Technology is one of the most common IELTS topics. Writing Task 2 asks whether artificial intelligence makes people less independent, whether children should use gadgets from an early age and who benefits from automation. In Speaking Part 3, the conversation turns to the future: how will daily life change, are older people being left behind, should we worry about leaks of personal data? Everyone has ideas on this topic. The trouble is that the word for the simplest of them is often the wrong one.
The biggest trap is technique. Many learners write modern technique when they mean laptops, robot vacuums and smartphones. But in English, technique is a method or a skill: a swimming technique, a drawing technique, a research technique. The machines in your home are household appliances, electronics are devices, machinery is equipment, and technology as a whole is technology. The same topic trips learners up with informations, in the Internet and depend from. Below are 26 collocations for writing about technology precisely, a breakdown of these mistakes and an example of how LetsWords finds and explains a mistake like this in a sentence you write yourself. Youāll find other topics in our IELTS vocabulary by topic guide.
Technology: words and collocations
Progress and devices
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| technological advances | new developments in technology | Technological advances have transformed the way we shop and bank. |
| cutting-edge technology | the newest, most advanced technology | The hospital uses cutting-edge technology to detect cancer earlier. |
| keep up with technology | stay up to date as technology changes | Many older people find it hard to keep up with technology. |
| become obsolete | go out of date and out of use | Smartphones become obsolete within just a few years. |
| household appliances | machines used at home, such as fridges and washing machines | Household appliances have saved families countless hours of housework. |
| labour-saving devices | machines that reduce physical work | Labour-saving devices such as washing machines allowed more people to take paid work. |
| digital devices | phones, tablets, laptops and other gadgets | Children now spend several hours a day on digital devices. |
The internet and data
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| have access to the internet | be able to go online | Millions of rural households still do not have access to the internet. |
| a reliable internet connection | a connection that works without interruptions | Remote work is impossible without a reliable internet connection. |
| the digital divide | the gap between people with and without access to technology | The digital divide became obvious when schools moved online. |
| track usersā online activity | record what people do online | Many free apps make money by tracking usersā online activity. |
| personal data | information about a particular person | Companies should be fined for failing to protect personal data. |
| raise privacy concerns | make people worried about their privacy | Facial recognition cameras raise serious privacy concerns. |
| a data breach | an incident in which private data is stolen or exposed | A single data breach can expose the details of millions of customers. |
Automation and artificial intelligence
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| artificial intelligence | computer systems that perform tasks that need human intelligence | Artificial intelligence is already used to diagnose some diseases. |
| automate routine tasks | let machines do repetitive work | Software can automate routine tasks such as sorting invoices. |
| replace human workers | do the jobs that people used to do | Machines are more likely to replace human workers in repetitive jobs. |
| make good use of technology | use technology effectively | Schools that make good use of technology can personalise learning. |
| AI-powered tools | tools that run on artificial intelligence | AI-powered tools can translate a long document in seconds. |
| be prone to error | be likely to make mistakes | Even the most advanced automated systems are prone to error. |
The impact on people
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rely heavily on technology | depend a lot on technology | We rely so heavily on technology that a power cut can stop a whole city. |
| be dependent on | need something and be unable to manage without it | Teenagers are becoming increasingly dependent on their phones. |
| screen time | time spent looking at a screen | Parents often struggle to limit their childrenās screen time. |
| face-to-face communication | talking to people in person | Video calls cannot fully replace face-to-face communication. |
| have a profound impact on | have a very deep effect on | The smartphone has had a profound impact on daily life. |
| take technology for granted | stop noticing or valuing technology because itās always there | We take technology for granted until it stops working. |
Youāll find the linking words that connect these arguments in an essay in our guide to IELTS Writing vocabulary.
Common mistakes
Modern technique makes housework much easier.
Modern household appliances make housework much easier. / Modern technology makes housework much easier.
Technique is a way of doing something, not a machine. For machines, English has appliances, devices and equipment; for technology in general, technology. The technique exercise covers this word in detail.
I found this informations in the Internet.
I found this information on the internet.
Information is uncountable: no -s and no a. A single fact is a piece of information. The internet takes on, like on TV and on the radio. You can write internet with a small or a capital letter; just be consistent throughout your text.
