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C2 Sample Essay 39 (School or family shapes one's personality)

In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school.  In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner.  Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as

C2 Sample Essay 16 (Technology & Human Interaction)

If you haven't already done so, before you read this sample essay please read

What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog?


Sample C2 level Essay

The following is a sample essay based on the Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) writing section. The question can be found on page 152 of the ECPE Book 1 Practice Examinations textbook published by the Hellenic American Union.





While technology has brought us many great advances, some people claim that it has made us less human. In your opinion, has the increased use of technology made people less able to interact?

          The debate regarding the joys or sorrows technology ushers in rages on as more and more people view its advances as not quite as rosy as the majority of individuals would have us think. Indeed, many are those who comment on the inability of acquaintances to sit down and simply chat over a cup of coffee, something which has led to the conclusion that people have become isolated and withdrawn. In my view, however, the opposite is true.
          To begin with, computers and other digital gadgets of our era have facilitated communication and, by extension, human interaction. One needs only to look at all the social networks available nowadays to realize that in fact people cannot stop talking to one another. All the comments on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, all the arguments and help found on a variety of forums, all the gossip shared on Skype, WhatsApp or Viber are instances of human beings interconnecting. In other words, human interaction need not be limited to face-to-face contact to occur. Phones and emailing are two other means of communication which allow us to express our thoughts and use our social skills. Is it because we are using digital means to convey our thoughts that we have become less human? I highly doubt it.
          To a certain extent, the criticism levied against technology is understandable as an ever-increasing number of cases has shown that people are barricading themselves in their rooms, obsessed with the latest online role-playing game, so much so that they spend more than half of their waking hours glued to a screen. It is also true that you may see a group of teenagers seated at a diner for hours, slurping milkshakes and tapping away at their cell phones, as if completely oblivious of each other. Nevertheless, these are instances interrupted by conversation, whether talking to a co-player in the game or putting the phone down to exchange a few words with your friends. The truth of the matter is that the reason why people see technology as detrimental to communication lies in locality: conversations occur but not necessarily when two people are in the same place. This is essentially the change that technology has brought about in our interaction with others, and not the idea that we have become less human and unable to interact.
          To sum up, though it is true that more hours are spent facing a screen than a living human being, technology has enabled us to communicate through texts, video calls, images and voice mail at all hours of the day without any constraints. If some believe we are losing our ability to interact, they should take a look at the number of messages sent and calls made around the world on a daily basis.

Word count: 460 words

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