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April 2009

IELTS Essay, topic: The advantages and disadvantages of globalization

Even though globalization affects the world’s economies in a very positive way, its negative side should not be forgotten. Discuss.

Globalization is such a commonly used term in the century. It simply means that the world has become integrated economically, socially, politically and culturally through the advances of technology, transportation and communication. It is undeniable that globalization has resulted in both positive and negative effects which must be addressed accordingly.

To begin with, globalization has contributed to the world’s economies in many beneficial ways. The advances in science and technology have allowed businesses to easily cross over territorial boundary lines. Consequently, companies tend to become more productive and competitive thereby raising the quality of goods, services and the world’s living standard.

Secondly, several companies from the more developed countries have already ventured to establish foreign operations or branches to take advantage of the low cost of labor in the poorer countries. This kind of business activity will provide more influx of cash or investment funds into the less developed countries.

However, one cannot deny the negative effects which derived from globalization. One crucial social aspect is the risk and danger of epidemic diseases which can easily be spread as the transportation becomes easier and faster in today’s advanced society. This is evidenced in the recent birds flu disease which has infected most Asian countries over a short period of time.

As large corporations invest or take over many offshore businesses, a modern form of colonization will also evolve which may pose certain power pressure on the local governments of the less developed countries. Unemployment rates in the more developed regions such as Europe may also escalate as corporations choose to outsource to the cheaper work force from Asian countries.

In conclusion. to reiterate that globalization is inevitable and we must urge individuals, companies and governments to use a more balanced approach by taking the appropriate steps to deal with matters relating to the financial or economical gains verses the social, political or ecological concerns of the world.

This essay is too long, 318 words instead of 250-265. Otherwise (except for some minor grammatical errors) it is a very nice work. It covers the task, has the right structure, the paragraphs are coherent and are logically connected by elegantly used linking words, the structure of sentences is fine and so is your vocabulary. Seems worthy of Band 7.5 or 8.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of band 8

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IELTS exam in New Delhi, India – April 2009 (Academic Module)

One of our Indian friends reports about his recent IELTS exam, here’s what they had:

Listening test

I found the listening test to be simple and the questions were pretty straight forward.

Reading test

Passage 1 was about co-education vs single sex education. It was pretty simple, 4 paragraphs, Trye/False/Not given questions.
Passage 2 was about Charles Babbage and his invention.
Passage 3 was about taste and flavors. A little bit difficult, tricky.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
We had a line graph showing number of people from different countries given UK citizenship. 2 more charts were comparing the origin of new citizens in 4 different countries.

Writing task 2 (essay)
In most of the societies the role played by a mother and a father is different. What is the reason and how it will change in the future.

Speaking test

Cue card
Talk about your best friend, you should say
– How you met,
– What you liked about him/her
– Why is he/she your best friend.

Discussion

– Why do you think friends are important?
– Why it helps if you can make friends easily?
– How friendship between men and women is different?
– Do you like to party?
– What do you dislike about parties?
– Can an employer and an employee be friends?
– How can their relationship be improved?