1

People attend colleges or universities for many different reasons (for example, new experiences,
career preparation, increased knowledge etc.). Why do you think people attend colleges or
universities?

Model Answer 1:

People mainly get enrolled in a college or university to achieve the necessary education and degree
they require to get a job or to build a career. Having a good career is one of the main reasons people
spend their time in colleges or universities but there are other reasons as well. The current society
and its educational structures are far different than they had been a century back when a self-
educated person could gain a good career and parents could arrange private tutors to ensure their
children’s education. But in today’s world colleges and universities are the authority to declare a
person to have the necessary education to be ready for the job sector and without the certification
from colleges and universities it is almost impossible for someone to get a good job.

People are going to colleges and universities because this is the most common way of getting the
education and they have no alternative as the people of past century had. Most people are learning
in colleges and universities and getting themselves ready for the future. The sole purpose of a college
or university is to ensure the proper theoretical and moral education to build the ideal citizens the
country needs and this is the system which is unquestionably accepted by the society and people.
People who creative courses and many people attend those courses simply because of their pure
interests on these subjects or to gain the knowledge they need.

In my opinion, getting the education, learning new things, experiencing diverse cultures and
customs, getting prepared for the future career, improving job position, subject matter interests and
social status are the main reasons for people to attend colleges and universities.do not have the plan
to use their certificate to get a job either because they have other career plans or may be blessed
with inherited fortune. They go to these educational institutes to learn the values, ideas, knowledge
and education they require to be good humans. In fact, education is a borderline between a savage
and a good man and this is another reason the society has adopted the idea of education for all and
the colleges and universities are the places to get this education in the current age.

Some people go to universities to get further education to enhance their horizon or to improve their
job position & salary. Others go to the colleges and universities to let the world know that they are
educated. Funny this may seem but many people simply consider the higher education as the status
they require to get a higher position in the society. Colleges and Universities nowadays offer
specialised courses like technical courses or

Sample Answer 2:

The university is a citadel of learning. It is a place where people of diverse culture, ethnicity,
background and religion come together with the major purpose of knowledge acquisition. However,
it is not out of place to suggest that some people come to school in other to gain information that
will better equip them for their future ambition, while others still attend higher education in other to
have the feeling of the tertiary education. But no matter what the reasons might be, I strongly
believe that the main reason why people attend colleges and universities is to increase their
knowledge.

Let consider one who comes to school for the just experience. I believe his or her intention is not
just to meet new friends because this can be done anywhere else. He or she wants to understand
different behaviours and interact with persons from different areas, and various levels of
intelligence. By so doing, he or she gradually imbibes knowledge at different levels and at different
points. For instance, I know of a very good friend who always wanted to attend a higher institution.
When I enquired as to the particular school he wanted, her reply was simple; “ I do not have any
school in mind, all I want is to go get new experience and change my environment”. However, after
four years in the university, I observed that her attitude, intelligence, abilities and sagacity has
increased greatly. This shows me that the ultimate end of going to the university is to acquire
knowledge.

Also, for those who think that their reason for going to school is for career preparation. Statistics
suggests that over 70% of the people who studied a particular course or discipline in Nigeria, do not
end up practising the same course, and are never found along the career line throughout their
lifetime. Evidence of various microbiologists who are now chief editors in newspaper agencies across
the nation is the proof that university does not prepare students for a particular job. One of my idols
studied petroleum engineering but he is currently working with the First Bank of Nigeria.

In conclusion, a university for me is like a crucible, a furnace where minds are moulded with the fire
of knowledge in other to adapt to the outside world. We may have different reasons why we enter
the colleges and universities, but one thing and only but one thing is for sure, the core reason why
people attend the university and college is to increase knowledge

2
Nowadays food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live?

Give reasons for your answer using your own ideas and experience.

Model Answer 1:

Food is one of the fundamental needs of human lives, and from the ancient period till this ultra-
modern tech-time people have invented different ways to prepare and customise foods. The
customs and ways people prepare foods and present to others vary depending on the race, culture
and country. But the most fundamental need of preparing foods is to fulfil the very basic human
need: hunger. Preparing foods was very cumbersome in earlier ages but with the advancement of
human knowledge and technology, men have created many devices and made many new ways of
easily making foods. The number of restaurants and fast-food shops are ever increasing and that
have omitted the need to prepare the food at all. The advanced technology like a rice cooker, meal
cooker and easy availability of ingredients nowadays help people to prepare food in no time and that
has improved the way of people’s lifestyle.

People now spend less time preparing foods and can utilise this time in other tasks like professional
tasks, reading, entertainment and spending time with family and friends. Thus people get more
productive and social because of the increased time they have.

Quick food has become very popular which omits the needs of cooking and professionals, students
and business person are having those foods in their lunch time. This is a significance improvement of
saving time and using it more productively. Though the fast foods have some health issues, the ever
increasing popularity of it shows the needs to have more time in our busy life and saving this time
from the allotted time from cooking. The cooking machines help the housewives to prepare the
foods easily and they do not have to spend time in a hot kitchen to prepare food. This is a leap
towards a modern life where foods can be prepared virtually anywhere and in few minutes.

In summary, the improved way of cooking helps people nowadays to save time and cook in a more
convenient place. This helps them to spend time on more important things and lead a life without
much hassle.

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Discussion Points: How the easier food preparation process nowadays improved the way people
live.

Ways how the easy food preparation has improved the way people live nowadays:

● Having more spare time for other activities, like entertainment.

● Control their diet by the calculation of calorie being used by appliances.
● Decreasing the rate of danger. The rate of explosions has been decreased by using of new
appliances.
● People are able to prepare their food at their workplace or study by using appliances like
microwave ovens, rice cookers, coffee makers etc.
● Fresher products are more available thanks to the new technology of freezing.
● It saves time and people can get involved in more important tasks.
● Dependency on fast food shops and restaurant could be avoided.
● Saves the logs and woods needed to cook in the past time.
● It has reduced the workload for housewives and cooks.
● It is possible to cook a variety of foods with the help of latest technological devices.

Cases where this has failed to improve the way people live:

● Higher fat, salt, and less fibre applied on processed foods or fast foods have increased the
risk of obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.
● Probable hazardous consequences of microwave radiation on humans’ health.
● Eating more meat products has increased the risk of cancer.
● Meals have become less tasteless compared to the traditional ones (GM foods).
● These latest home appliances for cooking consume electricity.
● Using of juice instead of fruit has led people to intake insufficient vitamins and minerals.

