Cambridge IELTS 17 Test 1 Writing Task 2

It is important for people to take risks, both in their professional lives and their personal lives.
Do you think the advantages of taking risks outweigh the disadvantages?
Write at least 250 words.
Taking bold steps in both professional and personal spheres is crucial. While such decisions
might have short-term drawbacks, they open doors to new opportunities, and I firmly believe
that the benefits far surpass any potential downsides.
Engaging in a risky decision can have short-term repercussions. Consider adults who are
psychologically constrained by parental control due to ongoing financial support. If they opt to
break free from this dependency to pursue their aspirations, they might experience the
immediate challenge of losing the financial comfort provided by their parents. Similarly, making
a career switch that involves a significant salary reduction can lead to short-term hardships.
Nevertheless, I believe that viewing these short-term sacrifices as major disadvantages is
unwarranted, as they have the potential for substantial long-term benefits.
Looking at the bright side, risks open doors to opportunities. Consider Priscilla Chan's
grandparents, whose courage in relocating from Vietnam to the US paved the way for Chan's
education at Harvard and her eventual marriage to Mark Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg hadn't taken
the risk of dropping out to concentrate on developing Facebook, we might have seen a different
platform, not Facebook, emerge as the world's leading social media giant. I believe such
transformative opportunities are immensely valuable.
In summary, although there could be short-term adverse effects, I maintain that the substantial
benefits arising from the life-changing opportunities that risks bring about are far more
significant. Edited. Change the example.
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In the professional domain, the inclination to welcome risks is frequently associated with
stimulating innovation and advancing one's career. Entrepreneurs, for example, who explore
unfamiliar territories often discover themselves on a path leading to triumph and achievement.
The possible downsides, like financial setbacks, are often transitory and overshadowed by the
enduring benefits of creating pioneering ventures. Additionally, those who avoid risks in their
professional pursuits may find themselves confined to unchanging roles, foregoing chances for
progression and individual growth.
At a personal level, the openness to taking risks has the potential to lead to substantial self-
discovery and a life filled with greater fulfillment. Individuals who challenge societal norms,
pursue non-traditional paths, or welcome new experiences often find themselves on journeys
of transformation marked by personal growth and contentment. While it's essential not to
disregard the temporary challenges associated with risk-taking, they are outweighed by the
enduring rewards of a more enriched and meaningful existence.
Nonetheless, it is critical to highlight that positive outcomes do not always follow every risk,
and exercising discernment is crucial when making decisions. Strategic risk-taking entails a
thorough evaluation of potential consequences and results, ensuring that the risks align with
individual values and aspirations.

Example-Led Paragraph
You probably noticed that, in the two body paragraphs, I only used examples to develop the
topic sentences. I learned this method from the ex-examiner IELTS Simon. He calls paragraphs
like these example-led paragraphs.
You can use this method of directly giving an example after a topic sentence to answer all Tasks
2 questions. But I mainly use this method to answer "advantages outweigh disadvantages" and
"discuss both views" because, for these two types of questions, if I give reasons as well as
examples, I will certainly end up writing too many words. Especially for this question, you need
to talk about both professional life and personal life. This method really helps to cut words.
S1
It is often debated over the topic that individuals ought to be more generally risk-takers when
having to make a choice rather than being conscious of whether they are deciding on
occupational matters or private life ones. I believe while it is vital to have an audacious attitude
when it comes to choosing various paths in life, it should be also considered to know when to
act consciously and meticulously.
Taking risks has several clear advantages for an individual. First of all, being capable of acting in
situations when stakes are high with full awareness of the consequences and possible
outcomes would lead to self-development. Moreover, when one anticipates the results and
prepares oneself, one will gain more confidence and experience deciding on their own. For
example, Elon Musk, as an entrepreneur, established several start-ups before becoming
successful in his Tesla company and in order to succeed he was forced to take risky decisions.
Secondly, risk-takers often learn from their decisions in addition to acquiring certain skills.
Furthermore, if people do the common tasks, they would not learn particular essentials in their
life span. For instance, in order to carve a niche for oneself, which might have uncertainties in
its accomplishment, one has to learn to face tasks that they might never have to deal with
them.
On the other hand, it is gravely important to evaluate the facts concerning their decisions and
that might contribute to failures if the potential results are not anticipated shrewdly. What is
more, diffidence is an inevitable outcome of such decisions. Surveys have shown that astute
individuals tend to have more self-esteem due to their resolution compared with ones who are
generally more taking risks.
In summary, while being able to make decisions more freely and with levels of uncertainty
could account for several benefits, such as self-development and acquiring various skills, it
could result in lower confidence because of underestimation of particular factors. So, one
should always prepare oneself for the potential scenarios resulting from their decisions.
S2
In the modern world most of the people like to get risks both in their career lives and private
lives. Sometimes it may important, but sometimes it isn't. It depends on the situation that we
faced.
Commonly younger generation like to take risks for their lives. In their private lives they are
entertaining, thinking out of the box, trying to do new things to get some experiences for their
lives. Thus for an example, some boys are love to do adventures things like; hiking, sky diving,
swimming on the beach, water rafting and so on. These are terrible things but there are some
advantages like, improving their self-confidence, fearless for anything and also helpful for build
healthiest and strongest body. But there is also a disadvantage. That is the risk of loss of the
life.
In the professional lives sometimes it is important to take risks. Sometimes our salary scale is
insufficient for our daily routine. So we need to take a risk for our job. We can move into the
new one. It may be a best or a worst decision, but we need to take that risk. As an example,
Thomas Alva Edison was the person who invented 'Light Bulb' was a person who neglects from
his school. He tried more and more finally he invented the valuable thing. If he didn't take that
risk we haven't this precious thing.
To recapitulate, both private and professional lives taking risks have more gains and loss.
S3

There has been controversy about whether people should make risky moves in their career as
well as in private lives. From my perspective, despite some drawbacks related to taking risks,
there are actually more merits we can acquire from this.
On the one hand, risk-taking can be beneficial for people. Not only can it provide people with
new opportunities in their lives, but it also can influence on people's behavior. For example,
some people relish doing extreme sports with a view to filling their organisms with endorphins
and adrenaline in perilous situations.
Moreover, it is a perfect way to reveal stress. However, others have to risk due to their
profession. Take firefighters, for instance, they risk their life to rescue those who are in trouble.
Although firefighters may be harmed in the short term, their work is crucial and extremely
grateful. What is more, risky situations teach people to make fast and spontaneous decisions.
On the other hand, many people involved in extreme sports often find themselves on the edge
of a catastrophe. They cannot evaluate negative consequences of risk-taking. As an example,
we can take Michael Schumacher, a professional racer facing risks every day, who had an
accident skiing in the mountains. After that he went into a deep coma and is still in it.
Furthermore, if somebody takes a huge risk connected with business, for example, and fails,
this person can lose everything they have in life.
In conclusion, despite the fact that making risky steps has several downsides, I reckon that the
advantages far overweigh any potential disadvantages in the long term.