IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic 02: Celebrities earn more money than other professionals. Is this justified?

The Essay Writing section of the IELTS Writing Module can be a difficult task for many IELTS Aspirants. Thus, it is vital that you polish your essay writing skills before attempting the IELTS.

Below is a sample IELTS Essay for the IELTS Essay topic:

Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think is fully justified while others think it is unfair.

Discus both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reason for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write at least 250 words.

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Model Answer 01 :

As a result of constant media attention, sports professionals in my country have become stars and celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant lifestyles with huge houses and cars.

Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of top surgeons or research scientists, or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the public popularity of sport in general and level of public support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not issue.

Those who feel that sports stars’ salaries are justified might argue that the number of professionals with real talent are very few, and the money is recognition of the skills and dedication a person need to be successful. Competition is constant and player is tested every time they perform in their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of the spotlight. So all of these factors may justify the huge earnings.

Personally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on sport than more essential professions and achievements.

(246 words)

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Model Answer 02 :

As a result of constant media attention, sports professionals in my country have become stars and celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant lifestyles with huge houses and cars.

Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of top surgeons or research scientists, or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the public popularity of sport in general and the level of public support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not the issue.

Those who feel that sports stars’ salaries are justified might argue that the numbers of professionals with real talent are very few, and the money is recognition of the skills and dedication a person needs to be successful. Competition is constant and a player is tested every time they perform in their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of the spotlight. There are huge number of sports persons compared to those who have become successful and having a huge salary. It takes lots of practice, skills and time to become a sports icon. Again Sports personality like Sachin Tendulker, Tiger Woods, Shane Warne inspires the new generation to be attracted to the games they play.  So all of these factors may justify the huge earnings of the sport personality.

The first reason why I think that such high salary is deserved by famous athletes and entertainers because we all need them. Entertainment plays an essential role in our everyday’s life. We need to relax, watching TV with our favorite TV stars or favorite football players. Entertainment is one of the best ways to eliminate stress and tension and leave all troubles behind. For example, I can not stay home all day long without watching TV. So, basically, I believe that famous athletes and entertainers have such high salaries because we need them. They like doctors for our minds and soles. Scientists say that people usually spend the same amount of money for their food and entertainment. I think this fact tells a lot.

The second reason for this is that famous athletes have to work hard in order to get good results. I am sure that achievements they make is the result of hard work, persistence and pain. They sometimes risk their lives and health. For example, I am a big fun of L. Amstrong, the most famous cyclist in world’s history. He faced probably, the most challenging difficulty in his life, cancer. He was very young for this disease. Amstrong was in his early twenties when he found out about it. I read a book about his life, and what impressed me were his words after his victory in France. He said: “Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me “. He defeated the disease only because he believed in himself and did not give up. I think such person deserves to have a high salary and be loved by many people through out the world.

Personally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on sport than on more essential professions and achievements.

(Approximately 587 words)

Model Answer 03 :

Nowadays, it is acknowledged that sport professionals earn huge salaries that exceed other respected professionals by far. This situation has sparked a heated debate with opinions on both sides, in favor and against.

Some people argue that is irresponsible to pay such amount of money to people who has just borned with a natural gift to play certain sport. They believe this is unfair for other professionals that spent several years studying hard and have to deal with really serious situations daily. Doctors, engineers, fire fighters among others, are clear examples of this unbalanced situation. Furthermore, we are setting a bad example for the youngsters as they grow up witnessing how our society do not reward the hard work.

Nevertheless, other people assert that athletes deserve their salary. They have a very short career, as can only play at highest performance during very limited amount of years. Normally sport players above thirty five are consider old to keep playing professionally. Moreover, they have a big responsibility as are requested to perform their best in every single game. It is their job to strive until see their team win, there are millions of dollars involved in each game. Companies invest a lot of money to sponsor teams and this creates an extra pressure on the players.

In a nutshell, I believe that athletes deserve a huge compensation for their work. Even though it is true that they have been naturally gifted however they still need to train hard every day to perform their best and help the sponsors to boost their brand value hence increasing the selling.

(266 words)

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Model Answer 04 :

Nowadays, it seems that reputed sport professionals make a lot more money in respect of some other dignified occupations. The fact of whether or not sport professionals should deserve the salary has become a controversial issue to a great extend. In this essay I am going to set forth both the views and after that I will draw my conclusion.

To commence with, many individuals deem that sportsmen are paid exorbitant amount of money for what they do, while there are some other professionals who plays a significant role to serve the community but paid less. They claim that it is absolutely injustice. For instance, US marine, who risks his life to save the country, get paid a tiny salary compare to a sportsman.  There are also certain contributory occupations that serve a magnificent role to advance the mankind, such as scientist, engineer, teacher, doctor, and so on, are not paid as well as a popular sports star. They stand for these professionals, since they are contributing lot more for the welfare of the society and the nation as well.

Some people, however, contend that famous sports stars deserve high salary. A player or athlete exercises diligently to attain skills by spending enormous energy and time on the field. For instance, any celebrated sportsman has to go through many years of schooling to acquire the competence and physical fitness required. Moreover, career lifespan is significantly shorter than any other profession. It is quite normal that a successful player spent his whole life in the teens to become a successful player and then retire unfortunately in the 30s as a consequence of injury or lack or physical fitness. However, an eminent player can build a strong brand image that contribute to the product selling to a great extend. That is why, Coca-Cola Company frequently uses sports star as a model for its advertising. Accordingly, successful sports professional’s income is valid in terms of justice.

