Technology Development | Writing for Academic IELTS PDF Download

This technology development essay for shows you the flexibility you can have with your opinion when you approach an agree / disagree type question. The topic is about whether you think earlier or more recent technological developments have had more influence on people's lives.

Take a look at the question below:
Q. Earlier technological developments brought more benefits and changed the lives of ordinary people more than recent developments ever will. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Hint:

This technology development essay question is quite complex and it is very easy to make mistakes when answering it. Some typical issues are:

• Not understanding 'ordinary people'
• Misunderstanding 'ever will' and writing about future developments
• Deciding which technological developments are 'earlier' or more 'recent'
• Writing about the pros and cons of technology only and not really addressing the question

Flexibility with your opinion

• Candidates often think that they have to give an opinion that will satisfy the examiner. However, the opinion you give should be yours and the examiner can't penalise you if it is not what s/he would think.
• Of course your essay must answer the question and the position you take must be consistent throughout your essay (e.g. saying you agree but then having an essay where nearly all of it disagrees would not make sense).
• A typical way to answer this question would be to choose whether you think earlier or more recent developments are more influential, than explain why in your essay.
• In other words. to choose and support one of these as your opinion (though of course you should still write about both):
  • Earlier technological developments had the most influence and benefits
  • More recent technological developments had the most influence and benefits
• It's ok though to take a different approach. 
• Let's say you think it is not a matter of comparing old with new - rather you think some earlier ones are more influential, but some older ones are more influential. So it depends which developments are being talked about. 
• As long as you explain this in your thesis statement and your essay this is fine, and of course as long as you are still comparing some earlier and recent technological developments. 

Sample Technology Development

• So take a look at this technology development essay and note how the writer still fully answers the question but take a different view to that of the opinion in the question. This essay is organised as follows:
  • Opinion: Depend on the area of technology
  • Body Para 1: Technology in the home (earlier more important)
  • Body Para 2: Medical Technology (earlier more important)
  • Body Para 3: Phones (recent more important)
  • Conc: Restate opinion
• In this thesis, you could just state your opinion generally or to be clear say you are either disagreeing or partially agreeing with statement. 

Sample Answer

• Developments in technology over many years have dramatically changed the world that we live in, and some people think that earlier advances in technology have had a greater impact on and been more beneficial to the lives of ordinary people than more recent changes. However, I partially agree with this as the advantages and influences on people’s lives actually depends on the particular area of technology.
• There is no doubt that some earlier advances in technology have been very influential, such as those related to technology around the home. Devices such as washing machines, fridges and freezers, central heating, microwaves and televisions were invented many years ago, and now nearly every household has all or some of these in their home, making life much easier. Though they have been improved over time, they still carry out much the same purpose as when they were first invented. 
• Another example is that of medicine. Despite the fact that there have been ground-breaking recent medical developments, such as that connected to research into genes and stem cells, the benefits to the average person are still many years away. The most influential impacts on health have been earlier technological developments of the past, which remain today. These are the ability to treat so many injuries and diseases and carry out organ transplants in hospitals. It is these that have benefits on so many lives and will for decades to come.
• However, if we look at some more recent developments, they have had a much greater influence than in the past. For instance, there is the phone, which was a significant development when invented helping many people. However, although invented many years ago, technological developments over the last few decades have enabled the phone to now be mobile and connected to the internet. This has had incredible impacts on the way people Iive their lives with people using phones for so many everyday activities and for connecting around the world.
• In conclusion, I would argue that although some older technological developments are important, some new ones are too. The impacts on ordinary people’s lives therefore depends on the type of technology in question.