career to attain in our life. A vast majority of people perceive a
meaningful life as helping others living in poor and underprivileged
conditions. They spend most of their lifetime devoting to charity work.
Furthermore, there are other people who do not enter the workforce but
seem satisfied with their lives. In some Asian countries such as
Japan, dual-income families are not as common as that in Western
nations. Take Japan as a telling example; men are often
the breadwinners while women stay at home, take over the
responsibilities related to household chores and childcare, which make
them feel content as a well-established tradition.

In conclusion, while undoubtedly people can benefit enormously from a

glittering career, there are still a lot of significant factors which might
enable them to lead a happy life. (304 words)
Vocabulary

 Lifetime (noun) the period of time when someone is alive

 Distinguished career (phrase) successful career
 Carry out (phrasal verb) conduct
 Account for (phrasal verb)  supply or make up a specified
amount or proportion of
 Human Well-being (phrase) is understood as a a state of health,
happiness and/or prosperity
 A dual–income family (phrase) a family that gets money from
two separate incomes
 Take something/someone as a telling example
(phrase) Consider something/someone as a strong, important
example