IELTS Writing Sample #155
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
More and more qualified people
are moving from poor to rich countries to fill vacancies in specialist areas like
engineering, computing and medicine.
Some people believe that by encouraging the movement of such people, rich countries
are stealing from poor countries. Others feel that this is only part of the natural
movement of workers around the world.
Do you agree or disagree?
Write at least 250 words.
Exam Tip
Writing Task 2 is a discursive essay. You will be given a topic to write about. You should write a plan so that your ideas are organised logically and coherently. Try to use a wide variety of vocabulary and don’t copy words from the question paper. Try not to repeat the same words or ideas. When you have finished, check your spelling and make sure you have written at least 250 words.
Model answer
The so-called ‘brain drain’ from poor to rich countries
is now robbing poorer countries of essential personnel like doctors, nurses, engineers,
and the trend is set to continue, if not to get worse.
Some people say this movement of people around the world is not a new phenomenon.
Migrant workers have always been attracted by the wider choice of employment and
greater opportunity in major cities in their own countries and abroad. Recently,
as the technological age has advanced and as richer countries find themselves with
not enough workers to feed their development, they have had to run to other parts
of the world to find the necessary manpower. Many richer European countries, for
example, are now trying to attract skilled IT workers from my home country India
by offering higher salaries than they could hope to earn at home. With the globalisation
of the world economy, many people feel that the process cannot be stopped.
Others, myself included, are of the opinion that measures should be taken to address
the problem, by compensating poorer countries financially for the loss of investment
in the people they have trained, like doctors and nurses. Admittedly, this may be
cumbersome to administer, but an attempt could be made to get it off the ground.
Another step, which in part has already begun to happen, is to use the forces of
globalization itself. Western countries could encourage people to stay in their
own countries by direct investment in projects like computer factories or by sending
patients abroad for treatment, as is already happening.
It is obviously difficult to restrict the movement of people around the world and
it is probably foolish to try to stop it, but attempts should be made to redress
the imbalance.
(291 words)