IELTS Essay Question about Banning Mobile Phones in Public Places: IELTS Writing Task 2. This essay question can appear in both the Academic and GT IELTS test. It appeared in 2020 and then in other years after that, including 2024. See below to get useful ideas and language for tackling this essay question.
IELTS Essay Question: Banning Mobile Phones
Some people think that the use of mobiles (cell) phones should be banned in public places such a in libraries and shop and on public transport. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Ideas & Vocabulary for Banning Mobile Phones Topic
I’ve underlined some useful language to use for this topic.
Reasons for Banning Mobile Phones in Public Places
- Phones can be intrusive. (uninvited noise)
- Phones can disturb others when they are concentrating, for example in a library.
- They are antisocial as people are too busy sending messages to talk to the people in front of them, for example in a shop when they are being served.
- The signal can cause problems in some public places, such as hospitals, by interfering with delicate instruments or equipment.
- In some public place, such as libraries, music halls or galleries, phones can annoy and ruin the experience for others.
- Phones have many functions such as recording video which can intrude on people’s privacy rights if they are unknowingly filmed in the background.
Reasons for Not Banning Mobiles Phones in Public Places
- Mobiles do not need to be intrusive as they can easily be turned to silent or vibrate.
- Phones can be useful in case of emergencies, for instance accidents in public places.
- Phones can provide entertainment when travelling on tedious journeys, particularly on public transport.
- Phones are multi-functional and are useful for online banking, researching information and texting which can be extremely useful and are not intrusive features to use public.
- They are useful for families overseas to get in touch with each other.
- They provide a safety net for youngsters because they are able to call for help or contact their parents whenever they need.
Concessions
- mobile phones should be banned in places where they interfere with equipment, interrupt a service or break rules, such as in a library, but in all other public places they should be allowed as long as they are used with respect to others
Recommended
- More Essay Ideas for Writing Task 2
- Model Opinion Essay
- Free IELTS Writing Task 2 Video Lessons
- ALL MODEL ESSAYS & TIPS FOR IELTS WRITING TASK 2
Please note that some of the above ideas are not connected to the exact essay question (for example, they include ideas about banning phones in hospitals or museums – these are ideas just to help you with the general topic rather than the exact essay question)
Dear Liz,
If I write my opinion statement like below, will that be partial agreement or going off the topic?
In my opinion, mobile phones should not be banned as they are useful in many ways, specifically in case of emergencies. However, restrictions on mobile phone use in public places avoid inconvenience to others.
BP1: why it should not be banned and its benefits.
BP2: how restrictions help, so that mobiles are not required to be banned.
Is my task response complete? Is my essay organization proper? Please suggest.
Thanks in advance.
Task Response is more than just an outline of ideas. As you have stated your ideas, they are relevant and on topic. They address the task. However, the whole marking criterion of Task Response will depend on how you present those ideas (the language you use) and how you express the supporting points. Often people have good ideas but express them so poorly that they lack focus or are over-generalised. So, be specific, be careful with how you use and express those ideas. Otherwise, all good 🙂
Thank you so much for replying, I make sure to express my ideas clearly.
According to my opinion
In every home there is a mobile.
the use of cell phone is increasing day by day in younger generation. earlier the cell phone was only used for to be in touch with our relatives,but now the time has changed we are living in 21st century.
the cell phone has also developed.
now the phones become smart .they are called as smartphone.now smart phone are used in emergency, we can know what is happening all around the world just in one click .earlier we posted the letter and it took lots of time to reach them .but the the situation has changed we can directly talk to them by smartphone it reduced time .earlier we have to go to shop gor shopping but now we can do online shopping.We can order anything we want .We can also do online transaction,online payment with the help of multiple apps in smartphone, It has also provide us financial security,
Please check my essay of IELTS task2 and let me know how much I can score. I have a problem with using difficult vocabulary. Please do reply in detail.
Essay:
A lot of people are of the thinking that mobile phones should be banned in places like shops, libraries, and transport but I have different thinking in this regard. I don’t completely agree with this statement and I would say it should be allowed with some limitations.
I am going to discuss both sides of this discussion and I will be first going to discuss why I partly agree with this statement. Mobile phones are invented recently and as we know that before the invention of mobile phone there was no mean of communication and people use to travel to meet their loved ones but thats not happening now beause of technology. The communication has been vanished and public transport is one of the example of that where people sit and play witheir mobile instead of taking with the person next to them. Accident are caused when a driver use mobile phones while driving. The other reason is that people use mobile phones even in libraries and at shops and I think that really affects their studies or work and they lose their concentration and that not good for themselves and the organization if they are working.
I will also talk about why I disagree with this particular statement. I disagree that mobile phones should be completely banned as they have made our lives easier. Before the invention of mobiles the emergency cases remain unnoticed and alot of people died because they could not get first aid on time and they could not reach hospital on time. Now a days you can use mobile and call emergency in a click and you never know you might be saved.
In conclusion, I would say that mobile phone technology has both advantages and disadvatages in mentioned places but it is us who have to put some limitations on us to know how to use it in effective way.
Hi Liz, could you tell me please how should I say if I’m, for some reasons, agree with the statement but also disagree for other reasons.
Thank you!
Look on this page for a partial response: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-addressing-the-task/. Or get my advanced writing task 2 lessons which are expensive but very detailed: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi dear Liz I am Dilya I would be appreciate you if you check my essay and tell me the band.
