IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Some people think that it is necessary to travel to other places to learn about other cultures. Others say that books, films and the Internet can be used as a source of information about different cultures.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Over the history, man has always been traveling one place to another in order to gain information and acquaint with several cultures. But in last two decades, with advancement of technology, one is able to be acquainted with different cultures through different mediums, such as internet, movies, books, and so forth. The question of whether alternative source of information like books, films and internet can be used to have information of other cultures rather than visit there personally has become a much debated issue. There are, therefore, people on both side of the view who have argument either for or against. To some extent, I disagree with the notion that books, films or internet is better source for information about other culture than first-hand experience.
Historically, we have reached where no human has reached before, hooked up to apps offering unprecedented exposure to the world in which we live. Technology blurs the boundaries between countries. Now we can get information of nation which is thousands of miles away from us by just a click. For example, if you want to know about the lifestyle of Eskimo, what you need is just to go any search engine like Google and you find plenty of sites about Eskimo. Besides, we can learn from documentary films or books. Accordingly, there are manifold avenues for learning information about different cultures.
On the other hand, there is a nuance between simply learning about a culture from secondary sources and physically experiencing it and eventually discerning the several traits of it, something which can never be gained otherwise. To fully understand a community, it is necessary to be part of the culture for extended time and should observe how the culture has evolved over the period. A case in point is anthropologists, who study cultural behavior of a community by physically experiencing territory. This does not mean that everybody who wants to understand various culture need to be an anthropologist. Rather I want to say that if anyone wants a comprehensive understanding about a culture, he must visit to the land and should observe the cultural pattern instead of learning from second hand experience.
From what has been discussed above we may draw the conclusion that both points of view have their rationales. Although it is possible to learn various cultures simply by surfing internet or reading books without ever visiting the country and people, traveling the place and being part of the community provides a holistic apprehension of the culture than the simple secondary sources can ever provide.