Advantages and Disadvantages Questions
Typical Question Words
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Example Question
Technology is being used more and more in education.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
Essay Structure
Introduction
1- Paraphrase Question
2- Outline Main Points
Main Body Paragraph 1
1- State Two Advantages
2- Expand/Explain First Advantage
3- Expand/Explain Second Advantage
3- Example
Main Body Paragraph 2
1- State Two Disadvantages
2- Expand/Explain First Disadvantage
3- Expand/Explain Second Disadvantage
3- Example
Conclusion
1- Summary of Main Points
Sample Answer
It is argued that technology plays an ever-increasing role in schools and universities.
Increased access to information and student freedom are the main advantages,
whereas dependency on technology and decreasing levels of face-to-face contact
are the main disadvantages.
Access to more information and student autonomy are the principal advantages of
increasing the use of electronic devices in education. With the internet, students
can access all the information available about any topic, regardless of what books
and other resources are available in the school. Furthermore, students can focus on
whatever topic or subject they want and study it in depth. A prime example of this
is the number of online university courses available to students, covering a myriad
of subjects that, up until recently, were unavailable to most learners. This has
resulted in more people studying third-level degrees than ever before at a pace and
schedule that suits them.
The main disadvantages associated with the increasing use of technology in
education are the dependency on this technology and the decrease in face-to-face
interaction between students. With many students now using the internet as their
primary source of information, they often struggle to use other academic resources
to find what they’re looking for. As well as this, students spend more time looking
at computer screens by themselves than interacting with each other, which is
thought to lead to lower levels of emotional intelligence. For instance, the recent
explosion in smartphone use has been at the expense of genuine human
interaction. This results in soft skills, such as verbal communication and empathy,
being affected.
In conclusion, the benefits technology brings to education, such as unrestricted
access to information and student autonomy, must be weighed against the
drawbacks, such as dependency on this technology and the negative effects on
human interaction.
