IELTS General Writing: task 2 plan

Last week I suggested that you plan some ideas for the question below.

Some people prefer renting than buying a home. What are the advantages and disadvantages of renting your home?

Here's a 13-sentence essay plan using the ideas that people shared:

Introduction
1. Introduce the topic (e.g. It is true that many people rent...)
2. State that there are benefits and drawbacks

Advantages
3. Topic sentence (e.g. There are several advantages...)
4. Firstly: easy, flexible and fast
5. Example: students and workers who move to new cities
6. Secondly: no maintenance costs
7. Finally: cheaper, no mortgage deposit

Disadvantages
8. Topic sentence (e.g. On the other hand, there are also...)
9. Main drawback: not a long term investment
10. Another drawback: landlord sets rules
11. Example: not allowed to renovate or redecorate
12. Furthermore: prices can suddenly go up

Conclusion
13. Repeat / summarise

Comments

[sanba06c]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for your brief but concise outline. Accordingly, I draw up an essay below. Have a nice day.

It is true that renting a house is preferred by several people than buying a home. This essay will discuss some benefits of this choice and then analyze some drawbacks that may arise.

The primary advantage is that renting a house seems easy, flexible, and fast. That is to say, there are numerous apartments available for lease, which enables you to promptly choose the most suitable one. Furthermore, as a tenant you are not required to bear the maintenance cost of the rented house. For example, although my manager is very wealthy, he opted for living in a rented apartment. He advised that the house rental cost was cheaper compared to possessing a new house and it was very convenient for him to change his accommodation when necessary.

On the other hand, the main downside of this trend is that it is not considered a long-term investment. Besides, the landlord is entitled to lay down rules and increase the rental cost. Indeed, owning a house is really a long-term investment for your life. When renting a house, you are requested to obey all of the rules stipulated by its owner. For instance, a couple of years ago, when I was living in a rented house, I was not allowed to go out by 11:00 pm because the landlord usually closed the door beforehand. Also, the rental cost suddenly went up without any prior notice.

In conclusion, whilst renting a house can bring the benefits of convenience and cost efficiency, it can be deemed a short-term choice and lack of flexibility.

[Khaled Said]

Hello Simon,

I'd like to thank and appreciate your effort and passion you put towards your students. I personally, have learned a lot from your blog and hope to achieve a good result.

I had an IELTS general exam on May 13th in Egypt, Cairo. I would like to share writing task2 which had talked about retirement where people should retire over 60 to 65 years. However, some people want to continue working until they want. Give your opinion with support.

I had written 4 to 5 support points as following:

Firstly, it will lead to increase unemployment rate because young people will not being promoted since only people still hold their job. In addition, it will affect fresh graduates who looking for new opportunity.

Secondly, Most of old staff are exposed to many health issues such as diabetes, respiratory problems, impaired hearing, and high blood pressure which affect their work performance and cannot cope with job stressful any more.

Thirdly, people who need to retire do not have the energy, careers progression and adapt new work style like young people who always accept challenges and looking to prove themselves.

Finally, old employees do not have flexibility to any new idea, for example, Google Company have succeeded to invent new technology by young staff who looking for the future to grow up.

Thanks again for your help and compassion.

Sincerely,

Khaled Said

[Kevin]

Dear Simon,

Thank you for all the useful sharing, here is my practice.

Renting houses instead of owning property is getting more popular than ever. However, there are many aspects to be speculated and considered before becoming renters.

The most apparent advantage of renting houses is flexibility. That is to say; you have the right to change to a new place at the end of the contract due to any consideration, such as neighbor issue, disagreement with the landlord, relocation at work, or any other personal affair. Besides, it is less stressful to bear the burden of the mortgage. According to a statistic, it takes at least 30 years to pay off house loan in Taiwan for a nuclear family, and it means there is no additional money for other entertainment, investment, or emergency. For example, I am a travel lover, so I decide to rent a small studio apartment to save money for three to four trips a year.

