TOEFL® Essay: Experience or Books

[Tabby]

Hi,

Please review my essay.I am doubtful about the structure of a compare/contrast essay .Can you please help.
Thanks,
Tabby

It has been said"Not everything that is learned is contained in books."Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books.In your opinion,which source is more important.Why?

Life is a mystery.A man spends all his life solving it.It tests him for everything he has and for every attribute he possesses.It's well said"Not everything that is learned is contained in books".A person can learn from two sources,either from a book or from his own experience.Both are extensive but in my opinion learning from experience has an edge over learning from books as elaborated below in my essay.

Books give one a wider knowledge as a person cannot come across every situation in the world which may occur with someone else but not him.In such case,he can learn from other people's experiences,strengths or may be shortcomings.Learning from books prepares a person for something which he may not be aware of.He can equip himself with arsenals to deal with a particular problem that he learns from books prior to its occurence.

Despite the above advantages,learning from experience has a greater merit than learning from books.In the long run,the knowledge which a man attains from any source is directly or indirectly applied by him to lead a better life.As we all are aware of,life is synonymous with reality and practicality.The attribute of being practical or maturity can only be achieved by one's own experiences.Practical knowledge outweighs bookish knowledge in almost all the fields.As I discussed in the last paragraph ,books undoubtedly give a wider knowledge but there are some instances which may not be in one's academics and may have to be dealt in real life.Some people believe that experience is your best teacher.It not only mentors you but instills confidence in your soul to fight against all the hurdles that come in your way because you have already learnt from your own actions in the past.

To summarize,I would say that learning is certainly beneficial irrespective of its source but if we compare knowledge gained from experience with knowlede gained from books ,I feel the former has greater assets.

[Alan]

Life is a mystery.A man spends all his life solving it.It tests him for everything he has and for every attribute he possesses.It's well said"Not everything that is learned is contained in books".A person can learn from two sources,either from a book or from his own experience.Both are extensive but in my opinion learning from experience has an edge over learning from books as elaborated below in my essay.

Books give one a wider knowledge as a person cannot come across every situation in the world which may occur with someone else but not him.In such A case,he can learn from other people's experiences,strengths or maybe shortcomings.Learning from books prepares a person for something which he may not be aware of.He can equip himself to deal with a particular problem that he learns from books prior to its occurRence.

Despite the above advantages,learning from experience has a greater merit than learning from books.In the long run,the knowledge which a man attains from any source is directly or indirectly applied by him to lead a better life.As we all are aware ,life is synonymous with reality and practicality.The attribute of being practical or maturity can only be achieved by one's own experiences.Practical knowledge outweighs bookish knowledge in almost all fields.As I discussed in the last paragraph ,books undoubtedly give a wider knowledge but there are some instances which may not EXIST IN academics' MINDS and may have to be dealt in real life.Some people believe that experience is your best teacher.It not only mentors you but instills confidence in your soul to fight against all the hurdles that come in your way because you have already learnt from your own actions in the past.

To summarize,I would say that learning is certainly beneficial irrespective of its source but if we compare knowledge gained from experience with knowledGe gained from books, I feel the former has greater assets.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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