[The above points should be helpful to aid you generating your own ideas and then turning them
into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment section.]

Model Answer 2:

Most of the food items that were hard to prepare and restricted to experienced chefs are now easily
available off the shelf or are made easy to prepare with modern recipes. But like any other thing, this
also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Firstly, most of these foods are high in saturated fats and eventually leads to obesity. They cannot
become substitutes to our staple diet that is still not so easy to prepare due to nature of its cooking
methods. For example, for most of the Indians, the staple diet includes a combination of Indian
bread, pulses and curries. It is not possible to make it much easier even using modern equipment or
methods. Secondly, most of the easy to prepare food items either have a very little shelf life or they
need to be kept frozen (or both). Thus they cannot match the nutrition of freshly prepared
traditional home food.

Having said that, these easy to prepare food items are a boon to students or other people, who stay
away from home. They are definitely better that eating in restaurants or street food. Although not as
good as home food, they definitely purpose the purpose to get “home like” food. Also, most of these
food items come with handy instructions and pre-mixed ingredients. With simple instructions,
anybody can cook most of the recipes now. This has life easier for many across the globe.

With the advent of easy availability of raw ingredients, it has not become much easier to cook
recipes at home that was previously possible to cherish only in high-end restaurants. For instance,
the Italian pasta, which requires many types of sauces, is now easy to prepare at home and all these
sauces are now just a call away from a local grocery shop.

In conclusion, this is a much welcomed and positive change and it has definitely improved our lives.

Many people believe that women make better parents than men and that is why they have the
greater role in raising children in most societies. Others claim that men are just as good as women
at parenting.

Write an essay expressing your point of view.

Give reasons for your answers and provide relevant example and experience you might have.

Model Answer 1: (Neutral Argument)

Parental responsibilities and roles are very important for the parents to make their children prepared
for the future. The way a father or mother treats a child affects greatly for his/her future growth
both mentally and physically. If parents fail to take great care of their children, then those children
might go astray and will claim their parents for their misfortune. Every mother and father love his or
her children more than anything in this world and they expect them to be great persons and well
established in future. Throughout the human history, mothers mainly take care of the children and
do most of the works for the children. On the contrary, men are mainly busy outside the home to
earn the living for the whole family.

This is not to say that men are not of importance in children caring and they do not know their kids.
They are most necessary if children are to appreciate fully the roles of both sexes. But women have
proven themselves superior parents as a result of their condition, their less aggressive natures and
they are generally better to communicate with kids. Men remain busy at their works and have to
stay outside the home most of the time, but women have lots of spare times to share with their
children. From the time they are little girls, females learn about nurturing. First with dolls and later
perhaps with younger brothers and sisters; girls are given the role of career. Girls see their mothers
in the same roles and so it is natural that they identify this as a female activity. Boys, in contrast,
learn competitive roles far removed from what it means to nurture. While boys may dream of
adventures, girls' conditioning means they tend to see the future in terms of raising families. Girls
also appear to be less aggressive than boys. In adulthood, it is men, not women, who prove to be the
aggressors in crime and in war. Obviously, in raising children, a more patient, gentle manner is
preferable than a more aggressive one. Although there certainly exists gentlemen and aggressive
women, by and large, females are less likely to resort to violence in attempting to solve problems.

But if we consider that all women are good for their children and men can not raise a kid properly
then perhaps it would be a partial judgment. Is not there any family where the mother has died or
not present and it is the father who takes care of the children as well as does jobs outside? Certainly,
there are lots. In third world countries, fathers are comparatively more educated than the mothers
and the take care of their children's education greatly. A child needs the affection and caring of both
father and mother.
Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Do women make better parents than men or men are just as good as women at parenting?

Discussion Points: Who can be the better parent? Men or Women?

Women are better than men at parenting:

● Mothers have a closer sensational relationship to their offspring than fathers because of a
better bonding between them and their children.
● Women usually spend more time with their children than men because, in many countries,
they are usually less engaged in working.
● Genetically women can be socially active and communicate better with their surrounding
than the men can.
● As a role of mother, mothers can transfer their experience to their daughters to become
perfect mothers in the future.
● A child spends most of the times, it's childhood with the mother and thus mothers have a
better understanding of their offspring.
● Genetically mothers have better quality in taking care of their children.

Men are better than women at parenting:

● Men have been more responsible to their family financially, so they can transfer their
experience to their children far better than the women can.
● Males’ hormones help better them to be more flexible to difficult situations happening in
their real life, and they can transfer their experience to their boys.
● Fathers are usually more serious in punishing of their children than mothers, so they can
control better their children to avoid crime.
● In many societies, fathers have better educational qualifications and diverse experience.
That’s why they can better prepare their children for the future.
● A father makes future of the child financially secure.
● Men's contribution to a child's development is found to be more effective when it comes to
imbibing discipline.

Men and women have equal role to raise their children:

● A kid needs the affection and caring of both father and mother.
● While mothers take care of their children, fathers work outside to bring the money home.
● They both have qualities that should be learned by their kids.
● In many families, both parents work outside and that's why the responsibilities of upbringing
children should be equally shared.

[The above points should be helpful to aid you generating your own ideas and then turning them
into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment section.

Sample Answer 2: (Women make better parents)

Mother and father both play a crucial role in the upbringing of children. Some people assert that
women triumph over men to make better parents. In contrary to this, others claim that men are as
good as women in parenting. This is very perplexing for anyone to choose one. According to me,
women make better parents.

In support of my point of view, a mother is one of the first persons who gets attached to the child
from the birth. A child spends most of his time, his childhood with the mother. So a child is more
influenced by the mother. Secondly, a mother is the only person who takes all sorts of care of the
child, like- feeding, bathing etc. Thus, mother occupies most of the child's time. This makes a strong
bond between them. When a child becomes a little older and starts to go school, a mother takes care
of that child's study, homework, assignment, projects etc. By this, a mother plays a crucial role in a
child's education. In addition, a child learns moral values which are main ingredients to become good
human from the mother.

