Some people think that professional athletes make good role models for young people, while others believe they don't.
Discuss both these points of views and give your own opinion.
There are only a few people who surpass many others to become the leading figure in their particular field. Professional athlete is one kind of such people. Some people think those athletes deserve respect and should become role models for young people, while others, with their own reasons, believe athletes should not. Professional athletes always have to hone their skill to be ready for critical competition, and with their firm will, achieving from such training, they could virtually reach any goal they set, from fitness to getting into college. Nonetheless, not every one who tries will get the result they hope for; and the summit period in the life of an athlete is quite short. Young people should consider carefully before deciding to set professional athlete as their model.
Practice is the most effective method to gain success. A mouse spends almost his entire life to sharpen his teeth, only to prepare for the critical timing. A professional athlete, much the same, spends almost his or her entire young life to sharpen skill for sports competitions. It is practicing which helps an athlete to achieve success in sports and it is an athlete who considers training the most critical part the one who would get fame. When training becomes a natural part of an athlete, he or she would strengthen the will, and be ready to face any obstacles. Young people should, indeed, consider this one trait that they should emulate. Hone their will, and they could break any fences standing between them and their goal.
You tried, and you might fail. You could try again, but youth does not last forever, and the times of trying is definitely limited. If you do not understand yourself, understand your strength, weakness, limitation, you will set an impossible goal that spending your whole life won't give you any promising result. Professional athletes usually have a comprehensive team who takes care of them, from diets, training routines to sleeping habits, and even private life. They understand what their limitations are, and what they should focus on. Young people, with little guide, should not be mesmerised by the aura a successful athlete has, and blindly mimic the way he or she is on. You should have your own plan, do it your way, because athletes' way is their own way of success, a way usually leads to glamorous but short-lived career.
Living is a journey and young people, who have their whole life ahead, are just at the beginning of such journey. Making a professional athlete a model is, in some aspects, well appreciated. Emulating them, should be encouraged, but with your own rationale. No one understands you more than yourself, so do not waste too much time trying to be someone else.
(Thanks for reading. Please correct it, I'm an ESL)
Although this is a solid essay, it deviates from the prompt provided as it does not really discuss the methods by which athletes are good and bad role models for the youth. YOu could start off your essay by mentioning the negative or the reasons that athletes sometimes do not make good role models, mention the use of steroids, cheating, and other documented reasons by citing sources of the information. Name some athletes to have a negative impact on sports to drive your point home even further. Then go ahead and discuss the positive effects of athletes on the youth. Use the same formula as I previously mentioned only concentrate on the positive and the names of well known athletes who have brought positive attention to their sports and achievements. Then conclude the essay with your own opinion on the topic. It does not matter if you agree or disagree, there are no right answers with this type of essay. I hope my comments help you out :-) Good luck!
Thanks, vangiespen. You nailed it!
After finishing the essay, to be honest, I don't even fully understand what the topic essay asked for!
I've written what came out first in my mind; and don't even have time to outline, etc... I rarely write any paragraphs, let alone a passage like this. Really, I don't have skill like brainstorming, outlining, proofreading... In roughly 30 minutes, this is what I could possibly do.
Please shed me some light(s)! What should I do to fully understand what the topic asks for? With the question as above, I came out to understand that which is asked is "professional" part, not "athlete" part. What matters, I agree, after reading your comment, is the "athlete" part.
This is the sample topic for IELTS test. IELTS, specifically, requires example, concrete writing, right? My writing above, TBH, is quite abstract (?) and I don't even know what it really conveys!
This IS LOL.
Please give me some advice(s).
Thanks
(by the way, where is the "thank you" button?)
jackthomas, I suggest that you do a Google search for professional athlete scandals that you can use as reference for the bad role model part. Any professional athlete caught using performance enhancing drugs before, during, or after a competition that gave them an edge over the other athletes is a sample of a bad role model. Any professional athlete caught in a domestic violence situation is also a good example of a bad athlete. Then for the good example, look at the athletes who had to overcome adversity to get to the top of their game. Those who rose from poverty, had disabilities, or were thought to never be able to compete by others and succeeded in their quest to compete and win are good role models. Any professional athletes who do charity work are also good role models. There are many examples of good and bad role model athletes. Just go a Google search for it. As for the thank you button, I think you can click on the Like button / icon for that. That is the closest to a thank you button that I found on the page :-)
The writing is not totally abstract. As you develop your writing skills through practice essay tests, your writing will become more solid, cohesive, and expressive. The key is to understand the prompt and know how to answer it with confidence in a written form. You will get there. Essay writing is a skill that is not achieved overnight. It takes lots of practice. Just keep writing and you will improve with every essay you write :-)
I took the TOEFL in the past, which is a sister exam of the IELTS so I would be very happy to assist you with developing your essay writing skills :-) In fact, I look forward to it ;-)
Oh, that.
I've already taken TOEFL test, too (approx. 4 years ago, I can't quite remember). The iBT one.
The test score expired. I intend to take the bro exam, IELTS, which, according to some of my researches, is becoming more widely accepted.
And to be honest with you, I forgot all the skills relating to writing tasks on TOEFL (that's why I confessed that I DON'T have those writing skills).
Oh, then.
Do you really think that TOEFL and IELTS have the same format? I just intended to take the test, and haven't taken a deeper research yet.
Referring to the above essay, the 'test-scorer' would prefer more specific examples, right? As previously, when taking the TOEFL writing task (my memory is vague) I would usually asked for "...and provide specific examples to illustrate your points..." something like that.
From my point of view, this topic question is a bit abstruse...
Please give advice me the "analysing essay topic" part. I really need this, indeed.
Thanks.
By the way, where are you from?
Well, the TOEFL is more for American studies while the IETLS is for Canadian/British/Australian studies. So it really depends upon whether you are more familiar with the American or British English version of the English language. The exams are both accepted internationally so the choice is actually yours to make. If you still have your old TOEFL reviewers, then consider retaking the TOEFL again. You can see how well you have improved since you last took the test :-) You are right that the essays always ask for solid evidence or specific examples to support your claims. But since you don't have time to do actual research during the test, I would suggest that you read as many English articles, magazines, books, and anything else that can make you more familiar with the British culture, history, and current events. Now, if you are more familiar with American culture, history, and current events, it might be best for you to take the TOEFL again instead.
The topic is not really abstruse.You just need guidance in analyzing the topic, you need to learn to find the key words in the essay prompt. In this essay the key words are "athlete, good, bad, role model, point of view, your own opinion". Find the topic of the prompt and the rest should easily follow :-)
Feel free to ask your questions, I'll do my best to answer them and guide you :-)
