IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Televised talent shows have become popular in many societies today. Are these shows a good method of finding talented people, or are they just entertainment?
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
In many contemporary societies, televised talent shows have become very popular over the past decade with shows such as “American Idol”, “The Apprentice”, “Survivor”, and “Big Brother” attracting big audiences. However, it is a well establish notion that every man is born with a unique innate talent. So there is no shade of doubt that among the seven billion men living in the globe has at least one talent of them are unique trait. Most of the cases, it is very difficult for them to parade the world what they are capable of doing. Talent show, indeed, is a wonderful platform for them to manifest their talent. In this instance, many people think that these shows are an excellent approach for hunting the veiled talents, while others oppose the view and claim that it is nothing but amusement. In the following discussion I will show both the points have some merits.
The mode of television programs have changed significantly with the rapid development of mass media over the last decade. Accordingly, TV talent shows have playing their role in changing the face of popular television. These shows simultaneously entertain a great extent of its audience and hunt real talent from the ordinary people. Talent shows have become a golden platform for common people to show their hidden talent, turn their dreams into reality, and ultimately, help them change from ‘ordinary’ to ‘conspicuous figure’. On these programs, anyone can participate, no matter who they are or where they have come from. Viewers of these shows acknowledge the contestants as very ‘ordinary’, and what is more, it is the proof of real success which is not confined to ‘special people’. Not everybody will make it big, but some do, and they are likely to be the boy or girl next door.
However, the opponent of talent show claim that these shows are mere an entertainment, no business with searching real talent. They point at the procedure through which a talent is selected or nominated is problematic. Let it be clarified, viewers are told to vote for their favorites instead best performer. What does favorite mean to the lay people? Their decision can vary from whoever they like best or sorry for favorite pro. The critics argue that if these shows claim themselves as talent shows then why not encourage viewers to vote for the singer or dancer, performance they thought was the best of that episode? Similarly, many opponents of televised talent shows, including the legend Elton John, contend that a show like X Factor is the wrong way to debut a career in music. Although there would always be the artist who would set forth to the top by means of a lucky fluke, but for the most part, success can be attained through a long, dedicated struggle. Consequently, most of the cases, the winners of these shows are faded away from the audiences’ memory immediately besides one or two exceptions.
In conclusion, all that I want to say that these programs are striving to be popularity shows rather than talents shows. To me, these shows are just the hollow performance of meritocracy that casually commodifies the performers engaged, treating them as two dimensional actors in an extended marketing practice. At the one hand it inspires to consume masquerading, and the other hand aspires to succeed. It replaces honest ambition and striving with an unhealthy focus on our own special want within a consumeristic fabric of instantaneous satisfaction.