Earlier technological developments brought more benefits and changed the lives of ordinary people more than recent developments ever will. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Developments in technology over many years have dramatically changed the world that we live in, and some people think that earlier advances in technology have had a greater impact on and been more beneficial to the lives of ordinary people than more recent changes. However, I partially agree with this as the advantages and influences on people’s lives actually depends on the particular area of technology.
There is no doubt that some earlier advances in technology have been very influential, such as those related to technology around the home. Devices such as washing machines, fridges and freezers, central heating, microwaves and televisions were invented many years ago, and now nearly every household has all or some of these in their home, making life much easier. Though they have been improved over time, they still carry out much the same purpose as when they were first invented.
Another example is that of medicine. Despite the fact that there have been ground-breaking recent medical developments, such as that connected to research into genes and stem cells, the benefits to the average person are still many years away. The most influential impacts on health have been earlier technological developments of the past, which remain today. These are the ability to treat so many injuries and diseases and carry out organ transplants in hospitals. It is these that have benefits on so many lives and will for decades to come.
However, if we look at some more recent developments, they have had a much greater influence than in the past. For instance, there is the phone, which was a significant development when invented helping many people. However, although invented many years ago, technological developments over the last few decades have enabled the phone to now be mobile and connected to the internet. This has had incredible impacts on the way people Iive their lives with people using phones for so many everyday activities and for connecting around the world.
In conclusion, I would argue that although some older technological developments are important, some new ones are too. The impacts on ordinary people’s lives therefore depends on the type of technology in question.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Concise relative clause Original: the world that we live in Suggested revision: the world we live in Why it matters: The relative pronoun can be omitted because it functions as the object of the clause.
- 2. More precise noun Original: area Suggested revision: field Why it matters: Field is a more natural noun for a distinct branch of technology.
- 3. Concise terminology Original: technology around the home Suggested revision: household technology Why it matters: Household technology expresses the same idea more precisely and concisely.
- 4. Clear plural reference Original: all or some of these in their home Suggested revision: all or some of these devices in their homes Why it matters: Naming the devices and using homes creates a clear plural reference to nearly every household.
- 5. Correct collocation Original: carry out much the same purpose Suggested revision: serve much the same purpose Why it matters: English uses serve a purpose rather than carry out a purpose.
- 6. Plural reference Original: that Suggested revision: those Why it matters: Those must agree with the plural noun developments.
- 7. Correct verb pattern Original: have benefits on so many lives Suggested revision: benefit so many lives Why it matters: Benefit is used directly as a verb here and does not take the preposition on.
- 8. Complete reduced clause Original: when invented helping many people Suggested revision: when it was invented, helping many people Why it matters: The clause needs an explicit subject and auxiliary, followed by a comma before the participial phrase.
- 9. Natural phrasing Original: enabled the phone to now be mobile Suggested revision: enabled phones to become mobile Why it matters: The plural noun and become express the general technological change more naturally.
- 10. Subject-verb agreement Original: depends Suggested revision: depend Why it matters: The plural subject impacts requires the plural verb depend.
- 11. Clearer reference Original: Though they have been improved over time Suggested revision: Although these devices have improved over time Why it matters: Naming the devices removes an avoidable pronoun reference and the active form is more direct.
- 12. Refine preposition and claim Original: benefits to the average person are still many years away Suggested revision: benefits for the average person may still be many years away Why it matters: For is the natural preposition with benefits here, and may appropriately qualifies the prediction.
Suggested Rewrites
- the world that we live in the world we live in
- area field
- technology around the home household technology
- all or some of these in their home all or some of these devices in their homes
- carry out much the same purpose serve much the same purpose
- that those
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is strongest in its clear, nuanced position and relevant comparison of domestic, medical, and communication technologies across time. Its main limitation is uneven language control, including subject-verb agreement errors and several imprecise collocations, while the recent-technology comparison could also be made more explicit. The highest-priority improvement is to revise grammatical agreement and express each old-versus-new comparison in more precise terms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response maintains a clear partial-agreement position and supports it with relevant examples from several technological fields.
Make the comparative judgement in each body paragraph more explicit, especially when presenting the modern phone as a recent development.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay has a logical progression, clear paragraph purposes, and cohesive links that guide the reader effectively.
Reduce repeated contrast markers and tighten internal links so each example leads directly to its comparative implication.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary shows good range and handles the topic effectively, although several word combinations are imprecise or repetitive.
Use more natural collocations for effects and benefits, and avoid repeating broad terms such as impact and development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is used successfully, but recurring agreement and clause-control errors reduce accuracy.
Check subject-verb agreement carefully and revise compressed clauses whose missing or unclear elements weaken sentence control.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Earlier technological developments brought more benefits and changed the lives of ordinary people more than recent developments ever will. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.