IELTS Essay Topic: Living Standards
Between Cities and Rural Areas
Example Essay by Jeenn Lee Hsieh
ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
IELTS Essay Question (China 20131026):
>Living standards are much higher in cities than those in rural areas. Why do you think this is so? What do you propose to improve living standards of people in rural areas? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience to support your opinion.
Example Answer by Jeenn Lee Hsieh:
Disparity of living standards between urban areas and rural areas is almost a global phenomenon due mainly to economic inequality. This being the case, rural poverty remains a predominant problem, although the situation varies from country to country. While the causes of this problem are quite obvious, effective solutions are required to upgrade living standards of people living outside cities and towns.
The rural economy is largely disadvantaged because of the lack of adequate attention to living conditions in rural areas. As a result, there may be a narrow range of choices, few chances for personl and commuity development, and accordingly levels of income lag behind those in urban areas. This of course perpetuates poverty and leads to poor housing, for example. Further, usually there is no such easy and effective access to basic health and educational services as are available for urban residents. In addition, closely related to the need of rural communities for better living conditions is the need for clean water, not to mention the need for job opportunities and modern farming metods. All these may partly explain why living standards are much lower in rural areas than those in urban areas.
Several solutions may be considered to help better living standards in rural areas. To begin with, improving rural infrastructure, such as road and irrigation systems, can reduce rural poverty by allowing individuals to have greater communication with urban centers and facilitating access to health and educational services. Better infrastructure also promotes the mobility of rural people, thus stimulating economic activity. In fact, the construction of roads as well as the improvement of irrigation systems may create more jobs and more incomes on short-term and long-term basis, both during construction and once it is completed. Apart from that, the development of appropriate technology can raise farm productivity, and in this case the government should provide access to credits for the purchase of modern farm machinery. In sum, measures like these are expected to help the rural poor have more money and gradually improve their living standards.
In conclusion, the causes and solutions related to differences of living standards are in the economic context. That is to say, the entire issue should focus on rural poverty. Given that this problem seems to be a global one, it depends on each counry to mind its own business in reducing the economic disparity between rural areas and urban areas. (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh ielts360toefl@hotmail.com pigai zuowen)
Jeenn Lee Hsieh
>Writing in English as a foreign language
TOEFL Independent Writing Task
IELTS Writing Task 2 (academic/general)
#> 3+6+6+3 TOEFL/IELTS Opinion Essays (360 topics)
#> Jeenn Lee Hsieh: pigai zuowen, gaixie zuowen
#> 4 paragraphs=18 sentences=over 300 English words
#> Introduction 3 sentences + Body A 6 sentences + Body B 6 sentences+Conclusion 3 sentences
#> ielts360toefl@hotmail.com (360 example essays on IELTS/TOEFL writing topics)
>Important!!!
When answering an essay question, you shoud always...
read the question carefully
make sure your ideas are directly relevant and specific to the question
address all parts of the question and stick to a 4-paragraph format
change the focus of your thesis (or the topic), if you have no ideas related to the question
re-read the task regularly to check that you are answering the question
>Introduction (3 sentences): Thesis-Focus-Signposts
Answer the essay topic in one sentence as your Thesis Statement in which you present your position in answer to the question.
Create a relevant and specific Focus for discussion by narrowing down the scope of your Thesis Statement.
Signpost the 2 main points (Signpost A and Signpost B) that are relevant and specific to your Focus, and say what you are going to say in the Body Paragraph A and Body Paragraph B, respectively.
>Body Paragraph A (6 sentences): PEE=Point A + Examples + Explanations
Topic Sentence A (Signpost Point A)
+5 Supporting Sentences=6 sentences
>Body Paragraph B (6 sentences): PEE=Point B + Examples + Explanations
Topic Sentence B (Signpost Point B)
+5 Supporting Sentences=6 sentences
>Conclusion (3 sentences): Signposts+Focus+Thesis
Summarize Signpost A and Signpost B.
Widen the scope of your Focus.
Re-state your Thesis Statement.
# Say, say, say: Opinion Essays (Thesis, Focus, Signpost Points are abstract ideas, not facts)
>Introduction: Say what you are going to say.
>Body Paragraphs A and B: Say it with evidence.
>Conclusion: Say what you have said.
# Scoring Standards: Writing Guides
IELTS: Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience to support your opinion. (40 minutes; 250 words+; handwriting)
TOEFL: Use reasons and specific examples or details (based on your knowledge or experience) to support your answer. (30 minutes; 300 words+; typing)
To score higher in an independent writing task, whether it is about IELTS or TOEFL, it is important to get a clear idea regarding how a test essay is rated. For example, how well one writes is much more important than how much one writes. According to the official scoring guides of TOEFL and IELTS, a most successful paper should typically include the following features--
>英文合文法 (Grammatical English)
1. language effectiveness=rhetoric 语言效率
TOEFL--displays consistent facility in the use of language
IELTS--uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention
2. sentence variety=syntax 句型变化
TOEFL--demonstrates syntactic variety
IELTS--uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as 'slips'
3. word choice=lexicon 字汇恰当
TOEFL--demonstrates appropriate word choice
IELTS--uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as 'slips'
>作文合逻辑 (Logical Composition)
1. [a thesis well-focused] 主题有焦点
TOEFL--effectively addresses the writing task
IELTS--fully addresses all parts of the task
2. [a structure well-organized] 结构有组织
TOEFL--is well organized and well developed
IELTS--skillfully manages paragraphing
3. [a content well-supported] 内容有支持
TOEFL--uses clearly appropriate details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas
IELTS--presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas
