IELTS Essay: Cities and Exercise

Many people living in cities these days do not get enough physical exercise.

What are the causes of this?

What are some possible solutions?

Analysis

1. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the average citizen living in an urban area to set aside enough time for exercise. 2. This is largely because of the rise of sedentary lifestyles and the best solutions involve moderate, individual changes.

1. Paraphrase the overall essay topic.
2. Write a clear opinion.

1. The main causes of reduced physical activity by city residents is more modern ways of living. 2. This relates first of all to technology. 3. In the past, people were more likely to go out to meet with friends or take a trip to the cinema and now it is more common to chat with friends online and watch TV shows on Netflix at home. 4. Combined with this is the widespread use of other technologies that reduce activity such as washing machines, apps for ordering food, and self-cleaning robots. 5. All these factors together constitute a trend towards more passive lifestyles dependent on the modern comforts of 21st century technology.

1. Write a topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end.
2. Explain your main idea.
3. Develop it with specific examples.
4. Move on to a second cause.
5. Finish developing both ideas.

1. Solutions for these problems ought to all involve individual initiative. 2. Most people today are at least dimly aware of the dangers of addiction to and reliance on technology. 3. Some possible remedies include allocating time every day to doing exercise or joining a sports team or socially reinforcing group activity such as yoga. 4. There are also potential counters related to new technologies. 5. Many companies are meeting consumer demand with wearable technologies, like the Fitbit or Apple Watch, that track advanced biometric data ranging from heartbeat to quality of sleep. 6. These devices implicitly encourage a more active lifestyle.

1. Write a new topic sentence with a new main idea at the end.
2. Explain your new main idea.
3. Include specific details and examples.
4. Make sure you have 2 solutions.
5. And you develop the second solution fully.
6. Conclude the paragraph or finish developing your last idea.

1. In conclusion, technology is at the root of less exercise among city residents and this can be fixed by individuals taking up the burden of improving their own lives. 2. These solutions are advisable since individual responsibility is a habit with myriad benefits.

1. Summarise your main ideas.
2. Include a final thought.