In our society, usually we find that women spend most of the time at home and men are only
breadwinners. In this type of situation, the person who can spend a chunk of the time for the
nourishment of a child is a woman. Thus, women can keep her eyes on every small activity of
children. Apart from that, owing to closer relationship children's shares it's emotions and problems
with the mother first. Thus, mother knows her child better than anyone.
On the flip side, to maintain the status of men, they argue that men are as good as women. In spite
of spending less time with the child a man earn for his child. A father makes future of the child
financially secure. As financial security is as important as building child's personality.

To conclude, both women and men are equally important. But in our society women are superior to
men in better parenting as they rear child very well.

Parents are the best teachers.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. You should give reasons for your
answer using your own ideas and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:(Agreement: Parents are the best teachers)

‘Whether parents are our best teachers or not’ is a never-ending debate and people are divided both
in favour and against this argument. Both have a very strong contribution and influence on a child’s
learning but in my opinion, parents overtake the teachers in terms of teaching their children.

First of all, I would like to point out that a teacher is not merely a person who takes a text book and
read texts from there to a student. Rather a teacher is someone who devotes his/her times to teach
someone everything that someone needs to know to advance to next step. Morality, intricacies of
life, subject matter knowledge, art, science, history, value of time etc. are something that can’t be
taught through academic books and a good teacher is someone who teaches someone these all.

Now that we know the true responsibility of a teacher, we can easily compare our parents and
teachers. The things that we learn from our parents are far more important than what we learn from
our teachers. I am not denying the invaluable knowledge we learn from our teachers through our
academic years, but what we learn from our parents are incomparable. We learn to survive, talk, and
distinguish well from bad, values of life, morality and such important other things from our parents.
We are the true reflection of our parents and our characters are shaped by their personality and
behaviours. Later the teachers help us to enhance our knowledge, horizon and our view of life but
the very foundation and ground are made by our parents.
The parents sacrifice so many things of their life just to ensure a better life for us and nothing in this
whole world could even be compared with their sacrifice for us. Think of a student who is unable to
pay his/her monthly school fees would be cast away from the school and the beloved teachers would
scarcely be there to help him/her. On the other hand, the parents would always be there with their
every possible effort to help the child.

In summary, the things we learn from our teachers are important for our lives and with those
valuable lessons and knowledge we prepare for the future but the things we learn from our parents
shapes who we are, who we become and their contribution is much more important compared to
the contribution of the traditional academic teachers and that’s why in my opinion parents are best
teachers.

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Model Answer 2: (Agreement: Parents are the best teachers)

Parents can be the best teacher for every child coming on this earth. I agree with this statement as
no learning institution can be compared with the parents as they are role models for their children
since they open their eyes in this world till they are fully grown up and matured.

To start with when the child is born he sees his parents as his guide, mentor & teacher who will
teach him how to speak, eat, drink, live, wear, interact etc. No one will be with him when he is crying
for anything it will be the parents who will be with him for every problem and his / her every need.
Even during his education days he will observe and learn that the school although is the learning
institution but the moral & ethical values learned from parents are far greater than any learning
center and parents will be the one who wants the children to be the best in this world and they want
their children not to repeat the mistakes that they have done in their lives which any learning
institution won’t care for as they can’t give individual attention to every student.

On the other hand, we see that generally the children who are orphans or could not get the
attention from their parents don’t have that foundation of ethical, moral and social values as
compared to the ones who have been trained by their parents despite all of them have gone to
schools, colleges etc. The only difference between them is parents.

If the parents are not well educated they could still prove to be good teachers for their children but
that will be of less fruitful from the highly educated parents as educated and learned parents will
have more vision and more horizon as compared to the unlearned.

I would like to conclude with the statement that parents can be a turning point for his child if he tries
to teach every step of living this life.

(by Mubashir Noorani)

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Are parents the best teachers for their children?

Agreement: Parents are the best teachers.

● Parents are more engaged in their children’s activities than any other person because they
spend more time with them than even teachers in schools, so they can find more deeply
their children’s personality weaknesses.
● Sensationally, they feel closer to their children than any other people are. Bonding helps
mothers to love their children more than any other else.
● We learn to survive, talk, and distinguish well from bad, values of life, morality and such
important other things from our parents.
● To care about their children, parents take more responsibility. They feel more responsibility
to protect their children from criminals.
● Parents are more devoted than the teachers.
● Parents would be with a child no matter what.
● We learn almost every aspect of life in our childhood from our parents.
● There is not any interruption in their teaching, and they continuously teach their children.
This can lead them to become more trustful than teachers.
● Parents understand the children better and thus play a greater role.
● Parents are more capable of instructing the children and guide them well.
● It could be far more economical. Instead of spending tremendous money on tuition, Family
can save it.

Disagreement: Parents are NOT the best teachers.

● In terms of the theoretical and academic knowledge, parents are usually less professional
than the instructors teaching in schools.
● Parents are less familiar with the latest training techniques which other tutors use.
● A huge generation gap between them, parents and children, may affect the parents’
performance to become perfect teachers.
● A conflict between parents and children in schooling may negatively affect their emotional
relationship.
● Morality, intricacies of life, subject matter knowledge, art, science, history, value of time etc.
are often taught by the teachers.
● Parents are sometimes too blind to notice the bad side of their children. In this case,
teachers make neutral judgments.
● Experiences learned from life have a far greater role in life than the things we learn from our
parents.

World history suggests that violence and conflict were more evident under male leadership than
under female leadership. So, for peace to prevail, female leadership can be considered as a better
option than male leadership. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 1:
(Disagreement: Denied the fact that violence and conflict were less under female leadership)

The human history has been violence and conflict-stricken since the beginning of the human
existence. If we look back in history or to the world around us, we see wars, conflict, power struggles
and revolutions, peace making kings, prudent emperors and ruthless rulers. History also reveals that
society has always been predominantly male dominated, with leaders and rulers mainly being men.
It is, hence, easy to blame the ruler and put the responsibility of atrocities on the shoulders of men.
But a deeper perspective always reveals to historians that conflict is a generic tendency of humans.
So peace being disturbed is not the liability of men only, but humans in general, and a power shift,
from men to women, is destined to be futile in prevailing peace.

Most of the women who are known to be great till date, e.g. Queen Isabella of Spain, Queen Mary,
a.k.a. Bloody Mary, Victoria, and Elizabeth of Britain, all have ruled over a vast spectrum of power.
And they often have done so ruthlessly, achieving goals with an iron hand. They have waged wars
that are barely comparable to only a few of those devised by men. These women are not anomalies
of history, but examples from numerous others, who went beyond the boundaries of gender in the
path of prevailing in power while expanding peace whenever they deemed it to be expandable.

