IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.
IELTS Essay # 1210 - How much can we trust the journalists?
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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
The news is an important source of knowledge for all of us about the world, especially in this era of technology. Journalists are mainly responsible to bring this news to us but not all of them are true to their responsibilities and ethics.
Why are some journalists not true to their responsibilities and ethics?
How much can we trust the journalists?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
In this modern era, we can access the latest news and global events on our electronic devices - thanks to modern technology and the journalists who work tirelessly to bring this news to us. Although I believe many journalists are honest and have genuine integrity in their responsibility and ethics, we cannot blindly trust all of them. This essay will explore the reasons why many journalists do not adhere to their responsibilities and ethics and why we can not completely trust journalists.
While many journalists adhere to their responsibilities and ethical standards, there are instances where some may deviate from their professional obligations. One reason for this is the pressure to meet tight deadlines and deliver breaking news quickly. In the race to be the first to report a story, some journalists may prioritize speed over accuracy, leading to misinformation or sensationalism. For example, in the era of digital media, the demand for constant content creation and the temptation to generate clickbait headlines can compromise the integrity of journalism.
When it comes to trusting journalists, we need to keep in mind that in this digital age, competition in the journalism industry is fierce. In order to stay ahead in the business, some journalists may present news that they did not double-check or reports that lacks originality. It is also true that some journalists make clickbait news to attract attention from the public, which enables them to get payback from internet traffic. Therefore, how to distinguish reliable information is becoming increasingly vital for us because we cannot rely on every news or the reporter behind the news. For example, it is reported that five out of twenty pieces of news could be clickbait when we read news randomly from unverified news aggregation sites or social media.
In conclusion, we can do some cross-checking to make sure the news we read is reliable, because, in this day and age, fake news is ubiquitous. Numerous outstanding journalists are still working to reveal the fact to the ordinary public, but we should not trust every journalist as not all of them remain true to their duty and morality often due to the pressure of deadlines and sometimes for personal gains.
[Written by - Casey]
Model Answer 2:
Due to the emergence of technology, we have online news portals besides printed newspapers, and it seems like anybody can be a journalist with a dot com website which puts an already questionable profession under more scrutiny and doubts. There are several reasons why journalists can deviate from their morality and professional integrity. Moreover, while trusting journalists and their reports, we should always verify the authenticity of the news and use our common sense.
The field of journalism is known for its pivotal role in disseminating accurate and unbiased information, holding power accountable, and serving the public interest. However, regrettably, some journalists deviate from their responsibilities and ethics for various reasons. One factor could be the pressure to prioritize sensationalism and attract higher viewership or readership. In the pursuit of capturing attention and generating revenue, certain journalists may resort to sensationalizing stories or presenting information in a biased manner.
When trusting a news report or a journalist, we should always check the news source and the credibility of the reporter, especially in this era of modern technology where online news portals have grown and spread like mushrooms. Clickbait journalism and politically motivated news are constantly bombarding us with the help of social media, and they have primarily one goal in mind - making money by playing with our emotions and feelings. As informed readers, we must rely on authoritative newspapers and verify any news source before believing them. For example, I generally tend to believe the news I read on bbc.com, but sometimes I also check the news on other sources. Our common sense about news can be a big tool to filter out fabricated news.
To conclude, we have good journalists and bad journalists, and it is our responsibility to be wary of non-authoritative news and not-so-credible journalists. We should also use our common sense to read news which is based on facts and truth.
Sample Answer 3:
In today's world, in which technology has brought us closer than ever, the news plays an essential role in shaping our knowledge and opinion about the world. However, the question of whether we can trust journalists without questioning remains a matter of concern. While many journalists maintain honesty and professional integrity, we cannot trust all of them as they may deviate from their responsibility for political pressure or corporate interest.
While journalism is regarded as a cornerstone of democracy, regrettably, there are instances where some journalists deviate from their responsibilities and ethical obligations. One reason for this is the influence of external pressures, such as corporate interests or political affiliations. In some cases, journalists may succumb to these pressures, compromising their objectivity and impartiality. For example, a journalist working for a media organization owned by a political figure might feel compelled to align their reporting with the owner's agenda, undermining the principles of fairness and accuracy. Such conflicts of interest can erode public trust and undermine the integrity of journalism as a whole.
Many journalists remain honest and professional in their work. They hold public interests and professional ethics before anything else. For example, renowned journalist Marie Colvin risked her life to cover conflicts worldwide, and her honesty and professional responsibility to report the truth ultimately cost her her life in Syria. However, there is plenty of evidence that many journalists, editors, and news moguls use their platforms to mislead people for financial gain or political favour. The rise of fake news and misinformation campaigns in recent times has only added to this concern. As a result, we should not blindly trust every piece of information presented to us through the media. We must verify and cross-check the facts and use our common sense to judge the veracity of the news.
In conclusion, while journalists play a crucial role in delivering the news to us, we cannot rely on them entirely for the truth. We must acknowledge that some journalists may not fulfil their professional responsibilities and may have their motives for reporting the news. Hence, we should try to check the authenticity of news before we blindly trust them.
The news is an important source of knowledge for all of us about the world, especially in this era of technology. Journalists are mainly responsible to bring this news to us but not all of them are true to their responsibilitie s and ethics.
How much can we trust the journalists?
Essay:
Technology has become a huge part of everyone’s life. It has magnified so much to the point that we can access to information and get updates on everything that is happening around the world through news and bulletin and journalists are the pople who work for that. But they could not be trusted most of the time.
