IELTS CITY ESSAY: Today, the quality of life in large cities is decreasing.
Discuss the causes and
solutions.
The global phenomenon of urbanisation from the beginning of industrialisation to the present day has
brought opportunity and prosperity, albeit at a cost in the quality of life. With an increasing city
population, the complexity of the challenges also increases, the causes and solutions for this are
outlined below.
The causes for the decrease in the quality of life are paradoxically the prosperity endowed on such
metropolitan centres. Their growth is largely due to the increase of opportunities on offer, which in turn
increases their attractiveness, essentially they are trapped in a positive self-reinforcing cycle. However,
this eventually leads to a decrease in the quality of life as the city can experience overcrowding,
exorbitant property prices, and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. For example the density of
London makes it a more efficient place to attack, when compared to a smaller city such as Bradford.
Therefore, due to continuous growth and prosperity, urban citizens, especially the less well off, often
experience a lower standard of living.
Considering the solutions, greater investment in public transport would ease traffic congestion, as would
bike lanes. In theory this would reduce air pollution, and possibly improve the wellbeing of the
population if they did adopt a more active lifestyle and cycle to work. To counter violent terrorist
attacks, cities could embark on CCTV installations, so as to closely monitor for threats. For example, it is
said, the CCTV in London has foiled many potential attacks, and therefore greatly increased the security
of its citizens.
Equivalent sentences
“For example, it is said, the CCTV in London has foiled many potential attacks, and therefore greatly
increased the security of its citizens.”
Could also be said as:
“Statistics show that CCTV used in London has scuppered many a terrorist plot, massively contributing to
the security of its citizens.”
To conclude, a wealthy city attracts a large population inflow, which then causes pressure on existing
infrastructure and security. Various solutions exist to mitigate such drawbacks, nevertheless an
indefinite solution has yet to be found.
More Equivalent sentences
Various solutions exist to mitigate such drawbacks, nevertheless an indefinite solution has yet to be
found.
Could also be said as:
A myriad of partial fixes exist for these issues, yet a permanent solution is still out of reach.
Or even:
There are many methods employed to quell this flow of people, but still a reliable solution has not been
discovered.
Vocabulary Booster!
The highlighted sections in the following paragraph represent key phrases or words relating to this topic.
Study this paragraph to expand your vocabulary knowledge on this topic:
The modern urban environment varies considerably depending on both the city that produces it and the
individual who perceives it; Each experiencing a unique blend of at least some economic success, varying
degrees of localised or wider deprivation and periods of growth and decline. Environmental factors
permitting, a city will provide well for its citizens as long as it can properly manage the execution of
social policy.
Globalisation presents many challenges for those responsible for policy as large inflows of people are to
be expected in a place of success and therefore opportunity; The ensuing mixing of cultures has far-
reaching social consequences that can affect how the city is both presented and perceived.
Discursive essay example
In this page, you will concentrate on one discursive essay structure.
Below you will find an example discursive essay. Read the essay over carefully. Study it and work out
how it has been written.
Reading the essay
Whilst reading the essay, consider the following questions, writing down your ideas -
what is the main idea the writer is arguing about?
each paragraph has a sub-topic which contributes to the essay's main topic - what does each
paragraph contribute to the argument?
what evidence does the writer offer to support the arguments?
which of the three suggested structures identified earlier does the writer adopt in this essay?
does the writer link ideas clearly in the essay?
You will probably want to read the essay over twice to help you answer these questions.
1 A subject which always arouses strong feelings on both sides of the argument is the use of animals in
medical research. I believe that, though this may have been necessary in the past, other ways can be
developed to test drugs and, in the future, animals should not be used.
2 One of my main reasons for saying this is that living tissues can be grown in test tubes and new drugs
can be tested on these. Computers can also be programmed to show how medicines will react in the
human body.
3 Moreover, animals are not always like humans. They do not suffer from all human diseases, so
scientists have to give them the illnesses artificially. The joints in rabbit legs are inflamed with chemicals
to help research in rheumatism. These tests do not always work because animals do not react to drugs
in the same way as humans. Aspirin, for example, damages pregnant mice and dogs, but not pregnant
women. Arsenic, which is a deadly poison for humans, has no effect on sheep, while penicillin, which is
so valuable to humans, kills guinea pigs.
4 In addition, I believe that animal experiments should not be used because of the unnecessary pain that
they cause to animals. The government introduced new rules about the use of animals in experiments in
1986. Scientists claim that these rules safeguard animals because they state that discomfort must be
kept to a minimum and that painkillers must be used where necessary and appropriate. Surely this
means, however, that scientists can still decide not to use painkillers in the animal experiments because
they do not consider them appropriate. The British Union against Vivisection claims that 75% of animals
experimented on are given no anaesthetic.
5 In spite of the claims of some scientists about the effectiveness of animal research, the death rate in
this country has stayed the same over the last thirty years. There is also more long-term sickness, even
though greater numbers of animals are being used in research.
6 On the other hand, scientists claim that some experiments are so small, for example giving an
injection, that painkillers are not needed. They also argue that experiments on animals have been very
useful in the past. For instance, the lives of ten million human diabetics have been saved because of
experiments with insulin on dogs. Dogs also benefited, as the same drug can be used on them. In fact, a
third of medicines used by vets are the same as those used by doctors.
7 It is argued by researchers that the use of animals in experiments cannot be replaced by methods
using living tissue which has been grown in test tubes. These tests do not show how the drugs work on
whole animals and so they only have limited effectiveness.
8 Although I accept that some drugs can be used on animals and humans, this does not mean that they
have to be tested on animals in the first place when alternative methods are available. Alternative
methods do work. Various groups have been set up to put money into other ways of researching. For
example the Dr. Hadwen Trust has shown how human cartilage can be grown in test tubes to study
rheumatism. Similar research is being done into cancer and multiple sclerosis. Tests can be done on
bacteria to see whether a chemical will cause cancer. There is even a programme of volunteer human
researchers, where people suffering from illnesses offer to help in research.
9 In conclusion, I accept that animal experiments have brought great benefits in the past, but now
money needs to be spent on developing other methods of testing drugs and medical procedures, so that
the use of animals can be phased out altogether.
After reading the essay
Now that you have read the essay and, hopefully, written down some ideas in response to the
questions, look over the following commentson the essay.
The comments are presented as answers to the questions provided. This way you can check your own
ideas against them.
