Task 2 essay
IELTS Writing Task 2: Artificial intelligence and jobs
Question type: Positive or negative development?
The question
Computers and artificial intelligence can now do many jobs that used to be done by people.
Is this a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
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How to approach it
- Choose a clear side. You can accept some problems and still call it positive, or the reverse.
- Think about which jobs are replaced and which are created, with an example of each.
- Say what would need to happen for the change to work well, such as retraining.
Model essay
305 words (minimum 250). Written to show the features of a Band 8-level answer.
Machines have been replacing human workers since the first factories, but artificial intelligence is now able to perform tasks that once required education and judgement. Although this change will cause real difficulties for some employees, I believe it is a positive development overall, provided that governments help people to adapt.
The clearest benefit is that computers can take over work that is repetitive, tiring or dangerous. Software can check thousands of documents in seconds, and robots can work in mines or with harmful chemicals without risk to anyone's health. This allows human workers to concentrate on tasks that need creativity or personal contact. In medicine, for example, programmes that examine scans can find signs of disease quickly, giving doctors more time to talk to their patients.
A second advantage is economic. When goods and services can be produced more cheaply, prices fall and more people can afford them. History also suggests that new technology creates jobs as well as removing them. The arrival of computers ended the work of many typists, but it produced whole industries, from programming to online retail, that employ far more people.
It would be wrong, however, to ignore those who lose out. A driver or an office worker of fifty cannot easily become a software engineer, and whole towns may suffer if a major employer replaces its staff with machines. If nothing is done, the profits of automation will go to a small number of companies while unemployment rises.
This is why I think the result depends on public policy. Governments should fund retraining, support workers while they change careers and make sure that education prepares young people for the new kinds of work.
In conclusion, artificial intelligence can make work safer, products cheaper and services better. It is a positive development, but only if society shares its benefits fairly.
Useful language from this answer
- provided that…
- adding a condition to your opinion
- can take over work that is…
- describing what machines replace
- history also suggests that…
- using the past as evidence
- those who lose out
- people who are harmed by a change
- the result depends on…
- showing what decides the outcome
Common mistakes with this question
- Writing about robots in films or the distant future. Keep to work and jobs today.
- Sitting on the fence. The question asks whether it is positive or negative, so decide.
- Using 'technologies' and 'technology' without care. 'New technology' is usually uncountable.
Now write your own answer
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This model answer was written by TestWise Prep to show the features of a high-scoring answer. It is not official IELTS material. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise.