IELTS Writing Task 2 - Newspapers and books in the future

In the future, nobody will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything they want online without paying.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement

It is thought that hard copies of newspapers and books will see a decline of sales in the future because these reading materials will be available on the internet for free. I agree that newspapers will soon be obsolete. However, I believe printed books will still be popular in the foreseeable future.

Printed newspapers are actually already flunking sales, and in the near future, people will leave them behind. This is because nowadays people can easily access the news from online news portals through their gadgets. Although some online news website requires paid subscriptions, most websites offer up-to-date information free of charge with credible quality. Accessing news from the internet is also quicker. We do not need to wait for the next day to know what is happening around the world. In addition, people can pick a variety of news articles from different agencies according to their preference.

On the other hand, I disagree that printed books will become extinct. This is because printed books are somewhat a collectable object. Certain people are passionate of collecting books and have personal libraries at home. Public libraries will also still need to purchase physical books to enrich their collections. Another reason is that reading printed books is much more favourable compared to e-books due to several factors. Reading e-books cause ocular discomfort due to the light emitted from gadgets. Some people also like to take notes with pens or pencils and highlight sentences on their books. Although this could be done on digital files as well, it is more convenient to do it on paper. Moreover, e-books are actually not free and I believe buying printed books is more worth the value than e-books.

To sum up, I believe that printed newspapers and books might see a different fate in the future: the first will see their dawn and the latter will likely survive.

I would highly appreciate any feedback!

Your response to the direct question is incorrect. You are not asked if printed books will still be popular in the future. The question is asking you to consider the fact that people are slowly no longer buying printed materials as these can already be accessed online. The question is, will people still buy printed material if it is already available for free online? To be more specific:

OT: In the future, nobody will buy printed newspapers or books...
Reason: ... they will be able to read everything they want online without paying.
OQ: To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement

Your version became incorrect because:

YT: It is thought that hard copies of newspapers and books will see a decline of sales in the future ( Acceptable paraphrase)
Reason: these reading materials will be available on the internet for free ( Correct)
QR: I agree that newspapers will soon be obsolete. However, I believe printed books will still be popular in the foreseeable future. ( Incorrect Response. Refer to OQ breakdown above.)

You are writing an academic paper. Therefore, slang English words such as "flunking" is unacceptable. You may say "decline in sales" instead. You cannot separate the discussion of printed newspapers and printed books because they belong to the collective description for the topic provided. Both are print materials and books are now available digitally, sometimes for free as well. You do not have a full understanding of the given topic and its discussion requirements.

You have misunderstood the question and written wrong introductuon. I think that this mistake can be quite serious when it comes to grading. If you want to discuss both views of the topic, you can say:" I partly agree with this statement" and then discuss both sides. And your conclusion is a bit blunt too, you need to clarify it.

Hope this helps!