Culture & SocietyTwo PartAdvancedLow Frequency

IELTS Essay: A hundred years ago, people thought that the human race was steadily improvin...

Prompt

A hundred years ago, people thought that the human race was steadily improving in every area of life. Now it seems this is not certain in that situation. In which areas do you think we have made important progress nowadays? In which areas do you think we still need to make progress?

#progress#development#societal improvement#technology#human rights

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Band 7 → 9 — Band 7 identifies progress in specific domains and regressions in others, while Band 9 explores the paradoxes—how advances in one area (e.g., efficiency, wealth) can erode others (e.g., community, mental health)—with cross-domain linkages.

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Key concepts in this essay

multi-dimensional progress (economic, social, environmental, political)
distribution of benefits and exacerbation of inequality
unintended consequences of technological and social change
evidence-based vs. subjective measures of progress

Pitfalls the model essay avoids

Selecting obvious examples (technology, medicine) without nuanced analysis of unintended consequences or inequality in access
Conflating progress in one domain (e.g., medical innovation) with societal-wide progress without acknowledging winners and losers
Offering prescriptive solutions without grounding them in real barriers (e.g., suggesting 'better education' without examining systemic constraints)

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