Some people think that the use mobile phones should be banned in public places such as libraries, shops and public transport. To what extand do you agree or disagree with this statement?
It is true that using mobile phones in public places have become rampant over the last few decades.Althoug some people believe that using mobile phones is not allowed in public places.Iagree this. In this essay I am going to explain why I think that using mobile phones should be banned in public places with several reasons.
To begin with,using mobile phones in public places brougt negative effects in people’s life for example , while people drining a car and talking on the phone or listening to music from mobile phones they can not concentrate onthe road. As a result they face-toface car accedents and get bad injured or may be diet. Futhermore , in the library, when your cell phone rings or you speak in a loud voice you may obstacle, annoyed people who are sitting near to you and reading.
however, having cell phones helped people to communicate with other people faster, cheaper and more comfortable. In general, in the shop you can easy calculate you food which you bought from the shop.
To conclude, althoug, using mobile phones is not allowed in some public places but I believe that it impacted on the way people spend their time.
https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-essay-correction/
It’s enormous that you are getting ideas from this post as well as from our dialogue made here.
Hi Liz….can you please rate my essay? I would appreciate greatly if you do that, so please….
some people think that the use of mobile phones should be banned in public places such as in libraries, shops and on public transport. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? write at least 250 words.
It is suggested that there should be a complete restriction on using cell phones in public places where they turn into disruptive tools. Personally, I believe that they should not be banned unless they do not cause any interruption or interference in service or equipment.
On the one hand, i accept that mobiles may interfere with the ambiance of certain of places. In libraries, for example, they can be intrusive or noisy, which can break concentration of others. This is because these places are usually calm, where people visit to read or relax. So, phones can easily annoy others or ruin their experience in these quiet places. Similarly, mobile signals can cause problems in some frequently used places such as hospitals by interfering with delicate instruments. These can lead to malfunctioning of a range of devices such as ventilators, echocardiographs and computers. Therefore, the use of mobile phones should be restricted in these buildings o cases.
However, I believe that mobiles should not be prohibited in the all public places. The mobile may not be only be effective in extreme situations, but also an entertaining one. This can be used in case of emergencies such as accidents at public places. At that time, it could help in contacting to the ambulance, police or relatives. Furthermore, this is a great tool to eliminate monotony while travelling on public transport as it is a multi-functioned device. One can talk or chat with their near ones, listen to songs, surf the internet, use cameras, and so on.
In conclusion, while use of cell-phones can be limited in some areas of public places where they cause disturbance in other devices or services, in my opinion they should be allowed in rest of the places as they may help in dangerous situations and provide entertainment.
Please see this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-essay-correction/
Liz
Good one
Yeah dear
You helped alot Thanks
Hi Mam
Sorry for proofreading…
1. The most obvious one is…..
2. And call for ambulance….
3. He/she will be able to call for help…..
4. Save a person’s life…
5. You will need to practise…
6. Essential to write over 250 words…
Thanks a lot…
Hi Liz,
Please check my work, I need 7 in writing.
It is often argued by some masses that cell phones should be prohibited in common places such as libraries, shops and public places. Although I agree that phones should be banned in certain places, I disagree with their strict prohibition in such public places.
To begin with, an argument put forward in favor of banning mobile phones has plethora of reasons. Firstly, unrestricted use of phones in certain places can be intrusive to others comfort. For instance, in libraries, phones usually distract the concentration of readers. In addition to this, phones can annoy and cause nuisance exploiting the experience of others while travelling by interacting loudly on phones. Lastly, phones can act as unethical devices in some situations.Take shops as an example, when people are busy sending texts rather than addressing to seller in front of them.
However, there are adequate number of reasons why cellular phones should not be restricted in some local sites. First and foremost, phones are highly functional devices in case of emergencies such as collisions. Thus, it is easier to seek medical aid through phones. Furthermore, phones can be beneficial in tedious journeys as these are great sources of entertainment. Mobile phones are multi-functional and can be utilized to record videos and click pictures. This can be helpful to record illegal acts and violence and hence can deter culprits to re-offend. Finally, cell phones have made overseas communication convenient even in public places. Therefore, cell phones provide myriad of benefits and should be permitted in ethical circumstances.
In conclusion, there are convincing arguments for both viewpoints of the statement. I believe that the mobile phones should be banned in public places where they interrupt services or break rules. However, in all other places they should be allowed as long as they are used with respect to others.
Please read my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/
Thanks
Liz
hi Liz, please check my writing, i am a beginner here.
My target is 6,5.
Please tell me how can i get it? thanks in advance.
here my essay:
it is true that mobiles(cell) phones should be prohibited in general places such a libraries and shop and on public transport. I completely agree with this idea because of some the following reasons.
Firstly, Phones can annoy others when they are concentrating. This is because of its constant ringtones or the phone conservation might disturb and ruin the experience of people, for instance, a student who studies in library can easily focus on his study without using mobiles rather than he brings it there. Secondly, signal of mobile phone can cause serious problems in some public places such as hospital by interfering with delicate instruments or equipment. For example, any patient wears implanted device, cell phone can interfere with it and it could be stopped completely.
In conclusion, i definitely accept that mobiles should be prohibited.
Please see my notice: https://ieltsliz.com/posting-writing/
thanks
Liz