Some people want to live in a house while others prefer living in an apartment. Does living in a house bring more advantages than living in an apartment?
Sample Response
Many people argue that living in a house is the greatest choice. However, others instead want to live in a flat. This essay will compare the two opinions and choose the most preferred one.
First, there are definitely some advantages to living in an apartment. One of the most important reasons is that it provides great comfort. The apartment is part of a larger building, giving the feeling of living in a small social association that is responsible for any necessary repairs, or maintenance. For example, if the roof needs to be fixed, the landlord pays for the repairs. In addition, there are various amenities and facilities nearby, including shopping centers, education centers, medical stores, bus stops, and more.
On the other hand, living in your own house does not provide the facilities you can enjoy when living in a flat. One reason is that living in a house with a large area is quite lonely. It also brings boredom and takes away the joy of living with so many people around. For instance, sitting alone in a garden with no one around to share life experiences would be a boring experience. Also, the maintenance and cleaning of the house is the responsibility of the owner, so living in the house is expensive.
To sum up, living in an apartment is better than living alone in a house. While a home provides a large and spacious moving area, living in an apartment enhances social interaction and adds fun to life.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural collocation Original: greatest Suggested revision: best Why it matters: ‘Best choice’ is the natural collocation for expressing a preference.
- 2. Choose precise verb Original: others instead want Suggested revision: others prefer Why it matters: ‘Prefer’ expresses the contrast more directly and naturally.
- 3. Use generic article Original: The Suggested revision: An Why it matters: Use the indefinite article when referring to apartments in general.
- 4. Use natural noun Original: small social association Suggested revision: small community Why it matters: ‘Community’ accurately describes a social group within a residential building.
- 5. Remove unnecessary comma Original: repairs, or maintenance Suggested revision: repairs or maintenance Why it matters: A comma should not separate two alternatives joined by ‘or’.
- 6. Use precise term Original: education centers Suggested revision: educational institutions Why it matters: ‘Educational institutions’ is a more precise term for nearby places of study.
- 7. Use standard term Original: medical stores Suggested revision: pharmacies Why it matters: ‘Pharmacies’ is the standard term for shops that sell medicines.
- 8. Improve phrasing Original: living in a house with a large area Suggested revision: living in a spacious house Why it matters: ‘A spacious house’ expresses the intended meaning more naturally.
- 9. Use natural collocation Original: brings boredom Suggested revision: can also cause boredom Why it matters: ‘Cause boredom’ is the natural verb-noun combination here.
- 10. Remove awkward wording Original: share life experiences Suggested revision: share experiences Why it matters: ‘Share experiences’ conveys the idea concisely without the unnatural modifier.
- 11. Use precise phrase Original: large and spacious moving area Suggested revision: large living space Why it matters: ‘Living space’ is the natural term, while ‘large and spacious’ is redundant.
- 12. Refine the collocation Original: provides great comfort Suggested revision: offers considerable comfort Why it matters: ‘Offers considerable comfort’ is a more natural and appropriately formal expression.
Suggested Rewrites
- greatest best
- others instead want others prefer
- The An
- small social association small community
- repairs, or maintenance repairs or maintenance
- education centers educational institutions
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response maintains a clear preference for apartment living and supports it with relevant points about maintenance, amenities, cost, and social contact. Its main limitation is an uneven comparison: the advantages of a house are barely examined, while some claims about loneliness are overgeneralized. The highest-priority improvement is to evaluate at least one substantial benefit of each option before explaining more convincingly why apartment living is preferable.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear negative answer is sustained with relevant advantages of apartments and disadvantages of houses, though the comparison is somewhat one-sided and generalized.
Acknowledge and evaluate a meaningful advantage of house living before demonstrating why the apartment benefits carry greater weight.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically through a clear introduction, two focused body paragraphs, and a consistent conclusion, with generally effective linking.
Make the contrast between the body paragraphs sharper and avoid using a contrast marker when both paragraphs support the same position.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but several awkward combinations such as social association and spacious moving area reduce precision.
Replace unnatural collocations with conventional expressions such as residential community, nearby services, and more living space.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of simple and complex structures is used with generally good control, although minor article, agreement, and punctuation errors remain.
Proofread noun phrases and subject-verb agreement, especially in statements such as maintenance and cleaning are the owner's responsibility.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people want to live in a house while others prefer living in an apartment. Does living in a house bring more advantages than living in an apartment?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.