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, the choices between one another may be different. Personally, living in a small town would be more interesting than in a big city. However, both have advantages and drawbacks.
According to a significant expand 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, networks, or other stuff. As a result, the overwhelming majority of societies are living in the city which is again causing really crowded population in the city. Moreover, an enormous number of vehicles are inevitably increasing the risk of getting accidents and also pollutants such as carbon-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 huge number of residence can open more opportunities for criminals. In contrast, preferring to live in a small town would be more beneficial. Firstly, a limited number of population and more natural places with plenty of trees can 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 getting travel accidents is lower as the number of vehicles is smaller. Thirdly, a chance to get closer and socialise with other people is more in the small town.
However, regarding the accessibility 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 go 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.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise noun Original: one crucial thing Suggested revision: an important decision Why it matters: Choosing where to live is a decision rather than a thing.
- 2. Wrong verb phrase Original: which everybody has to do Suggested revision: that everyone has to make Why it matters: People make a decision, and that is preferred for a defining clause.
- 3. Wrong housing phrase Original: occupying any places Suggested revision: choosing a home Why it matters: Choosing a home expresses the intended idea naturally.
- 4. Unclear reference Original: the choices between one another Suggested revision: people's choices Why it matters: The original phrase does not identify whose choices differ.
- 5. Wrong word form Original: According to a significant expand Suggested revision: With the significant expansion Why it matters: Expansion is the required noun and with introduces the cause naturally.
- 6. Wrong preposition Original: in human population Suggested revision: of the human population Why it matters: Expansion is followed by of when naming what increases.
- 7. Subject agreement Original: are Suggested revision: is Why it matters: The nearest controlling noun development is singular.
- 8. Wrong access pattern Original: help them in accessing Suggested revision: help them access Why it matters: Help can be followed directly by the base verb access.
- 9. Avoid vague wording Original: stuff Suggested revision: necessities Why it matters: Necessities is more precise and appropriate for an academic essay.
- 10. Wrong noun and tense Original: majority of societies are living Suggested revision: majority of people live Why it matters: People, not societies, live in cities, and the simple present states the general trend.
- 11. Use precise term Original: really crowded population Suggested revision: severe overcrowding Why it matters: Overcrowding accurately names excessive urban population density.
- 12. Wrong accident collocation Original: getting Suggested revision: traffic Why it matters: Traffic accidents is the natural noun phrase for this risk.
Suggested Rewrites
- one crucial thing an important decision
- which everybody has to do that everyone has to make
- occupying any places choosing a home
- the choices between one another people's choices
- According to a significant expand With the significant expansion
- in human population of the human population
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response clearly states a preference for small-town life and identifies relevant contrasts involving services, congestion, pollution, safety and social contact. Its main weakness is uneven development: several claims are generalised, the supposed solution of balancing populations distracts from the comparison, and frequent awkward phrasing reduces precision. Prioritise a balanced paragraph structure that directly explains one or two well-chosen advantages and disadvantages for each setting before confirming the preference.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
All parts of the task are addressed and the preference is clear, but some advantages and disadvantages are asserted broadly or developed through an irrelevant population-balancing proposal.
Explain the strongest benefit and drawback of each location with concrete consequences, then connect those comparisons directly to the final preference.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has a clear overall direction and generally logical paragraphs, though mechanical signposting and an unfocused fourth paragraph interrupt progression.
Give city and small-town life their own comparison paragraphs and replace the population-balancing digression with a focused small-town disadvantage.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary covers the topic with some range, but frequent word-form and collocation errors make many claims sound imprecise or unnatural.
Replace phrases such as 'significant expand', 'crowded population' and 'getting accidents' with 'significant expansion', 'overcrowding' and 'being involved in accidents'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of structures is attempted, but recurring agreement, article and clause-construction errors limit accuracy, especially in longer sentences.
Break overloaded sentences into clear clauses and check agreement after quantified subjects such as 'the majority' and 'an enormous number of vehicles'.
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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.