IELTS Writing Task 2: 'housing' topic

Several people have asked me to help with the following question:

More houses are needed in many countries to cope with increasing populations. Would it be better to build houses in existing towns and cities, or to develop new towns in rural areas?

The first thing that I would do is think about my 4-paragraph structure. This means that we need 2 main body paragraphs (2 main ideas). Don't worry about putting your real opinion; just try to think of the easiest opinion for a 4-paragraph essay.

Here's one way that we could structure the essay:

1. Introduction: give your opinion e.g. it's better to develop new towns
2. Paragraph: explain why we shouldn't build more houses in cities
3. Paragraph: explain the benefits of building new towns
4. Conclusion: repeat / summarise your opinion

Comments

[Steven]

2) Land constraints makes it challenging
3) More cost efficient to develop a new town in the outer suburb

[Alka]

•Existing cities and towns will not be overcrowded and congested
•Traffic problem will be less due to this.
•Medical , Education facilities will not be overburdened
•No need to cut down green trees to get more space in existing towns

•New town can be planned properly where as it is not possible in already developed towns
•Altogether new living place need all facilities i.e. shopping complexes , Gardens , street lights , Schools and this will give jobs to variety of peoples such as Business man, Gardener, Electrician, Labours etc
•It is beneficial for Environment as there will be less noise pollution. Additionally, lots of trees need to be planted in new gardens.

[hamish]

Hello Simon,
comments please.
It is true that the population is growing rapidly in many countries and eventually, more houses have to be constructed for juvenile people to live. I think it is better to create new towns in the countryside. However, there are both the pros and cons of doing so, which I will discuss in the following paragraphs.
On the one hand, constructing houses in the existing cities will result in numerous problems. Firstly, cities are already overcrowded and many people are homeless. For instance, in the developing countries like India, we can find homeless people sleeping on the pavements. Secondly, due to the high demand for land in the cities, there is no empty space to construct new houses. Finally, government and local bodies are constructing 10 t0 20 storey apartments to provide shelter to the people, which are not safe to live. Despite this, there will not be good resources in the cities and therefore, unemployment will arise; which will lead people to commit crimes.
On the other hand, creating new towns in the countryside has got various reasons. Firstly, due to the less demand for the land in the towns, everyone can afford to construct a house. Secondly, there will be good relationships among people in the countryside, which will lead to a good and fair society. Despite being straightforward, there will not be any crimes in the towns. Finally, due to the vast area of land, I doubt there will be no need for the construction of the apartments which are not safe to live. The other advantage is that government can provide good resources and therefore, the economy of the country would become strong.
In conclusion, it is better to create new towns in the countryside to provide a better lifestyle.
I have written the same answer for the question in the examination but I got band score 6.

[Jass]

I discuss the both views and end up getting 6 bands. Really disappointed

[Jass]

I've another question
Some people think that it is better to educate boys/girls in separate school. Others think that boys and girls benefit more from attending mixed schools.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

I tried doing this essay and end up with repetition. Please help me!

[shiva]

There is no doubt that the population is growing rapidly in many countries.Thus more houses are needed to built.There are some problems to build houses in existing towns.So I think it is better to develop new towns in rural areas.
firstly,if we build houses in existing cities then their will be more crowd,water delivery and sewage disposal systems are often found to be inadequate to cope with demand.In addition to this road and transport services also suffer when they are overused.As more and more people attempt to travel,the roads quickly become overcrowded and traffic slows.These congested road become more and more accident prone.Thus constructing house in existing towns is not considered.
Secondly,its better to construct new towns in rural areas so that it is beneficial in many ways.New towns need all facilities such as shopping complexes,gardens,street lights and schools.This will give jobs to variety of peoples for example new school has been established then it required management to run the school this would help to get some work for the people.Apart from this business people can also be benefited by putting new cafe,restaurants and many more.By taking this into account it is believed that to build new towns in rural areas.
To sum up,i can say that constructing new towns in rural areas will benefit not only the normal people but also the economy of the country too.

--------------------------
Hi simon can u please review my essay and give your opinion and the band too.

[Preethi]

It is true that an increase in world’s population means that more people need shelter and therefore more houses need to be constructed. Although there are some benefits of building houses in cities. It would be more advantageous if new villages are established as will now be discussed.

On the one hand, building houses in cities is beneficial because the material needed for construction is readily available as there are many construction stores in these areas. Furthermore, more and more people are migrating to cities as there are more employment opportunities. However, to make more space for building houses many trees are cut down as well as parks are cleared to make place for buildings and due to this the cost of living is high in cities and as a result, there is more traffic on roads which leads to pollution and congestion on roads.