The main purpose of journalists is to make people aware of current happenings and point out weak areas in society and country where we need to focus more. But, the news they present to us is not always the most accurate, sometimes they are even made up or fake. Generally, any person would want to gain as much profit as they can from the job they’re assigned. There are also certain times where the news is presented in an exaggerated manner so as to gain clout or attention. By achieving the attention they want from the news they are presenting, they will gain more views which causes profit to them.
Another factor that proves that the news could be inaccurate is that the journalists gather news from the people who have been present during the happening if incase they happen to miss the happening of the incident. Though the information provided by the people could also not be the most accurate or that it either excludes the main points of the incident.
In conclusion, no, we can not really trust the journalists because most of their intention is to gain profit rather than actually bringing out important information to the world. Though, it is important to know what is happening around the world so, there is a necessary for us to watch the news, but we should not stress on or believe everything that is said on the news or advertisements.
Sample Essay:
Nowadays, with the growth of technology, there is also a rapid rise in fake and fabricated news, clickbait journalism and so on. Advancement in technology has led to this manifold unethical conducts by many journalists. But it is also true that there are honest and professional journalists who work hard to make us informed and aware of social, political and global issues. In this essay, we will be discussing whether journalists, in general, should be trusted or not in this era of unprecedented technology.
News or report from any unverified source should not be trusted especially in this digital era when anyone can open an online news portal and share them on social media. For instance, most of the fabricated and bogus news that drift around the social media platforms is not from authoritative sources. If we do a little digging, we will find that they are fake because they come from unverified sources.
On top of that, some news channels and newspapers are extremely politically biased and they are influenced by the power and money of a few politicians. This type of media should not be trusted or relied upon for political opinions as well.
In contrast, several news platforms broadcast trustworthy and authentic news no matter the tread or cost. Many honest journalists and news channels publish news after conducting several cross-checks through different sources so that news reaches its audience without being adulterated. They believe that it is their moral and professional duty to publish genuine news and fight corruptions and unjust. For example, most of the mainstream newspapers that are not puppets to political powers, have genuine and useful news that positively shape the world.
In conclusion, the news should always reach its audience without any alterations. Some journalists are true to their professional obligation and morality while others are not. So we should always rely on mainstream news source and honest journalists who are not politically motivated and biased.
Can add up like, "In the bygone era, before the invention of publications, a man generally gathered the information from the resources outside, then delivered it verbally which usually consisting of Crops and Grains and pricing along with the trade routes."
In many countries, politics perilously impacts the growth of truthful journalism. Many journalists, out of fear or to gain some power or money, make a close relationship with the political leaders whose agenda is to print only the news that satisfies their political interests. Such inclination towards political parties jeopardizes journalists' moto and ethics, which is to be truthful under all circumstances. So in such countries, trusting journalists and their reports are out of the question except for a few journalists and news source who are still uncorrupted. In some developing countries in South Asian region, the ruling political parties always put pressure on the press and TV media so that their journalists do not disclose any potential information which might be harmful to the party image. According to Transparency International, 80% of the news in such a country is fabricated due to the influence of the political parties and their strongmen.
Additionally, as the number of media is rapidly increasing, the government has less control over the quality of them. Such a trend is more common in online portals which are least reliable. Also, these online news agencies are in ill competitions to gain fame, they fabricate news to impress their readers. According to Forbes, in recent days, online news portals are growing at a rate of 20% each year, which mostly are liable for the 80% of the fake news on the social sites like Facebook. So, we should not trust the journalists and editors who work for such new portals.
To recapitulate, the growing false news is quite alarming and this has put the reputation of journalists in questions. Therefore, before taking any news seriously people should do the background check to be sure if the reporter has any political agenda or the news is a false one.
Nowadays, there are so many different media sources, and some of them may be under the influence of the government and companies. For instance, most of the newspapers and television channels in our country are controlled by the government that only pro-government information is allowed to be published and most of the negative news is filtered. These kinds of news are usually unreliable. Therefore, the citizens have only good images of the country and the world and possess only distorted one-sided perspectives on the events. Since journalists are presenting these types of news to ordinary people, they should not be trusted in this instance.
On the other hand, even though many sources of the media is neutral, it does not mean that all the information given is unbiased. One common example is the health articles in
newspapers with very common health topics such as eczema. The piece may cover a lot of facts at the beginning which seems to be very reliable, informative and neutral. However, the ending may include some patients sharing their own experience on using certain products to recover. The readers may feel resonated with these shared nightmares and try the products recommended in the article. It is, therefore, at the end of the day, an advertisement of the product, which is usually paid for by large pharmaceutical companies. So, the news journalists, website owners and reporters in such cases should not be trusted at all.
Hence, it is a blessing to live in such an informative era in which we can get to know everything easily, and realistically, we cannot avoid receiving false information. However, we can develop our critical mind to filter such information, and not be fooled by biased journalists.
Undoubtedly, the reports we see today are spiced to increase the number of viewers and elevate the Target Rating Point (TRP). The foremost reason for this adulteration in the news report is to sustain the burgeoning competition in the industry as TRP is directly proportional to the profitability of the channel. Moreover, the promotion and increments of the reporter also depend on the TRP of the show they are hosting. Therefore, it is essential to check the credibility of the bulletin from other sources like the internet or government websites.
Additionally, many news channels these days are funded by politicians and business leaders. They frequently influence the journalists to temper the facts and statistics to improve their political image and fill their vote bank. Consequently, these incidents question the credibility of the news anchors and make it mandatory to verify the data before trusting them.
In conclusion, various news channels often skillfully change the facts to boost the TRP of their house. Ergo, It has become quite important not to believe everything we watch or see on news media.
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