The two greatest wars of modern history, World Wars I & II, have taught us that wars are
impersonal. Race, religion, nationality, sex are only pretences to the universally human lust for
power. It is true that during both the global conflicts men were in the rulers’ thrones. But it will be
foolish to say that Margaret Thatcher, the famed Iron Lady who spared no road against a minnow
enemy in the war of Falkland, would be more peacefully diplomatic than how the greats Winston
Churchill and Franklyn D. Roosevelt had been tackling the Axis of Hitler.

The gender issue is only a determinant in the battle of the sexes, not the battles among nations and
peoples. It is therefore, impertinent, if not irrational, to conclude that world conflicts result from the
rule of a particular gender and the finer sex would do a better job at prevailing peace if selectively
put at the helm of human nations.

Alternative Answer 2:

(In favour of the argument that violence and conflict were less under female leadership)

Though some people argue that war and conflicts among nations and within a territory are
impersonal regardless of men and women leaders, the history suggests that world saw less violence,
war and conflicts under female leaders. Considering this in in mind I suggest the idea that female
leadership can be considered for a better world.

The major World Wars, conflicts among nations, civil wars mostly caused by the male ego,
assassinations and conflicts of interests among men. Very few female leaders contributed making
decisions to have war with other nations in their period of ruling a country. Sometimes people often
mention the Trojan War and convict a female as the main reason for this war. But the fact is, it is not
even a historically approved war and its root lies more in mythology than in evidence. And even if it
was true, female leaders were not even remotely involved deciding to start the war. Though the
number of male rulers throughout the history is much more compared to the number of female
leaders and very few major wars could be related to the decision or action taken by women.

Women are naturally mild-hearted and avoid conflicts and wars by all means. They are more caring
and less violent by their prototypes and that makes them better leaders in terms of serving people.
The leader who is caring and has the mentality to serve people would naturally be a good leader and
women are better candidates than men in this regards.
In summary, the idea of female leadership in terms of avoiding wars and serving nations better is
indeed a good idea.

Cricket has become more popular than the national sports in the sub-continental countries. What
do you think are the reasons behind this? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

Cricket, traditionally an English sport, is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world
like Australia, South Africa, Indian Continents etc. But the popularity is evidently the highest among
the countries of the Indo-Pak sub-continent, for reasons that are historical, anthropological,
geographical, and even commercial. There are more than 200 crore audiences of cricket only in
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka and they are certainly the highest part of cricket fans than
another part of the world.

The game of Cricket came to South-Asia in the hands of the English colonists centuries ago and has
seeped into the hearts of the people here while the cricketers of here have won over the hearts of
the English. This inter-continental love-affair perhaps has made the south-Asians elope with the Bat
and Ball from their national and ethnic sports. Also, World Cup wins in the 80s and 90s, and
phenomenal performers like Hanif Mohammed of the 50s and Sachin Tendulkar of late, all have
made Cricket more psychologically ethnic than the native sports of this region. Mother Nature had
her hand in it too. Cricket is compared with religion in the country like India. Even when the war and
conflicts hot the air of India and Pakistan, the stadium tied the friendship these two countries.

Some opine that South-Asians are natural cricketers. It has indeed been proven that the sub-
continent players are more adaptive to the physiological demands of Cricket compared to how they
get naturalised to other international sports e.g. Football, Basketball etc. Also, the climatic conditions
here are relatively more suitable for playing cricket compared to the climates of many other parts of
the globe. Not to forget, the virtually uncountable population of this region that continually fuels the
ever-sprouting 11-member teams needed to stage only half of a Cricket game and supplies the
hundreds of millions of spectators to cheer the players. Altogether, it is like a match made in heaven,
“divine” enough to surpass any hereditary bond.

Commerce plays its own amazingly profitable part too. Cricket enthusiasts of here have become the
primary consumer base of many global enterprises who mass-charm the sub-continent customers
through extravagantly sponsored tournaments. ICC, the governing body of world Cricket, also cajoles
the people here because of their financial utility and cossets them from their sporting heredity. The
national sport of the Indian sub-continent is only official and in practice, they are not popular at all.
The kids play cricket in the fields, streets, rain harvesting fields and even in the terrace of the
building. They show a little interest in other national sports and thus how the appeal of those games
are reducing.

Regardless of where it came from, the most certain conclusion to be made here is that Cricket is to
stay and sustain in the nourishment of the South-Asian pandemonium and will indefinitely reign over
the people here like the God-sent hero who conquers not only the matter but also the nativity.

(Approximately 487 words)

N.B: You should be able to pick up different points from this essay and organise your answer in your
own style. (This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that
this is just one example out of many possible answers.)

Alternative answer:
Cricket, without any double, is the most popular game in sub-continent countries like India, Srilanka,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and this popularity is so bulging that many nations in this part of the
world know better about cricket than they do about their national games. Strange it might seem, but
it is a fact that less than 10% people are interested in their national game while more than 90%
people consider cricket as their passion in those countries. There are several reasons for that and
among them historical, anthropological, colonial, political, commercial and geographical reasons are
most substantial reasons for this.

Cricket was introduced to this sub-continent by the English and because of their colonies in this part
of the Asia, people politically got interested in this game. Like many other things that people
adopted from the English, cricket was no exception. Later this became a popular game because
people easily accepted it as an exciting sport and started participating in this game. Because of
geographical reason, people started doing better in this game and they found them to be good at a
sport which is widely accepted.

More than 180 crore people inhabit in this part of the world and that made it a commercially hot
spot for spreading the game and ICC found it to be a great part in increasing the popularity of the
game. Among the 10 test playing nations, 4 nations are from this sub-continent and it is natural that
people would prefer a game that they participate in world cup level.

Apart from the political, commercial and colonial reason, people of this part are naturally good at
this sport and the world has seen many great players who came from this part. The mass media also
contributed in making this game popular and there are several sports channels in this region that
exclusively broadcast cricket all day long.

It is inevitable that people would participate in sports that they are good at, which they enjoy and
have international renown and that’s why the national and traditional games, which are scarcely
known to the rest of the world, have lost their popularity while the cricket has acclaimed its own
rights to the people of this sub-continent area.

