2019 RECENT IELTS ESSAY QUESTIONS

Some people are of the opinion that people who commit traffic offenses ought to be given harsher penalties. Personally, I disagree with this stand point due to a variety of reasons. The following paragraphs shall outline the main reasons why penalties should not be greater.

One of the main reasons drivers should not be punished more strictly is because it is unfair and the punishments can severely restrict a persons lifestyle. Even in developed countries it is virtually impossible to catch all motorists who infringe on the law. Therefore, it is quite random who gets charged for committing an offense. Once a person is charged, even for minor incidents, it can increase their insurance premium and if they are caught too many times they can be banned from driving and possibly lose their job. For instance, one commuter may drive through a street with speed cameras on everyday, whereas another commuter has no speed cameras on their route to work. The first motorist may get caught the one time a year they are speeding to work, where as the other commuter who speeds every day never gets charged.

A further reason not to charge offenders more heavily is that some of the restrictions placed on motorists are unreasonable. You can be charged for parking in a space a few minutes too long even when there are no other parking spaces available, driving slightly faster than the speed limit even on roads designed for speed, or even not wearing a seat belt which is surely a person own choice. None of these offenses are particularly dangerous and decrease the freedom of a nations populace.

In conclusion, unfair awarding of penalties and the limited value of some of the related traffic laws means I remain firmly against increasing the harshness of traffic penalties. Governments should take the above arguments into account for future planning purposes.

As regards the way people dress and the products that they buy humans tend to purchase the same items as other people in society. Personally, I agree entirely with this statement and in the following paragraphs reasons for this standpoint shall be explained.

Firstly, humans replicate the behaviour of others as it gives them a feeling of security and belonging. This therefore encourages them to dress similarly and own the same products. Individuals who choose not to adhere to the same social norms as others tend to face discrimination and are less likely to be able to progress in life to the same degree. For instance, one certain sub-culture of the UK are known as ‘Goths’ and they traditionally wear all black clothes as an indication of their membership of this group. These individuals are often perceived as not part of mainstream society and may therefore be treated differently.

Allied to the above, humans are competitive by nature and this characteristic often forces people to make purchases as a way to indicate how successful they are being in life. The more successful they are the more indulgent their purchases become. However, there is a trend for people to buy the same things, first a better car, then a bigger more luxurious house, and then perhaps a longer holiday. However, all of these items tend to be very similar in their core nature. Afterall, their really is not a significant difference between the 2018 and the 2017 version of Nike Air trainers.

Overall, human nature and their need for a sense of security ensure that they shall inevitably continue to purchase items that are similar in nature. For these reasons, I maintain my position that humans do base their behaviour and spending patterns on what other members of society are also buying.

Businesses adopt a variety of approaches in order to enhance their sales figures. The following paragraphs shall outline some of these methods and offer an opinion on which is the most effective sales technique.

First of all, the most modern techniques revolve around the use of social media as a means to make initial contact with potential customers. Often this requires people to provide their contact details in return for a free gift targeted towards their needs. Once contact has been established, businesses can then build a relationship over time by providing free advice. At a certain point in time, the company can then begin to make offers to these potential clients via email, or social media. One well known example is Skyscanner.com who will capture your email and then provide you with timely and relevant holiday offers.

The more traditional approaches to making sales however include techniques such as cold calling, door to door sales, in-shop sales pitches, or use of printed media such as running promotions in newspapers and magazines. These types of techniques have been proven to be effective over time, and large multi-national companies have been built on the back of a mixture of these techniques. For instance, Dixons were a large retailer of computers and accessories and they used all of the above techniques to drive their companies’ revenue growth year on year. Their sales reached a peak in the early 2,000s before online marketing and e-commerce really started to provide tough competition that their offline techniques could not match.

