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.
Sample Response
Whether cities are better than rural areasarea or vice-versa is a contentious question; it depends, it depends on one's choice as to whatchoice, as to, what they prefer. Both cities and rural areas have their pros and cons. Rural areas have quaint environments whereas there is always something fascinating about big cities. Cities generally have better infrastructure, education systemssystem and advanced healthcare facilitiesadvance health care facilities. You get to meet people from all walks of life, learn to coexist with people from different ethnicitiesethnicity, race, caste and culture; hence you become more tolerant, open minded and start respecting each other'sother differences. By contrast, people in the countrysideWhereas countryside people are less tolerant, caste system still prevails and power liesthe powers lie with a certain group of people. If you see, today in India, love marriages and inter-caste marriagesLove marriages /inter-caste marriages are very common in cities, whereas people are being murdered in the name of honour in rural areas. Gender inequality is very evident in a rural area, where women are restrictedare being restricted only to household chores and do not have much say in decision making, but in cities, both are treated equally. It is not uncommon to see people migrating to cities for better jobs, better education. People in the cities are always under tremendous pressure and stress, they always have to be up to date with technologytechnologies and hence there is no time to relax. RecentRecently studies have shown a surge in the number of cases of heart attacks, which is due to an increase in stress levelsdue to increase in stress level. People in cities are constantly exposed to high levelslevel of pollution, adulterated food and chemically grown vegetables, which adversely affectaffects their health, owing to which the average life of people living inis cities is less than people living in rural areasarea. Increased cases of obesity, suicides, diabetes are also resulting in stress and unhealthy living. Rural areas on the other handon other hand have little or no pollutionno or very less pollution, unadulterated foodpure food item and less stress, people have more time for themselves and their families. To sum up, I think both cities and rural areas have their own charm. Cities have a busier and more hectic lifemore busy and hectic life but have better facilities, rural areas, on the contrary, have more relaxed, laid back lifestyle but lacks in up to date technologies like computers and international standard of healthcare and education system.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response provides a wide-ranging comparison, with relevant discussion of facilities, social conditions, employment, stress, pollution, and rural lifestyles. Its strongest feature is the breadth of supporting ideas, while its main limitation is that several claims are sweeping and the one-block structure obscures the comparison. The highest priority is to organise balanced points into clear paragraphs and explain each claim with more measured, precise support.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both settings are compared through multiple relevant advantages and disadvantages, with a balanced conclusion and generally developed support.
Qualify broad social claims and explain the causal links behind examples rather than presenting them as universal facts.
Coherence and Cohesion
The comparison follows a broadly understandable sequence, but the absence of paragraphing and frequent comma-linked clauses weaken progression.
Group city benefits, city drawbacks, and rural contrasts into distinct paragraphs with clearer internal topic control.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often topic-appropriate, including language about infrastructure, inequality, migration, pollution, and healthcare.
Improve word form, agreement, and collocation in phrases such as 'advanced healthcare,' 'different ethnicities,' and 'a higher stress level.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response attempts many complex structures, but recurring article, agreement, plural, and sentence-boundary errors reduce accuracy.
Separate run-on sentences and systematically check articles and subject-verb agreement after drafting.
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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.