To solve the ever-increasing environmental hazards throughout the world, the best way is to
increase the price of fuel.

What is your opinion on the above assumption?

Model Answer 1: (Agreement)

Environmental or natural hazards are the results of physical processes that affect humans and
environment every day and harmful for both in the short and long run. As the use of fuel increases to
keep up with modern demands and increased population, the world is becoming more vulnerable to
environmental hazards and disasters. Floods, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms, toxic or oil spills
immediately come to mind when comprehending this issue, implying that all these things are
inherently hazardous.
One of the most effective solutions to these environmental hazards is to raise the price of fuel. The
use of petroleum and gasoline can release toxic chemicals into our atmosphere. These chemicals
escape into the air during refilling, from the gasoline tank and carburettor during normal operation,
and from engine exhaust. Transportation sources account for about 30-50% of all harmful emissions
into the atmosphere. The industrialisation is another reason for the omission of harmful chemicals
too.

“Smog” is another environmental hazard. It causes human respiratory stress, and damages many
plants, significantly reducing farm crop yields and the “health” of trees and other vegetation. Burning
gasoline emits significant quantities of a wide range of harmful gases into the atmosphere. For
example, carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced by incomplete combustion. Carbon dioxide,
a normal product of burning fuel, is non-toxic but contributes to the greenhouse effect, which is also
known as global warming and it is probably the most dangerous threat to the human existence.

Raising the price of fuel would mean that people would use less petroleum and gasoline. They would
find other alternative means of transport to save money, which would mean using less high-priced
fuel for everyday purposes. For example, cycling is a healthy activity and it saves the earth too. Also,
for a long journey, people could try to find friends together for car-pooling. Carpooling saves a lot of
fuel and would save a lot of money too. But other things should be considered to reduce the use of
these dangerous fuels. A government should implement strict rules of using cars, for instance no less
than 4 persons should be allowed to drive a single car. The price should be increased in a thoughtful
way because if the price is so high it will hamper the average people's life leading. There are so many
people yet use public transportation for movement and the increased price will make their life
miserable. The prices of many necessary daily ingredients also increase with the price of the fuel.

Many environmental hazards like “smog” and global warming are increasing around the world due to
the excessive use of petroleum and gasoline in our daily lives. Raising the price of fuel could make all
the difference to the environment. It would force people to use petrol in a more responsible way and
use it less, and therefore be the most effective solution to the problem of ever-increasing
environmental hazards though it might have some side effects but those can be controlled by the
proper initiatives by the Government.

Model Answer 2: (Disagreement)

There are several reasons that are causing the environmental harms and this has become an urgent
issue to discuss and bring a solution about. The number of ever increasing cars is one of the reasons
that leads to affect the environment negatively and there are some assumptions that increasing the
fuel price would solve this problem. But the reality would be different, and increased fuel price will
cause lots of other problems while it would contribute very little to reduce the environmental
pollutions and hazards. So this can’t be the best solution in any way.

First of all, the maximum numbers of cars are owned by the rich people and fuel price would not
restrain them from using the cars. The price of fuel, in fact, increased significantly over the past 12
years and that has done nothing to reduce the car usages. On the contrary, the number of cars
running on the roads has increased more than expected. Besides, the fuel price determines the
market prices of other daily necessary products and increasing the price would only bring misery to
the low and medium earning class population. Electronic wastages, industries, household electrical
devices, deforestation, chemical wastages, unthoughtful activities of people are causing more
damage to the mother earth than the gas omission by the cars. We should focus on those aspects as
well before increasing the price of fuel just based on an assumption.

The main idea of increasing the fuel price is to reduce the number of cars running in the street and to
restrain the car owners from using the cars less. But that would prove to be a ridiculous solution
especially when car owners are mostly high earning class and they would not bother about the fuel
price.

The best solution to address this utmost concerning issue is to introduce an environment friendly
energy source like solar energy system, to improve the public transportation system & train system
so that people mostly use these systems instead of always using their own cars, increasing the
awareness of the people so that they do not directly contribute to harm the environment, and
making strict rules so that deforestation, chemical wastages and other harmful ways of
environmental pollutions get reduced.

Safety standards are important when building people's homes. Who should be responsible for
enforcing strict building codes – the government or the people who build the homes?

Use your own knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant
evidence.

Model Answer 1:

(Viewpoint: Government should be responsible for enforcing strict building codes)

People or commercial constructors build homes for private dwelling or for commercial uses and the
number is increasing rapidly as the demand for new buildings is increasing. In all cases of building a
new construction safety of dwelling is important. It is home maker’s or contractors responsibility to
build houses complying with standard engineering requirements and building codes set by the
respective governments. I believe that the government should always be there to strictly enforce
building codes, and in the case of non-compliance authorities should take punitive measures.
Enforcement of the law is government’s responsibility. Since non-compliance can not only cause
hazards to the homeowners, but also to tenants and if in a cooperative or apartment, many co-
owners may suffer.

The building codes are regulatory requirements concerning safety and quality of the construction,
use of space and others. For example, in an earthquake-prone area, the buildings should not be very
high and the design and structure must have higher earthquake resistance. Big houses and long
buildings (i.e. academic departments, hotels and hostels) require dilatation every 15-20 meters so
that in a heavy earthquake, only part of a building collapses, not the whole. Moreover, the quality of
the materials used in construction and electric wiring, and the gas connection should pass minimum
safety standards. Adequate entry & exit facilities and emergency exist, fire extinguishers are also
very important is establishments like factories, hall rooms, discos, party centres.

In cases of a wooden house, wood must be coated with fire-resistant paint. In large apartments,
office buildings, hall rooms and lobbies of hotels, fire-barriers made of rubber and steel are used to
prevent the spreading of fire. Similarly, in areas of frequent hailstorms, skylights must not be used,
and if so, must be protected by steel shutters.

Many constructors often tend to ignore the minimum safety requirements to minimise costs which
jeopardise people’s life. Many private homemakers do not know details of these standards and
precautions. It is the responsibility of the government to disseminate such essential knowledge and
monitor the compliance of builders, developers and makers of houses. However, the builders cannot
avoid their responsibility anyway.

