Band 9 Sample Answer for IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic: Loss of Cultures

IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic: What are the reasons why we are losing a variety of languages and cultures in the world today?

INTRODUCTION

In many countries, minority groups are swallowed up (being incorporated / assimilated) by other societies. Let us look at three reasons why the languages and cultures of these smaller groups are disappearing. (28 words)

BODY

First, smaller groups cannot maintain themselves against richer societies. The wealthy determine the language and culture in which business is done, and this spreads to all spheres of daily life. For example, Native Americans have been assimilated into the Caucasian society of the US, and their language and are is slowly but surely disappearing.

Second, as people move out of the countryside and become more urbanized, they tend to lose their cultural identity. For instance, the Aborigines of Australia are moving from the Outback (remote semidesert areas) into the cities in search of employment and a better life. Here they learn the language of the whites in order to survive, and later their children go to white schools and become completely alienated from their language and culture.

Lastly, as the members of these small communities are accepted into the larger communities, they usually start to intermarry with members of these larger communities and so gradually disappear as a nation. The position of the Flemish community in Holland could be mentioned as a possible example of this process. (174 words)

CONCLUSION

This essay has attempted to show that wealth, urbanization, and intermarriage are three reasons for cultures and languages disappearing. But it has to be said, in conclusion, that there are many other factors that have to be considered. (38 words) (Total words: 240)

ALTERNATIVE PARAGRAPHS

One of the “buzz words” used more and more today is globalization. It is defined as “the integration and democratization of the world’s cultures, economies, and infrastructure through transnational investment, rapid proliferation of communication and information technologies, and the impact of free-market forces on local, regional, and national economies.” Per the definition, globalization is responsible for a variety of languages and cultures disappearing off the face of the earth.