IELTS Writing Task 2: 'video games' essay

Some people regard video games as harmless fun, or even as a useful educational tool. Others, however, believe that video games are having an adverse effect on the people who play them. In your opinion, do the drawbacks of video games outweigh the benefits?

Many people, and children in particular, enjoy playing computer games. While I accept that these games can sometimes have a positive effect on the user, I believe that they are more likely to have a harmful impact.

On the one hand, video games can be both entertaining and educational. Users, or gamers, are transported into virtual worlds which are often more exciting and engaging than real-life pastimes. From an educational perspective, these games encourage imagination and creativity, as well as concentration, logical thinking and problem solving, all of which are useful skills outside the gaming context. Furthermore, it has been shown that computer simulation games can improve users’ motor skills and help to prepare them for real-world tasks, such as flying a plane.

However, I would argue that these benefits are outweighed by the drawbacks. Gaming can be highly addictive because users are constantly given scores, new targets and frequent rewards to keep them playing. Many children now spend hours each day trying to progress through the levels of a game or to get a higher score than their friends. This type of addiction can have effects ranging from lack of sleep to problems at school, when homework is sacrificed for a few more hours on the computer or console. The rise in obesity in recent years has also been linked in part to the sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise that often accompany gaming addiction.

In conclusion, it seems to me that the potential dangers of video games are more significant than the possible benefits.

(258 words, band 9)

Comments

[boburShox]

Hello Simon.
From my point of view, this is just a devastatingly powerful essay. I completely agree with 9! First of all, I would say that it is straightforward to follow. Secondly, a wide range of vocabulary is used:
- to be transported into virtual words;
- real-life pastimes;
- encourage imagination and creativity;
- outside the gaming context;
- computer simulation games;
- to sacrifice for a few more hours on the computer;
- to be linked in part to the sedentary lifestyle;
- accompany gaming addiction;
- potential dangers...
Of course, I could have found may more. Thank you very much indeed. I hope to write essays like yours one day. :).
Thanks again for sharing this with us!
Best regards...

[Naveed Alizai]

Hi, Simon,
Nice essay and plz also pray for my ielts exam next month,
I have problem in writing task 1, i.e
should we write our own name at the end of letter. or use a fake name, does it effect our score?

thanks
Naveed

[Yue]

Hi Simon,

I think we need more your essays to learn from, hopefully you could post more essays if possible, thanks a lot.

[VU]

Hi everyone,
I wonder if anybody can tell me that do the level of difficulty of reading and listening in the real exam like those in Cambridge books?
I will take the exam in the short time, and I want to evaluate myself.
Thanks a lot !

[Abdullah]

Hi Simon,

"It has been shown that computer simulation games"

"It" here indicates to what?

Thank you in advanced,

[Nalini]

HI Simon

I prefer to mention my position in first paragraph and write two more paragraphs with one supporting examples in each paragraph. Finally restate my opinion.

Is my style of task response will be consider as task achievement?

Looking forward for your valuable response.

Regards
Nalini

[Jay]

Hi Simon,

I am stuck with 6.5 in writing in total 10 trial of real IELTS.

I m totally fedup with this exam..

plz tellme how toget 7 in reading and writing

[IELTS fever]

Don't worry dear you are not alone in this boat. Said that, its a great pain to be failed 10 times mostly due to reading which has happened with me. Annoyingly frustrated indeed!!

Don't know how to improve my reading score.

[STLEI]

@Jay:

I often divide my time resource in reading into 2 periods.

Part 1 (6 minutes) You scan and underline all Signpost ( Name of people,cities, time ...). Just scan, do not read carefully. By dint of this way, you will get the overall map of 3 reading passages.

Part 2 ( 45 minutes) Just do it !!!
I often do Fill in blank ( the easiest one) > true/false/not given > Matching headings.

So i often complete reading tests after 50 minutes and 10 minutes left for checking and transferring.

@simon. I am have trouble with writing skills :(. I don't know how to use your essay and ideas book efficiently. Besides, I do not have any tutors, who can give me advice :( 12/1/2013 I will take the first IELTS exam, Not much time left...

[Jay]

hi simon

Can u give more example like this essay in future??

[Jay]

Thnx Steli

for giving valuable reading guideline

[ZIAUL HUDA]

Hi,allusers of this blog. Here I have tried to write a good response to this question. comments are welcomed.
Today, video games are increasingly popular among all walks of life, and in particular teenagers. These games can sometimes have positive effects on the players. My personal view is that they may have detrimental impact on the users.
On the one hand, video games can be seen both as entertaining and educational for all the gamers who play them. Video gaming is pervasive throughout our society. There are some action packed video games that have number of ingredients that are actually powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention and vision. Video gamers learn several technologically based skills such as creativity, attention, logical reasoning and problem solving skills. In addition to all these, they can enhance the users driving skills and help to prepare them for the real life tasks such as taking space shuttle into space.
However, it is argued that demerits greatly outweigh the merits. Though, it is a well known fact that too much screening worsens the eyesight. A research has indicated that sitting on computer screen for long hours can cause various diseases such as migraine, multiple scleroses and anxiety disorders among young children. Another downside of using games like play station for long duration of time is being away from class work and this adduction of gaming is also associated with obesity among adolescents. To illustrate this, a nephew of mine often engages himself in playing games in leisure. As a result of this, he is overweight in his twentieth. As this shows that video games may have great dangers too This can be concluded from this example that players who play the game are having negative consequences.
Following from this look, it has been shown that computer games have both pros and cons. In my view, drawbacks are considerably outweighed by advantages.

