Many people prefer to live in small towns while others prefer to live in big cities. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small town and in a big city? Where would you prefer to live?
Sample Response
Considering where to live is one crucial thing which everybody has to do before occupying any places. Regarding this, people may choose differently between the twothe choices between these two may be different. Personally, living in a small town would be more appealing than living in a big citymore interesting than in a big city. However, both have advantages and drawbacks.
According to a significant expanding in human population and the rapid development of the world in every sector which are causing a noticeable increase in human demands, people tend to live in a big city in order to help them in accessing all the things that they need including education, job facility, business opportunity, networks, or other stuff. As a result, a large proportion of peoplethe overwhelming majority of societies live in citiesare living in the city which is again causing severe urban overcrowdingreally crowded population in the city. Moreover, the enormous number of vehicles isan enormous number of vehicles are inevitably increasing the risk of accidentsrisk of getting accidents and also pollutants such as carbon dioxidecarbon-dioxide that can contribute to global warming. This air pollution will be really annoying for people. Furthermore, the availability of various things such as money and other goods and the large number of residentshuge number of residence can open more opportunities for criminals.
In contrast, living in a small townpreferring to live in a small town would be more beneficial. Firstly, a smaller populationa limited number of population and more natural places with plenty of trees can help us relaxcan ease us to relax and of course, the level of pollutants is not as high as it is in the big cities. Secondly, the risk of traffic accidentsrisk of getting travel accidents is lower as there are fewer vehiclesthe number of vehicles is fewer. Thirdly, a chance to get closer and socialise with other people is more in the small town.
However, regarding the access to educationaccessibility to the education, important goods, shops, and so forth, moving or balancing the population in cities and small towns can tackle this problem. Nonetheless, people in small towns can purchase any goods from cities and also they can travel to cities for better educational opportunitiesgo for better education to the cities.
In summary, although some drawbacks may occur when living in a small town, its advantages outweigh the negative impacts. Therefore, in order to get a better and more relaxing life, I do believe that living in a small town is a key for it.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay answers every part of the question, maintains a clear preference for small-town life, and organises advantages and disadvantages into a logical discussion. Its main weakness is that supporting ideas remain general and are frequently expressed through unnatural vocabulary and grammar. Prioritise one concrete, well-explained example for each location while using simpler and more accurate phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
All parts are addressed with a clear preference, and relevant advantages and disadvantages are presented for both locations, though development is often general.
Support the strongest advantage and disadvantage of each setting with a specific explanation or realistic example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay progresses logically through city life, small-town life, accessibility, and the conclusion, but some linking is mechanical or imprecise.
Make each paragraph's central comparison explicit and revise the fourth paragraph so its problem-solution relationship is immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate range for population, transport, pollution, crime, and social life, but frequent unnatural collocations reduce precision.
Replace phrases such as 'significant expanding', 'job facility', 'crowded population', and 'getting travel accidents' with standard academic expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mixture of simple and complex structures conveys the argument, although recurring errors in noun forms, agreement, articles, and clause construction are noticeable.
Use countable noun phrases accurately, such as 'a smaller population' and 'fewer vehicles', and shorten complex sentences before proofreading them.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many people prefer to live in small towns while others prefer to live in big cities. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small town and in a big city? Where would you prefer to live?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.