Writing Task 2 TIPS

Writing Task 2 Essays (for Academic):

1. Advantages and Disadvantages (Expository Version)

2. Causes/Problems and Solutions

3. Mixed

4. Opinion

5. Discussion

6. Advantages and Disadvantages (Opinion Version)

7. Two Part Expository and Opinion

Task 2 – Essay Type 1 – Advantages and Disadvantages

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

In various nations around the world, many people advocate taking a gap year in order to work or travel before beginning one’s tertiary education. While this offers a few advantages, there are also some disadvantages that are worth considering.

There are two main benefits to students travelling or working before their university education. Firstly, through travelling, they will be able to expand their horizons. When students go overseas, they will be exposed to different cultures and customs. As a result, they will gain a deeper understanding of the world. In addition, students who work will learn to appreciate the value of money. This is because they will realize the hard work involved in earning money. Consequently, they would think more before purchasing anything they desire and may become less impulsive in their spending.

On the other hand, various drawbacks may be noted. In the first place, travelling could cause people to feel homesick. Many students have not been apart from their family and friends before so when they travel, they may miss these people. In extreme circumstances, students may even become depressed. Additionally, students who work may not want to return to their studies. The reason for this is that they may enjoy earning money and becoming financially independent. Therefore, their whole future could be negatively affected as these days it is very important for everyone to graduate with a degree in order to be competitive in the job market.

In conclusion, if students take a gap year, they could gain invaluable experience and learn to become more independent in relation to money. However, they may also become homesick and end up not continuing their studies. Therefore, it is necessary to weigh the benefits against the drawbacks carefully before coming to a decision as to whether students should go on such an adventure.

Essay Type 2 - Causes/Problems and Solutions

In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of health and fitness are decreasing. What do you think are the causes of these problems and what measures could be taken to solve them?

In many nations around the world, declining health and a lack of fitness are becoming very common among people. There are number o f causes of this, but certain measures could be taken to alleviate this problem.

There are several causes of this situation. The main one is that technological advancements have resulted in a sedentary lifestyle. Because of the prevalent use of computers and vehicles, it is no longer necessary to move around much. This leads to people becoming overweight, which also adversely affect their health and fitness. In addition, people are consuming more unhealthy processed food nowadays. For example, fast food, junk food and processed canned food have become extremely popular due to people’s chronic busyness. Such food results in a lot of health problems if it is consumed in large quantities.

Various possible courses of action could be taken in order to tackle t he above. In the first place, the government could launch a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of eating healthily and exercising. For instance, advertisements by the ministry of health about the dangers of eating junk food and not exercising should be regularly shown on television and the Internet. Another way forward could be for schools to prohibit unhealthy food from being sold in schools. If schools start to ban too much fried food or food that is high in sugar and salt, students will be forced to eat a more balanced and healthy diet at school. The result is that health would improve dramatically.

In conclusion, various factors have led to problems related to health and fitness, but this situation could be addressed by the launch of a health and fitness campaign and the implementation of effective regulations to limit the sale of unhealthy food in schools. Given this situation, it is recommended that steps should be taken immediately in order to ensure that the health and fitness of the people in the country improves.

Essay Type – 3 Mixed

Today more people are travelling than ever before. Why is this the case? What are the benefits of travelling for the traveller?

It is undeniable that travelling has become much more popular as compared to the past. There are several reasons why this is happening and this situation offers various benefits.

More people are taking overseas trips for the following reasons. One of the reasons is to get a better education. These days, many students in the developing countries study in developed countries because many of the schools and universities there are of a higher quality. For example, most of the tops ranked universities in the world are located in countries like America and the United Kingdom. In addition, people may need to go on business trips overseas. Because we live in a globalized world, a person working for a multinational company may often need to travel to another office overseas for work. Also, businessman and entrepreneurs often travel to neighboring countries in order to expand their business.

People who travel can experience many benefits. In the first place, they can gain invaluable experience through their time abroad. An example of this is that a person would encounter different cultures and customs when visiting and living in another country, which could make him or her more open - minded. Furthermore, people can also make new friends from different countries. The result of such friendship could be the creation of business opportunities or just the sharing of one’s different experiences. Consequently, the lives of both parties would be enriched.

In conclusion, people go overseas nowadays in order to receive a better education or to do business. Through going overseas, these people can broaden their horizons and widen their social circle. Given the above, it is recommended that everyone should consider taking a trip overseas at least once in his or her life.

Essay Type 4 - Opinion

Some people argue that capital punishment is good for a country. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is argued by some that the death penalty benefits a nation. I completely agree with this opinion and in this essay I will state the reasons for my view.

The most compelling reason for holding to my view is that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to serious crime. This is because it insists fear of carrying out serious crimes, as people would not want to lose their life as a result of that. For example, people who are thinking of murder or committing violent acts will think twice before doing so. As a result of this policy, crime rate would go down.

Another reason for my position is that the government will be able to spend less money on keeping the criminal in prison. If the criminal is jailed for many years or for life, the government would need to pay for the enormous expenses involved such as the cost of food for the prisoners and the salaries for the prison officers. However, with the death sentence, the prisoner will spend less time in prison and this would reduce the cost of imprisonment substantially.

