Question: In many countries, more and more people buy a wide range of household goods like televisions, microwave ovens and rice cookers. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Band 8+ Sample Answer:
(Intro) It is the norm that an increasing number of people purchase a variety of household appliances such as TVs, microwaves and rice cookers. Despite the benefits it brings, such as saving time and boosting employment, I would argue that the drawbacks, including the impact on the environment are much more considerable.
(Body 1) On the one hand, there are some grounds to suggest that the trend of buying more household goods is beneficial in terms of convenience and the economy. Chief among them is that it allows people to have more time to relax. This is primarily because people no longer have to spend a large amount of time performing household tasks . When most domestic duties are handled by these electronic gadgets, people are more likely to spend time on their hobbies and interests, and allow them more time to spend with family and friends. This is turn can have positive effects for their mental health and their quality of life. Another benefit is that as more people want to own appliances, the demand for these products will be on the rise, leading to a greater need for production of these products which ultimately leads to an increase in demand for employees to meet this demand. This, consequently, boosts the economy and can help to tackle the issue of unemployment in that country.
(Body 2) However, it seems to me that the benefits mentioned above are outweighed by the effect on the environment.. When people want to replace their old goods with the new ones, the used appliances will be disposed of. Currently, Many countries, including Vietnam, are struggling to come up with ways to deal with the problem of excessive amount of rubbish in large landfills, and consequently, the more appliances are bought, the bigger this problem becomes. As well as this, when people are heavily reliant on household goods, they may find it hard to live without these gadgets. For example, many young millennials have no choice but to eat fast food when the rice cooker stops working or take clothes to the laundry when their washing machines breaks down. This will become an increasing problem in the future as people become more and more dependent on these 1in their homes.
(Conclusion) In conclusion, equipping homes with a wide range of household can improve the quality of people’s lives and boosting the economy to some extent, but I am of the opinion that it detrimental to the environment and encourages dependency in the long term To tackle the first issue. I suggest that manufacturers come up with ways for these products to be disposed of in an eco-friendly way. (436 words).
Words: Student essay by Lucas Nguyen, corrected & upgraded by Nick Kemp, former IELTS examiner.
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