By English Test Coach · Updated
All sample answersGeneral Task 2 · 306 words
Remote workers in small towns: manage the gains and pressure
Explain why city-based workers relocate, then judge town-level effects through housing, services and participation.
Study the method: Reasons and evaluation: positive/negative and outweigh questions →
Develop the topic: Community essays: compare service purpose, shared access and effects on residents →
Band 7 goal: Causes and evaluation
Develop and connect relevant ideas or select and compare the most useful details. This is a study route, not an examiner score assigned to the answer. How IELTS Writing is assessed.
The question
Some people with jobs based in large cities are choosing to live in smaller towns while working remotely. Why might they make this choice, and is the change positive or negative for the towns receiving them?
The sample answer
Remote work allows some city-based employees to keep their jobs while choosing a home farther from the office. They may seek more living space, proximity to relatives or a slower daily environment. Their arrival can support shops and community organisations in small towns, but it can also increase housing pressure. I view the change as positive when growth is gradual and local planning protects existing residents' access to homes and services.
A worker who travels to the office only occasionally can accept a longer distance in exchange for a home that better suits family life. Some people may return to an area where relatives can share care responsibilities, while others value access to countryside or a smaller community. Housing may be cheaper than in a major city, although this is not true of every desirable town. Improved broadband and employer acceptance of remote arrangements make the choice practical because income no longer depends on finding an equivalent local job.
New residents can spend money in local cafés, trades and childcare, helping services remain viable. They may also volunteer or bring professional skills to community projects. On the other hand, city salaries can allow newcomers to outbid local households for a limited supply of homes. Rapid population growth may strain parking, medical appointments and school places before funding or infrastructure adjusts. Tension is more likely if development serves only higher-income arrivals or if people treat the town as a dormitory without participating in local life. The outcome depends on scale and how additional demand is managed.
In conclusion, remote workers move because they can separate job location from everyday living preferences. Their arrival can strengthen small-town services and organisations, but unmanaged demand can exclude existing residents. Housing plans, infrastructure investment and opportunities for participation can make the change broadly positive while ensuring that its benefits are shared.
Vocabulary in context
Each phrase appears in the answer above. Learn how it works, not just a replacement word.
- housing pressure
- Increased difficulty obtaining affordable or suitable homes because demand is high.
Connect the phrase to supply, price or competition rather than leaving pressure undefined.
- remain viable
- Continue operating successfully enough to survive.
Use the phrase for a service or business and explain what supports its continued operation.
- infrastructure investment
- Spending that improves shared physical or service systems.
Name the infrastructure required, such as transport, schools or healthcare capacity.
Now make it your own
Evaluate ten remote-worker households arriving in a town with limited rentals and a struggling bus route. Explain one benefit, one risk and one proportionate response.
For a smaller practice step, use the explanation, knowledge check and self-review exercise in Answer the question you were given.
The practice link opens the original question, not a copy of this answer.
Open the writing workspaceMore examples of this question type
Explain why the change happens and evaluate it separately. Answer both parts explicitly.