IELTS advantages & disadvantages question
sample
For example, you can get this question for IELTS writing task 2:
A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income. Unfortunately,
tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not managed correctly.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world. Do you
think that benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks?
This essay topic is related to tourism. Of course, topics for questions will
vary, but ideal answer structure is the same for all advantages &
disadvantages essays in IELTS.
Producing ideas for your answer
Before you start writing your essay, you should always spend 1-2 minutes
on producing ideas for your answer. This way, you’ll know what to write
about and your answer will be more coherent and well-structured. In case
of advantages & disadvantages essay, you need to think of 2-3
advantages and 2-3 disadvantages of the given issue.
Let’s think about advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern
world.
Advantages of tourism:
boost in country’s economy due to increased spending
new job opening for local people
opportunities to discover new places for individual travelers
Disadvantages of tourism:
destruction of popular tourist destinations by large numbers of tourists
development of illegal economic activities
local people can experience loss of privacy
Now, after we’ve collected some ideas, it’s time to use them in our essay.
Band 9 answer structure for causes &
solutions essay
Though there are many ways to structure your IELTS essay, we’ll use this
time-tested band 9 essay structure:
1. Introduction
2. Body paragraph 1 – advantages
3. Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages
4. Conclusion
Tip: before starting to write your essay, decide what you think: does tourism
have more advantages or disadvantages? You’ll need to make accent on your
opinion in one of the body paragraphs.
We’ll use the opinion that tourism has more advantages.
Introduction Write the introduction in 2 sentences:
o Sentence 1 - paraphrase the question (restate the problem):
Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for
many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too.
o Sentence 2 - tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your
essay:
This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of tourism and
provide a logical conclusion.
Body paragraph 1 - advantages
o Sentence 1 - state 2 main advantages:
The two main advantages of developed tourism industry are boost in
country’s economy and a large number of new job openings for the local
people.
o Sentences 2-4 - explain the first advantage + give an example (if
possible):
Firstly, tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including hotels,
amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way,
tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the countries’
economies.
o Sentences 5-7 - explain the second advantage + give an example (if
possible):
Secondly, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing new jobs.
For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in
restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail
services, exhorting business owners to hire more people for these
positions.
Body paragraph 2 - disadvantages
o Sentence 1 - state 2 main disadvantages:
However, tourism also has some major disadvantages like destruction of
popular tourist destinations and development of illegal economic
activities.
o Sentences 2-4 - explain the first disadvantage + give an example (if
possible):
Ancient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast
amount of visitor’s traffic and get damaged. Also, the large number of
tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of
interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited.
o Sentences 5-7 - explain the second disadvantage + give an example (if
possible):
What’s more, tourism can create more serious situations where criminal
issues are involved. The presence of a considerable number of tourists
with a lot of money to spend, and often carrying valuables such as
cameras and jewelry, increases the attraction for criminals and brings
with it activities like robbery and drug dealing.
o Sentences 8 - make an accent on your opinion (we’ll use the opinion
that tourism has more advantages):
However, proper hospitality management and correct usage of tourism
revenue by the local government can eliminate these disadvantages.
Conclusion
o Sentences 1-2 - briefly restate the advantages and disadvantages
To conclude, although tourism has certain disadvantages like destructive
effects and growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive impact on
country’s economy and provides a large number of new jobs for the local
people.
o Sentence 2 - give your final opinion
I believe that these benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks.
Band 9 answer sample
Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for
many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too. This essay will examine the
advantages and disadvantages of tourism and provide a logical conclusion.
The two main advantages of developed tourism industry are boost in
country’s economy and a large number of new job openings for the local
people. Firstly, tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including
hotels, amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way,
tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the country’s
economy. Secondly, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing
new jobs. For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in
restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail services,
exhorting business owners to hire more people for these positions.
However, tourism also has some major disadvantages like destruction of
popular tourist destinations and development of illegal economic activities.
іAncient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast
amount of visitor’s traffic and get damaged. Also, the large number of
tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of
interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited.
What’s more, the presence of a considerable number of tourists with a lot of
money to spend, and often carrying valuables such as cameras and jewelry,
increases the attraction for criminals and brings with it activities like robbery
and drug dealing. However, proper hospitality management and correct
usage of tourism revenue by the local government can eliminate these
disadvantages.
To conclude, although tourism can have certain negative effects like
destructive impact and growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive
influence on country’s economy and provides a large number of new jobs for
the local people. I believe that these benefits of tourism outweigh its
drawbacks.
(299 words)
Model Advantage Disadvantage Essay
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
People now have the freedom to work and live anywhere in the
world due to the development of communication technology and
transportation.
Do the advantages of this development outweigh the
disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own experience or knowledge.
Write at least 250 words.
