Details

Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

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.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:
In this era of globalisation, the world has witnessed a paradigm shift in migrating and these days more rural inhabitants are becoming city dwellers. Choosing a place to live has been a matter of great concern from the time of antiquity. Urbanisation, being the buzzword of the day, few among the mass believe that urban sector forms the ideal place to thrive, whereas others favour rural life. Let us discourse below the pros and cons of life in a city to that of a countryside.

The recent advancements in technology comfort the urban lifestyle in numerous ways. Means of transport and communication are explicit in cities compared to that of villages. Moreover, urban industries and companies offer huge opportunities to professionals and entrepreneurs. The younger generations prefer to live in the midst of city life and luxury rather than to be in a countryside. Another important aspect in this context would be the sea change in the medical field that happened in last few years, many of these advanced facilities are readily available only in cities. In addition to all these, city has become a social hub of the elite and affluent hence one could enjoy the privilege of being in acquaintance with them. To cite an example, one would find celebrities and politicians on the social clubs or parties, rather than a countryside’s get together.

As it is being noted,  reasons are aplenty for one's decision to choose city over a village  to lead a life in the present scenario, another among them which needs a special mention here is in the quality of education that city offers. It is believed that education liberates people from social stigmas. An urban life on a global perspective is always coupled with well organised and qualified educational system compared to the rural side. A city would be a favourite place to find efficient schools, universities and research centres when weighed against a village side.

On the contrary, rural lifestyle bestows one's closeness to nature and is free from the hazards of urbanisation. Health wise, rural inhabitants are less exposed to various environmental hazards, like pollution for instance. Moreover, the tranquillity maintained along the countryside is another positive feature of rural habitation. Finally, the family and social bonds in villages are known to be more concrete. Separations on basis of urban gizmos like communalism and social status are seldom there.

In the ultimate analysis, from the above discussion, it would be ideal to state that both urban and rural habitation has its merits and demerits, however, choosing a place to live should be prioritized on individual requirements, an ideal exemplification would be that of an IT professional who should become a part of a city for his career betterment, whereas a farmer, would fit in a rural sector to prosper. Being a part of an urban society since childhood, I would like to be in the same boat for the rest of my journey.

[ Written by - Vineeth V. ]

Sample Answer 2:
People have different opinions about living places. Certain people like to live in the country area while others choose to stay in the city centre. Each place offers its own benefits and drawbacks and the following essay will discuss them in detail.

On the one hand, a group of people prefer to live in the city centre because they believe that there are a lot of benefits living in the area. It is a fact that the city offers various kinds of facilities, such as shopping malls, universities, cinemas, hospitals and restaurants, therefore it would not be difficult for the city’s residents in finding education centres, foods or entertainments. Cities offer more job opportunities as most of the companies and industries are situated there. Apart from that, there are certain facilities that are present only in city areas like amusement parks, large shopping malls, better schools etc. However, living in the city has some negative sides as well. The common drawbacks are that the crime and air pollution rate in the city are commonly higher than the rural area. Therefore some people choose to move out of the city centre.

On the other hand, some people think that the best place to live is in the rural area. It is believed that people who live in these areas have a healthier life because they breathe fresher air, they eat more hygienic and natural fruits and vegetables and they live in a more relaxed and quite environment. As a result, their life expectancy is longer than those who live in cities or towns. Despite its positive sides, living in remote areas have some disadvantages. Several people found that the quality of education in these areas is left behind, while others feel that it is hard for them to develop their careers, therefore they choose to move to big cities.

In conclusion, living in the city or the countryside has its own positive and negative sides, and it depends on the preference of each individual. I personally choose to live in the city area to enhance my career and plan to live in the countryside when I retire.

[ Written by - Darwin Lesmana ]

Sample Answer 3:
These days, many people are quite concerned about choosing the right place to live their own life. In this essay, I will look at the pros and cons, aspects of living in large and crowded town compared to the countryside and draw a reasoned conclusion based on my ideas.  

One of the most significant benefits of settling in a city is health care. Usually, there is well-functioning health care system available to citizens of the town such as hospital and clinics, with many specialised doctors and healthcare professionals. For example, in the city, it is very convenient to find physicians, dentists and nurses. In contrast, often habitants of the rural area have to travel all the way to the city to visit the professionals in the city. As a result, people who live in the countryside suffer from the lack of health care laboratories, hospitals and chamber of professional doctors which are not close to them and is one of the reasons people prefer to stay closer to city centres. Furthermore, a city offers better educational, recreational and employment facilities which are quite tough to find in a rural area.   

However, the crime is the biggest challenge that inhabitants of a crowded city have to face. For example, murder, rape, theft, motor vehicle offence, drugs abuse, firearms & offensive weapon cases are more common in city areas than in a countryside. Even with criminal justice system and punishment by state law in cities, the rate of these heinous crimes is much higher there than any other part of the country such as villages and rural area. The rate of the crime is much less in a countryside than a city due to the less population and economic factors of that area. As a result, the people who live in a countryside are much protected against violation of their rights.

In conclusion, both large towns and urban areas have some conveniences and drawbacks for its citizens.  Living location should ultimately be chosen depending on an individual's base on their professional job. For example, farmer ideally will choose the rural area and on the other hand, IT professional will prefer to be close to city centre.

[ Written by - Byte ]

• Prev
• Next