CAMBRIDGE 13 – TEST 1

Answer:
The two maps illustrate some changes in the way people accessed a city hospital in two different
years, 2007 and 2010. It is clear that the main differences in road access to this hospital involve
intersection upgrades and the development of parking spaces and bus facilities.

From 2007 to 2010, the most striking change is the appearance of two new roundabouts. The first
one was constructed at the three-way junction of the hospital road and the ring road surrounding
the hospital, while the second one was located at the four-way intersection of the hospital road
and the city road.
Looking at the other features, we can see that the six bus stops, situated along the hospital road,
were removed to make way for a new bus station to the western side of this road. In terms of
parking spaces, a new public car park was constructed to the eastern side of the hospital and
people could access this car park via the ring road, while the old parking lot became a staff-only
area.

People who have made the decision to live in a foreign country face a multitude of problems and
many of them stem from the language barrier, which prevents them from integrating properly into
society, as well as making daily life more difficult. However, these issues are not as serious as
they might first appear, thanks to modern technology.

Smartphones and their applications have done away with lots of the hangups of traditional
communication. Translation software that is freely available and accessible, such as Google
Translate, means that almost anyone can convey basic ideas without learning even a single word
of the target language. Similarly, map and online shopping programs have done away with the
need to ask for directions or negotiate in a foreign language altogether, making it a breeze to
navigate in a foreign city or purchase necessities.

Unfortunately, despite all of our advances, technology has still not managed to replace friendship
and this fundamental human need is unlikely to be available on the app store any time soon. This
is problematic because crossing the language barrier to make friends and put down roots in a new
country or city is one of the most crucial parts of living internationally, as homesickness and
other related problems can otherwise become devastating to a person’s mental health.

Modern technology has, to a large extent, eliminated the need to know a foreign language even
when an individual is living in the country where it is spoken, although social integration remains
problematic.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer: Foreign Languages (Cambridge 13) - How to do IELTS
One of the biggest social and practical challenges that people living abroad face is the language
barrier. I believe that this can lead to very serious social problems in many countries but
technology has made the practical issues less relevant over the last several decades.

The main reason that having to speak a foreign language can cause social problems is through the
breakdown in understanding between people of different cultures. The most salient example of
this is in the United States where there has been an influx of Hispanic immigrants, especially
along the Southern border. These immigrants are typically able to integrate well if they learn
English but those that have not learned have provoked social problems and even violent
reactions. Many English speaking residents resent the immigrants failure to integrate and this has
resulted in discriminatory practices and widespread racism towards Hispanics. This in turn has
caused many Hispanics to develop an antipathy towards other residents and segregate themselves
in homogeneous neighborhoods.

There are comparatively fewer practical problems caused by not knowing the language of the
country where you live because of the development of technology in general and smartphones in
particular. Computers have made it much easier to look up directions, find important information
and get quick translations. Smartphones have made this even easier. If someone doesn’t know the
language of the country where they live, they can still find restaurants to their liking on Facebook
and get simple directions through Google Maps. They can even order food online without having
to use another language at all. If they need to communicate with someone who does not speak
their language they can simply take out their phone and use Google translate to slowly, but
effectively, convey a message. The problems that not knowing the language of the country where
you live causes are therefore minimal and easily overcome.

In conclusion, I only partly agree with the statement in question. Not knowing a language when
living abroad can cause social unrest but pragmatic concerns have been mitigated by recent
technology. In the future, it will become even less important to know the language of the country
where you live although there is great potential for increased social unrest and heightened
tensions in many parts of the world.
 CAMBRIDGE 13 – TEST 2

IELTS Writing Task 1: Bar Chart Owned and Rented Households (IELTS Cambridge 13) - How
to do IELTS
The presented bar chart illustrates percentages of owned and rented English and Welsh
accommodation from 1918 to 2011. Overall, owning and renting showed opposite trends with a
sharp increase in ownership and a reciprocal decline in the percentage of renters. By the end of
the period, overall ownership had overtaken renting by a wide margin.

In 1918, household ownership stood at around 23% compared to rentals, which were at nearly
80%. From that point, there was a steady rise in ownership and a decline in rentals. Rentals
reached 69% in 1939 and held steady until 1953 before falling to 59% in 1961. Ownership rose to
31% in 1939, remained there in 1953 before becoming even with rentals at 50% each in 1971.
This trend continued for both percentages with rentals declining sharply to 40% and 31% in 1981
and 1991, respectively. Likewise, ownership rose to 60% and 69% in the same years. In 2001, the
falling rate of rentals slackened to 31% (69% for ownership) and there was a small rebound that
bucked the trend at the end of the period with rented houses rising to nearly 40% and owned
houses dipping to just over 60%.

