IELTS Writing Task 2 (Exercises): CHILDREN WATCHING TELEVISION

Topic : CHILDREN WATCHING TELEVISION

Useful words and phrases:

1. activate (v)
2. addictive (adj) – addict (v/n)
3. appeal (v) – appeal to (collocation)
4. ascribe (v) – ascribe sth to sth/sb
5. excessive (adj)
6. feasible (adj)
7. remedy (n)
8. sedentary (adj)
9. stimulate (v) – stimulating (adj)
10. tackle (v)
11. vivid (adj)

Exercises:

Task 1: Write sentences from given cues. Make changes to the cues when needed.

1. there / great deal / indecision / over / how / tackle / problem.

2. win / grand award / the group / ascribe / success / company’s training / hard work / and / fans’support.
   _______________________
3. it / believe/ human brain / capability / limitless / but /question / is/ how/fully / activate/ it.
   _______________________
4. it / difficult / design / programme / appeal / 16 to 25-year-olds / since / age range / too broad.
   _______________________
5. build / more roads / not / always / best / remedy / traffic congestion.
   _______________________

Task 2: Fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases

Studies have suggested that children watch much more television than they didin the past and spend less time on active or creative things. What are the reasons and what measures should be taken to encourage children to spend more time on active or creative things?

It is now a norm that children watch an 1___________amount of television and not engaging much in active or creative activities.This trend can be 2___________to a number of factors and it must be addressed by definite actions.

Reasons for the trend vary. The primary reason is that children’s television programmes are being broadcast all day with 3___________content, such as 4 ___________and colourful animation. Cartoon Network and Disney Channel with their day-long series of animation shows are an evident example of this. Another clear reason is that parents nowadays are busy with their work, so they want children to focus on an activity that does not require much of their attention, such as watching television. These two reasons tend to make children spend more time in front of the television screen; this 5___________lifestyle prevents them from participating in active or creative activities.

A number of strong measures should be implemented to 6___________the issue. The first solution is limiting the amount of time that a child can watch television. This could be done by 7___________the parental control mode and setting a fixed operating time limit on their television set. Another 8___________solution is that parents could spend more time with their children and together they could engage in outdoor or creative activities. For example, parents could form a family sport team that practices on a regular basis, which may 9___________to children more than television.

To conclude, there are obvious reasons why children watch too much television and spend little time on more 10___________activities. This negative trend could be tackled by a number of 11___________, such as activating the parental control mode on television sets.

281 words

Key/Answer

Task 1:

1. There is a great deal of indecision over how to tackle the problem.
2. Winning the grand award, the group ascribed their success to the company’s training, their hard work, and their fans’support.
3. It is believed that human brain’s capability is limitless, but the question is how to fully activate it.
4. It is difficult to design a programme that appeal to 16 to 25-year-olds since the age range is too broad.
5. Building more roads isn’t always the best remedy for traffic congestion.

Task 2:

(1) excessive
(2) ascribed
(3) addictive
(4) vivid
(5) sedentary
(6) tackle
(7) activating
(8) feasible
(9) appeal
(10) stimulating
(11) remedies