Some people say domestic animals, like cats, should not be reared in cities. Others say that such companion animals are beneficial to the community of a city. Which attitude do you believe to be correct?
Sample Response
Domestic animals have been people's companions for thousands of years. Nowadays many people have dogsdog, cats, fish and even more exotic pets inat their homes in the city. There are a lot of advantages toof having a pet; however, there are also some disadvantages. My opinion is that having a domestic animal is something that can greatly benefitsomething which can highly benefit you and your family's overall health and happiness even if you are living in the city. That’s why city residentsthe city people should also be able to have pets in their homes.
There are many people who consider pets threatsconsider pets as threats to people's health. Of course, this concern can be validthey can be right but that depends on how they treathow they are treating the animals and how much care they take in raising themcare they are putting to foster them. If you do not treat your pet correctly or do not look after it with enough care, it can become a threat to you and the people around you. It is common for dogs to become aggressive if they're being abused or taught to be violent in some way. Also, if you don't take your pet to the vet regularly or you don't keep them clean enoughclean them well enough they can spread diseases, somediseases some of which could be really dangerous to people.
Despite these disadvantages, havingDespite these disadvantages having a domestic animal could make your life considerably better. It has been scientifically proven that having a pet makes you happier, more optimisticmore positive and optimistic. For example, givingbuying your children a pet can make them realise what it's like to care for another living beinglook after someone and therefore learn how to be more responsible. Pets are also strongly recommendedPets are also highly suggested for older city residentselderly people of the city area because they could help them avoidnot feeling lonely and depressed and benefit their overall mental health. In general, I think that having a pet is an amazing experience and there should be no restriction on whetherthere should not be any restriction whether city people can have them or not. They can cure people’s loneliness; make them happier and more responsible. No matter if you're a young person or an older personan older living in an urban area or in a metropolitan city, having a pet is something I would always recommend.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The essay maintains a clear pro-pet position and develops relevant benefits for children's responsibility and older people's mental health while addressing aggression and disease as counterarguments. Its main limitation is that claims are sometimes broad and focused on individual owners more than the wider urban community. Prioritise one city-level example and explain how responsible ownership controls the identified risks.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position is sustained and supported by developed benefits and a relevant response to health and safety concerns.
Extend the community dimension with a specific example, such as pets reducing isolation in urban neighbourhoods, and link regulation to responsible ownership.
Coherence and Cohesion
The introduction, counterargument, and positive case create clear progression, although the final body paragraph also functions as an extended conclusion.
Separate the elderly-care example from a concise conclusion that weighs the benefits against the manageable risks.
Lexical Resource
The essay uses a sufficiently flexible range for health, behaviour, responsibility, and companionship, with occasional awkward collocations.
Refine phrases such as 'care for them', 'recommended for older people', 'reduce loneliness', and 'restrictions on urban pet ownership'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures communicates ideas clearly, though errors with plurals, verb patterns, pronouns, and punctuation recur.
Check forms after 'help', agreement with plural pets, and sentence boundaries, especially in the final two sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people say domestic animals, like cats, should not be reared in cities. Others say that such companion animals are beneficial to the community of a city. Which attitude do you believe to be correct?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.