Writing Topic
Do you
agree or disagree with the following statement? Television has taken away
opportunities to communicate with friends and family. Use specific reasons and
examples to support your answer.
☆Let’s
think
What
did families use to do in the evening before television was invented? They
could have talked about their day or had a chat on something of their mutual
interest, while doing some small household work together. They might have watched
their youngest child starting to walk or talk. They might also have used the
time to pass down the history, folk tales, morals and important information
about the family and community. Has television deprived family of time to do
those things? Given that it is a powerful entertainment tool, it seems it has.
We may have to consider the characteristics
of television as a medium. It can be a medium between individuals to share
information, thoughts and feelings. What is on television could induce communication.
On the other hand, television
can be used to escape from direct communication. Also, television can be a medium to brainwash people. Moreover,
the spread of television sets may have separated people. Personal televisions,
with increasing variety of television channels, might be making us unable to
speak the same language.
We
might also have to consider what communication is. One could feel lonely while
socializing with others watching TV together. Also, the quality of
communication over television could
be very low, mainly because of the low quality of the contents, and some people
might not call it a communication.
☆Making the
framework of the full essay
Here is
one idea of an essay-writing procedure. You do not have to start with the
introduction, proceeding to the body and the conclusion. Often we do not know
the answer before fully discussing the points, so we could begin with the body,
then we make a conclusion, and put the introduction which matches the
conclusion.
The
diagram of the procedure is as follows. The signs and symbols in the diagram represent
images of a variety of thoughts.
STEP 1 Working on the body making each point
【Point 1】#####
【Point 2】&&&
【Point 3】$$$$$@@
STEP 2 Making a conclusion
【Conclusion
= Wrap-up】G!!!
STEP 3 Writing the introduction that matches the
conclusion
【Introduction
= Outline】G
The
actual structure of the essay made up of the ideas above is as follows.
【Introduction
= Outline】G
【Point 1】#####
【Point 2】&&&
【Point 3】$$$$$@@
【Conclusion
= Wrap-up】G!!!
Here is
a sample which follows the procedure above.
STEP 1 Working on the body making each point
【Point 1】Television
reduces time to do activities that involve communication.
【Point 2】The contents of
television do not connect people so much as isolate them.
【Point 3】It is true that
television can provide opportunities for communication, but usually people do
not communicate while watching television and the contents will not provide an
in-depth communication.
STEP 2 Making a conclusion
【Conclusion】Television has
lessened our communication in general because it now occupies our time and
minds.
STEP 3 Writing the introduction that matches the
conclusion
【Introduction】I agree with
the statement that television has taken away opportunities to communicate with
friends and family considering people had less distraction before.
☆Sample Essay
Structures
Sample Essay
Structure 1 (This is the idea notes
above put in the right order.)
【Introduction】I agree with
the statement that television has taken away opportunities to communicate with
friends and family considering people had less distraction before.
【Point 1】Television has
reduced time to do activities that involve quality communication.
【Point 2】The contents of
television do not connect people so much as isolate them.
【Point 3】It is true that
television can provide opportunities for communication, but usually people do
not communicate while watching television and the contents will not provide an
in-depth communication.
【Conclusion】Television has
lessened our communication in general because it now occupies our time and
minds.
Sample Essay Structure 2
【Introduction】I cannot
totally agree with the statement that television has taken away opportunities
to communicate with friends and family because it is in itself a good medium
for communication.
【Point 1】Many spend most
of their time watching television without interacting with others.
【Point 2】However, television
can provide catalysts for communication.
【Point 3】Also, television
can be used to share information and ideas.
【Conclusion】I think not
television but the way television is used has prevented us from communicating
with each other.
Your Sample
Essay Structure
【Introduction
= Outline】
【Point 1】
【Point 2】
【Point 3】
【Conclusion
= Wrap-up】
☆Essay for Ideas
and Expressions
If communication with family and friends is to learn about each other and
strengthen or change the relationship, trying to do them while staring at the TV screen or discussing some television content
may not be the best way. Considering people had less distraction
before television started to prevail, I agree with the statement that
television has taken away opportunities to communicate with friends and family.
Television reduces time
to do activities that involve communication. Since it is fun to watch TV, everyone
watches it. Sports fans spend most of their lifetime watching live sports
programs and sports news shows. It is also a duty to watch TV. You should know
about some popular programs and people to keep up with the others. We are too
busy watching TV to care about our folks. Also, as television occupies the viewer’s mind, it is
difficult to talk to someone who is watching television, and the communication
over TV will not become as deep as communication without television, in which
each other’s whole being interacts. Nevertheless, because of the ease,
mannerism, and expectation for something unexpected we choose to watch TV. Some
even use television to escape communication. A busy mother may put her
inquisitive child in front of TV, or a son may pretend to be absorbed in a show
so that his father cannot talk to him.
The contents of television may not connect
people so much as isolate them. Unlike the old days when family members spent
the evening reading the Bible together, individuals have their own interests to
spend time on now. Everyone has a personal terminal, and the number of channels
and programs are countless. This divides us. People feel they are more
associated with those who share the same interest with them than with their
blood relatives and friends. Your brother or friend thinks he has his comrades
in a specific audience community such as anime fans and far-right ideologists. Although
this may make him happy, he often loses touch with the people around him, and
more or less the same kind of segmentation among us has been going on through the
use of television.
Television can help
induce communication. You could laugh together or pick up a conversation piece on
a television program. However, the same kind of communication can be done
without the medium of television and these interactions usually convey only
simple messages like affection or agreement, or some basic information. Even when
a lively conversation is going on, the topic is about a program, not you or
your family or friend. Some content may trigger an in-depth exchange of
thoughts and feelings on rare occasions, but doing something else together
always involves good communication between family and friends. Just washing the
dishes together or chatting while one is doing it would make your relationship better.
When we seriously want to communicate with someone,
we do not give a glimpse to the TV screen. However, television usually keeps our
attention, makes our interests disparate, and prevents us from knowing each
other well. Since it occupies a large part of our time and mind, I think that television has lessened
our chances to communicate with family and friends. Perhaps keeping our eyes off from the TV screen would let us see
our relationships better than now.
