IELTS ACADEMIC
SAMPLE 2-34

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Some people consider computers to be more of a hindrance than a help. Others believe that they have greatly increased human potential. How could computers be considered a hindrance?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your  own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Model answer
It is easy to understand why some people believe that computers are more of a hindrance than a help. Operations such as obtaining a refund or changing a ticket tend to be fairly straightforward without the aid of a computer, yet once one is involved, the process can become time-consuming, complex and prone to errors. In an office environment, it can sometimes seem that for every hour saved by computers, at least set of problems caused by a system malfunction.
Another consideration is that, over-enthusiastic use of computers in the home has the potential to divert large amounts of free time away from activities such as socialising, tasking exercise or having dinner with your family. Spending a lot of leisure time looking at a computer monitor screen could perhaps achieving other goals in life, such as being healthy and socially integrated.
However, it would be simplistic to assert that computers have a generally negative impact. There have been enormous advences in communications, medicine, design, education and numerous fields of human endeavour. Nowadays, virtually the entire sum of human knowledge is as far away as the nearest internet point. Computers have brought about a profound change in the way most people in the developed world live. (Although it should not be forgotten that the majority of the inhabitants of this planet have never so much as touched a computer keyboard.)
The benefits of computers undoubtedly outweigh the disadventages. The question is not whether computers help or hinder, but whether people always use their huge potential in a sensible and responsible way?