Privacy or Convenience: What Are We Really Trading?
Write an essay examining whether people knowingly trade privacy for convenience, using precise argument and carefully chosen examples.
- Time
- 50 min
- Length
- 280-320 words
Writadia · C2 · Essays
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Your task
Write an essay on the following question:
"People freely choose to give up their privacy in exchange for convenience." To what extent is this an accurate description of how personal data is shared today?
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Unpack the key words: "freely", "choose", "exchange".
- Decide your position: is it accurate, partly accurate, misleading?
- Use one paragraph to test each key word against real experience.
- Include at least one example from everyday life (apps, loyalty cards, maps).
- Conclude with an implication: what follows if your view is right?
Useful phrases
Unpacking the question
Testing
Implications
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- consent
- permissionDid you give your consent?
- opaque
- not clear, hard to understandThe terms are deliberately opaque.
- default
- the setting that applies if you do nothingTracking is on by default.
- asymmetry
- a lack of balance or equalityan asymmetry of power
- burden
- a heavy responsibilityThe burden falls on users.
Model answer (273 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
The statement depends on two assumptions: that people understand what they are giving up, and that they could realistically refuse. Neither survives close examination.1
There is, admittedly, some truth in the idea of a trade. Most of us know, at least vaguely, that a free map app or a supermarket loyalty card is paid for with information about where we go and what we buy, and many people accept this willingly. For them, a few targeted adverts seem a small price for not getting lost or for cheaper coffee.
Yet "freely" is doing a great deal of work in the original sentence.2 For a choice to be free, it must be informed, and the terms under which data is collected are notoriously long and opaque. Few users could say which companies receive their data or for how long it is kept. Moreover, sharing is often the default: tracking is switched on unless someone finds the setting to turn it off.
It is equally difficult to speak of an exchange when one side cannot walk away. Declining to use a messaging app that everyone in one's school or workplace relies on is technically possible but socially costly. The relationship is better described as an asymmetry: companies know exactly what they gain, while users can only guess what they have lost.3
The statement, then, describes an ideal market rather than the actual one. If that is the case, it makes little sense to place the burden of protection on individual "choices". Clearer rules on consent, and privacy as the default setting, would make the exchange at least resemble the free one that the statement imagines.
- Unpacking the question to build a thesis.
- Focusing on a key word.
- Reframing with a precise abstract noun, then explaining it.
Teacher notes
Precision drill: students list five vague words from their draft (things, aspects, issues, factors, problems) and replace each with a precise noun.
Extra challenge
Write the opening paragraph of an essay arguing the opposite position.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: consent, opaque, default, asymmetry, burden.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “The statement depends on two assumptions: ...”, “"Freely" is doing a great deal of work in this sentence.”, “For a choice to be free, ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I examined the key words of the question.
- I acknowledged the other side.
- My examples are everyday and concrete.
- My conclusion draws an implication.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I examined the key words of the question.
- I acknowledged the other side.
- My examples are everyday and concrete.
- My conclusion draws an implication.
Writadia · C2 · Essays
Assessment rubric: Privacy or Convenience: What Are We Really Trading?
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I examined the key words of the question.
- I acknowledged the other side.
- My examples are everyday and concrete.
- My conclusion draws an implication.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C2 · Essays
Peer-review sheet: Privacy or Convenience: What Are We Really Trading?
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I examined the key words of the question. | |||
| I acknowledged the other side. | |||
| My examples are everyday and concrete. | |||
| My conclusion draws an implication. |
Questions
- Is the main point clear in the first paragraph? Write it in one sentence.
- Which sentence is the most convincing? Why?
- Is there any repetition or memorised phrasing? Underline it.
- Does the style suit the reader and purpose?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
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Writadia · C2 · Essays
Lesson plan: Privacy or Convenience: What Are We Really Trading?
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: consent, opaque, default, asymmetry, burden.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “The statement depends on two assumptions: ...”, “"Freely" is doing a great deal of work in this sentence.”, “For a choice to be free, ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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