Look at the Part Three response below and the language the candidate has used to express opinions and analyse.

Question: What negative repercussions does our reliance on technology have?

Answer:

Hmmm… I suppose an obvious problem is the negative effect on the environment. A lot of households own at least one television, DVD player, computer…, a number of kitchen appliances such as toasters, microwaves, slow cookers etc. Using all of those things on a day to day basis can really add up to use of a lot of electricity. To be honest though.. I think the main problem with technology these days is a lot of products don’t seem to be made to last. Products are often highly technical but seem to have a much shorter lifespan than in the past. Even things like cars seem to break down much sooner than older models used to. I don’t really understand why as I am sure that products could be made to last if the manufacturers wanted them to – it seems like such a waste of money and resources. Some people say that our reliance on technology has made us lazier – you know, because we don’t wash dishes ourselves, for example, just put them in the dishwasher. I don’t really agree with that though, because as far as I’m concerned, it just gives us more time to do things which are more productive.

Useful language for expressing opinions / analysing:

• I suppose
• To be honest
• I think
• It seems
• I don’t really agree with
• As far as I’m concerned