However, there are some disadvantages regarding renting houses. Firstly, renters are not allowed to renovate or change the layout of the houses in some circumstances. The house owners tend to keep the original look of the property, and renters have to compromise when they decide to sign the rental contract. Secondly, tenants might be forced to move expectedly or at the end of the contract. Some people own the houses for investment, and they will make any decision which could maximize their profit, so any sudden change is possible. For example, my family was asked to leave within one week when we just lived in the flat around three weeks, because another buyer decided to pay much higher buying the house.

In conclusion, it is better to compare the benefits and drawbacks of renting houses before any decision is made.

[Tracy]

It is true that many people choose to rent a dwelling rather than purchase one nowadays. While there are a large number of benefits to rent a home ,there are still some drawbacks to do so.

There are several advantages of renting a house. Firstly, it is a relatively easy ,flexible and fast method which saves time and energy at the same time. For example, students and workers who move to new cities would find it more efficient and more effortless to settle down by renting a place to live in an unfamiliar environment. Secondly, tenants do not have to worry about essential, unexpected large expenses such as a new boiler or electrics. Finally, it can be cheaper to pay a rent as opposed to affording a mortgage deposit.

On the other hand, there are also plenty of disadvantages to a renter. The main drawback is that it is not a long term investment with potential to make a fortune in the future. Another drawback is that landlords always set rules and regulations. For instance, it is common that tenants are not allowed to renovate or redecorate their rooms as they wish or they are prohibited to let friends stay overnight. Furthermore, the rent can suddenly go up without expectation, which will cause a financial problem to a few families.

To sum up, in spite of the benefits that renting a home offers, there are also a lot of drawbacks for people to take into account before making a decision.

[Vincent]

Here is my essay
Thanks a lot for your kind advice and help.
It is true that many people nowadays favor renting a house over buy it. There are pros and cons in this trend which I shall discuss in my essay.
One the one hand, there are several benefits of renting a house. Firstly, renting a house makes it easy for people to move from one place to another whatever they wish to. For example, students and workers who move to new cities for particular purposes find renting an apartment more convenient for them instead of buying one.
Secondly, most of the rented houses are already equipped with household facilities which means tenants do not need to cost more for furniture, kitchen appliances and so on.
Finally, from economic perspective, people find renting a house cheaper since there is no maintenance cost for the property and there is no need to pay mortgage deposit.

On the other hand, there are also drawbacks that deserve attention. One obvious disadvantage is that owning a house is a long term investment which benefit the owner in the long run when the value of the property goes up over time.
Besides, in most cases, there are rules and regulations that tenants are obliged to follow set by landlords. For example, it is not allowed to renovate or redecorate the place unless without permission from the owner.
Last but not least, one common problem that people living in a rented house face is that the rental can go up suddenly and they have to move out of the house if they cannot afford.
In short, there are both ups and downs for those choosing to rent a house than buying one. Therefore, my opinion is that it is up to individual to decide whether renting or owning a house would be the best option.

[Charlie]

My essay:

It is true that many people would like to rent a house rather than purchasing it. There are many reasons for this trend, but consequently it has its own drawbacks as well.

On the one hand, there are several advantages of living in a rented property. Firstly, it is easy, flexible and quicker to move as it takes less time and money when compared to buying a property. For example, a student or worker who moves to a new city would need a temporary place to stay, closer to the university or workplace; therefore renting would be a better option in such situations. Secondly, letting a home would not involve any maintenance costs as these are borne by the landlord or owner. Finally, tenancy would be the cheaper option because owning a house requires a mortgage deposit which needs to be paid to the lender. Similarly, renters need not worry about filing a property tax.

Nevertheless, there are also some drawbacks of being a tenant. The major concern is that paying for housing is an overhead expense rather than an investment because in the long term, a person cannot expect any returns from the money that goes towards a rent. Additionally, an occupant has to follow certain rules set by the landlord or property agent, depending on the tenancy agreement. For instance, tenants are not allowed to renovate or redecorate as they wish. Furthermore, rental rates keep fluctuating depending on the vicinity and seasons. As a result, occupiers may have to shell out extra money from their pockets.

In conclusion, most individuals prefer to rent for several reasons as it has fewer risks, but it is not completely free of problems.

[Hai]

Thank you for your plan, Simon.

This is my trial for this question. Will highly appreciate any help to correct it.

