Writing Task 2: Two-Part (Direct) Question Essay: Question 8
Syllabus W.task2
In recent years, people have become increasingly willing to share detailed accounts of their meals, opinions, holidays and personal milestones on social media, often within minutes of the event itself.
Why do people increasingly share details of their daily lives online? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes
Task Response
The introduction states both a specific cause (platform design) and an unambiguous stance (negative) in a single sentence, and each body paragraph fully develops one of the two questions using the same running example, Bianca, so the two answers feel connected rather than disjointed. The conclusion restates both the cause and the evaluation precisely, with no drift from the position taken at the start.
Coherence & Cohesion
The transition “Regarding whether this development is beneficial” cleanly signals the shift from the “why” question to the evaluation, and referring back to Bianca’s café habit when introducing her holiday keeps the two body paragraphs tightly linked rather than reading as two separate essays. Cohesive phrases such as “the platform’s design, not any deliberate decision on her part” make the writer’s reasoning explicit.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is precise and topic-appropriate throughout (“self-reinforcing habit”, “curated version of their lives”, “carefully edited highlights”, “low-level dissatisfaction”), with no repetition of “share” or “post” thanks to varied phrasing (“publish detailed accounts”, “reaching for her phone”, “filming footage”).
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
The response demonstrates confident control of complex grammar: a passive construction (“are deliberately built to reward”), a non-defining relative clause, subordinate clauses of reason and time, and a comparative structure (“far less frequent and less detailed”), all used accurately with no errors.