Level: IELTS Academic Writing Task 2
Task type: Positive or negative development
Recommended time: 40 minutes
Word count: At least 250 words
Question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to perform tasks that were previously done by human workers.
Is this 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.
How to Write This Essay
This is a positive or negative development essay.
The specific development you need to evaluate is artificial intelligence performing work that was previously done by people. Do not write generally about whether AI is good or bad.
You should:
- decide whether you see this development as positive or negative overall
- develop two strong reasons for your judgement
- explain why each point matters and what consequences it may have
- support your ideas with relevant examples where useful
- acknowledge an opposing consideration if it strengthens your argument
- keep the same overall position from the introduction to the conclusion
You do not have to write one paragraph about advantages and one about disadvantages. Other structures are possible. What matters is that your overall judgement is clear and your ideas are logically developed.
Suggested Essay Structure
One effective structure is:
Introduction
Paraphrase the topic and state whether you believe the development is positive or negative overall.
Body paragraph 1
Develop the strongest reason supporting your overall judgement. Explain why it happens and what the consequences are.
Body paragraph 2
Develop another major reason, or discuss the main counterargument before explaining why your overall judgement still stands.
Conclusion
Restate your final judgement without introducing new ideas.
Useful Vocabulary
- artificial intelligence
- automation
- automated systems
- workforce
- labour market
- job displacement
- productivity
- efficiency
- repetitive tasks
- routine work
- skilled employment
- retraining
- vocational training
- employment opportunities
- human judgement
- accountability
- technological change
- economic inequality
- workplace safety
- productivity gains
- job roles
- transferable skills
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Writing generally about AI
The question is specifically about AI performing tasks that were previously done by human workers.
Failing to focus on employment and work
Examples about AI in entertainment or everyday life are only relevant if you clearly connect them to jobs or the workplace.
Listing advantages and disadvantages without making a judgement
You must decide whether the development is positive or negative overall.
Making extreme predictions
Avoid claims such as “AI will replace every human job”. More qualified arguments are usually easier to support.
Giving undeveloped examples
An example should support a point. Explain what it shows and why it matters.
Changing your position
If you describe the development as positive overall in the introduction, your conclusion should not suddenly suggest that it is mainly negative.
Assuming that mentioning both sides creates a strong essay
A high-level response evaluates ideas. Simply writing one advantage and one disadvantage is not enough.
Using difficult vocabulary instead of developing ideas
Sophisticated words cannot compensate for weak reasoning. Clear explanation is more important.
Band 6.5 Model Answer
Artificial intelligence is becoming more common in many workplaces, and some tasks that were once done by people are now completed by machines or computer systems. In my opinion, this is mainly a positive development because it can make work faster and safer. However, it may also cause problems for some workers.
One advantage of AI is that it can do routine tasks quickly. For example, it can answer simple customer questions, organise information or check basic data. This can save time for companies and reduce some repetitive work for employees. AI can also be useful in factories, warehouses and other places where certain jobs are dangerous. If machines do these tasks, workers may face fewer risks and companies may be able to complete the work more quickly.
However, some people may lose their jobs because companies can use technology instead of human workers. This may be difficult for people who have done the same kind of work for many years. They may need to learn new skills before they can find another job. Governments and companies can help by offering training courses and support. This could help affected workers find different jobs, although changing career may still be difficult for some people.
In conclusion, I believe the use of AI in the workplace is positive overall because it can make some tasks faster and reduce dangerous work. Nevertheless, its overall impact will be more positive if workers who lose their jobs receive practical support to move into new roles.
Word count: 250 words
Band 6.5 Feedback
This is a realistic Band 6.5 teaching model. It answers the question clearly and uses accurate English, but the argument is relatively simple and only moderately developed.
Task Response
The writer gives a clear position from the introduction and maintains it throughout: AI is positive overall, although job losses are recognised as an important disadvantage.