In conclusion, in this modern world, the government is ultimately responsible for its entire citizen’s
safety and good life. It is also the government's responsibility to enforce strict building code. If the
negligence of any government agency jeopardises people’s life, the government will be held
responsible.

Model Answer 3: (Viewpoint: Both Government & People should be careful and responsible)

People aspire to build their homes to suit their tastes as well as that of their family. While several
houses are constructed on a regular basis, there have been questions on the safety standards
adopted in such constructions, thus endangering not only the lives of homeowners but also of those
in the neighbourhood and the society at large. While some people opine that the responsibility of
ensuring a quality construction lies with the owners, there are others who believe that the onus lies
with the government. This essay will discuss both points of view.

To begin, houses that are being constructed by those in the lower income groups do look at the most
cost effective option. In the process, they invariably explore cheaper options that include a
compromise on material and construction quality. This ultimately leads to a house construction that
is inferior and might not comply with even the basic safety standards. For example, there are several
instances where even a moderate amount of rainfall has led to the houses getting washed away.
There are also cases where minor tremors have led to the collapse of the entire building. Further,
compromising on the quality of electrical wiring can lead to short circuit and hence a fire, that can
affect not just the house owner, but can lead to severe loss of lives and property in the entire
neighborhoods.

In my opinion, the solution to the problem lies with having a regulatory body to monitor the quality
of building constructions. The regulatory body should be under the Government. The safety
standards and the minimum specification of materials that can be used in any house constructions
need to be clearly defined. This should include essential parameters such as foundation strength,
structure strength, electrical wiring specification, water resistant material etc.

Further, at various stages of construction, the owner needs to approach the authority for approval.
Upon such requests, the authority needs to carry random audits before approval. This would not
only put a system in place but also serves as a deterrent to house owners who intend to
compromise on construction quality.

In conclusion, while the quality of house constructions at present pose a grave danger to the society,
there is certainly an opportunity in this challenge, to put forth a system that would be robust and go
a long way in ensuring that building constructions of the future adhere to the specified standards
and are completely safe to both the owners as well as the society at large.

Many office authorities impose a restriction on smoking within the office premises. Some
governments have even banned smoking in all public places. This is a good idea but it takes away
some of our freedom.

What are your opinions on this?

Use your own knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant
evidence.

Model Answer 1: (Agreement: Smoking should be banned in office premises and public places)
There is no scope of argument that cigarette smoking is harmful both for the smoker and people
around him/her. Cigarette smoking has two major effects on non-smokers-injurious passive smoking
and smoking display that has an invitational or persuasive effect on non-smokers. I believe banning
smoking in public places and offices not only will discourage smoking but will also keep the smoking
practice out of site, though it might apparently look like transgress into smoker’s freedom. But I
believe any harmful activity of a particular person or group of people can not be a definition of
freedom. If smoking right in any place is a definition of freedom then why not other drugs? In m
opinion, every public place including office must be smoking free.

There are several reasons that government and private authorities are being strict on smoking in
offices and even public places. Firstly, this is an accepted fact that smoking is injurious and deadly to
health in several ways. Secondly, smoking causes health hazards to non-smokers who inhale smoke
passively from the smokers. Thirdly, smoking has a strong psychologically influence on others,
particularly on children and young who learns from their elderly. Fourthly, in many countries, the
cost of health care and insurance has gone up due to smoking related illnesses. So health authorities
and governments are trying to have been seen that due to the restrictions, the habit of smoking is on
a decline among office goers.

Though non-smokers think that restricting smoking in offices and public places is a good idea,
smokers often view it as an intervention into their right. Smokers argue that cigarette smoking has a
direct relation to their workplace performance, though passive smoking can cause objections from
colleagues. But considering the harm of smoking it should be banned.

Though pressure groups such as tobacco companies may discourage restrictions on smoking, since
the advantages of ban outweigh the disadvantages, mass public support such bans. Moreover,
offices have the right to regulate staff behavior and activities and governments too can ban smoking
in public places for a greater societal benefit.

In conclusion, restricting smoking in workplaces and in public is a good idea. I can also understand
the opinion of smokers that banning smoking in such places limits their work speed but I believe with
little practice and determination they can overcome it. So I strongly support the idea of prohibiting
smoking in any public place including the office premises.

Model Answer 2:
(Disagreement: Smoking should NOT be banned in office premises and public places)
Without any double smoking is harmful to smokers and the debate whether it should be banned in
office premises and in public places came in light mostly because it harms the passive smokers as
well. But some consideration should be done before thoroughly banning it from the office premises
and public places. In my opinion, there is no reason for the advocacy in favour of smoking but totally
banning it in office premises and public places would not be a good solution.

First of all, if a government only bans the smoking in public places and allows the production,
marketing and selling of cigarettes in the country that point out a question if the government at all
wants to ban the cigarettes. Why would not a government restrict the selling of cigars but would
only refrain the smokers from having it? Rather government should ban this vile product in the
whole country so that people no longer have the option to smoke. A smoker would naturally smoke
as s/he gets addicted to the nicotine of a cigarette. Allowing them to purchase it and then not to
smoke it is kind of ridiculous idea.

Secondly, many offices restrict smoking in office premises and this is also a controversial idea. Why
hire smokers when you have such a strict restriction on smoking? Rather those offices should update
their hiring policy and should not hire smokers as many educational and religious organisations do.
Smoking in no way acceptable but restricting this only in office premises is in a way allowing the
employees to go outside and harm some other people rather than the office staffs. Instead of this,
the offices can either arrange a separate smoking zone with proper ventilation facility or allow the
smokers to smoke there or should hire non-smokers.
In conclusion, the cigarettes should be restricted in the production and sales level but not in the way
of stealing peoples’ freedom by restricting them in particular places while letting them easily
purchase them. Where is the good will when a government freely allows the product, distribution
and selling of tobacco and collects taxes from the tobacco companies and at the same time restrict
smoking to show that they are doing well for people?

Nowadays, more and more foreign students are going to English-Speaking countries to learn the
“international language – English". It is undoubtedly true that studying English in an English-
speaking country is the best way, but it is not the only way to learn it.

Do you agree or disagree with the above statement?

Use your own knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant
evidence.

Model Answer 1: (Agreement: It is NOT the ONLY way to learn it)

There is no debate that being in a real English language environment will help anyone to master the
language in the fastest and most effective way and many international students prefer to go to
English-speaking countries to study and learn the international language. I agree that this is a good
way, yet students can learn English in other useful ways and those can be even better than the first
approach.

