Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television - IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay

The IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay, ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’, requires you to develop critical thinking skills where you need to structure your thoughts effectively. You can use this topic to practice writing in 250 words within a 40-minute time frame. To ace the IELTS Writing section, you need to learn how connecting words create coherence, list of arguments for Task Response, usage of advanced vocabulary words for Lexical Resource, and using different sentence structures in Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Such patterns would help create a strong foundation in developing essential writing skills for the exam day.

List of Connecting Words in ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

The use of cohesive devices in the  IELTS Writing Task 2 essays would help you have a logical arrangement of ideas. The use of connecting words follows specific patterns which would help you understand the sequence of your arguments along with the examples, discuss contrasting points, and final conclusion. By analyzing sample answers, you will learn how linkers can be used in essays for coherence which would improve the overall clarity. The table below suggests a few of the connecting words which you can use as you attempt to write on the IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay, ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’.

Question - IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

Structure Breakdown for ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

An essay with an IELTS Band Score of 8+ requires you to create an effective writing plan before you start writing. This process of developing ideas would help in the logical development as you can create an organized structure for your essay. Remember that through brainstorming, you can maintain your focus and stay on topic as well as a structure. Below is an outline for the IELTS Writing Task 2 Argumentative Essay, ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’.

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Sample Answer 1 on ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

With the development of technology, media plays an important role in the field of education. Many people are of the opinion that when students are taught with the help of computers, mobile phones, and even television, they learn productively. As far as I am concerned, educating a child with the help of television at school and home is commendable, but there should be a limit to the exposure, otherwise, there may be a hindrance to their mental and physical development.

Childhood is a period when everyone enjoys the simple pleasures of life. Running with friends, pursuing adventures, enjoying ice cream and chocolates are some of the activities that make them happy. Nowadays, children are glued to their television or computer screens. There is no scope for physical activity, and they become obese or unhealthy. If the children continuously come in contact with television at home as well as at school, the rays from the screen may affect their eyesight.

Apart from this, when children watch television at home and school, they become addicted. For example, when a child is shown animated videos to understand certain topics, they get an excuse to watch videos on youtube. They tell their parents that the teacher had asked them to watch those videos to understand the topic better. In this way, the parents are bound to allow them and are unable to keep track of their activity. Moreover, some programs on television show excessive violence, which excites the children. They may try to copy their favourite superhero and get hurt in the process. The crime shows may even instigate them to behave in a rude or anti-social way which ultimately becomes detrimental to their development.

Yet, it is irrefutable that television is an effective tool to educate children and adults alike. While shows on National Geography, Animal Planet and Discovery tap on the scientific evolution of a child’s mind, cartoons or game shows help them relax after a long day of study and activities.

To put it in a nutshell, even though watching television both at home and school might help the children, the negative effects outweigh the positive side. So, according to me, elders should keep an eye on their wards and allow them limited time to television at home and school.

Vocabulary for Sample Answer 1 on ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

• Commendable

Meaning: deserving praise
Eg: His project on the various ways to generate power was commendable.

• Hindrance

Meaning: a thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone
Eg: Ulysses overcame all hindrances on his way to reach Ithaca.

• Pursuing

Meaning: continue or proceed along
Eg: The young boy kept on pursuing the journey in order to find the murderer.

• Instigated

Meaning: to start something or cause something to happen
Eg: The witch instigated the common public to revolt against the king.

• Detrimental

Meaning: harmful
Eg: The polluted air in the city is detrimental to the old man’s health.

Sample Answer 2 on ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

The effects of television on children have always been a dilemma for decades. Some people believe that young individuals can learn better when watching televisions while others oppose it. I completely disagree because it can be pernicious in terms of school performance and creates developmental problems for children.

To start with, the academic performance of children declines due to the usage of television as a learning tool. This is because the majority of modern media in recent years fails to provide educational content which existed in past television shows due to a change in network values and vision. As a result, entertainment programs have become a common activity which people use to elude their problems. To illustrate, the network companies in the Philippines have created drama-romance shows which attract pre-teens and teenagers which has been considered as a major study distraction.

Moreover, television programs make children watch too much which creates developmental problems that particularly affect young children. In other words, children do not get exposed to interactive activities; rather they view discrete content. Along with that, parents tend to use such bright colorful shows to entertain their children until their child reaches a particular age. Such a practice impacts their academic journey while creating an impediment to their development.

To conclude, I disagree with the notion of using television to learn because of the negative effects of television shows on student academic performance such as using it as a distraction and entertainment purpose.

Vocabulary for Sample Answer 2 on ‘Children Can Learn Effectively by Watching Television’

• Dilemma

Meaning: a situation where one has to choose between two unappealing options
Eg: The government is in a dilemma between choosing industrial growth and environmental conservation efforts.

• Pernicious

Meaning: something which creates harmful effects
Eg: Public trust on online news has declined because of the pernicious effects which misinformation spreads throughout society.

• Elude

Meaning: escaping or avoiding something through intelligent or mysterious methods
Eg: Scientists have been eluding the problem for a long time without finding an answer.

• Discrete

Meaning: separate and not connected
Eg: The study used different age groups as distinct categories for the analysis of the country’s population.

• Impediment

Meaning: anything which stops progress toward achieving a goal
Eg: Educational reform efforts have become an impediment due to a major financial resource restriction.

Remember to analyse the sample answers of the essays carefully which can help you to understand the progression of coherent ideas along with the use of advanced vocabulary and complex grammatical structures. Such regular practice sessions would help develop your confidence and take you closer to a band 8+. In this way, you can gain the confidence to score higher and attempt any essay topic with ease.

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