IELTS Writing Task 2

Question:

A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions. Old-fashioned values, such as honour, kindness and trust, no longer seem important.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.

In the modern society, the desire to gain status and material assets has been increasing on an unprecedented scale. Because of this trend, many claim that an individual’s value is assessed based on such criteria rather than conventional ones, namely regarding their personality traits. From my view, I do not fully agree with this notion.

To begin with, there is little doubt that the social position and monetary assets have become standards to determine the worthiness of every member in the society. For example, people who earn an enormous sum of money as well as high social status, such as businessmen and celebrities, are generally well-respected and deemed superior to the others. This might stem from the fact that wealth and power is often immensely desirable to the public view, which leads to the appreciation and admiration towards those achieving them. Consequently, those who possess these two advantages are usually perceived more valuable than those who do not.

However, regardless of the raging popularity of materialism, I believe that personality traits, such as kindness, honor and trust, still remains important as a benchmark to estimate one’s worth. The reason is that one’s personality is the first and foremost value taken into account when decide whether they are highly appreciated. To illustrate, given the status and wealth of celebrities, they can still be subject to fierce criticism if they commit immoral behaviors, such as mistreating others and evading taxes. By contrast, if a celebrity is well-mannered, polite and truthful, they are likely to receive more vehement support and praise from the public.

In conclusion, although social status and financial assets have become important factors in determining one’s level of worthiness, moral standards remain paramount despite the changes in society.

Please review my essay, thank you so much for your help ^^