[Manoj]

Hello Simon,
I am scared about the IELTS Reading as well as writing.I have taken my IELTS exam on june 14th 2012 but i am not able to get my score.I got 5.5(l=5.5,w=5,r=5,s=5.5) and i am planning to retake my exam on you help by sending information of writing as well as reading.

[rahul rjesh]

this site is very usefull

[Mari21]

Hi All,

Is there somebody that could help me with my paragraph? Is is ok?

Videos games may be an useful tool for children that have started going to school or perhaps have special needs. Futhermore, could be a harmful tool if it is the only distraction that children and young people can have. In my opinion, video games are fun only if is used with moderation for the players.

Many thanks,

Mari

[Nima]

Hi Dear All,
you are welcomed to make any commnet or feedback on my essay.

Nowadays, it is inevitably true that play stations, computers and video games are common features in almost every home. Although video games have many pros and cons, I believe that if parents manage time-length and type of the games for their children to play, their advantages outweigh drawbacks.
On one hand, video games have some benefits. Firstly, playing some beneficial games like computer-based chess could enhance mind power and concentration abilities. Secondly, parents and teachers could utilize these games as educational tools to motivate children in understanding difficult fields like languages and math. For example, if children play games with easy and straightforward English expressions, they will familiar with this language sooner and will learn it better. Moreover, despite some fails children learn to endeavor to get their target and this strategy will learn them problem-solving techniques which are useful in their future real life. Furthermore, we can experience enjoyable adventures that are impossible or hard achievable in our real world. For instance, we can fly with a fighting plane in a simulating war or play soccer in final match of the International World Cup. Finally, video games are much better than any illegal entertainments which are common between youngsters.
On the other hand, both parents and teachers are worry about disadvantages of these video games. They assert these games are waste of time and money and could make children addicted which might lead to being solitary and obesity especially among teenagers. Moreover, as these game-addicted children tend to sit in front of screens for a long time rather than playing physical sports, it could be detrimental to their eyes, spine and in total to their health. Additionally, reports show that children who play violent video games are more aggressive and obsessive than their counterparts.
In conclusion, I strongly support the benefits of video games could outweigh its disadvantages as if the parents control their children on which games and how long they play that.

[Mohamed]

I hope that Simon will pay his attention in my essay

In prevail scenario, technology has played an important role in the normal course of our life such as using of internet as a communication, mobil phone, playstation, video games,……….etc.
Although video games have some advantages, they also have many disadvantages that will demonstrate them in this essay by my point view.
On one hand, the excessive of playing video games will significant affect the context of adults and children's life which I will explain it now.
Firstly, more time will be wasted from studying time by video games, if the students have homework or exam. So in this case, video games have a harmful effect on their education.
Secondly, this kind of technology will lead to be addictive person as many people I have known, for instance, friend of mine when he plays games he enters to his world and if somebody such as his wife, children or even parents try to call him, he ignores them, we do not know whether he does not listen to them or he does not want to cut his own world and also does not go to work if he loses the game in order to to restore his defeat. Therefore, this is an extremely bad situation because he prefers video games to his family, then he will face in the near future the lack of relation between him and his family accordingly.
finally, most of people who are video games addictive have personality problems like paranoid, sceptical and introverted.
On the other hand, in today's busy life some parents believe that the provision of video games inside the house will keep children and adults be at home in order to save them to not be involved in such things as drugs or underage drinking or picking up some bad habits. In addition, playing with video games will acquire the children and adults to be good in typing.
In conclusion, however, I really do believe that playing video games and other smart devices have many benefits if we know how and when we use them. But if we use them abnormal, the drawbacks will be more and more than advantages

[bkstar123]

Hi all,

Here is my answer to this question. Any comments are very welcome.

It is obvious that today’s people are living in the digital age, in which they have a variety of choices of how to spend their leisure time. One of the simplest ways, in which people are prone to use their spare time, is to play video games. There are ambivalent attitudes towards this kind of entertainment. For example, some regard video games as an innocuous kind of fun; however, others suppose that video games would deteriorate people’s health.

In this essay, I will express my view of whether or not the negative aspects prevail over the benefits.