On the other hand, constructing new houses in towns has some drawbacks. Firstly, there is limited public transport in these areas. Secondly, it is hard to get a good job for people living in villages. However, these issues can be combatted by having their own vehicle so that they can travel to and from to city. Despite these disadvantages there are many advantages of establishing new towns in rural areas; houses in these areas can be affordable for most people because there is less competition, more free land is available and the atmosphere is not polluted from traffic or overcrowding; therefore people living here can breathe fresh air. Moreover, more industries can be built due to the availability of free space and the manpower, and these companies provide jobs for local people.

In conclusion, both the ideas have some advantages and disadvantages. However, after analysing both the arguments it is clear that establishing new towns in rural areas is more beneficial.

[Alka]

Hi Shiva and Preethi,

Simon is unable to read eassys due to the shortage of time .

[Mira Bui]

Population tends to increase faster in big city than in rural areas. Although building houses in new town is also a good way to the population policy, most of countries choose the way of developing houses in big towns or cities due to its practical benefits.
Building house in new area might be not a good supply for the demand in house in the near future. Apparently, most of people do not want to buy house to live in new town, they prefer big city where have high living standard and more convenient for working and study. Therefore, concentrating to build new house in rural area not only cannot solve the population problems, but also wasting money due to unpractical benefits.
In addition, there are essential advantages from building more houses in existing towns and cities. Instead of spending time and money for houses in rural areas, more houses and building will develop city in larger economy scales. It decreases the house price in city, which attracts people come to live and investors come to work. The economy of countries also takes advantages from this development.
In conclusion, building more houses is suitable strategy for solving population problems and improving living standard in big city. However, building more houses is also an important factor that government should concern for certain development.

[xxx]

a

[Jass]

I took an Ielts exam today in Australia.
Writing topic:
Some people believe that a child should not grow up in cities and countryside is a better place.

Agree/disagree.

[zarmp48]

As time moves forward, rising population on among many countries has been a seemingly inescapable problem that nations face as this would mean that more houses need to be built. In my own opinion, I think that new residential buildings should be built in rural areas rather than in old, more populous cities where locating for accommodations has already been a nuisance.

On the one hand, the main reason why new houses shouldn't be built on already developed towns is due to problems arising from congestion. As more people live in an area, this may mean that more will be using cars and other such vehicles for travelling. Consequently, this can lead to further traffic build-up, especially during the "rush hours" when most people go to and from their destinations. For instance, in my own experience, I usually spend an hour or more in going to my workplace, but if there could have been no heavy traffic, I would have been travelling at a lesser time. Also, more cars mean more emission of greenhouse gases that add up to air pollution. Furthermore, as more houses will be built in the city, there would be lesser space for planting trees, which are helpful in absorbing rainwater that falls on the ground. This may eventually lead into flooding such as the case of heavy flooding that recently happened in New York city when it was hardly hit by a tropical storm.

On the other hand, there are various reasons why new houses should be built in rural areas. Firstly, lesser developed towns provide more space to build houses, thus giving home-owners enough space to expand their backyard where they can plant trees. Secondly, as a new town is developed, more businesses will be opened and infrastructures will have to be built. This would provide greater job opportunities to its constituents to sustain their living. As a result, individuals living in rural areas won't have to migrate to bigger cities just to earn more for a living. This would lessen the increase in the urban's "streetpeople"-those who cannot afford a high cost of living and accommodation in a city. Finally, there would be a fair distribution of wealth of the nation as rural areas will have to be developed to meet their demands for urbanization. In this matter, allocation of resources will not have to be concentrated only on already urbanized areas.

To summarize, problem in accommodation is one essential factor that needs to be addressed as a result of an increasing population. In relation to this, overcrowding and problems of congestion in already developed areas would be prevented by building new houses in rural areas.

[sai]

It is true that there is rapid increase in population and therefore enormous increase in need for the housing and other facilities. Developing new towns is a better idea to manage the increased population needs.

With the new towns there comes the well planned infrastructures and facilities to meet the needs of increased population. Moreover, the health care and education systems can also be properly developed to cater the population. Furthermore, the traffic congestion problems can also be easily managed with the establishment of new towns. There is no doubt that new towns attract people who prefer to spend there life in good and pollution free environments. Existing cities wouldn't get overcrowded when new places are developed eventually the restructuring of the existing towns and cities can de avoided. Otherwise the restructuring may cause the destruction of the trees and utilization of parks and recreational areas to expand the existing towns and cities.

However,the development of cities involves huge budget allocation and requires the good portion of state funds to be invested on the projects. In addition, it may take several years to really develop the infrastructures of the new towns. Moreover, people who work in cities frequently need to travel to cities which in turn adds up to the traffic congestion which makes the new towns rather unattractive for the population to relocate.

