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IELTS Task 2 advantages and disadvantages essay: Letters, emails and social media

A Task 2 advantages and disadvantages question. Weigh both sides, then answer the question as it is asked: whether one side outweighs the other, or whether the development is positive or negative.

2 students’ essays below, each marked by Axiom, all band 6.5. Updated on 11 September 2026.

The question

In the past, people used to write letters to communicate with friends and relatives, whereas today most people use emails and social media. Is this a positive or negative development?

Students’ essays on this question, marked by Axiom

Across these 2 essays the average band is 6.5: Task Response 7.0, Coherence and Cohesion 6.0, Lexical Resource 7.0, Grammatical Range and Accuracy 7.0. Coherence and Cohesion was the weakest criterion.

Real answers, shared without their writers’ names, newest first. Each opens with its revisions marked in place. Estimated by AI. It isn’t an official IELTS score.

  • Overall band, an AI estimate: 6.5

    Essay #2

    Task response 7.0, coherence 6.0, vocabulary 7.0, grammar 7.0

    Nowadays, people use email and social media for communication with others , but in the past people used to write letters. This essay will discuss both positive and…

    Task 2, 273 words, 11 September 2026

  • Overall band, an AI estimate: 6.5

    Essay #1

    Task response 7.0, coherence 6.0, vocabulary 7.0, grammar 7.0

    In the past, people tended to communicate with other people by sending letters but modern technology has introduced emails and social media and people use them in their…

    Task 2, 313 words, 11 September 2026

Questions on the same theme, then questions of the same type, each with students’ essays marked by Axiom.

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