Being in an English speaking country helps students learn English in many ways. Firstly, the
surroundings and environment influence our learning. We are forced to speak, read write, and slowly
we start even thinking in English since we have to. Secondly, quick learning of the language can
become a strong motivation because, in turn, we will get quick feedback that lets us find what we
learn really benefits us in life and education. This inspires us to continue to learn more. It’s a positive
reinforcement Learning builds on progressively. The initial learning serves as the basis for further
learning. Thirdly, in an English-speaking country, you will be learning from the life and culture which
is not present off that land.

However, in this age of cross-culture communication and Internet, learning English in an English-
speaking country is not the only way. The English language learning opportunities are available in
many countries. Nowadays people are able to find various ways of learning the English language in
their home country that are highly effective and productive. Watching English movies, television,
listening to English music and browsing Internet can open up a vast plethora of English materials. For
instance, one can make use of the vast storage of materials (video, sound, graphics, etc.) on the
Internet to facilitate language study. Sometimes non-English speaking students may need a different
approach for learning English. The principle of “different students, different teaching”, by the famous
saying by Chinese guru Confucius, maintains that different teaching approaches are useful for
different segments of students. The way a foreign student learns a language is quite different from
those of an English native speaker. For example, a foreign student higher level; however, it is
unnecessary for a native speaker. Last but not the least, on some occasions, students may find
teachers in their own countries do a better job in figuring out their exact weak points and the
remedies for them. A teacher of a non-English country understand the basic of a student and can
combine both the native language and English to make the study plan and this might be more helpful
than a native English teacher's approach of studying.

In conclusion, I believe studying English in English-speaking country is a good way but in many cases,
the other ways can be proven to be more efficient than being in an English speaking country.
Model Answer 2: (Disagreement: It is the only best way to learn it)
Language is a skill and like any other skill, it can be best achieved through practising. Being in an
English speaking country gives a competitive advantage of learning it faster and in a more efficient
way than other ways and that why I consider learning English can be best achieved by being in an
English speaking country.

Many people would argue that, if learning English in only possible by living in an English country ho
come people with really good English can exist when they have never been to an English-speaking
country. Yes, it is true that proper study and determination to grasp the language can bring success
to a person without living in a non-English-speaking country but there are some gaps yet. The
amount of effort someone needs to put in learning the language would be much more compared to
someone living in an English speaking country.

Firstly, being in an English speaking country would make the learner to communicate in this language
all the time and being in such a situation helps learn faster and more competently. They would learn
the language through practical experiences and that is more important than reading tomes of
grammatical rules from textbooks.

Second, the language is not merely how it is defined in the grammar books and how the words are
spelt. Rather it is a natural ability to express the feelings and thought to someone else in an effective
way and it is quite impossible to become a natural thinker of a language without actually being in an
environment where this is the only language.

Learning from experience is better than learning from text and that makes an English speaking
country living person more competent than a non-English speaking country living person in terms of
the command of the language. When the first person communicates naturally and without any
brainstorming, the later one would do that as less accurately. Pronunciation and language style is
very important in terms of communicating English and that can be best learned from the native
speakers of this language and that’s why being in an English speaking country to learn the language
is the best way. Because of this realisation, thousands of people from different parts of the world are
coming to English Speaking countries to learn the language.

In conclusion, though a language can be learned through reading, practice and other good ways,
being in a country where this language is the native language is the best way to learn it.

11

Do you support that the nuclear technology should be used for constructive purposes?

Use your own knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant
evidence.

Give reasons for your viewpoint.

Alternative answer 1: (Viewpoint: Nuclear technology should be used positively for the benefit of
the human.)

Like any other technological invention, the nuclear power has a great potential to be used positively
for the betterment of the people and at the same time, it can cause disaster if used negatively. So
the use of nuclear technology and its possible destructive power is an issue which is much debated
and in my opinion, we should use this power positively for the benefit of the human.
First of all, the technology contains power and this power can both be positively and harmfully used.
Nothing is wrong with the technology or tool but with the people who actually command it. We can’t
think of the modern life without the use of cell phone, TV, refrigerator etc. and are not they causing
harm to the environment? Yes they are, and a single gas cylinder can be used to cook foods and then
feed people or run vehicles and on the contrary can be used to blow up a house. Only because the
gas has the power to blow a house does not abstain us from using it for our benefits.

Second, most of the countries in the world, except few rich countries, struggle for the electricity and
similar energy powers and can’t improve because of the scarcity of it. The nuclear power can be a
great source of energy for these countries and can be a very effective solution for them to improve
their life standard and overall economic status.

In every sphere of life, we need energy: from irrigation to hospital operation and the use of nuclear
energy can ensure better lives for us. Obviously, the nuclear power possesses a great power that can
destroy a city or even a country if not properly handles, but this is not the reason we should
completely forget about a power that can change the world.

In conclusion, we should learn from our past mistakes about the explosions of the nuclear centres
and then come with better solutions to use this power towards the betterment of mass people.

Sample Answer 3: (Viewpoint: Nuclear technology should be used for human benefits but very
carefully and under strict regulation.)

Nuclear technology has been one of the hottest inventions during the 20th century. However, there
have been heated debates about whether this technology should be used at all, even for very
constructive purposes such as power generation.

The reasons why we need nuclear applications are very dear. First of all, our society is quickly
running out of energy supply, and statistics even show a shortage of traditional fuel within 50 years.
Besides the poor supply of energy, we are also facing pollution challenges. The CO2 generated in the
past century has been roughly equal to the total amount of Carbon dioxide released in the entire
history before. In short, we do not have enough energy to use, and can no longer afford to use it in
the old way.

Nuclear technology is a much more available and cleaner solution to our possible energy and
environmental crisis. At the current level of technology, the discovered nuclear supply will be
enough to sustain the earth for more than a century. Its generation, if properly operated, produces
nothing other than heat, so it is considered super clean. However, I fully understand the concerns
from nuclear opponents.

First of all nuclear facilities will require strong capabilities to be operated safely. When the operators
are not experienced enough, devastating accidents can be created. These have been seen in the
former USSR and as well as in Japan. It takes time and resources to acquire such capabilities and not
every country can afford it. The other issue with nuclear technology is that it can be easily modified
into weapons, which can cost many lives when deployed.

