Here is an essay for IELTS task 2. Would the interested friends score me out of 9 for the essay below? I would appreciate your informative comments too.

A must-have tool for every language learner since long time ago has been a lexical resource called dictionary. No matter what level the learner is at, s/he needs the support of a standard and reliable dictionary. It gives the learner confidence in exploring the mysteries behind words in the foreign language. However, printed dictionaries used to be bulky, expensive, time-consuming and somehow boring. As a result, many learners have been reluctant to use it very often. The good news, nevertheless, is the emergence of electronic dictionaries in digital age. These new brand dictionaries are so rich in content and convenient to use that most learners very quickly left their printed lexicons in the shelves of history to be referred to once in a blue moon. In fact, electronic dictionaries have several advantages over printed dictionaries which have convinced the learners to change their word look-up habits. The most important advantages which are going to be discussed in this essay include accessibility, affordability, as well as the quantity and variety of information.

The first benefit regarding electronic dictionaries which occurs the mind is that it is simply accessible. Digital dictionaries are available as applications in smart phones. And smart phones these days, as a top necessity, can be found in the hand of almost every person including children. You can readily carry it everywhere, whereas a voluminous printed dictionary may need a van to carry! Moreover, such digital dictionaries are available for PC, tablet, and laptop. On the other hand, online free dictionaries such as McMillan and Cambridge are super valuable resources available worldwide without any restrictions. So if you ask for the address of a good electronic dictionary, we would say it is easy to find and you cannot miss it!

The second advantage of electronic dictionaries over printed ones is that learners can afford to use it. Printed dictionaries, being bulky and often hard back, cost a fortune today. Majority of students with their limited budget would not be able to buy one and libraries would not lend resource books out. However, digital dictionaries cost very little and in some cases they are free to use. Therefore, as far as money talks, electronic dictionaries are preferable without question.

The third and perhaps the most important advantage of electronic dictionaries over printed ones lies in the incredible amount of information presented in a user-friendly style. Unlike printed dictionaries which are so much limited by space, digital dictionaries, thanks to computer technology, can hold many times more information about words without being overloaded themselves or overloading learners. For instance, you have access to audio information about every word in different accents. Even in a dictionary, like Longman Contemporary, every sentence is read out authentically. You have access to bank of examples from corpus. There are variety of grammatical information -- collocation, thesaurus, activator, phrase search and much more which would be available at a mouse click or finger touch. Double-clicking every word anywhere would open new windows to help you with your immediate needs and curiosities. You may have access to multimedia and many pictures. And everything is done in no time, so fast and convenient. None of these can be enjoyed in a printed dictionary, of course.

In sum, with the practical and tangible advantages for electronic dictionaries mentioned above, we can hardly find any language learners who would still prefer to practice the painstaking old ways of using printed dictionaries to the point of losing their time as well as eyesight. Digital dictionaries are here and now, dramatically replacing printed dictionaries which are going to be found in the archive of national libraries and museums.

 

By: Fred

This is a challenge to native speakers who think of themselves as very professional teachers!