PARAPHRASE THE ARGUMENT THAT YOU PRESENTED IN THE INTRODUCTION

Several people have asked me about this question from Cambridge IELTS 8. I wrote

the essay below with the help of some of my students. A few simple linking features

are highlighted.

Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of

technology.

In what ways has technology affected the types of relationships that people

make? Has this been a positive or negative development?

It is true that new technologies have had an influence on communication between

people. Technology has affected relationships in various ways, and in my opinion

there are both positive and negative effects.

Technology has had an impact on relationships in business, education and social

life. Firstly, telephones and the Internet allow business people in different countries to

interact without ever meeting each other. Secondly, services like Skype create new

possibilities for relationships between students and teachers. For example, a student

can now take video lessons with a teacher in a different city or country. Finally, many

people use social networks, like Facebook, to make new friends and find people who

share common interests, and they interact through their computers rather than face to

face.

On the one hand, these developments can be extremely positive. Cooperation between

people in different countries was much more difficult when communication was

limited to written letters or telegrams. Nowadays, interactions by email, phone or

video are almost as good as face-to-face meetings, and many of us benefit from these

interactions, either in work or social contexts. On the other hand, the availability of

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new communication technologies can also have the result of isolating people and

discouraging real interaction. For example, many young people choose to make

friends online rather than mixing with their peers in the real world, and these ‘virtual’

relationships are a poor substitute for real friendships.

In conclusion, technology has certainly revolutionised communication between

people, but not all of the outcomes of this revolution have been positive.

(257 words, band 9)

A few people have asked me whether using "firstly, secondly, finally" to organise a

paragraph is too easy.

My answer is that using easy organising language like "firstly, secondly, finally"

allows you to focus on the real content of what you are writing - topic vocabulary,

collocations, examples. This is what the examiner wants to see. You can get a band 9

using "firstly, secondly, finally" if the ideas between these linking words are good.

Some simple alternatives to "firstly, secondly, finally" could be:

The main reason why I believe... is... / Another argument is... / Also,...

One problem is that... / Furthermore,... / Another drawback is that...

From a business perspective,... / In terms of education,... / From a social point of

view,... (this could work for the paragraph in

For 'agree or disagree' essays, do you think you should give both sides of the

argument or just one side? The answer is that you can do either.

A) Essay structure for one side of the argument: