With the rise in popularity of the internet, newspapers will soon become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Advances in technology lead to the revolution in communication and media facilities. The Internet is everywhere and more people are relying on it as a source of news and information. I agree that with the widespread use of the internet, people will consider printed newspapers a thing of the past. This change might be slow but inevitable. The internet is available everywhere - in houses, workplaces, café, restaurants, universities and schools and people can access to any newspaper of the world with few finger taps. Moreover, many people believe that it is cheaper to follow news on the internet than to buy a newspaper every day. Besides, it is easier to access, comment and share a news online, all it needs is just a few clicks and a wide range of choices and varieties are yours. Also, not only words but interactive videos of online news sources make reading the news more exciting and sometimes entertaining. On the other hand, newspapers are still popular among many people as they find reading it more appealing. Senior citizens who are less familiar with the internet and new technologies mostly prefer it. Some parts of the world are yet to be connected to the internet and people there have no alternatives than to read a printed newspaper. However, with the rapid expansion of technology, the trend would be completely washed away by the digital technology. In conclusion, using the internet solely as a source of news and information has already become a trend in many parts of the world. Soon the world will find the printed newspaper a thing of the past, it is just a matter of time.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use present perfect Original: Advances in technology lead to Suggested revision: Advances in technology have led to Why it matters: The present perfect appropriately describes past advances with a continuing result.
- 2. Correct the article Original: the Suggested revision: a Why it matters: This first mention of a non-specific revolution requires the indefinite article.
- 3. Use natural context Original: houses Suggested revision: homes Why it matters: 'Homes' is more natural when referring generally to where people access the internet.
- 4. Use the plural noun Original: café Suggested revision: cafés Why it matters: The item in this list should be plural like the surrounding nouns.
- 5. Separate independent clauses Original: schools and people Suggested revision: schools, and people Why it matters: A comma is needed before the coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
- 6. Remove incorrect preposition Original: access to any newspaper Suggested revision: access any newspaper Why it matters: The verb 'access' takes a direct object without 'to'.
- 7. Add article Original: with few finger taps Suggested revision: with a few taps Why it matters: The countable phrase requires 'a few', while 'finger' is unnecessary here.
- 8. Add definite article Original: follow news on the internet Suggested revision: follow the news on the internet Why it matters: The fixed expression is 'the news' when referring generally to current reporting.
- 9. Match plural antecedent Original: it Suggested revision: them Why it matters: The pronoun must agree with the plural noun 'newspapers'.
- 10. Fix pronoun agreement Original: mostly prefer it Suggested revision: generally prefer them Why it matters: The plural pronoun must refer back to 'newspapers', and 'generally' better expresses the tendency.
- 11. Use correct construction Original: no alternatives than Suggested revision: no alternative but Why it matters: The standard construction is 'no alternative but to'.
- 12. Clarify the reference Original: the trend would Suggested revision: printed newspapers will Why it matters: The explicit noun phrase removes the unclear reference of 'the trend'.
Suggested Rewrites
- Advances in technology lead to Advances in technology have led to
- the a
- houses homes
- café cafés
- schools and people schools, and people
- access to any newspaper access any newspaper
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear opinion and supports it with several relevant advantages of online news, while also acknowledging why print remains attractive. Its main limitation is the lack of paragraphing, which compresses distinct stages of the argument and makes progression less effortless; several awkward collocations and sentence-boundary errors also reduce polish. Prioritise a clear introduction-body-conclusion structure and edit each sentence for articles, prepositions, and independent clause boundaries.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is clear throughout, and relevant reasons plus a counterpoint address the question, although development remains fairly general.
Extend one or two central reasons with specific consequences or examples instead of accumulating brief supporting claims.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a logical sequence and uses clear linking expressions, but presenting the entire response as one paragraph weakens organisation.
Separate the introduction, reasons for digital news, counterargument, and conclusion into purposeful paragraphs with clear topic sentences.
Lexical Resource
There is enough range to discuss technology and media, but recurring article and collocation errors make several expressions unnatural.
Revise combinations such as access a newspaper, share news, and range of choices, checking countability and natural verb-noun partnerships.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses both simple and complex structures, but errors in articles, agreement, reference, and sentence boundaries recur.
Separate run-on clauses and systematically check articles and singular-plural agreement before finalising each sentence.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
With the rise in popularity of the internet, newspapers will soon become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.