Writing task
“If everyone were paid exactly the same, regardless of what job they do, the world would be a happier and fairer place.” Discuss. Support your argument with examples and consider different perspectives.
Exam time split: 10 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing, 5 minutes checking.
Time: 45 minutes (as indicated for this published task).
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Would Equal Pay Make Society Fairer? is a discursive essay task that tests logical argument, counterarguments, structure. Distinguish equality from fairness; consider incentives, essential work and individual needs.
- logical argument
- counterarguments
- structure
- accuracy
Requirements to keep in mind
Recommended writing time: approximately 45 minutes (as indicated in the paper/section); Published task/option: 1 (where the source offers alternatives, pupils answer the paper's specified number, not all)
Plan your response
- Distinguish equality from fairness; consider incentives, essential work and individual needs.
- Plan a clear beginning, development and ending within the time available.
- Use precise vocabulary and vary sentence lengths where appropriate.
- Proofread spelling, punctuation and paragraphing before finishing.
Check your response against the task requirements. Leave time to review sentence clarity, punctuation and spelling.
Short atoply teaching example
Written by atoply, not an official school answer or mark scheme. This short illustration shows selected techniques. It does not set a target length or expected mark for the timed task.
Reveal example and teaching notes
Equal pay for every job sounds fair because no one would be considered more valuable than anyone else. Yet identical salaries would not necessarily produce identical opportunities. Some people undertake years of training or dangerous responsibilities, while others need greater financial support because of disability or family circumstances. A fairer society might instead guarantee decent living standards, reward necessary work appropriately and reduce extreme differences in income. Equal respect is essential; equal pay is a more complicated proposal. We should judge a policy by the lives it improves, not simply by how neat it looks on paper.
Learn from the example
- The response connects a central idea to reasons or qualifications, creating a line of thought rather than a list of opinions.
- In a full response, develop the supporting examples and address a different view before reaching a conclusion that answers the question.