IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic: Newspapers are less Important Nowadays

Topic: Although more and more people read the news on internet, newspapers will remain the most important source of news for the majority of people. Do you agree or disagree?

 OR 

Newspapers are less important nowadays because we have up-to-date access to the news on the internet. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model Essay, Band 8.0+

In the modern world, obtaining news on the Internet has become an accelerating trend. I have faith in the likelihood of this trend overshadowing the traditional way of reading newspapers to become the most crucial source of news.

The most obvious proof supporting my viewpoint is the decline in the popularity of traditional newspapers. Conventional newspapers’ nature is characterized by a thorough and time-consuming process of editing, printing, and distributing. This turns out to be a weakness that causes newspapers to fail to meet the instant quest for news of modern newsreaders. In addition, due to the fact that printed newspapers are geographically limited, their reach and exposure levels are be becoming substantially lower than those of online news. Apparently, it is online press, not the traditional one, which helps news seekers all over the globe access local news as well as global news published by a variety of internationally prestigious newspapers including BBC, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. Such availability of online news far outweighs that of printed news, steadily dominating the news industry.

Moreover, the advantages of online news significantly surpass those of printed newspaper. In this era of advanced technology and communication, the omnipresence of the Internet and the availability of Internet devices have boosted the popularity of online news to the extent that the concept of buying and reading a printed newspaper would become obsolete and inconvenient. Online platforms which facilitate fast-moving and immediate news updates will certainly become the utmost solution to satisfy increasing demand and busy news seekers. Thanks to Internet-based platforms, news about an incident happening half the world away could be retrieved within a few seconds after its commencement, which renders news updates one day later on conventional newspapers out of date.

In conclusion, despite the fact that printed newspapers still hold an important role, I firmly support the tendency that they will be eclipsed by online news.

Model Essay Note

Type: Strong Opinion Essay

Brainstorming

• Point of view: Conventional newspapers can’t remain the most popular source of information and can be replaced by online news.
• Idea 1: the decline in popularity of traditional newspapers
• Idea 2: the advantages of online news significantly surpass those of printed newspaper

Useful Vocab:

• Vocabulary relates to Theme (Information – Press): traditional newspaper – printed news – conventional news; process of editing, printing and distributing; reach and exposure levels; online press – online news; the news industry; retrieve news, out of date, news update, newsreaders – new seekers – new followers; immediate news updates
• Academic Vocabulary: overshadow – eclipse – outweigh; facilitate; the nature of sth; characterize; obsolete; commencement

Model Essay 2

It is true that a growing number of people are using the Internet in order to find out the latest news. While newspapers are still popular, I strongly disagree that most people will continue to rely on them as a source of news.

The first reason for my view relates to the increasing use of the Internet around the world. Recently, a growing number of people have accessed online news via technological gadgets such as smart phones or tablets, so they do not need to buy a newspaper to obtain news. Even in more remote corners of the world, access to the Internet is becoming more widespread and the online community is growing daily.

Secondly, online news is always up-to-date while printed news needs time for editing, printing and delivering. In this fast changing world, readers tend to expect updated information about what has just happened or is happening around them. Online news can be broadcast immediately with vivid pictures and relevant stories, making it more appealing to readers than printed news.

Finally, the Internet is a repository of information for people to dig for information that they need. Digital information can be stored in mass quantity, which allows internet users to search for events that occurred in the past. In contrast, newspapers are generally hard to preserve because of the corrosive effects of the environment and their sheer bulk makes storage difficult. This once again confirms the edge of online news.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that the Internet is even now replacing newspaper as the principal medium or accessing all the latest news.

Model Essay 3

The advent of the Internet and other forms of media in the twenty first century has unquestionably brought about a metamorphosis in the way people seek knowledge and information. Newspapers, the one form of media which was once considered highly important, has now entered a state of significant and rapid decline in many places across the world. This has led to suggestions that newspaper will soon become a thing of the past. My way of thinking is that the death of newspapers is almost certain.