To put in a nutshell, I contend that a reputed sports star proves himself that he is worthy of getting a handsome amount of salary. So, there is nothing wrong with it if he deserves such amount, I think.

(362 words)

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Model Answer 05 :

Sportsperson are popular and are paid in millions by sports club and consumer goods companies, for example, cricketers in India and football and basketball players in America. Whether, it is justifiable compare to the other professionals’ salary is debatable. I strongly believe that it is fair and their hard work and popularity are enough to justify it.

To reach that stage requires tremendous practice and sacrifice. Success does not come overnight, to achieve a position in the top slot of a sports club requires hours and hours of daily practice, perhaps, their struggle does not end there, to maintain that position and to shoulder the expectation of fans requires regular improvisation of skills. For all this they have to sacrifice their family and social life. Moreover, they are constantly scrutinized by the team selectors, media and public. Thus personally, I feel no profession involves this much of stress and tension.

Undoubtedly, players are popular and are looked upon as a role model by millions of people. This popularity is exploited by the big firms to promote their products and in turn they pay them in millions. Also, we all are well aware about the viewership of the famous sports event, due to which sports club and sports channels earns a lot, hence, they are oblige to pay their players, so that they show better performance to the audience. Finally, they generally do not have any education qualification to make their living after retirement from their short career.

In conclusion, I whole heartedly respect their dedication, hard work, and sacrifice for the game. And believe that they are earning, what they deserve.

(271 words)

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Model Answer 06 :

Star athletes like LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and Manny Pacquiao receive multi-million dollar contracts which are exponentially more than what other important professionals are paid. This has led to controversy over whether this is justified and fair. Although I can understand why some people feel this is unfair, I feel professional athletes are justified in receiving this pay.

No one can deny that there are many people who provide much more meaningful services that directly help or impact individuals and communities. People such as teachers, caregivers and healthcare workers affect so many people by making their lives better and comfortable. Despite their hard work and valuable service, they unfortunately aren’t paid the same exorbitant wages as sport professionals, which seems unfair.

On the other hand, salary unfortunately does not always reflect the importance, need or value of a job. In fact, salary more often reflects how much money the employer or the business can  pay. Professional athletes are part of the billion-dollar sports and entertainment industry that plays a large part in the economy. A lot of consumers choose to pay money for pro sports and related products, so the team owners have the money to pay these players huge sums. Therefore, it’s justified that these players get their share of the profits. To put this in perspective, elderly adults who need caregivers do not have a lot of money to pay their caregivers, and so caregivers earn little.

In short, the large sums of money that sports professionals receive is justified because they are earning that money from their employers by doing their jobs of entertaining and raising profits for their employers.

(273 words)

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Model Answer 07 :

Model Answer 08 :

Model Answer 09 :

Nowadays, sports professionals are obtaining more attention among people from all over the world. Media is one of the main reasons that make a person to get fame in no time. So the sports persons are being treated like celebrities worldwide. To give a piece of one’s mind, talented sports persons should be compensated with more pay.

To be at logger heads, some might feel this suggestion is unfair. It is a fact that, not all the sports stars are talented than the people who works in other esteemed professions such as doctors, scientists and politicians. They play an important role in the growth of their nation. Whereas sports persons play for themselves by using their country’s name only as a label, sometimes they bring success and fame for the whole nation. Because of media, people give keen attention to sports celebrities and treat other professions scornfully.

In an honour bound, those who have mere talents must be paid with huge amount of money. It is indeed that not all sports persons are successful in their careers. People who have audacity and hard working nature are the one who relish with victory. Even though they play for their personal goal, achievements they make in sports also make the nation very proud. Considering this reason, it is fully justified to let a sports person to earn great deal of money.

To conclude, the sports professionals with suffice tendency to accomplish something in their career are justified to acquire huge earnings. It clearly depicts that, sports professions has more value than other essential professions around the world.

(Approximately 265 words)

Model Answer 10 :

Nowadays, famous athletes earn huge amount of money while even great scientists’ income can hardly reach to one tenth of them. The public have been sharply polarized by this issue; hence, few people can be found on the middle position. But what do each group state?

Advocates of talented sportsmen claim they are unique in their field. They can absorb the attention of hundreds of millions to TV screens as a consequence of their brilliant performance. Therefore, either managers of matches or team owners can advertise on prime time or on their jerseys and make fortunes. In economic terms, supply and demand dictates commodities prices in the market. If a strong demand and a severe shortage exist for these heroes, why should they undervalue themselves? After all, this is how capitalism works.

On the opposite front, a vast crowd feels this reality is an injustice. They argue that those who are high achievers in other fields are unique, too. Furthermore, they compare the net income of some gifted scholars with mediocre football players and the outcome is awful in their viewpoint. Surely, all scientists don’t earn the same, but even Noble laureates earn less than sport celebrities. For instance, one of my genius colleagues complains non-stop, comparing his salary with a renowned superstar, Ronaldo. Although he has a good wage in comparison with our coworkers, he needs to save all his earnings to reach to Ronaldo’s weekly income level.

All in all, I think both parties have some elements of truth in their remarks. Nonetheless, the reality, however harsh it is, will not vary unless the economic system evolves. Capitalism is not a matter of morality. To make it ethical, in my point of view, a tax code with no loopholes should be in place which has higher rates for those with multimillion monthly packages to compensate this bitter situation and dedicate this money to well-being of humanity.

(Approximately 265 words)

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