In summary, I would concede that the advantages of developing new towns far outweigh the disadvantages involved. There would be always a need and demand for new towns to keep the environment as well as existing cities and towns preserved.

[sumiya naveed]

Dear Simon,
I want to ask can we follow the same strategy which u have mentioned(introduction along with your opinion,para 1,para 2 and conclusion mentioning your opinion again)in all the types of question for task 2(academic).
Thanks

[Hamish]

Hi jass.. Memtion your ideas about the topic which you have written in the exam. Thanks

[Alka]

HI Hamish

Here are some ideas for this topic :
Partially Agree
In one hand:
-Countryside’s are pollution free and good for child health. Fresh Air, noise free atmosphere is good for their mental and physical development whereas cities are suffering from noise, water, air pollution.
-Countryside’s have enough space for outdoor games i.e. football, cricket so children can play these kind of games whereas in cities child prefer computer and video games as they do not find enough space to play outdoor games .
-Countryside’s are generally safe as crime rate in cities are higher than Countryside. Also , In cities child can get addiction of alcohol , cigarette easily as these things are easily available in cities .
-

On other hand:

-Cities are enriched with best Education and health centres which are essential for children.
-Growing up in the city results in a child having more perspectives

[Quanblues]

Here is my writing. Could you give me some comment? Thanks

The population boom has made a plenty of country in the world face with the housing-problem. The government has 2 options to fix it: build the new town, city or redevelop old city. In my opinion, building a new town or city is the better way to handle with that problem.

On the one hand, developing old city bring to the government some pros, but the cons which follow it is the bigger. Money which is spent to restructure will be small by take full advantage of old infrastructure and material. However, the quality of old infrastructure is a considerable event. There were big question such as: the old transport system can handle with the new population, the electrical system can provide enough electric to all household, how to deal with traffic problem. In addition, the environment of the re-developed city will be more pollution because of more car and cutting down tree, garbage.

On the other hand, building a new city bring to both resident and government more benefit. A new comfortable life environment will be brought to resident with more free space. The transportation and electrical system will be design to suitable with new demand. The biggest advantage of this option is that make the equal development among areas, help the government handle with the population distribution problem, which has important part in national directional development.

Although building new city require more money spent, but, with a lot of future benefit, it should be considered by the authority to develop their country stably with the trend of increasing population.

[renee]

Hi Simon:
I purchased your ebook, and i found it extremely useful，however， i have some questions about the marking. The ideas stated in the book were clear and relevent to the topic, but the structure of the sentence is quite simple. I dont know if this will affect the score, examiner will focus on the ideas or the structure? is it necessary to use complicatied sentences in the writing?
thank you so much for your help :-)

[Ibrahim ÇENET]

It is certainly true that world population has been increasing more and more, particularly in the centre of economical and political cities.More overpopulated cities, less accommodateable narrow ones.Recently, much more people have emmigrated from rural areas to city centres in order to provide better food, shelter,and education opportunities for their children.This movement highly results in finding new places in many countries. As far as, I am concerned, there is no suitable place left to build new infrastructures for sewage as well as new aparthment blocks. There is no doubt that the largest cities attracts many more visitors as well. As a result of this phenomenon, public and private services have remained inapropriate to the expectations of urban citizens.For example,nearly whenever it rains, then cities and towns mostly undergoes being flooded. Not only dwellings badly suffers from that natural event but also, manucipalities go with wrong. Moreover, overpopulatin is much likley to reduce efficiency to public transport system. In my opinion, I strongly agree with the writer'view that ıt would be more remarkable to build houses as a new in rural areas than in existing towns and cities.However, some people think that rural parts of the countries should be stayed to make agriculture sustainable in the future generations. For instance, food prices have dramatically been rising in the Whorld. Undoubtedly, I partly agree with this argument,but Official should take advantage of countrysides without narrowing the agricultural land. As a matter of fact that this should be done as soon as possible in terms of additional lodging. In conculision, Overpopulatin is nowadays one of the most important issue. On the one hand , there is a strong belief that those people who have recently come and settle in existing cities and towns should be reopened new housing in rural areas. On the other hand, overpopulatin and immigration issues should be delt with new pollitic attempts such as reducing number of child in underdevoleped parts of the world.

[Tariq Jamal]

Paragraph 2
The inauguration of new buildings in already developed parts of a country has twofold problems. To begin with, it is not good from medical perspective. Scientific research has shown that an increased degree of congestion will intensify the level of mental stress as well as noise pollution. Secondly, with increasing number of inhabitants in an urban area will increase sense of competition among the citizens for the existing resources. Hence, this imbalance in the demand and supply will not only augment the scarcity of resources but will also raise tariffs on certain basic necessities like electricity, gas and water.

