Technology and the Gap Between Rich and Poor

Some people believe the range of technology available to individuals today is increasing the gap between poor people and rich people. Others think it is having an opposite effect. Discuss both of these points of view. What is your opinion on that issue?

Annotated response

2 correction notes

Showing 2 correction notes.

Some people say that the availability of technology is widening the gap between the rich and the poor, while other people think it is closing the gap. Personally, I believe that the availability of technology has little to do with the gap between the rich and the poor.

On one hand, having access to the latest and most advanced technology could bring a number of financial benefits to people. Advancements in technology have brought about large changes in the way people work and do business, and more specifically, in the efficiency of most workplaces. Technology has enhanced the productivity of most businesses around the world, particularly in manufacturing processes, and this has consequently boosted the profits of many companies, and therefore possibly made many wealthy businessmen even richer, thereby increasing the wealth gap.

However, with an increase in the availability of many new technologies, it is also becoming more affordable for the large majority of people, which has provided more equal opportunities between people, whether rich or poor. For example, the internet has become extremely widespread throughout the world these days and has provided people of all access to a great deal of information that they can use to their advantage to help them educate themselves in order to live better lives, and therefore potentially decrease the gap.

In conclusion, I do not believe that access to technology really has much impact on the gap between rich and poor people. It is education and the acquisition and application of knowledge that may affect the wealth gap between rich and poor.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response clearly addresses both viewpoints and presents a consistent personal position supported by relevant reasoning and an example. Its strongest aspect is the logical, well-organised argumentation, while the main limitation is that development of ideas remains somewhat general rather than fully extended.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

7.0

The response addresses both views, states a clear position, and supports it with relevant explanation and an example, though ideas are developed rather than fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas progress logically across clearly sequenced paragraphs with a range of cohesive devices used appropriately, with only occasional mechanical linking such as repeated 'therefore' and 'and'.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and mostly precise for the topic, using phrases like 'wealth gap' and 'equal opportunities', with only minor awkwardness in longer phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A variety of complex structures, including conditionals and relative clauses, is used with generally good control, though some sentences are overlong and lose some clarity.