More and more professionals from developing or underdeveloped countries are choosing to live and work in richer countries. As a result, poorer countries will struggle to can be tackled by offering more incentives to stay and better living conditions. The main problem faced by poorer countries due to the brain-drain, in fields such as medicine and education, is that they will struggle to develop and find it difficult to improve their economy as well as living conditions. One of the main ways that a developing country can better themselves is through the skills and dedication of their professionals which is negated when they choose to take their skills to benefit another country. Consequently, less developed countries will not be able to offer their citizens high levels of education or health care, and this in turn will hinder their ability to compete on a global scale, to entice investors and ultimately to stop the poverty cycle. One effective solution to deal with professionals leaving their country is for their government to encourage them to stay by offering better work conditions. This can be done by increasing wages and investing in state-of-the-art equipment and training to tempt doctors and teachers to continue working there. Another possible answer is for poorer countries to offer better standards of living, more tolerance and a positive future as a way to entice their professionals back to their own country after they have completed their training abroad. However, these solutions are financially demanding which means poorer governments may have to look to developed countries for aid in order to implement these changes. In conclusion, poorer countries are unable to develop due to can only be tackled by enticing professionals to remain in their country of origin through better conditions.
Brain Drain of Professionals to Developed Countries
An increasing number of professionals, such as doctors and teachers, are leaving their own poorer countries to work in developed countries. What problems does this cause? What solutions can you suggest to deal with this situation?
Annotated response
3 correction notes
Overall assessment
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response fully addresses both parts of the question, presenting a clear position and developing problems and solutions with logical support. Its main limitation is that ideas, while well-organised, remain somewhat general and would benefit from more specific illustration or depth.
IELTS criteria
How each score was decided
Task Response
7.5The response addresses both questions directly with a clear position, well-developed main ideas about brain-drain effects and incentives, though support remains somewhat general.
Coherence and Cohesion
7.0The response has a clear sequence across its introduction, problem discussion, proposed solutions and conclusion. The phrase "This can be done by" occurs once, so it is not a repeated mechanical linker. Some long chains of consequences could be grouped more clearly to ease the progression.
Lexical Resource
7.5The response demonstrates a good range of topic-related vocabulary, including items like 'brain-drain', 'poverty cycle', and 'state-of-the-art equipment', used with reasonable precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
7.0A variety of complex structures are used with generally good control, though minor slips in agreement and phrasing occur without impeding meaning.