The main ideas are relevant:
- AI can complete routine work quickly
- automation can reduce dangerous work
- some workers may lose their jobs
- affected workers may need training
The explanations are clear but fairly straightforward. For example, the first body paragraph explains that AI can save time and reduce risk, but it does not examine in depth how this might change employees’ roles or how the productivity benefits might be distributed.
Similarly, the second body paragraph identifies job loss and retraining as problems, but it does not explore the wider consequences for different industries, income groups or the labour market.
The argument is therefore relevant and sufficient, but less fully extended than the Band 8 response.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is logically organised and easy to follow.
Cohesion is effective but conventional. Expressions such as “For example”, “However”, “because” and “Nevertheless” make the relationships between ideas clear, although the organisation remains relatively predictable.
Each body paragraph has a clear purpose, but the progression of the argument is relatively simple.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is appropriate and accurate, with useful terms such as:
- routine tasks
- repetitive work
- human workers
- training courses
- efficiency
- dangerous work
However, the range is relatively narrow. Core words such as work, workers, jobs, tasks and AI recur naturally rather than being expressed through a wider range of more precise topic language.
The vocabulary communicates the ideas successfully, but it is less flexible and precise than in the Band 8 model.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The grammar is generally accurate and includes some complex structures, for example:
“If machines do these tasks, workers may face fewer risks and companies may be able to complete the work more quickly.”
and:
“This may be difficult for people who have done the same kind of work for many years.”
However, most sentences use familiar structures, and the grammar is less varied and flexible than in the Band 8 response.
What would improve it?
The main improvement would not be adding more complicated vocabulary.
To move towards a higher band, the writer would need to develop the reasoning more fully by explaining:
- why some occupations are more vulnerable than others
- what happens if people cannot retrain quickly
- whether automation changes jobs as well as removes them
- who gains most from increased productivity
- where human judgement may still be necessary
The difference is therefore mainly depth of reasoning and flexibility of expression, not simply language difficulty.
Band 8 Model Answer
Artificial intelligence is changing employment by taking over tasks that once depended entirely on human labour. Although this transition may displace some workers and widen existing inequalities, I regard it as positive overall. Its main value is not simply that machines can replace people, but that automation can raise productivity and reshape jobs so that human effort is used where it adds most value.
A major benefit is that AI can process routine information rapidly and consistently. In sectors such as finance, logistics and customer service, this may reduce the time employees spend on predictable administrative work. If businesses use those productivity gains to redesign jobs rather than merely cut staff, workers can concentrate more on problem-solving, judgement and communication. Automation can also remove people from hazardous tasks. The result could therefore be both higher output and better-quality work, rather than a straightforward exchange of humans for machines.
However, these gains will not necessarily be shared equally. Workers in occupations built around predictable tasks may see their roles disappear faster than they can acquire new skills, while highly qualified employees may benefit from technologies that make them even more productive. This could increase labour-market inequality. There is also a risk that employers automate decisions simply because it is cheaper, even when human involvement remains important. Recruitment, healthcare and customer complaints, for example, may require empathy, accountability or judgement that an automated system cannot fully provide.
For these reasons, the success of workplace AI depends heavily on how the transition is managed. Governments and employers need to invest in vocational and mid-career training, while education systems should prepare people to work alongside new technologies rather than compete with them in routine tasks. Overall, AI is a positive development if productivity gains are used to improve work and workers are given realistic opportunities to adapt. Without such measures, the economic benefits could come at a substantial social cost.
Word count: 316 words
Band 8 Explanation
This response is stronger because the improvement is visible mainly in reasoning, evaluation and control, rather than simply in the use of more advanced vocabulary.
Task Response
The essay gives a clear overall judgement: workplace AI is positive, but its benefits depend partly on how the transition is managed.
The ideas are extended beyond simple advantages and disadvantages.
For example, instead of merely saying that AI increases productivity, the essay asks what businesses do with those productivity gains.
It distinguishes between two possible outcomes:
- companies use AI to redesign jobs and allow workers to concentrate on higher-value tasks
- companies use AI mainly to reduce staff
This creates a more developed evaluation of the issue.
