(This question taken from IELTS-blog.com.)

Public transportation could be made free of charge.  Are there more advantages or disadvantages to this change?

Most large cities today boast numerous public transit options, available to residents for a fee.  Whether providing these options free of charge is a positive thing is often a highly debated topic.  It is felt making public transportation available free of charge ramifies more advantages than disadvantages.  This will be proven by looking at how a free public transportation system encourages more environmentally friendly living and provides accessibility to low-income individuals.

For one, encouraging people to use public transportation through fare elimination has many benefits to the environment.  For example, as more people use a city’s public transit system, the congestion that city experiences on the road is greatly reduced.  Having fewer vehicles on the road in turn reduces a city’s overall carbon footprint immensely.  Thus, the benefit to removing public transportation fares can be seen.

In addition to this, allowing people to use a city’s transportation services without charge can be exceptionally helpful to low-income residents.  For instance, any city that employs this change would empower its people with the ability to live and work in entirely different parts of a city, regardless of their economical situation.  This would thus heighten a low-income earner’s chances of gaining financial ground.  As this example shows, privileging a city’s people with free transit service boasts more benefits than drawbacks.

After analyzing the above, it is clear that removing the fare charged to public transit passengers has more pros than cons.  It is hoped this alternative is considered as a future growth option for emerging cities.

(This question taken from ielts-blog.com.)

Economic growth has helped to improve standards of living all over the world.  However, some research shows that people in developing countries are happier with this trend than people in developed countries.  Explain why you think this is.

Developments in the global economy mean different things to different people.  To some, recent growth may be coupled with a rise in standards of living, and thus seen as positive.  To others, this growth brings with it increased global competitiveness, and is thus seen as negative.  These particular opinions are thought to reflect the results of recent research indicating more satisfaction with global growth among the developing world than the developed world.  Both sides will be analyzed in this essay.

It is easy to understand why global economic growth is welcomed among developing countries.  In China, for example, young people today have vastly more developed lifestyles than their parents or grandparents.  Today many Chinese people consume luxury goods, an ability not possible 30 years ago.  From this example, it is easy to understand why people in developing countries see current global economic growth as a reason to be happy.

However, the economic rise of developing countries makes for more competition among developed countries.  For example, microprocessor design, a field once dominated by countries with highly developed education systems, is now an area developing countries are making serious inroads into.  Because of this, the once technical giants of the developed world are now seeing their market share decline.  This example makes it clear why developed countries are not entirely happy about the economical growth of developing countries.

It is felt the above reasons explain why research results indicate the opinions of developed and developing countries contrast.  These viewpoints are not expected to change much into the foreseeable future.

You went on a sightseeing trip with a tour company but did not like it.  Write a letter to the company manager to complain.  In your letter include:

• why you went on the trip
• what you did not like about it
• what you suggest the company do to improve their service for future visitors

To the manager of Gordon Travel,

I am writing this letter to you to bring to your attention a few shortcomings in the service you provide.

Last week, I traveled to Kiev as part of your Eastern Europe Journey program in an effort to better educate myself about this region of the world.  Although the hotel and meals were fine, the tour guide on our bus was less than adequate.  He seemed ill prepared for the tour and kept forgetting facts and the names of the locations we were visiting.  To be honest, he seemed so unsure of himself when speaking to our group that I have the feeling he had never been to Kiev before.  In addition to this, although he was able to speak broken Russian, it was evident he could not speak any Ukrainian.  This of course made the tourists aboard our bus even more skeptical of the facts he was sharing regarding Ukrainian linguistic history.

I hope you use my feedback constructively to improve the quality of your tour for future visitors to the Ukraine.  Ensuring your patrons receive an English-speaking Ukrainian native as a tour guide would be a good start.

Good luck,

Ryan

Some people believe advertising causes more harm than good to society.  Others refute this.  Discuss both views and share your opinion.

One of the main stimulants of consumerism within a country is advertising.  As such, advertising can be seen as a necessary practice within any healthy economy.  But often people counter this by saying that too much exposure to commercial promotions can cause societal problems.  Both sides of this argument will be analyzed before a conclusion is reached.

On the one hand, advertising stimulates healthy spending, which can grow economies and create jobs.  Take Coca-Cola, for example.  Coca-Cola is a company that spends massive amounts on marketing every year.  Because of this, it has become a brand that is recognized in the most remote corners of the earth.  This level of recognition allows even the smallest of vendors anywhere in the world to create wealth through providing an attractive product with a powerful brand to potential customers.  Thus, it is understandable why many people believe the benefits of advertising outweigh the drawbacks.

On the other hand, it is purported by many that advertising has negative ramifications on societies.  For example, at Christmas time, American children are often the target of very elaborate marketing schemes hatched by large companies looking for holiday sales.  As these sorts of campaigns can induce children to become overly concerned with commercial matters, many people worry this may interrupt their development as moral people.  When seen in this light, it is clear why many people feel there are more drawbacks than benefits to advertising.

Following this look at both sides of the above debate, it is felt that advertising is much more positive than negative in nature.  It is thus expected that the role of marketing within modern economies will not change much into the foreseeable future.