Band 8 model answer
A model answer written to illustrate a Band 8 response to this question, with the rubric breakdown and what carries it. Written by us as a teaching example, not a verified exam script.
“Social media has changed the way people debate politics. Are the effects mainly positive or negative?”8
Overall
8.5
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
Social media has transformed the way ordinary people discuss and debate political issues. While these platforms have undeniably widened participation, I believe their overall effect on political debate has been more negative than positive.
It would be unfair to ignore the benefits. Social media has given a voice to millions who were previously excluded from political conversation, allowing citizens to organise, share information instantly, and hold those in power to account. Movements that might once have struggled for attention can now mobilise supporters across the world within hours, which represents a genuine democratisation of public debate.
Despite these gains, the drawbacks are more serious. The structure of these platforms tends to reward emotion and conflict rather than reasoned argument, so nuanced discussion is frequently drowned out by insults and slogans. Algorithms that show users only content they already agree with create "echo chambers" in which people are rarely exposed to opposing views, hardening opinions and deepening division. Worse still, the speed and anonymity of online debate allow misinformation and personal abuse to flourish, discouraging moderate voices from taking part at all.
On balance, although social media has made politics more accessible, it has also made political conversation more hostile, polarised, and prone to manipulation. The quality of debate, in my view, matters more than its sheer quantity, and on this measure the platforms have done considerable harm.
In conclusion, while social media has broadened political engagement, its tendency to amplify hostility and misinformation means that, overall, its influence on political debate has been predominantly negative.
- •Commits to a clear evaluative position (“more negative than positive”) and earns the top mark on Task Response by weighing benefits against harms rather than ignoring one side.
- •Strong topical vocabulary used accurately: “democratisation”, “echo chambers”, “polarised”.
- •Logical progression and natural cohesion (“Despite these gains”, “On balance”).
- •Complex sentences handled with control and accuracy.
- •The final two paragraphs reuse a similar structure, varying it would tighten cohesion further.
- •Points are well reasoned but would reach Band 9 with specific, named examples.
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