In this post: the eight technology and media questions I met most often, the one question that unlocks them (what does this technology replace?), and eight logic chains on communication, automation and advertising.
Technology and Media · 3 parts
- 1. Common questions and argument bank (you are here)
- 2. Collocations and my own paragraphs
- 3. Model paragraph and practice
✦ In this post
Technology is, in my view, the most “dangerous” topic in IELTS Task 2, because the arguments are far too easy to think of. Convenience, saving money, unemployment, eye strain, a lack of human contact… every candidate comes up with the same list. As a result, most essays look very similar, and only two things really separate them: whether each argument is pushed down to a concrete mechanism, and whether the example genuinely fits the argument.
I sent three technology and media essays for marking: driverless vehicles (6.5), digital devices making people lose the ability to communicate face to face (7), and whether advertising is persuasive (6.5). This post uses those three essays as its backbone to cover the common questions, arguments, vocabulary and mistakes in technology essays. For a quick vocabulary list, see Topic Vocabulary (Part 1); advertising words are in Topic Vocabulary (Part 2).
1. Eight common technology and media questions
| Question (paraphrased) | Common question type | The real point of debate |
|---|---|---|
| In future all vehicles will be driverless: do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? (I wrote this one, Cambridge 16 Test 4) | Outweigh | Efficiency and cost vs jobs and safety |
| Phones and computers make people lose the ability to communicate face to face (I wrote this one) | Agree / Disagree | Has the way we communicate changed, or has the ability disappeared? |
| Is advertising persuasive, or are there so many adverts that people ignore them? (I wrote this one) | Discuss both views | Exposure vs trust |
| Will artificial intelligence replace most jobs? | Agree / Outweigh | Replacement vs transformation |
| Children spend too much time on phones and tablets: causes and solutions | Two questions | Family supervision and alternative activities |
| More and more people get their news from social media: good or bad? | Positive / Negative | Speed vs accuracy |
| Will online shopping make physical shops disappear? | Agree / Disagree | Convenience vs the in-store experience and local jobs |
| Does technology make life simpler, or more complicated and stressful? | Discuss both views | Efficiency vs being “always on” |
Almost every technology question can be approached with the same question: what does this technology replace? Driverless cars replace drivers, messaging apps replace meeting in person, algorithms replace human selection, and AI replaces routine work. The benefit of replacement is usually efficiency and cost; the drawback is losing some kind of skill, job or trust. Once you have this “replacement” framework, your arguments for and against become neatly symmetrical.
| Technology | What it replaces | Benefit direction | Drawback direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driverless cars, automation | Drivers, routine labour | Lower costs, fewer human errors | Unemployment, unclear responsibility |
| Messaging apps, social media | Face-to-face interaction | Contact across distance, efficiency | Weaker non-verbal skills, isolation |
| Algorithms, targeted advertising | Human selection of information | Recommendations that match needs better | Echo chambers, privacy |
| Artificial intelligence | Some types of mental work | Higher productivity | Outdated skills, need for retraining |
2. Argument bank: eight logic chains for technology essays
A. Digital communication and social skills
Argument 1 · For (we lose the ability): digital communication hides body language, so we never practise reading people
Point → Relying on phones for communication over a long period makes people lose the ability to read non-verbal signals.
Explanation → When we talk face to face, we judge how the other person feels from their expression, tone and posture, and adjust what we say on the spot. Text messages strip away all of these clues, and over time the skill weakens through lack of practice.
Example → This is exactly what I wrote in my face-to-face communication essay: when a group of people are chatting, you have to judge from their faces whether you have offended someone, and you cannot learn that on a digital device.
Text messages remove facial expressions and tone of voice, so people who communicate mainly online have fewer chances to practise reading these signals.
Argument 2 · Against (only the method has changed): technology keeps people far apart in touch, so they actually communicate more often
Point → Digital devices do not necessarily make people lose the ability to communicate; they also let people who could not otherwise meet keep their relationships going.
Explanation → People who study or work far from home might once have phoned their families only every few months. Now they can video-call every day, seeing faces and hearing tone of voice. For them, technology makes up for the lack of face-to-face contact rather than replacing it.
Example → Hypothetical example: a student studying abroad video-calls her family every week and, after returning home, feels closer to them than before she left.
For families separated by distance, video calls do not replace face-to-face contact but make regular communication possible in the first place.
