Some people think that cities are the best places to live. Others prefer to live in a rural area. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside.
Same question Compare all 2 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
In this era of globalisation, the world has witnessed a paradigm shift in migrating and these days more rural inhabitants are becoming city dwellers. Choosing a place to live has been a matter of great concern from the time of antiquity. Urbanisation, being the buzzword of the day, few among the mass believe that urban sector forms the ideal place to thrive, whereas others favour rural life. Let us discourse below the pros and cons of life in a city to that of a countryside.
The recent advancements in technology comfort the urban lifestyle in numerous ways. Means of transport and communication are explicit in cities compared to that of villages. Moreover, urban industries and companies offer huge opportunities to professionals and entrepreneurs. The younger generations prefer to live in the midst of city life and luxury rather than to be in a countryside. Another important aspect in this context would be the sea change in the medical field that happened in last few years, many of these advanced facilities are readily available only in cities. In addition to all these, city has become a social hub of the elite and affluent hence one could enjoy the privilege of being in acquaintance with them. To cite an example, one would find celebrities and politicians on the social clubs or parties, rather than a countryside’s get together.
As it is being noted, reasons are aplenty for one's decision to choose city over a village to lead a life in the present scenario, another among them which needs a special mention here is in the quality of education that city offers. It is believed that education liberates people from social stigmas. An urban life on a global perspective is always coupled with well organised and qualified educational system compared to the rural side. A city would be a favourite place to find efficient schools, universities and research centres when weighed against a village side.
On the contrary, rural lifestyle bestows one's closeness to nature and is free from the hazards of urbanisation. Health wise, rural inhabitants are less exposed to various environmental hazards, like pollution for instance. Moreover, the tranquillity maintained along the countryside is another positive feature of rural habitation. Finally, the family and social bonds in villages are known to be more concrete. Separations on basis of urban gizmos like communalism and social status are seldom there.
In the ultimate analysis, from the above discussion, it would be ideal to state that both urban and rural habitation has its merits and demerits, however, choosing a place to live should be prioritized on individual requirements, an ideal exemplification would be that of an IT professional who should become a part of a city for his career betterment, whereas a farmer, would fit in a rural sector to prosper. Being a part of an urban society since childhood, I would like to be in the same boat for the rest of my journey.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix migration phrase Original: a paradigm shift in migrating Suggested revision: a major shift in migration patterns Why it matters: The gerund does not name the population trend naturally.
- 2. Use concise time phrase Original: from the time of antiquity Suggested revision: since antiquity Why it matters: This is the natural concise expression.
- 3. Fix essay signposting Original: Let us discourse below Suggested revision: This essay will discuss Why it matters: ‘Discourse’ is not used transitively in this way.
- 4. Use natural benefit verb Original: comfort the urban lifestyle Suggested revision: make urban life more comfortable Why it matters: Technology makes a lifestyle comfortable rather than ‘comforting’ it.
- 5. Clarify availability Original: are explicit in cities Suggested revision: are more readily available in cities Why it matters: ‘Explicit’ cannot describe the availability of services.
- 6. Use formal magnitude Original: offer huge opportunities Suggested revision: offer numerous opportunities Why it matters: ‘Numerous’ is more precise in formal prose.
- 7. Use general singular Original: The younger generations prefer Suggested revision: The younger generation prefers Why it matters: The phrase normally refers collectively to one generation.
- 8. Fix comparison and article Original: rather than to be in a countryside Suggested revision: rather than live in the countryside Why it matters: The comparison needs parallel verbs and the fixed phrase ‘the countryside’.
- 9. Add indefinite article Original: city has become a social hub Suggested revision: a city has become a social hub Why it matters: The singular count noun requires an article.
- 10. Fix acquaintance phrase Original: being in acquaintance with them Suggested revision: becoming acquainted with them Why it matters: The original collocation is not idiomatic.
- 11. Fix location preposition Original: on the social clubs or parties Suggested revision: at social clubs or parties Why it matters: Events and clubs take the location preposition ‘at’.
- 12. Add article Original: well organised and qualified educational system Suggested revision: a well-organised and high-quality educational system Why it matters: The count noun needs an article, and a system is high-quality rather than qualified.
Suggested Rewrites
- a paradigm shift in migrating a major shift in migration patterns
- from the time of antiquity since antiquity
- Let us discourse below This essay will discuss
- comfort the urban lifestyle make urban life more comfortable
- are explicit in cities are more readily available in cities
- offer huge opportunities offer numerous opportunities
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response’s strongest feature is its wide range of relevant contrasts, covering employment, transport, healthcare, education, pollution, tranquillity, and social bonds. Its main limitation is imbalance: urban advantages occupy most of the essay, while rural benefits and the corresponding disadvantages of each setting are less explicitly compared. The highest priority is to organise the response around matched city–countryside trade-offs and express them in simpler, more natural language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response identifies numerous relevant benefits of both settings, but city advantages dominate and disadvantages are often only implied through contrast.
Create direct paired comparisons, explicitly showing each urban benefit’s rural drawback and each rural benefit’s urban drawback.
Coherence and Cohesion
Topic-based paragraphs and clear contrast markers provide overall progression, although some ideas are overextended and the conclusion is excessively long.
Use one paragraph for matched practical factors and another for lifestyle factors, then state the conclusion in two concise sentences.
Lexical Resource
The essay attempts an extensive range of topic vocabulary, but frequent strained collocations and unnecessarily ornate expressions reduce precision.
Replace phrases such as ‘paradigm shift in migrating’, ‘technology comfort the urban lifestyle’, and ‘bestows one’s closeness’ with direct natural wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex forms is attempted, but frequent errors in articles, agreement, prepositions, and sentence boundaries weaken control.
Break comma-spliced sentences into complete units and check singular–plural agreement, especially ‘both … have’ and countable nouns with articles.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that cities are the best places to live. Others prefer to live in a rural area. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.