It is true that these days, it has become a growing trend to see people renting instead of buying a house. As such, there are both merits and demerits to this trend which will be discussed below.

There are several advantages of renting a house or an apartment. The primary one stems from the fact that it is easy and flexible to find a rental property. Today, most of young couples and students rent their accommodation simply by surfing a real estate website where show different kinds of rental properties, choosing a suitable one, doing an inspection and even apply online. Another benefit is that tenants do not need to pay maintenance cost and council fees. All expenses a tenant worries about is rent, which is normally cheaper than a mortgage, and electricity and water bills.

On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks that tenants may need to consider. Firstly, they have to obey landlord's strict rules such as no renovation, no decorations or even no pets. Secondly, rent may be increased suddenly with just a notice from landlords. Moreover, it is apparent that most of the lease effect in a short period of time, six months or a year, that makes the tenants have to either carry one more actions to renew the lease or terminate it if there are unwanted changes. For example, before the expired day, a landlord can ask to end the lease as he or she wishes to sell the property out, therefore the tenant has to take time to search for his new accommodation.

In view of the above-mentioned discussion, I can conclude that despite some advantages, the disadvantages of renting a residential property are to dire to ignore.

[Liam]

Hi Simon,
thank you so much for your time. I have a question in terms of the task 2 writing. I did the academic Ielts several years ago and now I have to take the General one. I am just wondering if the task 2 writing of academic and general is different?

Thanks advance,

Liam

[wilma wan]

1

[wilma wan]

Hi Simon,

I am trying to get a 7 on general test of writing part, here is my practice one, what do you think?
Your band 9 essays are fantastic, but I do hope you can spend some time on sharing some 7 essays, I think there probably a lot people who take the exam for immigrate purpose and band 7 is the aim for them. Thank you so much!

It is true that many people renting home other than buying a home. There are both benefits and drawbacks.

There are several advantages of renting a home. Firstly, renting a home is an easy and flexible way for people who are looking for a place to live. For example, students and workers who move to new cities usually choose to rent a home because this is the fastest way for them to settle down. Secondly, people who rent a home do not need to worry about maintaining, they can save money on maintenance costs. Finally, buying a home can cost a lot of money, while renting a home is much cheaper and affordable to people who are not that rich but want a home to live in.

On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks of tenting a home. The main one is that renting is not a long term investment. In big cities like Toronto or Beijing, the housing price is increasing rapidly, buying a home is a good investment. Another drawback is that the rentiers must follow landlord’s rules. For example, if renters want to do some decorate for the home they will need the landlord’s permission in advance. Furthermore, the rent price can suddenly go up and if the renter does not want to pay or cannot afford the price, he or she must move out immediately.

In conclusion, I believe that there are both advantages and disadvantages of renting a home, people in different situations should choose the most suit way for them.

[SUMIT PATEL]

can i use my personal examples as you have written in the advantages and disadvantages essay.

[Hai]

Hi Simon and everyone,

I had a similar question on the exam 3/6/2017.
The question was:

"People in some countries prefer to rent their accommodation, while people in other countries prefer to have their own home.

Do you think renting has more advantages or more disadvantages than owning a house?"

I am not sure I used a correct structure or not. This is my structure:

Introduction: ... Although there are some benefits of renting home, I believe there are far more disavantages than owning a home

Paragraph 1: Advantages of renting accommodation

Paragraph 2: However, I believe that renting has far more disadvantages than owning a house.

Conclusion: Repeat opinion, renting has more disadvantages than owning home.

I would be grateful if you could comment whether I used a correct structure or not.

Many thanks.

Hai

[Justine]

Hi Simon,

This topic is almost as same as the essay topic that I met on 3rd June in IELTS G test in Sydney Australia.

Yours faithfully,

Justine

[Rachel]

Dear Simon
Thank you for the essay skeleton.
I wrote my answer based on your advice.

It is true that some people decide to rent a house instead of buying it for various reasons. I believe that both renting and buying a home have their own merits and demerits and it is surely up to an individual’s choice whether they choose to lease a house or purchase it.

