Writing Feedback / Ielts Essay: Attitude towards 21 century and the world [6]

Some people are optimistic about the 21st century and see it as an opportunity to make positive changes to the world. To what extent do you agree ?

There is a widespread held perception that we human beings will be better off in the 21st century, but I tend to disagree.

Admittedly, people today are having much better lives in terms of their living standards, compared to the lives a century ago. The invention of computer and the Internet has enabled both contacts between the loved ones in faraway distance and international trade. The medical advancements have saved millions of patients who suffered from illnesses which were deadly before. Most of all, the technological development has brought us so much joy and convenience, such as ipods and iphones.

However, all these above mentioned points do not justify the viewpoint that there will always be positive changes in the world. There are two reasons that support my opinion. For one thing, It is an indisputable fact that the environment on this planet is deteriorating at an alarming rate and so far there is no effective solutions. For example, the greenhouse gases, which mainly resulted from the emission from cars, or airplanes, have almost doubled during the past 20 years, despite the increasing effort made by international community. This is partly because today, a greater number of people can afford private cars and budget flight due to the more advanced technology.

For another, according to recent survey, individuals' sense of happiness is much lower than that of a hundred years ago, which is not resulted from a single cause, but a combination of several factors: the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the increasingly fierce competition in job market, and the rising living cost in big cities. Personally, I doubt there are immediate solutions to all of these problems. In fact, I tend to believe these issues will even have greater impact on people's lives in future.

To sum up, I once upon reaffirm my opinion, given all these existing problems, which are nearly impossible to be resolved in the near future, we should not be overoptimistic about the 21st century.

Writing Feedback / Ielts: (the adverse effect on our local culture) Globalization's effect and solution [3]

Topic: When we travel to foreign countries, we tend to see the same things as we see in our home countries. What are the causes of this phenomenon and what are the solutions to it?

NB: I feel like I didn't answer the question appropriately, especially the solution part, can you please give some advice on my ideas? Thanks.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon that people who travel miles away with expectation of experiencing an exotic culture end up with disappointment because what they saw is very similar to what they have at home.

Personally, I think this cultural assimilation is largely due to the impact of globalisation. During the last 20 years the profit-driven multinational companies, such as KFC and Adidas, has successfully expanded their business at the expense of the diminishing identity of local culture. They have opened up branches worldwide, advocated their "mainstream culture", and persuaded millions of young people to follow the trend they created. As a consequence, it is very common sight that teenagers are wearing Nike T-shirts and Adidas footwears, playing Hi-pop music with ipods and having burgers.

As for the possible solutions to this problem, the concerted effort from governments and local community is urgently needed. First of all, in order to protect local culture, our governments should provide more incentives, such as reducing corporate tax, for the local industry which represents or promote local cultural identity. For example, in China, authorities put more tax on imported red tea then local green tea, which is considered as part of Chinese culture. Secondly, and more importantly, there should be programs held in local community to educate young people the importance of traditional value and customs. By doing this, the youngsters will learn to cherish our own history and culture, rather than follow the international trend blindly.

We are at an age when globalisation is speeding up at an amazing rate and we are enjoying all the opportunities and convenience brought by it. However, it is also the time that we should pay equal, if not more, attention to the adverse effect on our local culture and try our best to find a solution to this issue.

Writing Feedback / Ielts essay: how does technology impact on the way we interact? [2]

Hi, guys, I feel my idea is confined to internet only, will this affect my score on task response?
can you please advise on this? Thanks.

Topic:　Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology. In what ways has technology affected the types of relationships people make?

Has this become a positive or negative development?

Today, many people aloud the convenience and time-efficiency brought by modern technologies when they interact with each other, while others are concerned about the negative impacts of technological advancement on our life.

It is an indisputable fact that the modern technologies, especially the invention of the internet, has revolutionized the way people work, live, entertain and, most of all, communicate. To start with, the on-line communication tools such as MSN messager, emails, and teleconference software have facilitated the contacts of both the loved ones in faraway place and colleagues working in different region. Further, thanks to the development of e-commerce, today, people can perform a variety of activities, such as booking accommodation and flights, purchasing stuff ranging from clothing to cars, or even dating a stranger, without stepping out own house. Most importantly, the social website such as the Facebook has even built up an entire virtual world for us. Changing status, updating latest life photos or commenting on each other's page have become an increasingly popular way to socialize.

However, it is not uncommon to see that news coverage constantly reports on the detrimental effect of these changes in communication. Firstly, overusing internet and neglecting the "real communication" may lead to social isolation. Researches reveal that people who spend too much time at the computer terminal tend to have difficulties when communicating with people in the real world. Moreover, many family activities which normally help strengthen family bonds cannot be simply replaced by online chat. Can you imagine a Christmas dinner held on-line with people sitting in front of each other's computer? No, certainly not. Similarly, the enjoyment of family members browsing in shops together and helping each other choose the stuff they need, can never be achieved by online shopping.

Overall, I personally believe that technological development has changed our way of communication in a positive way, in terms of the convenience and time-efficiency. However, taken all the above mentioned negative influences into consideration, we do need to keep a balance between the time we spend on line and in real world.