Many people prefer to live in a city while others say that living in a rural area has more advantages. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside. Write no less than 250 words.
Sample Response
Several people think that the best places to live are in the country sides, while others choose to live in cities. Living in the city or in the rural area has their own positive and negative sides and the following paragraphs will explain them in details.
It is a fact that living in the metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities has some advantages. Firstly, it is obvious that there are a lot of job opportunities in cities since most companies are opening their offices and factories in big cities. Secondly, there are a lot of health, transportation and entertainment facilities in cities, such as hospital, subway and cinemas. Many of the city people are enjoying these complete facilities. However, many people do not realise that living in cities has some disadvantages. In cities, traffic congestion and air pollution have become a serious problem and they have seriously threat the residents' health condition.
On the other hand, many people like to live in the country areas since the quality of the air is better than in cities and less of noise pollution as well. Besides that, people who live in the country side are healthier than those who live in cities because they are less stress and have more time for relaxation. But, living in the rural area has a drawback as well. There are less public health facilities in the area and should there be a public hospital, the quality of the services is usually below the standard.
In conclusion, living in big cities such as New York, London or Paris or in remote areas has their own benefits and drawbacks. I personally think that everyone has his own personal interest and opinion in term of living places, therefore people should choose them based on their own choices and options.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the correct compound Original: country sides Suggested revision: countryside Why it matters: “Countryside” is written as one uncountable word in this context.
- 2. Remove the article Original: the metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities Suggested revision: metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities Why it matters: The general plural noun phrase does not take the definite article.
- 3. Use the simple present Original: are opening their offices Suggested revision: open their offices Why it matters: The simple present is appropriate for this general business practice.
- 4. Use parallel plurals Original: such as hospital, subway and cinemas Suggested revision: such as hospitals, subways and cinemas Why it matters: The examples should use parallel plural forms when referring to facilities in general.
- 5. Use a natural noun Original: people Suggested revision: residents Why it matters: “City residents” is the conventional term for people who live in cities.
- 6. Use the simple present Original: are enjoying these Suggested revision: enjoy these Why it matters: A general state takes the simple present rather than the present continuous.
- 7. Use natural wording Original: complete Suggested revision: comprehensive Why it matters: “Comprehensive facilities” more naturally conveys a wide range of services.
- 8. Match the plural subject Original: a serious problem Suggested revision: serious problems Why it matters: Traffic congestion and air pollution form a plural subject, so the complement should be plural.
- 9. Use the past participle Original: threat Suggested revision: threatened Why it matters: The present perfect construction requires the past participle “threatened.”
- 10. Use concise wording Original: residents' health condition Suggested revision: residents’ health Why it matters: “Health” alone conveys the intended meaning more naturally.
- 11. Use a formal linker Original: Besides that Suggested revision: In addition Why it matters: “In addition” is a more natural academic connector for another related point.
- 12. Correct the compound word Original: people who live in the country side Suggested revision: people who live in the countryside Why it matters: “Countryside” is written as one word.
Suggested Rewrites
- country sides countryside
- the metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities
- are opening their offices open their offices
- such as hospital, subway and cinemas such as hospitals, subways and cinemas
- people residents
- are enjoying these enjoy these
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay covers advantages and disadvantages in both settings and uses a sensible city-versus-countryside structure, with relevant points about jobs, services, pollution, health, and relaxation. Its main limitation is that most ideas are listed rather than explained, while frequent grammar and collocation errors reduce precision. Prioritise developing one direct comparison in each body paragraph with a clear cause, consequence, and concrete example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
Advantages and disadvantages of both locations are relevantly covered, but most points receive only brief explanation and little concrete support.
Develop direct comparisons, such as how greater urban job access may be offset by pollution or how rural calm may be offset by limited healthcare.
Coherence and Cohesion
The city and countryside paragraphs create clear overall progression, though cohesion is mechanical and some ideas within paragraphs are loosely linked.
Use topic sentences that frame each paragraph as a comparison and connect each advantage or drawback to its practical consequence.
Lexical Resource
The response has adequate vocabulary for urban and rural life, but inaccurate word forms and collocations occur frequently despite clear meaning.
Use natural forms such as ‘countryside’, ‘urban facilities’, ‘public transport’, ‘noise pollution’, ‘less stressed’, and ‘living preferences’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of sentence types is attempted, but agreement, article, countability, verb-form, and sentence-boundary errors recur throughout.
Correct patterns such as ‘each has its own’, ‘in detail’, ‘there are fewer facilities’, and ‘pollution poses a serious threat’.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many people prefer to live in a city while others say that living in a rural area has more advantages. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside. Write no less than 250 words.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.