According to a number of reliable sources, the advancement of technology and the ability to learn and work remotely means that face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. I disagree with this strongly. In my opinion, no amount of technology will surpass the human need for interaction and physical connection.

First, although we already have a huge amount of technology and the ability to make and take conference and video calls, thousands of people travel across the world to attend face-to-face meetings every day; presumably because face-to-face meetings offer a level of connection that online meetings don’t.

Even though the internet, text messages, and smartphones do a great job of speeding up communication, it is not a failsafe. There are often connection and IT issues, for a start. In addition to technical problems, many misunderstandings occur due to misreading messages and lack of facial expressions or vocal tone.

There is also evidence to support the conclusion that the kind of conversations people have when they are physically present are different. Text messages, video calls, and emails tend to support direct, functional communication, while being in your friends' company leads to more personal and higher quality conversations; and researchers studying this found that when people were together, they disclosed more personal information.

There is also a question of privacy - while social media companies and big corporations continue to save our communication and messages, meeting face to face has an intimacy and privacy that cannot be experienced in the same way online.

All in all, I believe that while technology will replace a huge amount of face-to-face communication, it will never replace it altogether or become a thing of the past.

Coherence and Cohesion

• The candidate opens by stating their opposition to the supposition, before proceeding to outline their reasons. There are some nice examples, showing an awareness of the specifics of the subject. It is of the utmost importance to include and assess real-world examples.

• Although the candidate opened up by stating their disagreement, they still wrap up nicely in their closing paragraph by restating their position: ‘All in all, I believe…’

Grammar

• The Present Simple tense is dominant in the answer. This is the most common tense used for such things as news reports, informal storytelling, and observational humour. Using the Present Simple (or Simple Present) makes things imminent and relevant to the present moment, creating a sense of connection.

Lexical Resource

• surpass - go further than something else. Similar to (but more concise) above and beyond.