With an increasing population communicating via the Internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
In today's world, the use of the internet and text messaging has increased exponentially. While some people believe that face-to-face communication is slowly fading away due to this trend, I disagree with this opinion. In this essay, I will discuss why face-to-face communication is still relevant and necessary and will remain so in the future, despite the popularity of online communication.
Firstly, face-to-face communication is essential for building personal relationships. Meeting someone in person allows individuals to establish a deeper connection, and understand each other's nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and body language. These nonverbal cues can convey emotions that may not be expressed in writing, which can lead to misunderstandings in online communication. This is why people still prefer to spend time with others they care about even though they could have contacted them online.
Secondly, face-to-face communication is crucial in many professional settings, such as job interviews or business meetings. In such situations, online communication cannot replace the effectiveness of face-to-face communication. During a job interview, for example, the interviewer can assess a candidate's personality, confidence and social skills in person, which cannot be judged accurately through online communication.
Moreover, there are instances where face-to-face communication is the only viable option. For instance, in situations where a physical presence is necessary, such as in medical emergencies or legal proceedings, online communication is not a suitable substitute.
In conclusion, while it is true that online communication has become more popular, face-to-face communication still holds significant value. Personal relationships, professional interactions, and emergency situations all require face-to-face communication. So, in-person comminations will still be prevalent in the future as they are today.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise trend phrase Original: slowly fading away Suggested revision: gradually declining Why it matters: “Gradually declining” expresses the same trend without the redundant phrasal wording.
- 2. Use direct signposting Original: In this essay, I will discuss Suggested revision: This essay explains Why it matters: The direct form states the essay's purpose more concisely.
- 3. Remove unnecessary comma Original: connection, and understand Suggested revision: connection and understand Why it matters: The comma should not separate two coordinated verb phrases with the same subject.
- 4. Correct modal time Original: could have contacted them online Suggested revision: could contact them online Why it matters: The present general comparison requires “could contact,” not the past-perfect modal form.
- 5. Correct comparison verb Original: replace Suggested revision: match Why it matters: One form of communication can match another's effectiveness but cannot replace effectiveness itself.
- 6. Use formal relative phrase Original: instances where Suggested revision: instances in which Why it matters: “In which” relates the situations more precisely to the following clause.
- 7. Remove extra preposition Original: such as in medical emergencies Suggested revision: such as medical emergencies Why it matters: The preposition “in” is unnecessary after “such as” in this list.
- 8. Correct spelling Original: comminations Suggested revision: communications Why it matters: “Comminations” is a misspelling of “communications” in this context.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: These nonverbal cues can convey emotions that may not be expressed in writing, which can lead to misunderstandings in online communication. Suggested revision: Because such emotions may be difficult to express in writing, online communication can lead to misunderstandings. Why it matters: The rewrite removes the unclear relative-clause reference and makes the cause-and-effect relationship explicit.
- 10. Sentence rewrite Original: During a job interview, for example, the interviewer can assess a candidate's personality, confidence and social skills in person, which cannot be judged accurately through online communication. Suggested revision: During a job interview, for example, the interviewer can assess in person a candidate's personality, confidence, and social skills, which are harder to evaluate accurately online. Why it matters: The rewrite gives the relative clause a clear plural referent and improves the placement of “in person”.
Suggested Rewrites
- slowly fading away gradually declining
- In this essay, I will discuss This essay explains
- connection, and understand connection and understand
- could have contacted them online could contact them online
- replace match
- instances where instances in which
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response states a clear disagreement and supports it with logically sequenced examples from personal, professional, and essential in-person contexts. Its strongest feature is the consistent development of relevant reasons, while the main limitation is repetition of "face-to-face communication" and a few minor language slips. The best improvement is to vary reference and sharpen the final example by explaining more specifically why physical presence is indispensable.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is explicit and fully developed through three relevant reasons, each supported by a clear explanation or example.
Extend the medical or legal example slightly to demonstrate exactly why no online alternative could serve the same purpose.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through clearly focused paragraphs, and cohesive links make the argument easy to follow throughout.
Use more varied transitions than ordinal markers and reduce repeated full references to face-to-face communication.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and appropriate for relationships, professional judgment, and physical presence, with repetition and one spelling error limiting polish.
Use accurate substitutes such as "in-person interaction" and correct "comminations" to "communications" in the conclusion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is controlled accurately, with only minor punctuation and phrasing slips that do not impede communication.
Remove the unnecessary comma before "and understand" and streamline the final comparison for more natural grammatical flow.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
With an increasing population communicating via the Internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.