Sample Issue Essays for AWA - 6 | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

"In the age of television, reading books is not as important as it once was. People can learn as much by watching television as they can by reading books."

Sample Answer:

• Television is a medium that reaches a wider audience. It occupies a larger space in our lives than books. It offers a bit of everything and is a means of entertainment as well as knowledge. However, I do not agree completely with the given statement. Books are a great source of information and knowledge. They have been a storehouse of information and source of learning since time immoral and continue to remain so even today. People do learn a lot from television but it cannot replace the effect books have. Both have their own importance and none can be substituted with the other.
• Television is the new age medium of spreading information to everyone. It is increasingly being used in schools as well as distance learning programs. Students are benefiting from programs being relayed from far reaching places. With the television as a medium they have an access to the best teachers as well as the most authentic information. Today television is being used to give information about nearly every field to its audience. However, when we compare it with books, it can be seen that television has some shortcomings. First of all, television makes you a passive learner. A student is only left as a mere spectator. There is no participation of the student in learning from the television. On the other hand, books allow you to use your brain. When you read a piece of information, it gets registered in your mind. This forces you to think about it, thereby making learning more effective.
• Secondly, we can read and re-read a book. That means that if some concept is not understood well or is forgotten, we can go through the concerned books again at any time of the day. This is not possible with television. A student is left to grasp as mush as he watches on his own. Similarly, television also has another disadvantage of being time bound. The programs relayed are done so at a particular time. If there are cassettes to be played, they also do not offer any time for the students to absorb the information given to them. There are no intervals in learning and this restricts the students.
• Further, it can be said that books come in different formats. Some are specially designed for slow learners while some include brainteasers for genius students. There are also books specific for certain topics. However, a television study program is often a general program for everyone. It does not allow variation in its material according to the nature and capacity of students.
• Last but not the least; consider the effect continuous viewing of television has on our eyes. If watching television is included in our routine to such an extent, it will only harm us physically. Therefore, we should consider all the effects of television viewing before rejecting books completely. Television is surely one of the most interesting ways of teaching. It provides change to students, which is very necessary in any type of teaching. Today, television is increasingly being used in classrooms as well as other learning institutes. However, it cannot replace classroom teaching and books completely.
• Television has been introduced to the world since a long time. However, books have survived a longer period of time. If people were learning much more from viewing television and had benefited form it more than books, it would have replaced books long back. However, this has not been the case. There are lots of new books being published and read even today. Libraries have been very popular amongst book lovers. Classroom teaching is supplemented with books more than anything else is. Hence, I believe that books are very important and help in learning in a way that no other means can substitute.