The key to solving environmental problems is simple: the present generation is to accept a less comfortable life for the sake of the future generation. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Admittedly, people who advocate that the present generation should sacrifice their comfortable lifestyleslife do have a point. One of the reasons why we should do so is that the environment has been impacted by human activities to a large extent. When we start to alter our current lifestyle and live in a simpler way, such as cycling or taking public transit more oftencycling or taking public transit more instead of travelling by private cartravelling around by private cars, sorting and recycling refuse whenever possible, consuming only locally produced goods to avoid long distance delivery, and using less air conditioning and heatingless air-conditioning and heating systems to save energyfor the sake of saving energy, environmentalenvironment problems can be mitigated considerably. What can serve as a compelling example is that people have been forced to adopt some of the aforementioned measurestake part of the aforementioned measures during the outbreak of COVID-19, with plants and animal species thriving in a healthier natural environmentthe sound natural environment.
However, the above arguments are quite short-sighted, indicating that this practice has more drawbacksbehind such practice are more drawbacks. The most significantdistinct one is that taking those actions will bring both economic growth and technologicaltechnology advancement to a standstill. More specificallyaccurately, accepting a less comfortable life to a large extent means compelling this generation to benefit less from the convenience offered by technological advancesenjoy less convenience brought by advancing technology and thus working less efficientlyworking in a rather lower efficiency, which, in the long term, will demotivate researchers to conductimplement scientific research for technological progresstechnology progresses and constrain industrial growthshackle the industrial growth. By contrastBy stark contrast, if people maintain their current lifestyle, both economic and technologicaltechnology development will be spurred, offering better conditions for resolving the environmental crisisprerequisites to resolving environment crisis. This will lead to a win-win result with both this generation and their offspring enjoying a better living environment.
In the light of the above, the final verdict is quite crystal-clear. The pros of the current generation’s sacrifice of a comfortable life pale into insignificance when set against the cons.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response presents a clear final position and develops both the environmental benefits of lifestyle sacrifice and an alternative technology-led argument in a logically sequenced structure. Its main limitation is that the claim that reduced comfort would halt research and growth is asserted too broadly, and some collocations sound forced. The priority is to make the counterargument more evidence-based and use more natural, precise phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses the issue directly, considers both sides, and maintains a clear final disagreement, though its main counterargument is somewhat speculative.
Explain with a concrete mechanism or example how technological progress could solve environmental problems without requiring substantial lifestyle sacrifice.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is logically organised and progresses clearly from qualified agreement to the writer’s opposing case and conclusion.
Reduce formulaic signposting and break up the longest supporting sentences so the reasoning is easier to absorb.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad range of topic-specific and less common vocabulary, although several collocations are awkward or imprecise.
Use more natural phrases such as technological advancement, work less efficiently, and environmental crisis while avoiding inflated expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response demonstrates varied complex structures with generally good control, and errors rarely interfere with meaning.
Check articles, prepositions, and parallel forms within long sentences to eliminate the remaining local inaccuracies.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
The key to solving environmental problems is simple: the present generation is to accept a less comfortable life for the sake of the future generation. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.