GRE It is hard task to find the best way of exploring and understanding characteristics of a society

To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

It is hard task to find the best way of exploring and understanding characteristics of a society. One can live whole life in one society, but still be unaware of some of its peculiarities. Thus I believe that for understanding one society thoroughly one should investigate its minor countries and small towns along with studying major cities. Studying major cities will help the researcher to get mostly a general picture of a society or particular nation, however living in rural sites will reveal peculiarities of a society which will be hard to notice in major cities.

Major cities have huge amount of population and frequently this population consist of people of different nations, religions, and not only the inhabitants of that country. Thus the life in major cities often is multicultural and multicolor. Moreover life in such cities is usually rushing and even sometimes it looks like mechanized. In such conditions, where everyone is busy with his/her own businesses and stopping for one minute just for speaking to a stranger will mean to fail some urgent work, a newcomer will find hard to understand many characteristics which will describe that society. Of course, if one lives in such a city very long time, integrates to it and becomes a part of it, than he/she will be aware of its characteristics such as how people treat to different situations, which customs and mentality they have. But even in this case one can't confidently say that he/she is acquaint with that nation, because mostly people in major cities became more modern over the time, and they lost many characteristics which their predecessors possessed and which can still be found in minor settlements.

Unlike big cities, small towns and countries represent nation's characteristics and coloring better. This is the result of maintaining traditions and customs they have, making them the part of everyday life. These traditions characterize society better than other things, and by exploring them one can get closer to the understanding of that society. For example in Armenia we have a lot of traditions or holidays, many of which have a history of centuries. However a few of these traditions are present in the life of residents of big cities. Mostly they know about these customs, but they do not follow them of celebrate. In contrast, in rural places most of these customs are not only being preserved but also they are part of the life of people. And this does not mean that people in countryside are backward, they just are more loyal to their traditions. Of course living long time in countryside will also be beneficial to understand the society better, however even a few days will be enough to get huge information about the society. For example as soon as you get to a village here, you will find how hospitable people are, they will invite you to their homes, will care about you so that you do not feel any trouble. It is hard to see such an open-heart treatment in cities.

It is truly hard for a stranger to fully understand a particular society. For his/her knowledge and understanding to be precise, he/she will need to spend a long time both in main cities and in rural sites. Living in big cities will give him/her global information about the nation, their mentality, thinking etc., whereas spending time in rural places will help him/her to get more acquaint with the customs and traditions of the society, which helps to characterize a nation.

Thanks in advance :)

- Good introduction. But you need to mention the stand that you have taken and will be discussing within the essay towards the end of the statement. This is known as your thesis statement and it sets the tone for the rest of the paper.

Having read the overall content of your essay, I will have to say that aside from having to correct the grammatical and punctuation errors, you managed to discuss your stance quite well. But the problem with your essay is that you failed to anticipate the other side of the argument and then defend your stance based upon that contradiction. This is a requirement of the essay in the portion that says:


You pretty much just kept discussing your point of view without considering the opposing argument or point of view. So I suggest that you work that portion into your paragraphs and revise the essay based upon a defensive stance because the opposing statement will help explain and support how you came to the various statements that you have in your essay.

Thank you very much.
I will rewrite my essay considering your suggestions.
Also I would like to know your opinion about my grammar and vocabulary? Are they adequate?

Actually you helped me a lot in both my essays, thanks :)

Thank you for your kind comments. As for your inquiry about the language you used in the essay, I have to say that you used the English language very well. You have a good grasp of the English language and you are capable of expressing yourself very well in the language. That said, I have to point out that there are still some minor grammar issues within your essay that need to be addressed. These include corrections in the sentence structure, grammar usage, and punctuation marks. However, these errors are minimal and do not affect the overall content of your essay. So don't worry about those for now. If you decide to revise this essay and have it reviewed, I can point out the areas of grammar improvement that you should pay attention to :-)