(Model essay) 17 November 2011 IELTS essay question as seen in Egypt

The Internet is going to replace the newspaper as the most popular source of news and information in the future. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The advent of the Internet has marked a dramatic shift in the way people around the world consume information.  Today, electronic news sources rival the traditional printed newspaper in popularity. I agree that the Internet will one day replace the newspaper as the most used source of news and information. This position will be proved by looking at the advantages of versatility and dynamism the Internet has over traditional printed news.

Firstly, electronic news resources are much more mobile and convenient than traditional newspapers. Compare the printed and electronic versions of the New York Times, for example. In many countries, the printed version of this paper is not distributed, and thus inaccessible. However, the New York Times’s website can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection. As this example shows, the accessible audience with which the New York Times connects is widened via the Internet. Thus, it is clear that as time goes on preference for electronic news sources will grow.

In addition to this, information distributed through the Internet can include dynamic content not possible among printed mediums. The Gulf News website, like most news websites, houses entire catalogues of video that users may peruse. This is a resource that paper news sources cannot match. Because of this, it is clear that someday the Internet is going to take the place of the newspaper as the most in demand source of media.

After looking at how the Internet betters printed news in the areas of mobility and resourcefulness, this essay has proved that electronic news sources will one day be more widely consumed than their printed alternatives.