Lastly, with capital punishment, the dangerous criminal would never be able to reoffend. The reason for this is that executed criminals will no longer b e alive and therefore they will never pose a threat to society ever again. This would make society a safer place.

In conclusion, I totally agree with the opinion that sentencing serious criminals to death is beneficial for countries. This is because of it s deterrent effect, its ability to save the government a lot of money and the fact that we can keep dangerous criminals out of society forever. Given this situation, it is recommended that governments around the world should think about implementing this form of punishment.

Essay Type 5 - Discussion

Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged. Others believe that children who are taught to co - operate rather than compete become more useful adults. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

While some people argue that we should emphasize the importance of competition when teaching children, others take the view that focusing on cooperation is more important. In my opinion, it is better for children to be taught to cooperate.

On one side of the argument, there are people who hold the opinion that encouraging competitiveness in children will yield better results. The most compelling reason for believing this is that competitiveness prepares them for life in the real world. When students grow up, they will need to compete with other students for a place in university. Furthermore, there’s no doubt that in the job market, people will be competing with many others to get a good job. Another reason is that this encourages them to excel in everything they do. When there’s competition, everyone is challenged to do their best. For example, if there’s a prize for the student with the highest marks in a particular subject, every student will be motivated to do his or her best. This encourages growth and the pursuit of excellence.

Despite the above arguments, I am of the view that instilling a sense of cooperation in children will prove more beneficial. Indeed, one reason why I take this position is that in many instances, winning are not everything. A society focused solely on winning and competing ignores other important traits like compassion and generosity. Such traits are important for a proper functioning of society. Furthermore, it is my opinion that achieving one’s goal often requires the ability to cooperate, rather than compete, with others. In society and work, cooperation and teamwork is often required. For instance, a company will only achieve its overall goal if all parts work together and complement each other.

In conclusion, while both views are commonly held in society, I believe that cooperation is a more important value. This is because children need to understand that winning against another is not the most important thing and that cooperation often enables them to achieve their goals. Given this situation, it is recommended that schools should put more effort into promoting teamwork activities.

Essay Type 6 -Advantages and Disadvantages (Opinion Version)

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for young people who decide to do this?

In various nations around the world, many people advocate taking a gap year in order to work or travel before beginning one’s tertiary education. While there is clearly a drawback to this, I personally believe that the benefits are more significant.

The disadvantage of going on a gap year is that students may end up not returning to their studies. The reason for this is that they may enjoy earning money and becoming financially independent. Therefore, their whole future could be negatively affected as these days it is very important for everyone to graduate with a degree in order to be competitive in the job market.

On the other hand, one of the major advantages is that students will be able to expand their horizons if they travel overseas. When students go abroad, they will be exposed to different cultures and customs. For example, westerners visiting a country like Thailand will be able to experience traditional Thai dance like Khon and traditional Thai sport like Muay Thai. As a result, they will gain a deeper understanding of the different places in the world.

In addition to that, students who work will be able to learn to appreciate the value of money. This is because they will realize the hard work involved in earning an income. Consequently, they would think more before purchasing anything they de sire and may become less impulsive in their spending.

In conclusion, the advantages are of greater significance than the disadvantage. Despite the fact that students may not continue on studying at university, they will gain a lot of experience when they travel or learn to better appreciate money when they work. Given this situation, it is recommended that schools should encourage more students to consider taking a gap year.

Essay Type 7 – Two Part Expository and Opinion

Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology. In what ways has technology affected the types of relationships people make? Has this become a positive or negative development?

These days, the relationship people have with each other has been affected by advancements in technology. There are several ways in which our relationships have been affected and I believe that this has been negative.

Relationships have changed in the following ways. One of the major ways is that nowadays people have more acquaintances and fewer close friends. For example, many people may have hundreds and thousands of friends on social media websites like Facebook as it is easy to connect through these websites. However, most of these people are not really c lose friends at all. In addition, technology has led to less face - to - face interaction between people. Because using social media sites has become an integral part of the lives of many people these days and connecting with others has become so much easier a s a result of such sites, most people spend more time online chatting with their friends than actually meeting them face - to - face.

I believe that the above changes have been negative for the following reasons. In the first place, people now feel lonelier as they spend more time with the computer rather than with other human beings. Studies have shown that people need real face - to - face interaction if they want to remain emotionally healthy. Therefore, the lack of such communication has made many people become lonely and even depressed. Furthermore, many people who use technology to communicate with others are gradually losing important social skills. It is very common for people nowadays to know how to communicate and express themselves using emoticons or other forms of expressions that are common online. However, an unfortunate consequence of all this is that people do not know how to express themselves properly using their body language or tone of expression.

In conclusion, because of technology, people have fewer close friends and have less direct contact with people. This development is negative as it is easier for people to feel lonely because of this and they are becoming less adept in social situations. Given this situation, it is recommended that people should seek to spend less time on electronic devices in order to improve their relationships with others.