INTRODUCTION
Today, let’s look at a question that came up for the written section of IELTS Writing test- The shortage of housing in big cities has severe consequences to the people. What are the factors influencing this issue? How can we counter it?
ANALYZING THE QUESTION
What first strikes you when you read the question? 9 out of 10 amongst you will view this question as a whole. Is that the correct way of looking at it? Let’s dive into the steps that we must take to answer this question.
Your first thought should be to think what exactly to do.
Are you supposed to identify the issue or are you supposed to provide solutions? Does the question ask for your opinion or are you required to weigh the advantages and disadvantages associated with the topic?
Read the question again and you will have your answers. The shortage of housing in big cities has severe consequences to the people. What are the factors influencing this issue? How can we counter it?
The What has to do with identifying the issue and the How part of the question wants you to provide solutions to combat it.
It is a typical Problem-Solution type of question that most often comes in IELTS Writing task 2.
I will now be showing a sample student essay for you all to go through.
Please go through it as we’ll be discussing it once you’re done.
SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY
EVALUATION OF THE ESSAY
This essay might meet the word limit for the test but is not suitable. Here, the student has only focused on one aspect- the problem.
Will harping on the problem be enough for securing the marks that one needs? You need to reflect on this.
’Now, on the very surface of it, this statement seems simplistic. Housing in big cities points towards accommodation in cities. People usually go there to earn a decent living for themselves. As simple as the topic seems, one needs to view and approach it if he/she intends to do well in this particular section.
Let’s look at what the actual question stated- The shortage of housing in big cities has severe consequences to the people. What are the factors influencing this issue? How can we counter that?
Once you have identified how to approach this question, think about how much knowledge you have on the topic. The shortage of housing in big cities is our primary area of focus.
Think hard about the problem and what your personal observation tells you about the topic at hand.
Think about all those individuals who have encountered a shortage when it comes to housing or accommodation in big cities. Being able to relate to the emotions and mental state of someone who has faced a shortage will help broaden your perspective.
Keeping the first part ( the factors/ cause) as well as the key words (big cities) in mind, think about why big cities should have problems such as these.
The first answer is a huge influx of people. Why the influx?
Reasons could be better job opportunities, better earning opportunities, finer amenities, access to education.
We need to spend a few minutes reflecting on what could be the probable causes of such a huge influx into big, cosmopolitan cities and then incorporate those pointers into our respective essays.
Go through the factors again- better job opportunities, better earning opportunities, finer amenities, access to education.
All the reasons stated above are linked to better earning and better job opportunities.
Having a better than stable income takes care of the remaining aspects as well.
Now, let us deal with the Solution bit of the problem.
What strikes you as the possible solution to this issue? We cannot prevent individuals from migrating to big cities and improving the quality of their lives.
How do we ease this problem? Can we start providing them with better earning opportunities? It would be impractical to say so as we alone will not be able to create such opportunities for them. We would need some form of Government intervention.
Intervention in matters related to setting up industries in smaller towns will go a long way. A major chunk of people won’t migrate to places far off from their native places. Creating lucrative job opportunities in places closer to home seems like a plausible solution to this problem.
Apart from this, creating multi-level housing is a solution. Provision of shelters for the existing population is another achievable solution.
Now, how did we approach this entire question?
We started off by focusing on areas that we had prior knowledge in and then elaborated upon those.
You, as students, will also find parts of the question that you will feel more confident in approaching.
Make sure that you organize your thoughts before you begin writing the essay and it will seem like a natural progression.
Sample essay band 8
Now, we will go over an essay that’s more befitting for your IELTS Writing section.
The question for the essay that came in the exam hall was – The shortage of housing in big cities has severe consequences to the people. What are the factors influencing this issue? How can we counter it?
In this essay, we will be diving deep into the possible reasons for the shortage of housing in big cities and address each one of those causes.
It is true that there is an acute shortage of housing in most big, cosmopolitan cities. Most of us have faced similar problems while settling somewhere away from our native places.
There are underlying reasons that lead to the shortage of housing in big cities. The chief reason for this is the huge influx of people who come over to the cities from other towns and two or three tier cities. Migration leads to an imbalance in the demand and supply of accommodation and housing. But we must also outline the reasons behind such a large exodus. If we brood further, we will understand why migration to big cities occurs in the first place. Few reasons for relocating to bigger cities are better job and earning opportunities, finer amenities and access to quality education.On a closer inspection, the influx boils down to a better income. A stable income takes care of aspects such as good education, better facilities and the like.
Every problem comes with a solution and to combat the problem of massive influx into cities, establishment of industries in smaller towns is essential. Creating lucrative income opportunities closer to home seems like a plausible solution to this problem.
Additionally, multi-level housing & provision of shelters for the existing population also reduces the relocation of masses. Approaching any problem statement with proper reasoning will provide you with the solution that you’re looking for. Shortage of housing in big cities takes place on account of underlying reasons and getting to the root of it will solve woes related to it.
Hope you’ve enjoyed our deconstruction of the essay and to watch the video for the same, please click here
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