IELTS Essay Topic:

>In the past, people used to travel abroad to experience differences. Nowadays, places all over the world are becoming more and more similar. What are the causes for this? Do you think that the advantages of the similarities outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience to support your answer.

>In the past, buildings reflected the culture of a society but today all modern buildings look alike and cities throughout the world are becoming more similar. What do you think are the reasons for this? Is this a good or bad thing? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from you own knowledge or experience to support your answer.

Example Writing (Jeenn Lee Hsieh):

Nowadays, with a growing number of high-tech buildings that look alike, cities across the planet are becoming more and more similar. Apparently for better rather than for worse, these skyscrapers may be seen as a reflection of the a single architectural culture in the making in a world increasingly being globalized. The sameness, however monotonous or boring, must be regarded as inevitable since most designs of those high-rises are functionally oriented to tackle the reality of the increasingly dynamic societies.

Why do urban buildings have to grow in height and why are most of them having almost identical outlooks which are not very unlike cardboard boxes? Ironically, an easy answer is: 'why not'? To begin with, in many booming cities there are not only urgent needs of constructing tall buildings to meet the demand of expanding urban populations, but also high-tech ways and means to do it. Further, many old buildings , which used to be out of orders at best and dangerous at worst, had necessarily to be demolished, thus making room for skyscraper constructions. This is a good thing, considering that modern buildings can function more efficiently and effectively, and at the same time can house more people for working or living. Likes or dislikes, tall towers that look awfully similar will be the future in big cities.

Nevertheless, what could be wrong about cities becoming more and more similar? One disadvantage is that, when people travel beyond borders, they are probably not expected to experience differences between one place and another because the landscapes of modern cities may look very much alike over the horizons. And so what? On the one hand, these same people also eat out in standardized fast-food outlets, such as MacDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut, but do not seriously complain about being bored by the same food. Strangely, why on the other hand they should disagree with new buildings getting tall in similar fashions? Is it not as if they might think that today's new buildings should look old enough to become different?

After all, the modern-age reality in cities is dynamic, so the space people work or live in ought to be dynamic as well. New buildings, particularly skyscrapers, are designed and constructed to adjust to the continuous change in the right direction, and to follow the nature of new societies. In short, when cities are becoming more and more alike, they are also becoming more alive.