IELTS Task 2 sample essay: Living Alone
Direct questionsFamily and children
The question
Nowadays more people are choosing to live alone than in the past. Why is this the case? Is this a positive or negative development?
Try writing your own answer first, then compare. Reading a model before you write tends to make you copy it.
The plan
Position: Reasons: higher incomes, later marriage, longer lives. Mainly positive, with loneliness as the main risk.
- Why: people can afford it, marry later, and live longer after a partner dies.
- Positive: independence and choice; negative: loneliness, especially for older people.
Model answer
286 wordsIn many countries, a growing proportion of people now live alone. This trend reflects rising incomes, later marriage and longer lives, and I believe it is mainly a positive development, although it brings a real risk of loneliness.
Several factors explain why more people live by themselves. Higher incomes, particularly among young professionals, mean that many can afford to rent a flat alone instead of sharing. People are also marrying and having children later than previous generations, so they spend more of their twenties and thirties single. At the other end of life, longer life expectancy means that a large share of older people, especially women, live alone for years after a partner has died. Changing attitudes play a part too: living alone is no longer seen as a sign of failure, but often as a deliberate choice.
On the whole, I see this as a positive change. Living alone gives people independence and privacy, and for many it reflects the freedom to choose how they live rather than being forced to stay with family or in an unhappy relationship. Young adults who live alone often become more self-reliant, learning to manage money and a household on their own.
Nevertheless, the trend has a serious downside. People who live alone are more vulnerable to loneliness, which is linked to depression and poor physical health, and older people with limited mobility are at greatest risk. Communities can reduce this through social clubs, regular checks by health services and housing designed to encourage contact between neighbours.
In conclusion, more people live alone because they can afford to, marry later and live longer. This is largely a positive sign of independence and choice, provided that society takes loneliness seriously.
Scored by the MyBandPrep checker on 7 October 2026. An estimate, not an examiner’s mark. How scoring works
Why it works
- Task Response
- Both questions are answered clearly: the first body paragraph explains why, the second and third answer whether it is positive or negative.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- One paragraph per question, plus a paragraph for the risk, makes the structure easy to follow.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise collocations: “life expectancy”, “self-reliant”, “limited mobility”.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- A wide range of complex sentences, including comparatives and passive forms, all accurate.
Phrases worth reusing
- a growing proportion of people
- a deliberate choice
- self-reliant
- more vulnerable to loneliness
- takes loneliness seriously
Compare: a band 6 version
228 wordsThe same question, answered the way many essays stuck at band 6 are. Read it, then the notes below.
Nowadays, more and more people choose to live alone. There are several reasons for this trend, and in my opinion it has both positive and negative sides.
There are many reasons why people live alone. Firstly, people want freedom and privacy. They don't want that other people control their life, and they want to make their own decisions. Secondly, many young people have good jobs and enough money, so they can pay their own apartment. Thirdly, some people do not get married, or they get married later than in the past, because they want to focus on their career.
Living alone has some positive effects. People can do what they want, when they want. For example, they can sleep, eat and watch TV at any time, and nobody disturb them. They also become more independent because they have to do everything by themselves, such as cooking and paying bills.
However, living alone also has negative effects. People who live alone can feel lonely and sad, especially the old people. If they are sick or have an accident at home, there is nobody to help them. Moreover, living alone is more expensive than sharing a house with other people.
In conclusion, people live alone for many reasons, such as freedom, money and career. In my opinion, living alone has positive and negative sides, so it depends on the person.
What holds it back
- Grammar slips: “don't want that other people control”, “pay their own apartment”, “nobody disturb”, “the old people”.
- The second question is not really answered: “it depends on the person” avoids the judgement “positive or negative” asks for.
- Reasons are brief and general, with no explanation of how incomes or marriage trends cause the change.
- Mechanical sequencing (Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly) and some trivial examples (“watch TV at any time”).
- Vocabulary is adequate but repetitive (“people”, “live alone”, “freedom”).
Now write your own
Answer this question in 40 minutes and get an estimated band with the sentences to fix.