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Cambridge IELTS 13 · Test 1 · Band 7

Cambridge IELTS 13 Test 1 — Band 7 model essay

254 words · 11 sentences · IELTS Writing Task 2

Writing Task 2 prompt

People living in large cities face many problems in daily life. What are these problems, and should governments encourage people to move to smaller towns?

大城市居民日常生活面临许多问题。这些问题是什么?政府是否应鼓励人们搬到小城镇?

Band 7 model answer

Vast numbers of people around the world now live in large cities, and this concentration of population brings numerous problems into daily life. This essay will outline the main difficulties before arguing that governments should indeed encourage people to relocate to smaller towns.

City living presents several serious challenges. Traffic congestion is among the most obvious: with so many vehicles competing for limited road space, commuters lose hours in jams each day, while the resulting emissions worsen air pollution. The cost of living poses an equally pressing problem, and housing in particular has become so expensive that many residents can barely afford to rent, let alone buy. Beyond these material concerns, the sheer density and noise of urban life leaves many people stressed, with too little access to the green, open spaces that support wellbeing.

Given these difficulties, I believe governments would be wise to encourage migration to smaller towns. Dispersing the population in this way would ease congestion, lower housing costs and reduce pollution in the major cities. For such a policy to succeed, however, governments must first make smaller towns genuinely attractive, by investing in good hospitals, schools and, above all, employment opportunities, so that people are not deterred by a lack of services or work.

In conclusion, large cities suffer from congestion, unaffordable housing and pollution, all of which diminish quality of life. Encouraging people to move to well-developed smaller towns would relieve these pressures, and I therefore consider it a sensible and beneficial course of action for governments to pursue.

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Frequently asked questions

How many words should an IELTS Writing Task 2 essay be?

IELTS Writing Task 2 requires a minimum of 250 words. This Cambridge IELTS 13 Test 1 model answer is 254 words, comfortably above the minimum without padding.

What makes this a Band 7 IELTS essay?

A Band 7 answer presents a clear, well-developed position with a good range of vocabulary and complex sentences, and only occasional errors.

How do I use this model essay to improve my IELTS writing?

Read the model to see how a high-band answer is structured and argued, then practise typing it on Typehush to build the speed and accuracy the computer-based IELTS Writing test demands.