13824 Influence
IELTS Essay Topic
Parental Influence vs. TV Influence
20130615 China
Jeenn Lee Hsieh
Essay Question:
Some people think that parents have a great influence on their children, while others think that the media have a bigger influence. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Use reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience to support your answer.
Example Answer:
If the business of children is play, both parents and the media have critical influence on the behaviors of the very immature minds. Parental encouragement on children's physical activity is the means to reduce their children's time spent in sedentary lifestyle in front of the screen. As often as not, television in particular can be a good or bad influence, so parental examples in support of children's physical activity are essential.
There are several arguments referring to television as being a bad (or good) influence on children. On the one hand, television makes children violent and aggressive. A number of research reports indicate that violence on the media in general lead to aggressive behavior on children who watch the programs. Further, sitting passively in front of the tube leads to weight gain, increasing the chances of diabetes and heart problems. The same reports, on the other hand, say that educational television can help supplant some children's missing opportunities. Besides, just like parents being the best teachers, television provides some good role models for children.
Be it good or bad, too much time spent on television (and along with it the Internet) means too little time required for physical activity, hence it is the parents' responsibility to influence their children in the right way. To do that, the key lies on parents' behaviors as role models. For example, if parents want their children to do exercise, they should be setting the example. At this point, it is important to identify which parental behaviors promote physical activity in children. Probably lack of time is the most commonly reported barrier among parents who fail to help children engage in physical activity above recommended levels. That is to say, parental physical activity can significantly predict children's degree of activity throughout the day.
On the whole, the degree of physical activity is a reflection of the influence on children by television as well as by parents. Parental involvement in monitoring children's screen time for the sake of physical activity can make a difference in children's development. In fact, it makes not much a difference whether television or parents have more influence. (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh)
猫头鹰在线写作实验室讲座
Online Writing Lab.(OWL)
谢振礼 Jeenn Lee Hsieh
>What is the Focus in this IELTS essay, according to the writer?
Focus (in the Introduction): physical activity
Thesis: Present your position in response to the essay question.
Focus: Narrow down the scope of your Thesis into your Focus.
Signposts A and B: Parental influence and TV influence. (Signpost A leads to the Topic Sentence in Body Paragraph A; Signpost B, to Body Paragraph B.)
>留学英语网站提供批改作文的专业服务。据猫头鹰所知，例举如下。请网友自行询问更多的资源。
http://www.ielts99.com/
http://www.7writing.com/
http://www.smartpigai.com/
http://www.51pigai.com/
http://www.xinqiyasi.com/
http://eng24.edu2k.com/
More....
>哪里找‘爱迪尔’作参考?‘Simon's Ideas for Essay Topics’: 有用吗?
西蒙外教曾经担任雅思考官。太多的网友(猫头鹰在内)阅读他的ielts-simon 博客，受益匪浅。这个电子书的内容有24道雅思大作文母题。有心人在网页上转载，分成四期：
01-06
07-12
13-18
19-24
>除了西蒙雅思博客，还有那些值得参考的国外网站?
猫头鹰是以下网站的常客：
http://www.ielts-simon.com
http://www.ielts-blog.com
http://www.dcielts.com
http://www.ieltsbuddy.com
http://www.ielts-exam.net
>哪里有历年的海外雅思写作+口语真题?国内的呢?
三年来猫头鹰阅读雅思博客，抄录海外400+ Speaking and Writing Topics (from http://www.ielts-blog.com )。题目数量太多，所以ielts360toefl@hotmail.com 不便转载投稿友谊网站。
至于国内历年考题，新东方有接近完整的资料。 51pigai.com (xdf.cn) 2011-2013
>有没有新托福写作的历年试题?老题库185还有用吗?
托福独立写作老题库还是管用。ETS的185 TOEFL Essay Topics (Independent Writing)
Test of Written English (TWE)经过Jeenn Lee Hsieh编辑为6 groups，可以一目了然。近年来的中国托福考题，请参考新东方51pigai.com (xdf.cn) 2009-2013。猫头鹰三年来也做同步转载 ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
>那些国家或地区考托福或雅思?举出人数较多的吧(Top countries outside English-speaking countries)?
托福 TOEFL: Korea, Japan, China, India, Taiwan, Turkey, Germany, Italy, France, Thailand
雅思 IELTS: India, China, Pakistan, Phillipines, Hongkong, Banladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Spain
>比较两种口语考试 TOEFL vs. IELTS Speaking：
TOEFL 20 minutes: Assesses the academic speaking skills needed to succeed by using authentic university material and tasks.
2 independent tasks and 4 integrated tasks.
Integrated tasks: Test takers read a short passage., listen to related material, and then orally integrated the information in their own words.
Independent tasks: Test takers respond to familiar topics based on their own knowledge or experience.
IELTS 11-14 minutes: Assesses interactive speaking skills using a structured interview conducted by an examiner and recorded on a cassette tape.
Part 1: Introduction and interview based on selected familiar topics.
Part 2: Individual long turn in which test takers respond to a selected task card.
Part 3: Two-way discussion linked to the Part 2 Topic.
>比较两种写作考试 TOEFL vs. IELTS Writing：
TOEFL Task 1+Task 2 (20+30 minutes): Assesses the academic writing skills needed to succeed by using authentic university material and tasks.
Task 1 (Integrated Task): Test takers read a short passage, listen to related material, and then describe how the information in the two sources relate.
Task 2 (Independent Task): Test takers write an essay on a given topic using their own knowledge or experience.
IELTS Task 1+Task 2 (20+40 minutes): Assesses either academic or general writing skills, depending on which format the test taker chooses.
Task 1: Test takers (Academic) review diagram, table, or data and write about the information in their own words. Test takers (General) write letters.
Task 2: Test takers write an essay on a given topic using their own knowledge or experience.
