IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.
IELTS Essay # 27 - When a country develops its technology the traditional skills and ways of life die
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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.
When a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1: (Disagreement)
The issue ‘with the development of the technology traditional skills and the conventional lifestyle die’ is a controversial one and needs deeper argument before supporting or opposing the issue. Overall, I disagree with the opinion expressed; I would like to begin by pointing out that ‘traditional skills and ways of life’ are not totally vanished from one country, culture or community because of the introduction of technology.
In many ways, the history of civilisation is the history of technology: from the discovery of fire to the invention of the wheel to the development of the Internet we have been moving on from previous ways of doing things. Some technologies, such as weapons of mass destruction, are of negative impact. Others, such as medical advances, positively help people to live better or longer, and so very much help traditional ways of life. Surely, few people would seek to preserve such traditions as living in caves. Technology will always follow its own footsteps no matter what we, some people think about it. Technology advances because we need it. So there is no way to prevent the advancement of the technology but we should embrace it positively. The generation of a country is responsible for preserving their own custom and tradition and if people feel eager to save a tradition then there is no way technological advancement will destroy it. There are many cases where technology replaces human labour to create certain things, for example, handmade sari, which is still popular in many countries. Technology, in this case, has not destroyed the old tradition but has introduced a faster and less expensive ways to create the same thing.
Interestingly, technology can positively contribute to the keeping alive of traditional skills and ways of life. For example, the populations of some islands are too small to have normal schools. Rather than breaking up families by sending children to the mainland, education authorities have been able to use the Internet to deliver schooling online. In addition, the Internet, and modern refrigeration techniques are being used to keep alive the traditional skills of producing salmon; it can now be ordered from, and delivered to, anywhere in the world.
In conclusion, without suggesting that all technology is necessarily good, I think it is by no means ‘pointless’, in any way, to try to keep traditions alive with technology. We should not ignore technology because it can be our friend and support our way of life.
Alternative Answer 2:
The technological revolution affects all countries around the world in many ways significantly. It seems that the traditional skills and the ways life used to be present have disappeared. This essay will discuss how the technology has led to this case and whether it is worth attempting to save people's traditional life or not.
To begin with, there are various reasons why traditional skills no longer exist as it was many years ago. One major reason is the development of technology. For illustrations, modern technology has been used for many tasks such as agriculture, industries, and the machines have replaced people’s manual tasks in most cases. Moreover, the internet alters the way of communication dramatically; instead of visiting family these days, for example, people speak with each other over the phone or chat using social media like Facebook or Twitter. Perhaps, that is why the traditional skills are expiring with the demand if time and modernization.
Let's move to another point in the statement: some people argue that the traditional experience shouldn't be saved. The principal reason for their opinion is that global advertising encourages everyone to buy the same products. For instance, people wear similar clothes, rather than traditional costumes, and eat from the same types of restaurants such as KFC and Mac Donald and their branches are present all over the world. This shows that it does not make sense to keep the traditional skills alive.
To conclude, this essay has looked at the possible reasons of die out of traditional life, such as the revolution in technology and popularity of the internet, and also the reason why it is aimless to keep them alive.
Model Answer 3: (Agreement)
Whether the technology and its influences kill the traditional way of life and whether should we try to preserve the tradition is a controversial issue and required an in-depth argument before deciding. In my opinion, the technology definitely traditional skills, expertise and way of life change and the change might be slow for many societies but it is a sure thing. About the later part of the argument: ‘whether it is pointless to try to preserve those’ is something I opine that that should not be imposed on people. Who want to maintain the traditional way of living rather than embracing the technology should be given the option.