B. Automation, driverless cars and artificial intelligence
Argument 3 · For automation: in the long run it cuts costs and reduces human error
Point → The most direct benefit of automation is lower labour costs and fewer mistakes caused by tiredness or distraction.
Explanation → People get tired and distracted, and the chance of error rises when they drive for long hours or do repetitive work; machines can perform consistently. For companies, the money saved on wages and training can be invested in research or used to lower prices.
Example → In my driverless-vehicle essay I wrote about “saving drivers’ salaries and the cost of training courses”. A stronger version adds the safety angle: most road accidents involve human factors, so if machines can reduce fatigued driving, accidents may fall (written as a possibility, not a fact).
Since machines do not suffer from fatigue or distraction, automated systems could reduce accidents that are caused by human error.
Argument 4 · Against automation: job losses hit particular groups, and changing career is not easy
Point → The price of automation is that some jobs disappear, and the people most affected are often those who find it hardest to change career.
Explanation → When jobs such as professional driver or cashier are replaced, the workers affected are usually older and less educated. Learning new skills takes them time and money, and if the government provides no retraining, unemployment can become a long-term problem.
Example → In my driverless-vehicle essay I wrote that “drivers will lose their jobs and unemployment in related industries will rise”. You can push this one step further: these people need retraining (upskilling) to change jobs, so who pays for it?
Workers replaced by automation are often those with the fewest transferable skills, so without retraining programmes many of them may struggle to find new jobs.
Argument 5 · Against driverless cars: who is responsible when something goes wrong? Neither the law nor public trust is ready
Point → Another problem with driverless cars is liability: when an accident happens, it is hard to decide who is responsible.
Explanation → In a traditional crash, the driver is responsible. When a driverless car crashes, responsibility could lie with the manufacturer, the software company or the owner. Until the law is clear, victims will struggle to claim compensation, and the public will find it hard to trust machines with their safety.
Example → In my driverless-vehicle essay I wrote only one sentence, that “accidents may happen more easily without human supervision”. That example is too short. Reframing it as a question of liability gives the argument room to develop.
When a driverless car causes an accident, it is unclear whether the manufacturer, the software developer or the owner should be held responsible.
C. Advertising, the media and children’s phone use
Argument 6 · Advertising works: algorithms target adverts precisely, and repeated exposure deepens the impression
Point → Modern advertising is persuasive because it can find the people who are likely to buy.
Explanation → Social media platforms push adverts based on each user’s browsing and purchase history, so what people see is what they are likely to be interested in. When the same brand appears again and again, it leaves an impression, and when people actually need to buy something, that brand comes to mind first.
Example → In my advertising essay I wrote that social media platforms predict preferences from past purchases and push discount offers to attract customers.
Because social media platforms target advertisements based on users’ previous purchases, the products people see are often ones they are already inclined to buy.
Argument 7 · Advertising is ignored: there are too many adverts and too many false ones, so people choose not to watch or believe them
Point → Advertising is becoming less effective because consumers have learnt to skip it and doubt it.
Explanation → Adverts on video platforms can be skipped, and banner ads on websites are seen as a nuisance. On top of that, exaggerated or false advertising is increasingly common, so consumers would rather read other users’ reviews than believe what brands say about themselves.
Example → In my advertising essay I used my own habit: I usually skip the adverts straight away when watching YouTube. That is a good personal example, but it only proves that adverts are skipped. To prove that they are not believed, you need a second example, such as consumers checking online reviews before they buy.
Many consumers now skip video advertisements automatically and rely on independent reviews instead, because they no longer trust what brands say about themselves.
Argument 8 · Against children’s heavy phone use: it affects health and concentration, and supervision is often missing
Point → Long hours on phones affect children’s health and concentration, and the underlying cause is often a lack of company.
Explanation → Sitting and staring at a screen can lead to eyesight problems and too little exercise. The instant rewards of short videos and games also make it harder for children to focus on things that require patience. In many dual-income families, busy parents use a tablet as a babysitter, which makes the problem harder to tackle.
Example → Hypothetical example: a primary school pupil is home alone after school every day and watches videos on a tablet for three or four hours, and finds it harder and harder to concentrate through a whole lesson.
When parents are busy at work, tablets often become a convenient babysitter, and children may spend hours on screens without any supervision.
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Topic Guides (post 3 of 10)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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