Firstly, the reason why many people rent a home is because renting can be the more flexible option for those who do not have a large amount of budget and prefer to change their places of living frequently. Compared with buying a house, renting the property does not require people to deposit significant sum of money and they just simply need to pay rent fees for example, per fortnight or month as written in lease agreement. Moreover, for people who often change their workplaces or who immigrate from another nation and stay in the country on a temporary basis, renting a house can be the best option because they can easily adjust the period of living when making a contract as per the discussion with the real east agent.

On the other hand, still a lot of people would like to buy a property for several reasons. People believe that unlike renting a house, purchasing the property can guarantee the right of the possession in the end so it can be a great investment for the future. For example, in many countries, people choose to buy houses and gain enormous profits from leasing them to other people. And they even can buy another property based on their exiting real estates. Furthermore, other people make up their mind to purchase a house because they want to renovate the house according to their tastes and interests. In many cases, adjusting a property is not acceptable for tenants so they cannot make any change in the house during their lease, whereas if people actually own a house, they can freely change the decoration and interior of the house unless this change does not harm neighbours.

To sum up, as stated above, both renting a house and buying it have their own distinctive advantages. Therefore, I believe that people can freely decide both types of living arrangement based on their individual circumstance and limitation of the budget.

[Khan]

I would like to appreciate that you are doing a great job for all the students who want to accomplish their goal!

[morufat]

Dear simon,
It is true that some people believes that renring a house is far better than buying a house.
There are manys advantages on renting a hhouse.firstly, it is very easy,flexible, and faster.way for many people the we have a place to put there head on like .
For example an international students and workers that travel out of there country to another cuntry neet to rent home even go for the chepest apartment
Anothe advantage, you will be free for house responsiblities i.e maintenance most expecially house with full maintenances the owner need to Cater for the responsibilities in that house at all cost.
On the other hand renting a house is not far better.
Here are my reasons, main drwback renting a house is not log time investment, for example if u realized the money you are spending every month for house rent your you will find out that its bad investment some one need to star thinking on how to become a landlord.
Renting house is not that too good becours landlord rules u can't really do as u like or want in renting house , if u discover that you dislike the set of the house like furnitures u cant change it to your own test .changing the pain ir the decirations of the house is not allow,most ti have follow the rules and regulations of the landlord since the is agreement before moving in.
In conclution, i believe both have advangages and disadvantagest differnt people with differnt situations they should rent house pending the the time they we have money to buy house its depnd on individual chose.

[Mohammed]

People’s opinion differ as to renting a home is better or purchasing it. While I agree the renting a home is beneficial in short term, but have long term drawbacks.
There are several benefits in renting a house. Firstly, rental homes are easily available with several options, for example studio apartment, single or double bed room apartments and paying guest facilities. Secondly, flexibility to move out when work location changes to different town or city, as the tenants can inform their owners in advance and vacate the dwelling. Finally, the luxury for not being responsible for maintenance and repairs, such as disposing garbage, fixing the appliance like stove, lights and air conditioners, cleaning and maintaining the back yards.
On the other hand, owning a house will have long term benefits, even though, it will be a struggle initially. The money spent on rents have no substantial returns, whereas investing the same money in owning as house not only provides you with a place to stay and also give you amazing profit in future. For example, a house purchased for $100000 in year 2001 was sold for $5000000 in year 2015 with 400% profit. This shows that owning the house gives you sense of security and freedom. The inflation in the economy has surged significantly in the past decade, causing increase in price of rental properties, thus making them unaffordable for some people. Another drawback is to adhere to apartment’s rules and guidelines that compels you to plan your schedules around them, which is quite difficult to follow sometimes.

In conclusion, people should deliberate carefully before deciding to rent a house, as short time benefits give away long term gains of owning a property

[Hien Truong]

It is true that many people rent a house is preferred than buying it. However, there are many benefits and drawbacks need to consider before becoming renters.
On the one hand, there are several benefits of renting a house. Firstly, renting a house makes it easy for people to move from one place to another whatever they want to. For instance, students and workers who migrating to new cities for particular purpose find renting a house instead of buying a home. Secondly, people who rent a house do not need to worry about maintaining, they can save money on maintenance costs. Finally, renting a house is much cheaper and affordable to people who are not that rich but want a home to live in.
On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks of renting a house. The main reason is that renting is not a long term investment. Another reason is that the renter must follow landlord’s rules. For example, if renter want to do some decorate for the house they will need the landlord’s permission in advance. Furthermore, one common problem that renter always faces is that the prices can suddenly go up and they have to move out of the house if cannot afford.
In conclusion, I believe that there are both benefits and drawbacks of renting a house, people can decide living arrangement based on limitation of the budget and individual circumstance.

