Young people’s use of computers and mobile phones to communicate has a negative impact on their reading and writing skills. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
The increasing use of computers and mobile phones among young people for communication has raised concerns regarding its impact on their reading and writing skills. While some people believe that this trend negatively affects literacy skills, I side with those who argue that it offers new avenues for language development.
One concern is that digital communication has introduced a simplified form of language that includes abbreviations, slang, and emojis, which may depart from traditional language normswhich may diverge from traditional language skills. As a result, young people often rely on this informal language styleinformal style of language even in formal settings. Additionally, the fast-paced, bite-sized naturethe quick, bite-sized nature of digital content might negatively affect the sustained attention required for in-depth reading and comprehensionthe attention span required for in-depth reading and understanding. This could potentially weaken this generation’s formal writing skills, which are crucial for academic and professional success.
However, these drawbacks are balanced by significant benefits. The digital era has led to an increase in the amount and variety of reading and writing people doquantity and diversity of reading and writing. Young peopleindividuals come across various forms of text online, exposing them to different language styles and vocabularywhich exposes them to different language styles and vocabulary. The interactive nature of digital platforms also encourages active engagement with text, thereby improving their language skillsfostering improved language skills. Moreover, digital communication equips young people with an additional set of language skillsa different set of language skills, such as the ability to convey information effectively and conciselysuch as being able to effectively and concisely convey information. They are also better able to read between the lines to decipher the implicit meaning in a text conversationdeeper meanings of a text conversation.
In conclusion, while the informal nature of digital communication poses challenges to traditional reading and writing skills, it also offers opportunities for developing a broader set of literacy skills. I believe that the negative influence of digital devices on young users’ language skills is insignificant compared to the benefits they bring.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response presents a clear, nuanced position and develops both the risks and benefits of digital communication through a fluent, logically structured argument. Its main limitation is that several claims remain general rather than being demonstrated with specific examples or deeper causal explanation. The highest-priority improvement is to support the central benefits with one concrete, carefully analysed example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is fully addressed through a clear position and relevant, well-developed consideration of both drawbacks and benefits.
Strengthen the support for the benefits by analysing one specific real-world example rather than relying mainly on general claims.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically across well-focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices used naturally and effectively.
Make the causal link between online exposure and improved literacy slightly more explicit within the benefits paragraph.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary supports nuanced discussion, with only occasional slightly broad or awkward phrasing.
Refine combinations such as references to the quantity of reading and deeper meanings in text conversations for greater precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is handled accurately, and errors are rare and non-impeding.
Continue refining long sentences so that modifiers and references remain maximally concise and unambiguous.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Young people’s use of computers and mobile phones to communicate has a negative impact on their reading and writing skills. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.