People became too depend from their phones.
People have become too dependent on their phones.
After become, you need the adjective dependent, not the verb depend. And both the verb and the adjective take on: depend on, dependent on. Not from, not of.
New technologies allow people working remotely.
New technologies allow people to work remotely.
To let someone do something is allow someone to do something.
How LetsWords explains mistakes like these
Mistakes like these are almost invisible to the person who makes them: modern technique and depend from sound perfectly familiar. Thatās why LetsWords catches them in sentences you write yourself. Hereās what one task looks like.
Youāre reviewing replace human workers. LetsWords shows you a hint in your native language meaning ātake peopleās places at workā. You recall the English expression and write a sentence about automation:
In the future robots will change human workers in many works.
The feedback explains two mistakes:
- change ā replace: change means make something different; to take someoneās place is replace;
- in many works ā in many jobs: work in the sense of employment is uncountable, while a particular position is a job.
In the future, robots will replace human workers in many jobs.
LetsWords explains each correction in your native language: Russian, Korean or Vietnamese. A few days later, the expression comes back in review, and you use it in a new situation, for example in an essay about artificial intelligence in medicine. Thatās how a collocation from a list becomes one you recall from memory and write without mistakes.
Start practising with feedback on your mistakes
When you sign up, you choose IELTS as your goal and your level, and LetsWords picks the right practice for you. You can try the feedback before you pay.
Using these collocations in Writing Task 2
An exam-style task:
Many everyday tasks, from finding a route to doing calculations, are now handled by smartphones and artificial intelligence. Some people believe this makes people less capable. Is this a positive or negative development?
A paragraph stating the writerās position:
In my view, this development is largely positive. When machines automate routine tasks, people can focus on work that requires creativity and judgement. Few of us can calculate square roots by hand, yet few would argue that calculators have made society less intelligent. The same applies to artificial intelligence: the hours it saves can be spent on more complex problems. The real danger is not that we rely heavily on technology, but that we stop understanding how it works. If schools teach children to make good use of technology while still practising basic skills, technological advances will have a profound impact on society, and that impact will be mostly positive.
Why the paragraph works. The position comes first, and the collocations from the tables move the argument forward instead of decorating it: automate routine tasks explains what exactly changes, rely heavily on technology names the real danger and make good use of technology offers the solution. The calculator example is concrete and needs no statistics. For Lexical Resource, the collocations appear in their natural form; for Task Response, the opinion is supported and qualified with a condition.
Using them in Speaking
A Part 3 question: Do you think older people are being left behind by technology?
In many cases, yes. Banks and public services are moving online, so anyone who canāt keep up with technology finds everyday tasks harder. And it isnāt only about skills ā some older people simply donāt have access to the internet at home, which is a big part of the digital divide. I think the answer is free training, plus keeping at least some services available face to face.
The answer gives a position, two reasons and a solution: exactly the kind of developed answer Part 3 needs. The collocations sound like natural speech, not inserts from a list.
Practise for free
- technique: a method or skill, not machinery;
- data: facts and figures collected for analysis;
- have access to: be able to use or reach something;
- rely on: depend on and trust;
- depend on: need something;
- keep up with: stay at the same pace as;
- make use of: use something;
- take for granted: stop noticing the value of something.
From the list to real use
Recognising household appliances in a table is easy. Recalling it in the exam instead of the familiar technique is a different skill, and you only build it through practice. Move from the list to real use with LetsWords: practise with the IELTS collection for your level and add collocations from this page to a collection, for example household appliances or raise privacy concerns. You recall each expression from its meaning, write a sentence with it, and LetsWords points out the mistake and explains it in your native language (Russian, Korean or Vietnamese), while spaced repetition brings the expression back until it feels natural. Then test the vocabulary in a full text: the IELTS Writing section has Task 2 questions on technology, about artificial intelligence, smartphones, personal data and gadgets for children, and a full answer gets detailed feedback on all four criteria, tied to what you wrote. If a whole essay still feels like too much, start with criterion practice on a short passage. When you sign up, you answer a few questions about your goal and level, and LetsWords picks your practice; you can try the feedback before you pay. For vocabulary on other topics, see our IELTS vocabulary by topic.