It is not surprising that most people are not in favor of video games. In fact, one of the reasons is that playing games is a sedentary activity; therefore, those people, who are addicted to games, would not have good health. Moreover, the game addict usually tends to live in an imaginary world and may suffer from cognitive disorder. As a consequence, the crime rates would certainly escalate because most video games contain violent or erotic contents. In addition, spending too much time on playing games in particular online games, people could not concentrate on their work; as a result, their productivity would be diminished. Losing control over kinds of online games, our society would be exposed to the risks of collapse.

Nevertheless, it would seem unfair if people do not acknowledge any vast benefits of video games. Firstly, video games bring a lot of fun to those people who really need to put their mind at ease after completing a hard task. Secondly, with the advent of mobile games, game producers could offer more jobs for programmers; therefore, it would inspire students to pursue this kind of challenging career path, and direct them to become ambitious as well as creative-thinking citizens. Besides, some well-designed video games might help children to develop their critical thinking skills, and assist them to interact with each other. Some games based on social sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, are the typical examples in terms of how video games connect people.

In conclusion, I would oppose to the argument that the drawbacks of video games outweigh the benefits. This issue totally depends on individuals’ perception. Overuse of video games would be harmful; however, a moderate amount of time spent on playing games might refresh our lives and renew our energy.

[bkstar123]

Hi Mari,

Here are some of my comments regarding your essay:

Weaknesses:

- You should avoid using "....etc" in your essay because it may reduce your mark. Please try " and so on." instead.
- Please use "On the one hand", not "on one hand".
- "Although video games have some advantages, they also have many disadvantages that will demonstrate them in this essay by my point view."--> This phrase is not clear in terms of grammar.

You can write "... which will be demonstrated in this essay" or "In this essay, I will express my point of view on...."
-"the excessive of playing video games will significant affect the context of adults and children's life which I will explain it now."

Grammar errors:
- excessive is an adjective, not noun
- ...will significantly affect, not ..will significant affect
- "The context of .... " is not clear in terms of meaning
- Also, your style is suitable for speaking context rather than writing ("I will explain it how")
...... actually, there are other grammar errors in your essay, you can try to correct them later.

In terms of paragraph structure, my advice is that:

- do not repeatedly use connective phrases
I see , you have used "on the other hand" two times
- When you use "Finally", usually it should be the last paragraph. However, you still continue with other ideas.
- You need to improve your essay structure.

Strengths:
-Your vocabulary range is excellent

Conclusion:
Keep working and you will see your improvements :-). I hope that my comments will be beneficial for you.

[bkstar123]

Sorry Mari, :-)

The above comment is for Mohamed

[setarh]

hi
I think we say players instead of gamers.

[Qamer]

Hello Simon and every one,

Simon, I am new to your site and I found it very worthwhile, truly you are helping the student.
Here are my two introduction please comment that which one looks better.

People have different views about playing video games. Some regard it as handy tool for education while others, believe that it put disastrous effects on the player. I believe that there are more disadvantages of playing video games as compared to advantages.

People have different views about playing video games. Some people believe that playing game is useful, however, I believe that there are more disadvantages as compared to it's
advantages

[sandhya]

Your essay is very useful for me because may come about computer games and e books to my exam.Iam pleased very much if you can write about e book.

thanks a lot

[Simisha]

Hi,I am SIMISHA thank you for your valuable informations.

[Ki]

Excuse me sir, I notice that there is a phrase "videoS games" in the question. Is it correct or just typo?

[Simon]

Well noticed Ki. It's a typo!

[salma]

At present, video games have become a means of spending leisure periods for a plethora of people, in addition to that, a number of people take it as their occupation. This essay will identify the reasons which led it to this stage of popularity as well as will depict whether it can be considered as a boon or a curse.

On the one hand, video games have some major benefits. First of all, by playing a video game someone can increase his/her concentration skill. A good illustration of this is chess, it certainly enhances the mind power and thinking abilities along with concentration. Furthermore, Teachers and parents can use these games as educational tools to teach children and teenagers many basic subjects, for instance, math and language. Likewise, it has an immense impact on their problem-solving process. Beside mental development, gaming has a vast significance in employment. A multitude of people is currently working as a game developer in different companies. There is no doubt that it has a significant influence on the economic factors of a country even in the whole world. For example, games like angry bird, candy crush contributes a notable amount of revenue to the companies.

On the other hand, it is generally claimed that playing video games have numbers of drawbacks.
One of the main concern is that it is addictive to teenagers and children, which most of the time led them to waste money. Another concern is that it is discouraging young peoples to play in the field, as a consequence, it is leading them to obesity and solitary. Additionally, aggressive and obsessive behavior may appear as a result of playing violent games. A good example of that is clash of clans, PUBG, clash of castle, Blue Whale and so on, which takes a considerable amount of time.

Aforementioned arguments into consideration, I am convinced that the pros of playing video games if strongly handled by the teachers and parents can outweigh the cons of it. It thoroughly depends on the user how they would want to be affected by it, positively or negatively,