Writing Question:
A recent survey has found that a large number of primary pupils in Hong Kong are carrying overweight school bags.  You think this is not a promising phenomenon and something must be done.

Write a letter to the editor of the Hong Kong Daily stating your opinion.  You should explain why it is not acceptable and suggest two measures to alleviate the problem.

Dear Editor,

    I am writing to express my personal views about the issue that the traditional text-books should be replaced by electronic books in order to reduce the weight of students’ school bags.  I completely agree with this suggestion because of the following reasons.

    Fundamental to the problem of overweight school bags is the heavy and bulky text-books.  It has been found that the average weight of primary pupils’ school bags is around 4.9 kg, which made a burden on students’ shoulders.  After a long time, children might suffer from spinal pain as it harms.  Therefore, traditional textbooks should be replaced.

    With the advance of technology, electronic textbook is a better choice, which has been taken into action in many foreign countries.  It is more beneficial to use electronic textbooks instead of traditional ones.  The most significant advantage is, all contents of books can be put in one tablet.  The storage of a tablet is definitely larger and the weight of it is undoubtedly lighter.  Students will no longer be required to carry a heavy bag with dozens of bulky books inside.  As a result, electronic textbooks minimizes the weight of schoolbags effectively as students would only need to carry a tablet.

    With the enhancement of efficiency, having integrated dictionary on the e-learning devices allows instant checking of words, making students gain more knowledge with only a tablet in hand.  Studying with the traditional textbooks, when students have difficulties understanding the vocabulary, they will have to use bulky dictionary to check the words, which is not only inconvenient but also relatively time-consuming.  Thereby, electronic textbooks with integrated dictionary contribute to the saving of time and troubles.  Having one tablet instead of bringing heavy dictionary to school will directly lessen the weight of carrying.

    Additionally, searching information or finding extra notes on the electronic textbooks brings blessings to students for their study, which can broaden their horizons.  With more extracurricular resources on the Internet, when students struggle with what they learn, different online search engines can be good helpers.  When traditional textbooks are used, there can be no better alternatives but to carry additional weight.  Therefore, electronic textbooks with online searching capability lessen the need of countless add-ons.

    Shouldering overweight school bags is a worrying phenomenon.  Never should we neglect the potential risks of it.  For a replacement, using electronic textbooks is recommended as it reduces the weight of bags in different aspects.  The government should take action to alleviate the problem by aiding schools to make such a switch, which has been done fairly successfully in many foreign countries such as America and Australia.

Yours faithfully,
                                               

5A (8) Li Cai Lan, Mavis