Opinion Essay on Books Jan 28, 2023 With Sample Answer
Find answer to IELTS Writing task 2 question as reported by IELTS exam takers.
About the article
Appeared on Jan 28, 2023
Question: Some people believe that printed books are no longer necessary in this digital era as all writings can be stored electronically. Others think that printed books still play an important role.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Answer:
In today’s digital world, escaping technology is difficult and this is applicable to books as well. It is therefore argued by some that electronic books will soon replace books in their physical form whereas others believe that hard copies of books will never lose their charm or importance. I believe that despite the popularity being gained by cost-effective and convenient ebooks, they can never replace the traditional format.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that there are several advantages that ebooks have, the most significant ones being portability and cost. They can be easily accessed on one’s mobile phone or laptop. Additionally, one can store thousands of such books on one’s personal devices like the Kindle. In comparison, printed books can be cumbersome and heavy to carry around. Moreover, an ebook is much cheaper than a printed version.
Conversely, reading books on electronic devices can take its toll on one’s health, straining the eyes and possibly the back as well. More importantly, there still exists a huge digital divide wherein not everyone has access to good internet connectivity and a device such as a desktop or a kindle to access such material.
In my opinion, a true book lover will never sacrifice the pleasure of holding a printed book in one’s hand and flipping the pages for the convenience of digital material. Additionally, the fact that around 40% of the population worldwide is not yet connected to the internet indicates that printed versions of books are still relevant and will remain so.
To conclude, although ebooks have their merits, the importance of paper books cannot be undermined, and hence I believe both are here to stay.