IELTS Writing Task 2: Urban Life, Housing & Transport Essay Questions
Urban life covers the questions candidates see out their own windows: traffic congestion, housing affordability, whether cities or the countryside offer a better life, how urbanisation changes communities. This chapter is strong territory for the problem–solution family, and the strongest evidence is observational — one concrete change in your own city over the past few years beats any generic paragraph about "modern urban areas".
How this topic is examined
14 questions in the current bank fall under this chapter, split by essay type:
- Discussion (both views)4
- Opinion (agree/disagree)4
- Advantages & disadvantages3
- Causes / problems / solutions3
High-frequency subtopics
Chapters are too broad to prepare directly — the working unit is the subtopic. These are the subtopics this chapter's questions cluster around:
- causes of traffic congestion
- impacts of traffic congestion
- public transportation
- road infrastructure
- disincentivizing private driving
- housing shortage impacts
- solutions to housing crisis
- housing challenges
- urban-rural differences
- benefits of city living
causes of traffic congestion
Free taste — one subtopic's idea bank- Increased car ownership, driven by higher incomes, is a primary factor in urban traffic congestion.
- Reliance on private vehicles as the main mode of transport exacerbates peak-hour traffic.
- Urban expansion forces residents to live further from city centers, increasing commuting distances.
Three of the idea sentences behind this subtopic. Inside the app, every subtopic in this chapter comes with a full idea bank and collocations, rebuilt around your own experience.
Questions in this chapter
Current questions in this chapter with free sample essays:
- In many cities, planners have decided to separate different areas like shops, schools, offices, and homes into different…
- In many countries, young people are moving from rural areas to cities to study or to find work. What are the reasons for…
- In some countries, university students live with their families, while in other countries, students choose to study in a…
- More and more young people are moving from the countryside to cities, often for study or work. What are the reasons for…
- Not having enough homes in big cities causes serious problems, and only the government can solve this. To what extent do…
- People living in cities often find it difficult to get enough exercise. What are the causes of this? What can be done to…
- Plastic waste is building up in cities, the countryside, and oceans all over the world. What are the causes of this? Wha…
- Some people believe that governments should provide free public libraries in every town and city. Others argue that this…
- Some people believe that living in cities, rather than in suburbs or the countryside, is the best way to solve problems…
- Some people think that international trade mostly depends on fast and easy transport. Others believe that modern technol…
- Some people think that offering free public transport all the time is the best way for governments to reduce traffic jam…
- Some people think that the government should be responsible for transporting children to school, while others believe th…
- Some people think that the rapid growth of cities only benefits the people who live in them, while others believe that t…
- These days, food is often transported very long distances from where it is produced to where it is eaten. Do you think t…