IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay Topic: Vertical City and Horizontal City

Updated On Sep 12, 2023

IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay Topic: Vertical City and Horizontal City

Contents

1 Outline
2 Sample Essay
3 Band 9 Sample Essay

The Essay Writing section of the IELTS Writing Module can be a difficult task for many IELTS Aspirants. Thus, it is vital that you polish your essay writing skills before attempting the IELTS.

Below is a sample IELTS Essay for the IELTS Essay topic:

Some people think that it is best to live in a horizontal city while others think of a vertical city. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Outline

Essay Type

Discussion Essay (With opinion)

Introduction:

Introduce the topic of the essay and give preface to it.

Give your point of view and state which side do you find yourself inclining towards as opinion is solicited here.

Body

Paragraph 1: People have to pay less for building services. Living lower to the ground is safer for inhabitants when emergencies occur.
Paragraph 2: A city with skyscrapers will have more space for public usage because there will be less land used for residential areas due to the number of people who can live in high buildings.

Conclusion

Give a conclusion, at last, stating why do you incline towards your side of the argument.

Sample Essay

Some people believe that living in a horizontal city is the best, while the opponents of this idea prefer to settle in a vertical city. While there are benefits to residents who dwell in a city that consists of low-rise construction, I would argue that cities with skyscrapers and high-rise buildings offer more advantages.

On the one hand, it is beneficial for residents to live in a horizontal city based on a few financial and security reasons. Firstly, people have to pay less for building services. If residents settle in a private house, they may save a great deal of money since they won’t have to pay for building services. Secondly, living lower to the ground is safer for inhabitants when emergencies occur. For example, if a fire starts in the home, they can quickly escape from the dangerous areas because the building is not too high off the ground and it won’t take much time to leave.

On the other hand, it seems to me that living in a vertical city is the best choice. A city with skyscrapers will have more space for public usage because there will be less land used for residential areas due to the number of people who can live in high buildings. As a result, the government would be able to use this land to build hospitals, schools or places for entertainment. Furthermore, it is much more convenient for residents to live in an apartment in a tall building that offers a wide range of goods and services, thanks to shopping malls and service centres on lower floors.

In conclusion, while living in a horizontal city does have some benefits, it seems to me that the advantages of living in a city with skyscrapers makes living in a vertical city the better choice.

Band 9 Sample Essay

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A section of society considers living in the horizontal city as the most optimum option to live in, while other strata think dwelling in the vertical city is the best. This essay shall be inferring both sides of the argument, and reason how the latter way is better in the current times.

A horizontal city as such gives one a copious amount of space to live in as they are often established in scantly populated areas. People often argue that such a setup provides them with substantial privacy and less of a conundrum that is caused otherwise. Pet lovers and farm owners obdurately stick to live in the colossal mansions and subsets of the rural and semiurban regions. Also, in the state of natural calamities, it is safer to vacate such houses with a lesser risk of fatalities.

In contrast, a sizeable school of thought champions the need and preference to be living in vertical cities as that provides a much wider scope to adjust and customize the booming population nowadays. People from rural and remote areas often migrate towards metros to seek employment as they don’t find many of the options in their localities. For instance, the ghost villages of Uttarakhand were dilapidated long ago just because of the natives migrating towards the metropolitan cities to look for a job and survival. In such circumstances, it is unpragmatic and impractical to live and even think of residing in horizontal homes. Moreover, vertical cities greatly suffice and adapt to the requirements of the general public as these skyscrapers also consist of shopping compounds on the lower floors and hence are very well adapted to manage the space crisis in densely populated areas.

All in all, it could be concluded that living in horizontal cities to some extent could be an option, but inclining towards multi-storeyed buildings and vertical cities is the undeniable requirement of today’s time, and hence, going by the vertical setups is more preferred.

Vocabulary

opponents of this idea: opponents arc people who disagree with an idea; they are against an idea, a policy or a rule; they don’t support it; they want something else to happen.
Example: The opponents of this idea believe that it won’t be good for the public
to settle in: to decide to live in a specific place; to decide to move to an area and stay there
Example: They have decided to settle in New York
financial and security reasons: financial refers to money issues, like paying fees; security refers to safety, like being safe in your own home in terms of crime or emergencies
much more convenient for: used to describe when something is much easier for somebody to do compared to something else
Example: It’s much more convenient for them to come to my house first and then go w’ith us to the restaurant
Thanks to something or somebody: used to express the idea that something is good because of something specific.
Example: Thanks to my dad’s help, we were able to purchase a new home.

Here is a related topic for you to practise:

Some people think that cities are the best places to live. Others prefer to live in a rural area. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside.

Get Evaluated for FREE:

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Practice IELTS Writing Task 2 based on Essay types

IELTS Opinion Essay

IELTS Discussion Essay

IELTS Problem Solution Essay

IELTS Direct Question Essay

IELTS Advantage and Disadvantage Essay

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Post your Comments

2 Comments

Muhammad Adeel

Posted on May 5, 2022

Some people believe that building cities vertically, with tall towers, is better than building cities horizontally. Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.
Nowadays many people think that construction of vertically high buildings is more good than horizontal ones. This essay discuses both sides of this argument, and then I will give my own perspective.
The creation of large vertical towers in cities may have a beneficial purpose. As the population is increasing day-by-day, many people are migrating from villages to cities. To accommodate the great number of people in small area, it is essential to make huge vertical buildings. This trend can provide more space for recreational activities such as amusement parks, shopping malls as well as preservation of historical sites. These high skyscrapers and buildings may look more pleasant to eyes.
On the other hand, constructing large cities in horizontal direction can have its own advantages. People living in buildings with low height altitude will have a large amount of oxygen and fresh air. For example, they can make big houses instead of small flats as they can buy and expand the land horizontally and build their own gardens. Moreover, in any dangerous situation, people can take emergency exits more conveniently. Another important factor is the availability of basic necessities of life. Horizontal houses can have the supplies of water, gas and electricity more easily and the problems associated with them can be solved effortlessly. Overall, the symmetrical view of all houses having similar height will create a beautiful view.
In conclusion, I believe both sides of the argument have their merits. However, it seems that horizontal buildings have more advantages than vertical ones. This is because horizontal houses with spacious environment can make our minds more relax and contend. Whereas vertical high towers having small apartments can cause a feeling of congestion and psychotic problems.