Task2: Some people believe that nowadays we have too many choices. To what extent do
you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own
experience or knowledge. Write at least 250 words.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer: Choice (IELTS Cambridge 13) - How to do IELTS
It is common nowadays to hear people decrying the number of choices people have relative to the
past and proclaiming the drawbacks of so many easily available options in a variety of areas of
life. While I think that there is some truth in this, increased choice is ultimately a positive trend
because it opens up options outside the mainstream.

The main reason why increased choice is considered a negative development is it makes life more
complicated. Take for example the number of products people can choose from today.
Supermarkets are filled with different brands with hardly any meaningful differences. This can
cause people to waste time and energy making choices with little actual impact. This is also the
case when it comes to online streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and HBO. Not only do people
have to spend time researching these sites but once they make a choice they are limiting what
they will be able to watch in the future. If they decide to subscribe to all of them, suddenly they
will be paying upwards of $40 a month for basic viewing content. These are a couple of ways in
which choice can take up time and make life more complex.

Although choice introduces a level of complexity to life, the main benefit is that it opens up
options for people outside dominant cultural trends. The best example of this is the changes that
have taken place in the music industry over the last 20 years with the advent of iTunes and
streaming services. In the past, the big pop acts dominated the radio and album sales. Now the
music scene is much more fractured. This makes it more difficult for some artists but also opens
up the possibility that you can find a niche of music that you and some other people love. This
has been replicated in other areas like podcasting, painting, and film as well. People can find
what interests them outside of what major companies are trying to push. That is why increased
choice is positive taken as a whole.

In conclusion, the drawbacks of increased choice do not outweigh the advantages gained by
allowing people to explore what interests them the most. In the future, this will continue and
present challenges but also allow for a more diverse cultural experience for rich and poor alike,
all over the world.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Sample Answer: Bar Chart Production and Consumption of Electricity
(IELTS Cambridge 13) - How to do IELTS
The chart illustrates electricity consumption and production in the top ten highest countries in
2014. It is clear from the chart that all countries, with the exception of Germany, produce
marginally more than they consume. The two top countries, the United States and particularly
China, were strong outliers while the remaining countries had similar numbers and lagged far
behind in both production and consumption.
China produced and consumed the most, at 5,398 billion and 5,322 kWh, respectively. The next
nearest country in terms of both statistics was the US, where residents consumed 3,866 kilowats
an hour and produced slightly more at 4,099.
Russia leads the rest of the nations with 1,057 (in production) and 1,038 kWh (consumption)
followed by Japan (936.2 for production and 856.7 kWh for consumption). India and Canada
ranked 5th and 6th with India producing 871 kWh and consuming 698.8 while Canada was
slightly lower in both (618.9 and 499.9 kWh). In the 7th and 8th spots were France (producing
561.2 kWh and consuming 462.9) and Brazil, which recorded numbers at 530.7 and 455.8 for
production and consumption, respectively. In the final two positions were Germany and the
Republic of Korea with Germany having higher production that Korea (526.6 to 485.1 kWh) as
well as consumption (582.5 kWh compared with 449.5).

Task 2:
Some people say History is one of the most important school subjects. Other people think
that, in today’s world, subjects like Science and Technology are more important than
History. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer
and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Nowadays, some people think that History is an important subject in schools. While some folks
believe that Science and Technology are way more important than History. Though there are
arguments, I radically believe that the latter has more positives than the former. This essay will
discuss both of them and explain the reasons.

The predominant factors making people prefer Science and Technology are the advancements in
this modern era and financial factors. In other words, there are several things that are being
replaced by the current technology and emerging technologies as well. For example, previously
trading was done by using money as a medium of exchange and now they are being replaced by
cryptocurrencies. To create the cryptos one needs to have high knowledge of programming and
also about new technologies to make the current ones safer. Additionally, people having
advanced knowledge are paid better than others who don't. For instance, a survey published in
Times newspaper says people who work as an IT employee earns way more than a person who
works in a traditional profession.

On the other hand, there are a plethora of reasons for supporting History as an important subject.
One that mainly stands out is that History tells us who we are and where we originated from. In
other words, learning about the facts generates respect towards our older generation after
knowing all the struggles they went through in order to survive. For example, Indians originating
from the Indus valley civilization can know how intelligent their ancestors were as they were way
ahead of their in terms of development as well as their struggle with the weather conditions.
In conclusion, both history and sciences are important in their own perspective. But with growing
challenges it is better to know more about the things that help us to survive rather than the past.

The 2 maps show the changes in an university sports centre