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
In the contemporary world, an ethical and business competition between the digital and print media is quite visible. The future of print media in the digital era is a debatable issue. Though some people hold the opinion that the popularity of printed newspaper will exist in the forthcoming days, my two cents is this print news portal will soon disappear to make way for the digital way of getting news. One obvious reason for my viewpoint is that online portals and e-newspapers are gaining vast acceptance by its sophisticated features such as clarity, video sharing, social sharing and instant opinion sharing tools. Over and above, public goes by online news portals than print versions in order to get instant and breaking news. The vast popularity of online editions of the newspapers is the best epitome. When an Internet user can browse virtually any newspaper in the world for free, why should he spend money on reading only a particular newspaper which does not have last hour breaking news? Some would argue that there is a different appeal to holding a printed newspaper than reading on the computer screen. That’s true, but they should compare the old way of sending letters to the latest email technology. The number of emails people send on an average is million times higher than the traditional postal mails and in a similar fashion, reading a newspaper would become a tradition of the past while online news portals would dominate the world. To draw the conclusion, the newspaper will soon get its place in history. We can expect many new trends in future not only in the case of the newspaper but also in other printed media and that is obvious with the widespread acceptance of technology and its popularity among the young generation.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unclear modifier Original: ethical and business competition Suggested revision: business competition Why it matters: Ethical does not describe the type of competition developed in the essay.
- 2. Use plural form Original: newspaper Suggested revision: newspapers Why it matters: The statement concerns newspapers generally, so a plural noun is required.
- 3. Express continuation Original: exist Suggested revision: continue Why it matters: Continue accurately expresses the predicted persistence of printed newspapers.
- 4. Use concise time phrase Original: forthcoming days Suggested revision: future Why it matters: Future is the natural concise expression for the period ahead.
- 5. Use formal stance Original: my two cents is Suggested revision: my view is that Why it matters: My two cents is informal and also lacks the complementizer needed before the clause.
- 6. Name print medium Original: this print news portal Suggested revision: printed newspapers Why it matters: A portal normally refers to an online site, not the printed medium discussed here.
- 7. Use precise term Original: digital way of getting news Suggested revision: digital news sources Why it matters: Digital news sources is more concise and precise in an academic argument.
- 8. Correct acceptance collocation Original: vast Suggested revision: widespread Why it matters: Widespread acceptance is the natural collocation for broad public adoption.
- 9. Fix cause and agreement Original: by its sophisticated features Suggested revision: because of their advanced features Why it matters: Because of expresses the cause, and their agrees with the plural subject.
- 10. Use suitable connector Original: Over and above Suggested revision: Furthermore Why it matters: Furthermore is the appropriate formal connector for adding another supporting point.
- 11. Fix subject and verb Original: public goes by Suggested revision: the public prefers Why it matters: The collective noun needs the article the, and prefers expresses the intended comparison.
- 12. Use prefer to Original: than Suggested revision: to Why it matters: Prefer takes to rather than than when comparing two alternatives.
Suggested Rewrites
- ethical and business competition business competition
- newspaper newspapers
- exist continue
- forthcoming days future
- my two cents is my view is that
- this print news portal printed newspapers
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear position and develops it with relevant reasons, a counterpoint, and a useful comparison between postal mail and email. Its main limitation is presentation as one continuous paragraph, compounded by frequent unnatural collocations and recurring grammatical inaccuracies. The highest priority is to divide the argument into purposeful paragraphs and revise phrasing so that ambitious vocabulary communicates ideas precisely and naturally.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is clear throughout and is developed through relevant reasons, a counterargument, and an illustrative comparison.
Strengthen the argument by qualifying broad predictions and supporting them with a more concrete real-world example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas follow a logical sequence, but the absence of paragraph breaks obscures the essay’s internal stages and weakens readability.
Separate the introduction, supporting arguments, counterpoint, and conclusion into purposeful paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts a wide range of vocabulary, but frequent awkward collocations and imprecise choices limit naturalness.
Choose familiar, accurate combinations instead of forced expressions such as ethical and business competition or the best epitome.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are attempted and meaning remains clear, although agreement, article, pronoun, and comparison errors recur.
Edit each complex sentence for agreement and reference, especially where singular nouns are followed by plural pronouns or verbs.
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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.