[Hien Truong]

It is true that many people rent a house is preferred than buying it. However, there are many benefits and drawbacks need to consider before becoming renters.
On the one hand, there are several benefits of renting a house. Firstly, renting a house makes it easy for people to move from one place to another whatever they want to. For instance, students and workers who migrating to new cities for particular purpose find renting a house instead of buying a home. Secondly, people who rent a house do not need to worry about maintaining, they can save money on maintenance costs. Finally, renting a house is much cheaper and affordable to people who are not that rich but want a home to live in.
On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks of renting a house. The main reason is that renting is not a long term investment. Another reason is that the renter must follow landlord’s rules. For example, if renter want to do some decorate for the house they will need the landlord’s permission in advance. Furthermore, one common problem that renter always faces is that the prices can suddenly go up and they have to move out of the house if cannot afford.

In conclusion, I believe that there are both benefits and drawbacks of renting a house, people can decide living arrangement based on limitation of the budget and individual circumstance.

[nabeel khalid]

NOTE:
Everyone is not understanding the topic. In the second part of the question, the question reads the advantage of RENTING YOUR HOME: which means you own a property and you want to rent it. Here the answer must be from the landlord perspective, you own a property and you want to rent it to the tenets. However, in the first part we will discuss general perspective of renting vis-a-vis buying a house.
regards,

[zero4drift]

Dear Simon,

Nowadays, more and more people chose to rent rather than buying a home. There are many advantages in renting, while its drawbacks still need to be carefully considered.

People could benefit from renting. Firstly, especially for young people without high salary, renting would not bring too much financial burden as compared with real-estate purchasing, I suppose fresh employees who have just stepped into the society may prioritise money saving. Secondly, renting means more flexibility; people living in a rental would find it much easier to deal with incidents, for example, unemployment. Finally, by renting people are able to move around freely without too much restrictions, having a taste of totally different neighbourhoods and making new friends here and there would make their life more colourful and enjoyable.

While apart from renting's good points, it is considered that renting greatly reduce people's belongness and is absolutely unsuitable for family life. As most people say, 'home, sweet home,' an own house is a final peaceful harbour for one after a tiring and exhausting working day, a place which you can always count on and would never disappoint you, such feelings may never be approached when living by renting. And the public awareness holds an opinion that the most important factor for a family is stability, everything involved in family life requires long-term maintenance and careness, which the renting experience would seldom provide.

Renting does have its positive and negative points, for fresh graduates or people always on adventure renting is reasonable and economical, while renting is not supposed to be a decent way for families since an own house plays such an important role in every one's family life.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Lakshita]

Hi Simon,
Thanks for these points. I've written this:

It is true that many people rent their home rather than buy one for themselves. There are both benefits and drawbacks of doing this.
Renting a home comes with several advantages. Firstly, there is so much ease and flexibility in renting a space; it is also a lot quicker than buying one. For example, when students or workers move to new cities, they can rent a living place within a day or so. Secondly, there are no maintenance costs involved as these are taken care of by the landlord. Finally, this option is cheaper in terms of mortgage deposit as the down payments done to buy a house lead to a big hole in the pocket.
On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of not buying a place to live. The main drawback is that this is not a long-term investment. Another drawback is that the landlord sets rules for you to live; for example, you cannot redecorate or renovate your abode, the place where you seek peace after long tiring days. Furthermore, the prices can go up suddenly. Therefore, if you plan to live at a place for an awfully long time and at your own whim, renting might not be a very suitable option.
To summarise, renting a place is a great solution to those moving to a place for a short-term, whereas for those who plan to live at a place for a long duration of time this may not be a suitable option.