IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test 14

Write your own response before opening this example. This is a sample from the book, not a score or assessment of your writing.

The plans show how the ground floor of Millbrook railway station has changed since 2000.

Overall, the station has been modernised. Facilities for buying tickets and storing luggage have been reduced or removed, while more space is now given to food and shopping, and access to the platforms has been improved.

The most noticeable changes are on the left of the building. In 2000, this side was taken up by a large ticket office with four windows and, behind it, a left-luggage office. Today, tickets are sold from machines in a much smaller area at the front, and the rest of this side, including the former left-luggage office, has been turned into a café with seating.

In the centre, the concourse is still entered from Station Road through the main entrance, which has not moved. However, ticket barriers now run across the middle of the concourse, and a lift has been built next to the stairs that lead up to the platforms.

On the right-hand side, the newsagent and the toilets at the front have been replaced by a convenience store, which occupies the full width. The toilets, which now include an accessible one, have been moved further back, next to a new bike storage area. As a result, the waiting room, which once filled the back half of this side, has become a smaller waiting area.

Commentary

• TA: The overview identifies the main trends (less space for tickets and luggage, more for food and shopping, better access). Every change is reported, and the one feature that stayed the same (the entrance) is noted.
• CC: The description moves logically through the building (left, centre, right), so the reader can follow it like a map. Referencing ("this side", "which", "As a result") is clear.
• LR: Appropriate language for describing plans: "taken up by", "turned into", "replaced by", "occupies the full width", "the former left-luggage office".
• GRA: Passive forms are used accurately and naturally ("has been turned into", "has been built", "have been moved"), with relative clauses and a mix of present perfect and past simple.

Write your own response before opening this example. This is a sample from the book, not a score or assessment of your writing.

In many countries, villages are losing their young people to the cities. This movement creates serious difficulties in both places, but I believe there are practical steps that governments and businesses can take to reduce them.

For rural areas, the main problem is that communities slowly empty and grow older. When young adults leave, there are fewer people to work on farms or to start businesses, and fewer children to keep local schools open. Once a school, a shop or a bus service closes, life becomes even harder for the people who remain, which encourages more families to leave. In some regions of southern Europe, for example, whole villages now have only a handful of elderly residents.

Cities face the opposite problem. A rapid rise in population puts pressure on housing, transport and public services. Rents increase, and many newcomers end up in overcrowded or poor-quality accommodation on the edge of the city, often a long journey from their work. Traffic and pollution also grow as more people compete for the same space.

Several measures could help. The most effective, in my view, would be to make it possible for young people to build a career without moving to a city. Fast internet connections would allow many to work remotely for city employers, and tax incentives could encourage companies to open offices or factories in smaller towns. Governments could also support rural services, for instance by keeping village schools open even when they have few pupils, since a school is often what persuades a family to stay.

As far as cities are concerned, the priority should be housing. Building more affordable homes near public transport, rather than on the outskirts, would allow newcomers to live decently without adding to traffic.

In conclusion, the movement of young people to cities weakens rural communities and overloads urban ones. Although it is unlikely to stop completely, better jobs, connections and services in the countryside, together with well-planned housing in cities, could make the situation far more manageable.

Commentary

• TR: Both parts of the question are answered, and problems are given for both rural areas and cities, as the question requires. Solutions are linked to the problems, and the writer's view of the most effective measure is clear.
• CC: A clear structure (problems for villages, problems for cities, solutions for villages, solutions for cities). The "vicious circle" in paragraph two is explained step by step.
• LR: Precise topic vocabulary ("put pressure on", "public services", "work remotely", "tax incentives", "affordable homes", "the outskirts"), used naturally.
• GRA: A wide range of structures, including time clauses ("Once a school... closes"), conditionals, relative clauses and a participle phrase, with very few errors.