#IELTS Writing Task 2: boosting your lexical resource for a "work hard" topic

Topic: "In education and employment, some people work harder than others. Why do some people work harder than others? Is it always a good thing to work hard?"

Sometimes you might have great ideas, but you get stuck at the key word and produce a paragraph repeating "hard work" 100 times, like:

1️⃣

I personally believe it is usually good to work harder than others. First and foremost, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is only hard work that results in outstanding achievements, giving the person a competitive advantage. In education, for example, hard-working students are more likely to get admitted to prestigious universities, while in the workplace, it is hard-working employees that usually get promotions and performance bonuses. Admittedly, there are situations when hard work does not lead to the desired success, whether it be due to blatant injustice or unfortunate circumstances. Even so, the person still benefits by acquiring valuable skills, building resilience, or earning a good reputation.

Let's try to boost the lexis in this essay now. Here is my original paragraph. Pay attention to how I substituted "hard work."

2️⃣

I personally believe it is usually good to expend effort and work more diligently than others. First and foremost, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is only sustained effort that results in outstanding achievements, giving the person a competitive advantage. In education, for example, industrious students are more likely to get admitted to prestigious universities, while in the workplace, it is industrious employees that usually get promotions and performance bonuses. Admittedly, there are situations when a strong work ethic does not lead to the desired success, whether it be due to blatant injustice or unfortunate circumstances. Even so, the person still benefits by acquiring valuable skills, building resilience, or earning a good reputation.

❤️ Finally, here is my list of lexical items that will help you boost your lexical resource on the topic of hard work:

- industrious, industriousness, industry
- work ethic, demonstrate a strong work ethic
- they exert considerable effort
- they expend effort
- sustained effort
- work tirelessly
- diligence, diligent, those who apply themselves diligently
- persevere / perseverance
- effortful, arduous activity

And two essays on this topic by me (as well as many other IELTS answers) are available behind the paywall.

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