The history suggests us that the new invention and technology have greatly changed the way people live and mostly these changes help them to choose for better alternatives. People who used to cultivate lands with the plough and cow in many years before and that was a kind of skill that became obsolete with the invention of the motorized irrigation system. People might have lost the skill they had but the technology helped them to produce more crops than ever before. With the invention of cell the phone, the internet, television, refrigerator people have definitely adopted a different lifestyle than they had many years ago and those changes, in my opinion, are important to ensure a better life. We would not blame the medical science for killing the traditional unscientific treatment and would widely accept it. In most of the cases, people used to do things manually and with the widespread of technology they have started relying on technology than their own skill and that has caused the loss of traditional skill. But we have to bear in mind that many technologies have been replaced by newer ones and people always try to take the easy and better alternatives.
About the importance of conserving the traditional skill and way of life, I would say when technology offers us a better alternative, we should cordially accept that but we should also respect the people who among us maintain the old way of life. Technology would knowingly and unknowingly influence our life but we should not make it a must for everybody.
(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just one example out of many possible answers.)
Alternative Answer 4:
Technology is an important thing in people’s life and it clearly helps us to adapt with the period of development. I disagree with an opinion that, when technology develops in a country, the traditional skills disappear. There are two reasons that I will describe related to this case; which is traditional skills can combine with technology and traditional skills still have a great position in order to technological development.
On the one hand, traditional skill is the heritage from our ancestor. So we have responsibilities to take care for it. The development of technology is huge advantages for ‘traditional skills’. Using the technology we can improve these skills and while trying to introduce new innovations to combine technology and traditional skills. For instance, ‘hand art painting’ is one of the traditional skills, people can make a new creation by using technology touching use ‘Photoshop’. The combination between hand art painting and Photoshop software will be a great innovation. People can create great works and earn a lot by doing this.
On another hand, although the technology is developing sharply, the traditional skill used products are still having a high position in the marketing field. For example, Indonesian traditional stuff namely ‘Songket’ is still creating great improvement in the sale. In my hometown, an industrial Songket factory, in the end of 2014, received order 2000 to 3000 pieces ‘songket’ stuff from some country including USA, Italy, Japan and Vietnam. It proofs that traditional products still stand up till now.
To sum up, traditional skills are still alive though the technology is increased dramatically. It still has a special place in people’s life. Also, traditional skills’ popularity will increase if people try to combine both traditional skills and technology.
Alternative Answer 5:
Increasingly technological developments are aggressively pushing traditional lifestyle and skills out of the picture. Some believe that this diminishing process is too extraordinary to stop or reverse. However, I believe that valuable traditions will be preserved in particular ways by providing alternative ways of living, and being inspirations for modern technology developments.
First of all, traditional lifestyle and skills are gradually becoming popular recently, particularly among young people who live in a busy urban area, by offering alternative ways of life. For instance, a cosy country style Thai restaurant where traditional cooking herbs and vegetables are freshly harvested from its own backyard garden, and spices are 100% homemade with traditional spicy preserving skills, has drawn much attention and popularity from people who are bored of mass produced food and the highly industrialised environment. Such traditional skills and way of life would continue to have their place in this modern era.
Furthermore, conventional skills can be a great source of inspirations for modern technologies development. Evidence have shown that engineers and designers of modern times are still constantly inspired by the traditional skills. For example, sparked by a traditional bamboo braiding skills from a rural Asian area, a world widely famous furniture designer, working with equally talented engineers, invented production lines to manufacture designed modern furniture that however has that particular traditional braid style touch. Such inspiration has boosted the business, therefore, in turn, would result in more money allocated for preserving those valuable skills for further development.
To conclude, although it is hard to stop most of our traditional skills and ways of life vanishing from this modern world, some traditional skills and lifestyle would not just survive, but also thrive by proving alternative ways of living and being innovative for modern technology.
(Approximately 295 words)
(This model answer was written by Huan )
Model Answer 6:
Nowadays, technological advancement and their rapid and wide applications are having a significant impact on a nation's traditional skills and ways of life. Some argue that such impact is so extraordinary that it would make conventional skills and lifestyles obsolete. However, I believe they would continue to thrive by providing alternatives to modern ways of life, and innovative ideas for modern technologies.
