Recent Exam IELTS Writing Task & Television and Education
Here is a recent question that appeared in IELTS Writing Exam. In this article we will provide you the model answer to the question along with the important vocabulary and phrases in the passage.
The question as quoted in the Writing Section II in the IELTS Writing Exam
“Some people say that television is a very useful tool when it comes to education. Others argue that television is a much overused, ineffective teacher.
Discuss both of these views and give your opinion as to the usefulness of television as an educational tool.”
Analysing the question we see that it is about the educational effects of television. The question clearly mentions that we need to discuss both the view points mentioned in the question and then we need to express our opinion on the topic.
Below is the model answer given by one of our trainers. We would recommend you to write down your own answer to the question and then go ahead to read the model answer. This will help you better understand where you might be going wrong.
The model band-8 answer:
People are divided in opinion if television is a great source of education and knowledge or not. Both of these two groups have their reasoning and logic. In this essay, I will discuss both the viewpoint to represent the effectiveness and drawbacks of TV as the source of education.
To mention the disadvantages, television channels are too much commercial nowadays and they would produce any program to attract people no matter if they are authentic or not. There are plenty of choices for channels and people tend to use their TV as an entertainment media than an educational source. The biased news, politically influenced talk show etc. often mislead people and that has a very negative impact on the society. Programs that contain violence, the negative impression often distracts young people and the addiction on TV programs often restrain people from doing other important activities. TV is a great source of knowledge sharing but the programs choice must be prudent to learn something from it and most of the people fail to do so.
On the other hand, there are lots of advantages of TV according to a group and these advantages supersede the disadvantages as they opine. There are always options for a TV viewer and if s/he takes it as a medium of educational sources, the can always do so. It is an effective medium for updating people about the current news, different viewpoints and current affairs. People no longer need to travel a great deal to learn about other countries and it is TV that actually made it possible. Channels like Discovery, National Geography have been successfully broadcasting education channels and they are hugely popular around the globe. This is a strong tool for a government to communicate with mass people to deliver a message. After a stressful day at work people often find it refreshing to watch music, movies, soap opera, reality shows, travel shows at their homes and there is no argument that those things have their educational references well rooted into.
In conclusion, TV can be a great source for education if properly and prudently watched and also can be a negative factor for some people if their program choice is somehow negative.
Important Vocabulary and Phrases
- authentic
- biased
- politically influenced
- prudent
- supersede
Connectors Used
- On the other hand
- To mention
- In conclusion
Additional Instructions
You will notice that the disadvantages have been discussed in the 2nd para and the advantages have been discussed in the 3rd para. The reason behind discussing the disadvantages before the advantages is that the writer of the essay wants to take the stand point of television having advantages. Hence in the second last para he mentions the advantages and concludes with the same.
You should follow a similar strategy to bring out your point clearly and in an easy to understand fashion.
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