Could anybody give me any suggestion about how to make this a band 7 paragraph? Please!

[ZIAUL HUDA]

My response to this task will be as follows.
Comments are welcomed.
It is true that population is expanding rapidly in many parts of the world. So for this reason, more houses needed to be built. In my view, it is better to create new towns in suburb areas rather than constructing villas in existing cities.
On the one hand, building more residential complexes in cities can cause many problems in the planning of existing city centers. It is not beneficial to build more houses in the already developed cities, because inhabitants will need to be served with all sorts of public services such as water supply, electricity and transportation. If more cars are being driven, there will be more emission of carbon and other gases. This increasing number of vehicles in cities leads to global warming. Another downside of constructing houses in cities is that people will need more space, sanitation and energy resources to live. For example, in Beijing, China, there are many residential apartments of 20 t0 30 stories. For this, there are many vehicles on the road during rush hours, which causes traffic congestion. Thus, it is clear from this example that more houses should not be built in existing cities.
On the other hand, it is quite possible to say that developing new towns in countryside can bring enormous benefits to the population as a whole. Creating new towns means more shopping malls, schools, roads and bridges. One of the merits of this is to create more jobs for the inhabitants to live there. For instance, the Gujarat Government, in India, has recently developed a new town named as Radha Puram. This new town is now having all amenities. Thus, it can be concluded from this real example that new towns in the suburbs of cities can bring more advantages. As this shows, the new towns in countryside can play a key role in enhancing the economy of the state.
Following from this look, it has been shown that more houses in cities bring only more problems, and also at the time it has been proven that new towns in anterior areas are worth value. Thus, it can be predicted that more new towns continues to be developed in the foreseeable future.

[Nikki]

Hi, Simon!

this is my second attempt. IDK if im making sense here.. :)

Nowadays it is clear-cut scenario that various countries are dealing with population problem. Measures such as building homes in existing urban areas versus constructing it in a rural place is of debate with which I believe should be tackled.

I am living in a rural area with few neighbourhood around and I was raise to an environment like that for about 26 years. There are lots of idle land that I think could be wisely utilize by the government by building new homes to house those families in need. Urban areas lack this material space that is essential in creating an atmosphere of pleasant surroundings. Also, I believe that developing some rural areas into housing projects would create a more vibrant and diverse surroundings. This would attract employers to construct their own businesses that would, of course, equate employment opportunities and boosts the town’s tourism.

On the downside, however, more people could also mean more wastes that could ruin the surrounding place of these rural areas. Another thing is that a growing neighbourhood could also mean a higher chance for a plummeting crime rate.

In conclusion, though there seems to be a downside of converting towns to house families, I still strongly recommend building homes in these said rural areas .Given a strategic and carefully planned measures, this project could achieve desirable growth and progress.

[Mina]

Hi Simon,
I appreciate for your site
This is my writing about this topic
Comments are welcomed.

There is no way-out to deal with escalating population rate unless by existing new houses in cities or developing new towns in outer suburb. However, I think to tackle this problem developing strategies in rural areas is more beneficial.
One the one hand, existing new houses in towns and cities brings a lot of negative socio-economic issues. Firstly, overcrowded crowded population results into increasing many demands from social, economic and environmental perspective. from the view point of society, lack of qualified education and medical facilities along with unhealthy environment are the results of population rise on city in which government are not able to provide all necessities. in addition, due to given problem, economy growth are exposed to threat because of unemployment rise. As a consequent, it is likely to increase crime day by day. In addition, traffic congestion particularly in rush hours can not be deniable.
On the other hand, rural planning brings a lot of benefits. First, avoid concentrating population and in turn distributing people in outer suburb lead to provide people need in a right way. Social wise, less chances of transmitted infections, decrease on the level of crime and road accidents, more job vacancies leads to improve the quality of lifestyle. Moreover, the rate of economy growth is the other results of developing new towns in suburb.
All in all, it seems to me that the drastic impacts of existing habitats in cities and towns are more significant than the benefits of constructing and developing in rural areas.

[Wendy]

With the increasing population in many countries, the houses needed are expanded at the same time. Overcrowded housing and living population in the existing towns and cities made the environment became worsen. It could be better to develop more houses in rural areas and created new towns.