Overall, I personally believe there is a vast array of both old fashioned and new, innovative sales techniques that a company can choose from. In my opinion online sales techniques involving software applications and dedicated web-sites provide the most efficient return on investment due to the growth in popularity of purchasing products online. (313 words)

In recent years the lives of the inhabitants of large cities has been made more difficult by the number of issues that they routinely face. Personally, I feel governments should urge the public to consider relocating to less crowded towns and the following paragraphs shall outline my reasons for this belief.

The main problem with cities nowadays is the sheer number of people living there creating a variety of serious issues.  Firstly, with millions of people all commuting around a city at similar times, traffic congestion has become particularly bad in some cities. This means that employees have to either leave to go to work earlier or find an alternative means of transportation. Secondly, the rise in population levels of cities means that the amount of rubbish created has become almost intolerable. Governments are struggling to provide services to collect all the rubbish and dispose of it in a hygienic environmentally friendly manner increasing risk of disease and levels of pollution.

Allied to the above, with so much unskilled labour in cities these days, wage levels have plummeted, which means the poorer people in cities earn even less than in the past. This could actually be trapping this particular group of people in poverty, possibly for generations to come. For instance, the city of Detroit has experienced a 27% rise in population levels over the last 5 years alone with the percentage of people living in poverty soaring to a a record 35% of the city’s total population, up from 20% over the same time period.

Overall, unemployment, traffic congestion and waste management are the most significant issues faced by city residents nowadays. Governments should do all that they can to encourage people to migrate away from large cities in order to alleviate these issues for the benefit of all.

300 words

Certain groups of people believe that the current levels of air travel are too high and governments should act to lower it. Other people are of the opinion that the present level is fine. Personally, I am of the opinion that it should be reduced significantly and the government should aid this process. The following paragraphs shall outline the reasons why I believe this to be the correct view point.

Firstly, many countries already suffer from poor air quality which airplanes only worsen. For each flight that takes place more and more carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere which then enhances the breakdown of the ozone layer. We are already seeing that many cities, particularly those in China, are suffering from constant thick smog which sits over many of the cities there. As it is a governments duty to monitor and improve the overall health of their nation they should certainly be proactive in reducing this risk factor.

Allied to the above, tourists are not always beneficial to the host country. For example, in Bali tourists have been destroying the beautiful beaches with their constant litter pollution and degrading the local culture through their appetite for drinking alcohol to excess and behaving in an anti-social manner. Restricting the level of air travel would hopefully lead to the preservation and enhanced value of local traditions and culture. However, they may need help from the government in establishing other income streams so they can maintain their standard of living.

Overall, maintaining safe levels of air quality and a nation’s tradition and cultures are more important than the needs of tourists. Governments should therefore implement a plan of action to ensure that both of these are protected for the benefit of future generations.

In recent years people have begun to demand the completion of all manner of tasks instantaneously. My personal opinion is that this is a negative development that has been caused largely by improvements in technology. This essays shall offer supporting reasons for this stand point.

Society in general, now expects everything to be done immediately as we have grown used to new innovative technologies which often allow this to happen. In the past, customers would not mind waiting in a queue for a service but now, they grow increasingly agitated by doing so as there is nearly always a technology driven solution which could be easily implemented to speed up the process. For instance, Tesco in the UK have introduced checkout machines that do not require a cashier to operate them. This allows customers to go to any free machine and pay for their goods themselves, thus reducing waiting times.

This is a positive development as it means that all businesses now have to innovate in order to meet customer demands. Companies that ignore the need for speed and efficiency shall lose out to their more technologically driven companies. This should in effect create competitive industries that are all striving to improve the speed in which they provide their goods and services. For example, this has been happening for years in the smart phone market. Apple Incorporated are constantly challenged by its competitors, such as Samsung, to be creative and produce newer and more effective smart phones. Without this pressure they may not be forced to make the improvements in design that they have done and the consumer would suffer as a result.

Overall, I believe that technology is the main driver of people’s need for everything to happen instantaneously. This has benefited society in that companies have to be constantly innovating in order to remain competitive in their industry.