Band 7 Example

Question: What negative effects does technology have on people's relationships?

Idea 1

Less Face-to-Face Communication
Model Answer
One big problem is that people don't talk face-to-face as much as before. They prefer texting or chatting online, which isn't the same. Sometimes, messages can be misunderstood because you can't see the other person's face or body language. This can make conversations less meaningful and even cause arguments.
A major downside is the decline in face-to-face communication. People often choose to text or chat online instead of meeting up in person, which can make conversations feel less genuine. Without seeing facial expressions or body language, it's easy to misinterpret what someone means, leading to misunderstandings and sometimes even conflict. This lack of real interaction can weaken relationships over time.
Grammar Analysis
1. Comparative structure: "less genuine" uses the comparative form to compare the quality of conversations, adding nuance to the answer. 2. Infinitive of purpose: "to misinterpret what someone means" uses the infinitive form to express purpose or result, showing grammatical variety. 3. Present continuous tense: "can weaken relationships over time" uses the present continuous to describe an ongoing effect, making the answer sound more natural and relevant. 4. Conditional clause: "Without seeing facial expressions or body language, it's easy to misinterpret..." uses a conditional structure to explain cause and effect, demonstrating complex sentence construction.
Vocabulary
  • decline in face-to-face communication
  • text or chat online
  • less genuine
  • facial expressions
  • body language
  • misinterpret
  • misunderstandings
  • conflict
  • lack of real interaction
  • weaken relationships over time

Idea 2

Distraction and Reduced Attention
Model Answer
Another problem is that people are always on their phones, even when they're with friends or family. This can make others feel ignored or unimportant, and the time spent together isn't as good as before. People get distracted easily and don't pay full attention to each other.
Technology can also be a huge distraction. It's common to see people glued to their screens, even during family gatherings or outings with friends. This behavior can make others feel neglected or undervalued, and it really reduces the quality of time spent together. Instead of having meaningful conversations, people are often half-listening while scrolling through their phones.
Grammar Analysis
1. Present simple tense: Used throughout ("Technology can also be...", "It's common to see...") to describe general truths and common situations, which is appropriate for discussing broad social issues. 2. Passive voice: "can make others feel neglected or undervalued" uses the passive structure to focus on the effect on people, not who is causing it. 3. Present participle phrase: "while scrolling through their phones" is a present participle phrase that describes an action happening at the same time as another, adding detail and fluency to the sentence. 4. Instead of + gerund: "Instead of having meaningful conversations..." uses the gerund form after "instead of" to clearly contrast two actions.
Vocabulary
  • huge distraction
  • glued to their screens
  • family gatherings
  • feel neglected or undervalued
  • reduces the quality of time
  • meaningful conversations
  • half-listening
  • scrolling through their phones

Idea 3

Superficial Connections
Model Answer
Social media makes it easy to have lots of friends online, but these relationships are often not very deep. People might have hundreds of online friends but still feel lonely. It's also easy to hide your real feelings online, so connections can be quite superficial.
Social media tends to encourage more superficial connections. People may have hundreds of online friends, but very few close, meaningful relationships. It's easy to present a filtered version of yourself online or hide your true emotions, which makes it hard to build genuine trust and intimacy. As a result, people can end up feeling isolated despite being constantly connected.
Grammar Analysis
1. Present simple tense: Used throughout the answer (e.g., "Social media tends to encourage...", "People may have...") to state general truths and common situations. 2. Contrast structure: "People may have hundreds of online friends, but very few close, meaningful relationships." The use of "but" creates a clear contrast, which is a strong way to organize ideas. 3. Infinitive of purpose: "...which makes it hard to build genuine trust and intimacy." The infinitive "to build" explains the purpose or result, adding clarity. 4. Present participle phrase: "despite being constantly connected" uses the present participle "being" to show a contrast in the situation, adding complexity to the sentence structure.
Vocabulary
  • superficial connections
  • online friends
  • close, meaningful relationships
  • present a filtered version
  • hide your true emotions
  • build genuine trust and intimacy
  • feeling isolated
  • constantly connected

Idea 4

Arguments and Jealousy
Model Answer
Technology can also cause arguments and jealousy. For example, people might get upset about something their partner posts online or compare their relationship to others they see on social media. This can make them feel unhappy and even damage their real-life relationships.
Another negative effect is the potential for arguments and jealousy. Social media posts can easily be misunderstood, leading to unnecessary conflicts. People also tend to compare their own relationships to the seemingly perfect ones they see online, which can create feelings of insecurity or dissatisfaction. These online issues can spill over into real life and seriously harm relationships.
Grammar Analysis
1. Modal verb for possibility: "can easily be misunderstood" uses the modal verb "can" to express possibility, and the passive voice to focus on the action rather than the subject. 2. Present simple tense: The answer uses the present simple tense throughout (e.g., "People also tend to compare..."), which is appropriate for talking about general truths or common situations. 3. Cause and effect structure: "...leading to unnecessary conflicts" uses a present participle phrase to show the result of the previous action, adding complexity to the sentence. 4. Parallel structure: "insecurity or dissatisfaction" uses parallel nouns to clearly list possible negative feelings, making the answer more fluent and natural.
Vocabulary
  • arguments and jealousy
  • social media posts
  • misunderstood
  • unnecessary conflicts
  • compare their own relationships
  • seemingly perfect ones
  • insecurity
  • dissatisfaction
  • spill over into real life
  • seriously harm relationships