The essay also considers unequal consequences. Workers in predictable occupations may be displaced relatively quickly, while highly skilled employees may gain more from AI. This develops the argument into the wider issue of labour-market inequality.
Coherence and Cohesion
The ideas progress logically.
The first body paragraph moves from automation to productivity, then to changes in job content and workplace safety.
The second body paragraph qualifies those benefits by considering job displacement, unequal access to the benefits of technology and situations where human involvement remains valuable.
The final paragraph then explains what conditions could make the development successful.
The connections between ideas are built through reasoning rather than through excessive linking expressions.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is precise and flexible:
- human labour
- displace workers
- productivity gains
- predictable administrative work
- redesign jobs
- hazardous tasks
- labour-market inequality
- human involvement
- accountability
- vocational training
- mid-career training
These expressions are useful because they allow the writer to communicate more precise ideas. They are not included simply to sound academic.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied structures naturally, including concession, condition, relative clauses and comparison:
“Although this transition may displace some workers and widen existing inequalities, I regard it as positive overall.”
“If businesses use those productivity gains to redesign jobs rather than merely cut staff, workers can concentrate more on problem-solving, judgement and communication.”
“Workers in occupations built around predictable tasks may see their roles disappear faster than they can acquire new skills…”
These structures allow the writer to qualify claims and explain relationships between causes and consequences.
Why is this stronger than the Band 6.5 model?
The main difference is not that the Band 8 essay uses longer words.
The Band 6.5 response says, in effect:
AI makes companies more efficient, but some people may lose their jobs.
The Band 8 response goes further by asking:
- how does automation produce productivity gains?
- what might companies do with those gains?
- which workers are most vulnerable?
- who may benefit disproportionately?
- when is human judgement still necessary?
- what determines whether the overall transition is successful?
This deeper reasoning makes the argument more developed and nuanced.
Key Lesson for Students
A high IELTS Writing Task 2 score comes from:
clear position + relevant ideas + developed reasoning + precise language
It does not come from using complicated vocabulary for its own sake.
Compare these two approaches:
Simple assertion:
AI increases productivity.
Developed reasoning:
AI can process repetitive information faster than employees, which reduces the time businesses spend on routine work. This may allow workers to concentrate on tasks involving judgement or customer interaction, although the benefit depends on whether employers redeploy staff rather than simply reduce headcount.
The second version is stronger because it explains:
- why productivity increases
- what consequence this may have for workers
- what limitation affects whether the benefit actually occurs
That kind of development is more valuable than replacing simple words with unnecessarily difficult vocabulary.
Useful Phrases
These are flexible language patterns rather than complete sentences to memorise.
Describing technological change
- increasingly automated
- tasks previously performed by…
- changes to the workforce
- transformation of the labour market
- adoption of automated systems
- technological change in the workplace
Explaining benefits
- improve productivity by…
- reduce the time spent on…
- allow employees to focus on…
- remove workers from hazardous tasks
- create opportunities for…
- increase efficiency through…
Explaining risks
- lead to job displacement
- particularly vulnerable to automation
- struggle to retrain
- widen economic inequality
- reduce demand for…
- affect workers disproportionately
Evaluating the issue
- the overall effect depends on…
- provided that…
- this does not necessarily mean that…
- the benefit may be limited if…
- a significant concern is…
- human judgement remains important where…
Discussing responses
- investment in retraining
- vocational education
- opportunities to acquire new skills
- support for displaced workers
- adapt to technological change
- prepare workers for…
Practice Task
Write your own answer to the original question:
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to perform tasks that were previously done by human workers.
Is this a positive or negative development?
Before writing, decide whether you believe this development is:
- positive overall
- negative overall
- or positive or negative overall while acknowledging significant arguments on the other side
Plan two strong main ideas that support your own position.
For each main idea, think about:
- why it happens
- who is affected
- what the consequence is
- whether there are any important limitations or exceptions
You may consider an opposing argument if it helps you develop your position, but you do not have to copy the structure or arguments used in either model essay.
Keep your overall judgement consistent from the introduction to the conclusion.
