IELTS Task 2 model answer 14 – Has technology improved our lifestyle? The best way to get the most out of the model answers on this site is to read them closely, make a note of the phrases you find useful and if there are any words you don’t know, look them up online.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Modern appliances in the home have become more common, leaving no doubt that advances in technology have improved our lifestyle.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
The impact of innovations and inventions in people’s daily lives has increased dramatically. Most homes these days have, at the very least, a washing machine and a microwave, yet this has had both positive and negative effects, as will now be presented.
Primarily, the fact that these appliances have to be paid for, serviced, repaired and replaced means that consumers need to work to maintain this cycle. For example, in some countries the average machine is two or three weeks’ wages for most people. Considering the product’s life span, it can be estimated that many people are working at least two or three days a year simply to cover the cost of the appliance, a calculation which is multiplied by all the appliances we acquire.
In addition, an increasing number of appliances are for purposes that were not previously considered necessities, but through marketing techniques, manipulative advertising and human nature many are now keen to acquire them. Electric juice makers are a perfect example.
Of course, there are appliances which in their basic format have improved our lifestyle simply because of the labour they save. The machine, which saves hours every week on handwashing, is an example of this. It is only when such appliances develop functions beyond their basic use, that they become more expensive but more desirable because of the addition of these extra options that most people never use.
It can therefore be concluded that only by carefully considering the use and relevance of the appliances purchased that they can improve a person’s general lifestyle.
(258 words)