TOEFL Independent Writing Task
Essay Topic: Games Are Good for Adults
Sample Essay by Jeenn Lee Hsieh
谢振礼ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
14516 games
TOEFL Essay Question (from the TWE pool of 185):
>Do you or disagree with the following statement? "Games are as important for adults as they are for children." Use specific reasons and examples or details (based on your knowledge or experience) to support your answer.
TOEFL Example Essay: Jeenn Lee Hsieh
Outline--
1. introduction: play is beneficial to adults as well as to children: providing benefits and happiness
2. body A: benefits--examples
3. body B: happiness and joy--examples
4. conclusion: games are as important for adults as they are for children
Despite the power of games, many of us stop playing somewhere between childhood and adulthood. It is understandable that as adults we exchange play for work and responsibilities, completely forgetting that games are simultaneously a source of relaxation and stimulation for the brain and body. By giving ourselves the permission to play throughout life with the joyful abandon of childhood, we can continue to reap its benefits, in addition to having a lot of fun.
For adults as well as for children, there are many advantages to playing games. To begin with, games foster creativity, flexibility and learning. Play is not only a doorway to learning but stimulates our imaginations, helping us adapt and solve problems. In a similar way, play arouses curiosity, which leads to creativity through the suspense of risks-taking and the process of trial and error. Interestingly enough, play may be considered as an antidote to adults' loneliness, isolation, anxiety and depression, because, when we play games vigorously, we trigger a mix of emotions that lift our spirits and distractions that distance us from pain, fear and other burdens. Furthermore, the rewards of learning or mastering a new game teach us that perseverance is worthwhile as being a trait necessary to healthy adulthood.
Often, play makes us as happy as children. Beyond all these powerful reasons for playing, there is simply the sheer joy of it. It is mainly because playing together with families or co-workers or friends or rivals or even strangers for the fun of it brings joy. Being one of the best tools to keep relationships fresh and exciting, play is actually a state of that kind of happiness which is better known to children. Also, jumping into and out of the world of play on a frequent basis can nourish our own hearts and those of others. It is as if we could recover the skills in the joyful mood of our childhood and continue to refine these skills in adulthood through play and playful communication, particularly flavored by a sense of humor or a roar of laughter.
In conclusion, there is more to playing games than just having the pure fun of it and getting happy; so, to a great extent, games are as important for adults as they are for children. Simply put, games could continue to benefit adults mentally and emotionally. Unfortunately, many of us have allowed games to be gone away with our childhood, probably forever. (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh ielts360toefl@hotmail.com 谢振礼 批改重写作文)
