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IELTS Writing Task 2: ‘disagree’ essay with both sides
Although more and more people read news on the Internet, newspapers will remain
the most important source of news. Do you agree or disagree?
Essay plan:
After brainstorming ideas, we numbered them 1 to 5 (in red) for the 5 sentences that
we wanted to write for each paragraph.
1) Introduction:
topic - will newspapers continue to be main source of news?
answer - disagree, because Internet will be equally important
2) Main paragraph about 1 newspapers continuing to be important
- 2 traditional, always popular
- 2 not everyone has access or wants to use Internet, 3 e.g. old people, rural areas,
developing countries
- 4 quality of news - editing, professional journalists, trust - Internet isn’t always reliable,
newspapers are worth paying for
- 5 hard copy - experience of reading a paper
3) Main paragraph about 1 Internet becoming equally important
- 2 faster access, gadgets, phones, wherever you are, younger generations, easy, most
people have skills, cheaper
- 5 less damaging to environment
- 3 sharing news with friends, search for particular news, discuss with other readers, give
your views, join in, anyone can contribute, variety of platforms for news 4 e.g. blogs,
posts on social news, Twitter, videos
4) Conclusion: repeat / summarise the overall answer
Note:
Compare the above plan with the full essay on the next page. Notice how we used the
numbered ideas (1 to 5) to write 5 sentences for each paragraph.
[Link]
Full essay:
The Internet is beginning to rival newspapers as the best place to find information about
what is happening in the world. I believe that this trend will continue, and the Internet will
soon be just as important as the traditional press.
On the one hand, I believe that newspapers will continue to be a vital source of
information, even in the Internet age. Firstly, newspapers are the most traditional means of
communicating the news, and not everyone wants to or is able to use the Internet instead.
For example, old people or those in rural areas might not have the ability or opportunity to
get online, while many of us simply prefer newspapers even if we do have Internet access.
Secondly, newspapers can be trusted as reliable sources of news because they employ
professional journalists and editors. Finally, many people like the experience of holding
and reading a paper rather than looking at a computer screen.
However, the Internet is likely to become just as popular as newspapers for a variety of
reasons. The main reason is that it allows us much faster access to news in real time and
wherever we are, on different gadgets and mobile devices. Another key benefit of online
news compared to newspapers is the ability to share articles, discuss them with other
people, give our views, and even contribute with our own updates on social media. For
example, there has been an explosion in the use of platforms like Twitter and YouTube
where anyone can share their news and views. A final point is that this source of news is
less damaging to the environment.
In conclusion, I disagree with the view that newspapers will continue to be the main source
of news, because I believe that the Internet will soon be equally important.
(300 words, band 9)