Compared with building houses in existing towns and cities, there are several benefits to build houses in rural areas to develop news towns. In the long run, it can promote rural areas development, promote local employments and shorten the difference between cities and townships for arriving social stability. In addition, the cost of house price is much cheaper for people to purchase than in the existing towns and cities. People can spend less money for larger house. What's more, building houses in new towns can shorten the burden of existing towns and cities. It can bring numbers of people to move to another areas for improving existing transportation and environment problems.

There is no doubt that most of people prefer to live in the existing towns and cities. The public facilities are much more perfect. People are familiar with surround situations and think that is much more convenient for them . However, traffic jam, high price of housing, crowded living space and so on, a series of problems caused by unreasonable city planning.

In conclusion, it could be better to build more houses in rural areas to develop new towns could be a future trend for city development. City's development could confront with a more bright space.

[Mari21]

It is true tha population is increasing around the globe, and some nations are facing this big issue in nowdays. In my opinion, its is better to construct houses in the rural areas, because people do not need to leave their own town to the city for better life and job opportunity.

Building houses in the existing towns and cities, could cause a overcrowed situation, consequently the cost of living could increase, the hospitals will be full of people that need health care, more schools will need to be build as well and jobs would be more competitives to get. In other words, it will be too costly for people that are already living in the cities and for the ones that would like to come in.

For my point of view, building new houses in the rural areas could be a huge benefit for those areas, because the new city will be well planned, new shops will come, such as supermarkets and shopping centers,consequently new jobs will be created. Therefore, hospitals and schools will be build, and the people will not need to leave the rural area to the city to get those needs, jobs and health care.

In conclusion, I think that building houses in the rural areas would be a benefit for the local people as they will have more job opportunities, schools and hospitals will be build and it will be less queu to receive a health care. Consequently they do not need to go to the city center to receive those public services and get a job.

[Mari21]

Hi all,

Is there somebody that could help me with my essay above? I mean, I need an opinion if I get the right track.

Many thanks!

Mari

[Elena]

to Mari21
My take:))
...*in nowdays == > nowAdays (DELETE in)
...In my opinion, *its is better == > IT IS
... in *the rural areas == > in rural areas (no article, in ANY/ALL unspecified rural areas)
...because people do not need (?) to leave their own town -- do not have to; will not have to
...to leave their own town *to the city -- to leave {A} FOR {B}
...for better life and job opportunity -- > for A better life and job opportunities
...Building houses in *the existing towns and cities, -- > in existing towns (in any/all existing towns --> no THE)
...could cause *a overcrowed situation --> aN (before vowels)
...consequently (COMMA NEEDED!) the cost of living could increase, the hospitals *will be full of people that need health care, more schools *will need to be *build (-->builT) as well ---> could,... will --> would
...and jobs would be more *competitives to get -- > more comretitivE__ (no-S at the end)
...*For my point of view, --> wrong preposition!
...because *the(?) new city *will be well planned, new shops *will come, such as supermarkets and shopping centers, ...consequently {COMMA!} new jobs *will be created. --> try "would" instead of "will"
...*will not need to leave the rural area *to the city -- > see above
...to get those needs (???) -- unclear
...as they will have more job opportunities, schools and hospitals * (will be build) -- and hospitals (Full stop)
...and *it will be *less *queu to receive *a health care. --> there would be no queueS --
...no "a" before "health care".
...Consequently (COMMA) they *do (Tense?) not need to go to the city center to receive *those public services *and get a job.

Repetitions:
consequently x 3

[manisha]

do you think one line should be left blank between paragraphs?

[legend]

Hi simon.how much I will get if I write like below.I would be greatly appreciated if you comment on eassy..............
As population is increasing alarmingly these days,most of the concern authority has been looking after the new houses in new city.Meanwhile there is often a contentious issue whether it is needed to develop in existing city or by developing new town.I personally believed that making the new town in rural area is quite easy than the expanding and enlarging houses in the existing city.
Though,People think that it is quite easy to develop,build new house,enlarge the existing houses,making apartment.Moreover the cost of nation would not use for making new roads and other planning as already city had.Neverthless,I think that it is very difficult to manage the road as already road has been highly congested in busy hours.Destroying houses and rebuilt is also not practical because it will be doubly costed.
The developing city in new rural area is easy.There will have of course new well plan of locations for roads,colleges,university,hospitals,which could not find in old city as old city were made by old concept.The overallemployment will be increased and availability will be decentralized and people have lot of shelters and newly amazing place to live.Expansion of city is also possible as lots of lands available.People can afford in the less price compared to old city.It is good idea for building house in new area rather in old congested area.
Both methods have pros and cons .I believe in newly designed well furnish houses in new city.last but not least,The authority and goverments should have good ideas and rules to build and to shuttle the people in new city.

[Divya]

Hi, Simon
I want your opinion on this topic