In this post: How I organise topic vocabulary, then technology: core words, arguments and a topic sentence to adapt.
Task 2 Topic Vocabulary (1) · 3 parts
- 1. Organising vocabulary, and technology (you are here)
- 2. Environment and education
- 3. Work, vocabulary cards, practice
✦ In this post
In the later stages of my Task 2 preparation, I realised that what took the most time wasn’t structure. It was “I can’t think of anything to say” and “I know what I want to say but not how to say it in English”. So in my Google Doc, my Task 2 essays are organised by topic: technology, environment, news and history, education and work, culture and the arts, crime, cities and the countryside, social issues, and the economy and advertising. Each topic starts with an “ideas round-up” and a vocabulary table, followed by every essay I wrote on that topic (with corrections).
This is Part 1. It covers three big topics: technology, environment, and education and work (with work split into job hunting, starting a business and the gap year). Each topic has three parts: a core vocabulary table (with sentences I really wrote in my essays), arguments for and against, and a topic sentence plus example you can adapt directly. Part 2 covers culture and the arts, crime, cities and housing, social issues, and the economy and advertising.
1. How should you organise topic vocabulary so you can actually use it?
At first I organised vocabulary as long two-column lists (English and my first language), and in the exam I couldn’t recall a single word. Later I switched to “one word + one collocation + one sentence I wrote myself”, and that is when I could actually use them. The reason is simple: in the exam you don’t need single words, you need phrases you can drop straight into a paragraph.
| Method | Example | Can you use it in the exam? |
|---|---|---|
| Word only | biodiversity = the variety of living things | You can recall it, but you don’t know which verb goes with it. |
| Word + collocation | biodiversity can significantly increase / pose a threat to biodiversity | More usable. |
| Word + collocation + your own sentence + argument | the diversity of species will decrease significantly if the extinction keeps happening, hindering sustained development | You can use it directly as a sentence in a paragraph. |
2. Technology: AI, phones, driverless cars and face-to-face communication
On technology, I wrote about artificial intelligence, children using phones, digital devices making people lose face-to-face communication skills, and driverless cars. The good thing about technology questions is that ideas are easy to come up with; the bad thing is that everyone writes much the same, so you need precise vocabulary and specific examples to stand out.
Core vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Common collocations | My sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| artificial intelligence (AI) | computer systems that imitate human thinking | developments in AI, have a positive impact on | artificial intelligence decreases the crime rate as a result of the improved monitoring tools |
| electronic / digital devices | phones, tablets, computers | overuse electronic devices, the frequent usage of | the frequent usage of electronic devices keeps individuals from developing their interpersonal skills (Task 35) |
| interpersonal skills | the ability to deal with other people | develop / lack interpersonal skills | As above |
| body language / facial expressions | non-verbal signals | observe others’ body language | people lose the ability to evaluate and observe others’ body language during the communication |
| deprive sb of sth | take something away from someone | deprive children of the chance to… | using mobile phones and computers deprives us of learning how to know others’ feelings |
| supervision | watching over someone | without parental supervision | providing their children more time using electronic devices without their parents’ supervision |
| peer influence | influence from people of the same age | be easily influenced by peers | the younger generation will be influenced by their peers easily |
| obesity / eye disease | being seriously overweight / eye conditions | lead to severe health problems | may lead to severe health problems, including eye disease as well as obesity |
| driverless vehicles | self-driving cars | the advantages of driverless vehicles | driverless vehicles are more economical, lowering expenditure on companies |
| eco-friendly / environmentally friendly | not harmful to the environment | eco-friendly transportation | most of those cars are driven by electricity (more natural: powered by electricity) |
| job vacancies / unemployment rate | open positions / share of people without work | a decrease in job vacancies, a high unemployment rate | the usage of those cars results in a decrease in job vacancies, leading to a high unemployment rate (my original in Task 15 was missing both instances of “a”; this version adds them) |
| automation / be replaced by machines | machines doing work people used to do | jobs are replaced by robots | (idea notes) technology replaces jobs → upskill programmes |
Arguments you can use
| Position | Arguments | Examples you can use |
|---|---|---|
| Technology brings benefits | ① Life is more convenient and efficient ② Lower costs (driverless cars save on drivers’ wages and training) ③ Better safety and public order (surveillance systems) | Most driverless cars are electric, reducing the use of conventional fuel; companies save on drivers’ salaries and training courses. |
| Technology causes harm | ① Damage to health (sitting for long periods, short-sightedness, obesity) ② Weaker interpersonal skills (you can’t see body language and don’t need to react in real time) ③ Jobs replaced, causing unemployment | When chatting on LINE (the messaging app almost everyone uses in Taiwan), people mostly send short phrases rather than full sentences, and can unsend a message before it is read, so they never practise reacting in real time. |
| Why children use phones | ① Parents are busy at work, so there is little company or supervision ② Peer influence: they find a sense of belonging in online games | More dual-income families and a rising cost of living; team-based mobile games. |
A topic sentence you can adapt, plus an example
Topic sentence: The main reason why I agree with this statement is that digital communication deprives people of the chance to practise [a skill].
The example I actually wrote (Task 35, corrected): For instance, when we use the LINE application to talk with others, we often send a wide range of short phrases instead of coherent sentences. In addition, senders can remove inappropriate ones as long as the message remains unread.
What makes this example work is that it is very local to Taiwan and very specific, and it maps directly onto the argument (no need to think on the spot, no need to build complete sentences). For technology questions, use apps you use every day as examples where you can. They are more convincing than a made-up research statistic.
Word mistakes I often made on technology topics
| What I wrote | Better version | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| spend lots of time using automobiles | using electronic devices | I wanted to avoid repeating “smartphones” and ended up writing “cars”: a classic case of forcing a synonym. |
| spend a tremendous time | spend a tremendous amount of time | Time meaning a period of time is uncountable. |
| post a treat on young generation’s social skills | pose a threat to the younger generation’s social skills | Both pose/post and threat/treat were misspelled, plus the article and preposition were wrong. |
| with time progressing | as time passes | A common unnatural phrase in background sentences. |
When I wrote my first AI essay in 2021, the whole thing used vague words like good technology, convenient and benefit, and my argument stopped at “AI is convenient, but it’s scary if it gets out of control”. Three years later, when I wrote about technology again, the biggest difference wasn’t harder vocabulary. It was that every argument landed on a specific scene: you can’t see body language, you don’t have to respond in real time, LINE messages can be unsent. Specific scenes force you to use specific words, and your vocabulary score rises naturally.
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Writing Language (post 3 of 4)
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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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