First of all, traditional skills and ways of life are becoming an alternative solution to the problems caused by "mainstreamed" ways of life which are greatly influenced by modern technologies. For instance, a cozy restaurant where traditional, home-brewed beer is served, offers another experience to people who are bored with branded beers that have the same flavour and come out of mass production with new technologies. It is in such a venue where traditional skills are preserved, people become relaxed and educated. Providing diversity and thus enriching modern ways of life, such traditional skills and ways of life would continue to have their place.
Furthermore, conventional skills provide innovative ideas to the development of modern technologies. For example, sparkled by how the word "Love" is traditionally knitted into a sweater by some ethnic minority women in some parts of Asia, some business managers from textile industry have developed some production lines by applying the traditional skills to Computer-Aided Designs (CAD). The products have boosted the companies' sales which in turn have increased their investment in preserving traditional skills for further developing their technologies.
To conclude, traditional skills and lifestyles are increasingly becoming a useful alternative to the homogeneity brought by global applications of modern technologies. However, the evolution of technologies is a selection process, whereby some would become obsolete, but there is no doubt that some would thrive when their roles are appreciated.
(Approximately 297 words)
Model Answer 7:
During the last century, science and technology have expanded to a great extent. As a nation focuses more on technology, it is true that the conventional skills and previous lifestyle vanishes. I strongly agree that there is no point in retaining them. This can be proven by analysing how technology can save a lot of time as well as be accurate enough.
It is apparent that the latest machines can do a lot of work with minimal time. For instance, in a construction industry, a crane can lift a block of heavy materials within a fraction of a minute. By using the traditional skills, it will take at least a day to uplift bulky items to the top of a building. Thus, it is obvious that it makes no sense on focusing on previous skills and ways. Similarly, when automated machines can sew more than thousands of clothes, there is no point to involve manual labour to produce only hundred per day!
It is a fact that almost all industries prefer computers for account related tasks as they are very much accurate and faster. For example, consider a bank which has to calculate the turnover for its past decade. By using a software it would be possible to get the exact value. Even though there are a lot of algorithms used by old generation, it is not guaranteed that the calculation will be so precise and faster. Hence it is clear that there is no much benefit in focusing on traditional expertise.
By analysing how science has helped in getting the work done faster with precise results, it is very clear that there is no much advantage in retaining old skills and lifestyle. It is considered that the community will create this awareness among the masses.
(Approximately 296 words)
Model Answer 8:
Many people think that traditional cultures will vanish due to the rapid development of new technology. Therefore, it is useless to spend some time for preserving the traditional ways of life. To a certain point, I would agree that modern technology has brought some benefits to our life. But I disagree if we should abandon all the old fashioned cultures, as I believe that some traditional ways are still beneficial for us.
It is a fact that many traditional ways have disappeared due to the existence of new technology. Many people have abandoned their traditional ways and equipment, as they become more productive with the modern tools. For example, instead of using carts and manpower, many farmers in develop countries are using tractors and bulldozers to cultivate their plants these days. By using these machines, it saves a lot of times, money and energy. Therefore, many people prefer to use modern technology than to maintain the traditional ways.
Despite the benefits of modern technology, some traditional ways of life are still important and valid for our lives nowadays. One of the examples is that people in the past are concerned about honesty and integrity. In the olden days, people did business based on trust and respect, as they had no contracts and due to the lack of paper resources. In the modern world, legalised agreement become an essential part of a business deal due to some parties might do any illegal and inappropriate act. These kinds of traditional cultures should be preserved and carry forward to the future generation.
In conclusion, to a certain extent, I would agree that some traditional cultures should be abandoned and replace with technology and modern ways. But, some of the traditional ways are still valid and applicable to the modern world, and it is necessary to maintain and preserve them.
(Approximately 307 words)
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