Essay topic:
People nowadays live longer than they used to. What caused this situation? Is it a negative or positive development?
Over the past decades, the average life expectancy has climbed in both developed and developing countries. Various factors can be attributed to this generally positive trend. Nevertheless, an ageing population has also brought a number of ills in its wake.
People can expect to live longer due to the plethora of scientific and technological breakthroughs. Indeed, computers and machines at the workplace have raised out productivity whilst lowering our working hours, in turn, granting us with more time to enjoy a wider range of products and services. Improvements in vaccines, medical treatments and health insurance schemes have furthermore alleviated a number of common illnesses and eradicated fatal ones such as smallpox. Thus, these progresses have boosted our standard of living which subsequently has prolonged our lifespan.
Living longer has been a blessing for most individuals. Elderly people are able to indulge in a plethora of activities which they may not have been able to experience during their youth due to a lack of time. For instance, we are currently witnessing a rise in the number of old people travelling overseas for holidays, some even opting for strenuous activities such as hiking and mountain climbing. These were rare occurrences a few years ago as old individuals were generally crippled to a sedentary life as their health deteriorated at a much faster pace. Therefore, it appears that a longer life is a sign of positive development.
However, as an increasing proportion of citizens reach an older age, many countries worldwide are grappling with the economic consequences of an ageing population. Japan, for example, is projected to suffer from a dwindling working force as more Japanese retire in the future. Besides not contributing to the economic growth of their country, these senior citizens divert precious resources from promising projects to other facilities required by the older generation such as health care and retirement homes. Hence, if improperly managed, a greying population may bring more harm than good to an economy.
To conclude, our life cap is expected to extend further as a result of additional scientific and technological discoveries. Though this will be welcomed by most individuals, local authorities will face mounting pressures in their attempt to maintain the welfare of younger and older people alike.
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Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 8.5 out of 9
Category: Excellent Excellent
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No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
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Score: 8.5 out of 9
Category: Excellent Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 18 15
No. of Words: 373 350
No. of Characters: 1963 1500
No. of Different Words: 227 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.395 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.263 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.946 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 156 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 121 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 96 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 63 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
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Number of Paragraphs: 5 5