Discussion essays: has technology made people less sociable?
You can explain two opposing views fairly and keep your own opinion clear from the introduction to the conclusion.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. That line at the end of a Task 2 question asks for three things: one view explained, the other view explained, and what you think.
The third is the one that goes missing. Writers often explain both views with care, then give their opinion only in the last line, or never.
At band 7, the Task Response descriptor says a clear and developed position is presented. So state your opinion in the introduction, and keep it clear to the last line.
Warm-up
How many jobs?
Read the last line of a Task 2 question. How many things does it ask you to do?
Read thisDiscuss both these views and give your own opinion.
What does this line ask for?
How it works
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Some people believe that smartphones and social media have made people less sociable. Others think these technologies help people to stay close to more friends than ever before.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Planning in five minutes
- 1Decide your opinion first
Which view do you agree with more, and how far? Settle this first, because the rest of the plan depends on it.
- 2Give each view a reason and an example
Do this for the view you disagree with too. If that view gets one thin line, the essay no longer discusses both views.
- 3Put the view you agree with less first
The second body paragraph can then end with your opinion, and that leads straight into the conclusion.
- 4Write your opinion as one sentence
It ends the introduction, and it comes back in new words at the end of the essay.
Where each part goes
The parts, in order
The topic in your own words, the two views, then your opinion in one sentence.
The view you agree with less, reported fairly, with a reason and an example.
The view you agree with more, with a reason and an example, then your opinion again.
A brief summary of both views, and your opinion in new words.
Whose view is it?
In this essay you write a whole paragraph about a view you may not hold. If you write that view as plain fact, the reader takes it as your opinion. Then your essay seems to argue for both sides at once. A reporting phrase shows that the view belongs to someone else.
The same point, two ways
Social media makes people lonely. Teenagers cannot hold a conversation any more.
Critics of social media argue that it makes people lonely. Some teachers say that teenagers find it harder to hold a conversation.
Phrases that show whose view it is
Side by side
Some people believe that... / Those who ... argue that... / Critics of ... claim that... / Supporters of this view point out that...
In my view,... / I believe that... / For these reasons, I think... / To my mind,...
Watch me do one
Here is my plan for this question. I start with my own opinion, because everything else hangs on it.
My view is that technology has helped most people's relationships, but it can do harm when it replaces time together. So I lean towards the second view.
Body paragraph 1 is the view I agree with less. Reason: screens take attention away from the people in the room. Example: friends in a café, each on a phone.
Body paragraph 2 is the view I support. Reason: technology keeps alive relationships that distance would end. Example: a student abroad who sees her family on video calls. The paragraph ends with my opinion.
Last, the opinion sentence for the introduction, with its limit built in: technology has strengthened most people's relationships, although it can harm them when it replaces time spent together.
A model answer
Some people believe that smartphones and social media have made people less sociable. Others think these technologies help people to stay close to more friends than ever before. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Smartphones and social media are now part of daily life for most people, and there is disagreement about what they have done to our relationships. Some believe that they have made people less sociable, while others argue that they help people to keep more friendships than before. In my view, technology has strengthened most people's relationships, although it can harm them when it replaces time spent together. Those who think technology has made people less sociable point to its effect on the time people spend together. It is common to see a group of friends in a café, each looking at a different screen. Some young people also say that they find phone calls or conversations with strangers stressful, because they are used to messaging. These critics fear that people will end up with hundreds of online contacts but very few close friends. On the other hand, technology allows people to keep relationships that would otherwise fade. A student who moves abroad can see her family on a video call every evening, and old school friends can share news in a group chat years after they leave school. Online groups also help people with unusual interests or long-term illnesses to find others like them, which matters most for those who live alone or cannot travel easily. For these reasons, I believe the second view is closer to the truth. In conclusion, although heavy phone use can take the place of face-to-face contact, I believe technology has made most people better at staying in touch. The problem lies in how it is used, and people who use it to arrange meetings in person get the benefits of both.
- TaskThe opinion, at the end of the introduction. The although part shows the writer has weighed the other side.
- CoherenceThe reader knows at once that this paragraph reports other people's view. The writer's own opinion has not changed.
- TaskAn example anyone can picture. The view the writer disagrees with still gets a fair hearing.
- CoherenceTells the reader that the second view starts here.
- VocabularyWould otherwise fade says, in three words, what would happen to these friendships with no technology.
- TaskThe writer's opinion comes back straight after the view it supports.
- GrammarA clause with although holds both sides in one controlled sentence.
Coloured text shows what the examiner is looking for.
Balance is hard to judge in your own essay, because you know what you meant. Kriti and Christine, the Elite Knowledge tutors, read discussion essays with students in their classes and show where one view has taken over.
Practice with Elita6 questions
Four short questions, then you plan a new essay and write its introduction.
The last sentence of the introduction
Three ways to end the introduction to this essay. Which one gives the examiner a clear opinion?
Which is the best last sentence for the introduction?
Whose view?
In a discussion essay, the reader must always know whose view a sentence gives. Whose view is this?
Critics of social media argue that constant messaging has made real conversation harder.
A reporting verb
Complete the sentence with one verb that reports what people think.
Supporters of social media that it helps lonely people find others like them.
Write no more than 1 word.
The confusing sentence
The writer's opinion is that technology has brought people closer. These sentences come from the first body paragraph. Which one would confuse the reader?
Which sentence contains the error?
Plan your own
Now a new question. Give yourself five minutes, and write short notes in each box.
Some people think that the internet has made it easier for people to learn. Others believe it has made it harder for people to concentrate. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Write the introduction
Now write the introduction to that essay: the topic in your own words, the two views, and your opinion.
Introduction only, for the question you planned: Some people think that the internet has made it easier for people to learn. Others believe it has made it harder for people to concentrate. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
0 / 40 words
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Words to keep
Friendly, and happy to spend time with other people. My brother is more sociable online than he is at parties.
Slowly become weaker and then disappear. Friendships can fade when people move to different cities.
Make something stronger. Regular video calls strengthened her ties with her family.
Be used where something else was used before. For some teenagers, messages have taken the place of phone calls.
Agree with one view a little more than with the other. I lean towards the second view, although the first one has a point.
Give something as evidence for an argument. Critics point to the hours teenagers spend online.
Before you go
Cover all three parts: the first view, the second view and your own opinion.
Report the views with phrases such as some argue and those who think, so every sentence has an owner.
Give your opinion in the introduction, again after the view you support, and in the conclusion.
Give each view a reason and an example, including the one you agree with less.
Next: Next, Academic candidates describe a line graph of broadcast TV and streamed video. General Training candidates go on to Unit 4, about the environment, which starts with its words and the passive.