Given the challenges we are facing, it is very necessary to promote the nuclear technology. However,
this must be carried out very carefully, under strict regulations and the supervision by the entire
human society.

12

Men do most of the high-level jobs. Should the government encourage a certain percentage of
these jobs to be reserved for women?

What is your opinion on that?

Model Answer 1: (Agreement):

Though some people would argue that women are working in high-level job positions in many
renowned organisations, the reality is that the number of such women employees is very ignorable
compared to their male counterpart. As a result, the issue appears that the government should
reserve a certain percentage of such jobs for women and this is supported by a group of people
while being criticised by another group. In my opinion, the government actually should reserve a
percentage of such jobs to maintain the equal opportunity, to maintain a balanced workspace and in
the overall economy.

First of all, the high-level jobs occupied by the male diminish the balances of power between the
male and female in such organisations. Since we are living in a century where we are most sincere to
establish the equal power of men and female, this is very reasonable that women should actually
work in such high-level positions. Second, the consumers, end users and service receivers of a
company and organisation are both male and female and female decision-making employees for
such companies are equally important compared to the male.

Third, the society would like to make a balance between the contribution of male and female and
again the power between them, without letting women work in high-level job position, it would not
be possible. The women are needed to participate in every sphere of society for a better world and
without letting them use their ability we can’t actually expect that.

Fourth, the women are improving in terms of education, power, contribution in the current era than
before and such a scheme is taken by the government would inspire them more to run ahead. In
third world countries, the fate of girl is determined when her parents decide if the girl should go to
school or should learn to cook and get prepared for marriage. The privilege provided by the
government in case of jobs for women would encourage such parents to equally treat their boys and
girls.

In conclusion, a certain reserved position for women in high-level jobs is actually a good idea to
empower the women towards the overall betterment of the organisation and society.

Model Answer 2: (Disagreement)

Equality for both man and women is the accepted underpinning philosophy of modern society that
we live in. Most constitutions maintain an equal right for men and women. Most public institutions
and formal organisations hold an equal view in treating either sex. Despite the fact that male high
officials outnumber female high officials by a great margin, in most of the countries there is no legal
or statutory bar against women going up in the ladder. I am against any kind of positive bias towards
women in the form of reserving a percentage of higher positions for women. That will only
encourage anomaly, imperfection in practices and most importantly it is not going to serve the
ultimate goal of escalating women’s positions in a society or in a country's economy unless they earn
that by themselves rightfully.

In the bygone days, women were primarily engaged in household responsibilities. Women’s
involvement in economic, organisational and public activities is not a very old practice. But in the
recent decades, things have changed dramatically and many women in the west are going to the top
in career and profession. Even in the third world countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the
presence of working women is everywhere, competing with the male counterparts and even
surpassing them in many aspects. They are acquiring the necessary education, gaining proper
knowledge abut their rights and are in the process of being recognised as organizationally as
valuable contributors. In Bangladesh, in many instances girls toppled in open public examinations,
and their success rate is generally higher than man. Women are earning professional reputation in
their job places as well.
Against this backdrop, there is no reason that government should go for reserving positions for
women. Instead, a government should take initiatives to eradicate any bias against women and make
favourable work environment for women. Firstly, governments can ensure women’s access to
education and thus empower them and make them prepared for life as in many societies women
lack education and empowerment.

Secondly, women suffer from gender discrimination, chauvinistic behaviour and worse even, sexual
harassment in workplaces. Governments should have clear and strict policies to ensure an
environment where workers from both sexes coexist with ease. Thirdly, women should be entitled to
have special conduct during motherhood. Due to the very role of a woman in a family, supports from
the workplace are important for working women.

Women and man both should be viewed as equally capable. If we look over our shoulder, we can see
that the number of eligible, skilled and executive-class working women is actually increasing quickly
in recent years. Govt. should no go for reserving a certain percentage of high-level jobs for women.
That will only undermine women’s ability and women will grossly find that their self-respect is on
declination. They can find their own way towards the prosperous carriers by the of their own virtue
and efforts.

The 21st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring?

Use examples and details in your answer.

Model Answer 2:

The new century comes with a different technology, inventions, political and social changes and also
brings the new brutality in human history and the 21st century has already brought many changes in
the world and human lives and certainly there are yet more changes to come.

First of all, the technological changes and updates would become more frequent and the use of the
internet, cell phone and computers would become widespread. Even in very remote areas people
would use these technological advances and that would both positively and negatively affect their
lifestyle. Second, the religious fanaticism would diminish and except few fanatic people, most other
would live a life where religion would bring little conflicts. Third, the improvements in genetic
engineering and medical science would improve the way of people live as it would eradicate many
deadly diseases. However, the history suggests that new devastating diseases would emerge without
any cure. Fourth, the conflict among nations would become more economic than the doctrine and
politics. The world would be divided in terms of capitalism and socialism and new political dogma
would appear in many countries.

Fifth, People would learn more about the outer space as the experiment and scientific research on
outer space are going on more steadily than ever. Sixth, the nuclear power would replace the
traditional power sources and at the same time many countries would possess the nuclear power
and that would always be a threat to the world. I would not be surprised if nuclear war takes place in
this century and destroy a great number of countries. Then people would explore the sea resources
as the land resources would be less in number and that would be a great new source for people.

In conclusion, the world would have newer technologies and a better life expectation in this century
while the political conflict would arise and that might lead to destruction. At the same time, people
would learn more about the outer space and sea resources more than ever.

Model Answer 3:

There is no doubt that 21st century will bring extremely advanced and innovative changes, related to
almost every field and it will help the human being to raise the standard of their lives. What kind of
changes are expected, it will be discussed in following paragraphs.
To begin with, one must acknowledge that 21st century is a technologically advanced century.
Inventors are doing extremely tremendous research work to make the new inventions come into
existence, which will ultimately lead to a sophisticated life for the human.

Advancement in the things, which someone can use in their daily life, can be seen, for instance,
gadgets and equipment, to make our work more reliable and accurate .Apart from this ,exploration
in the space related programs is also possible ,which will ultimately help the human to protect the
mankind as well as earth as such discoveries will be helpful to explore more about the universe and
they may be able to predict about the upcoming danger or helps us to prevent them. Furthermore,
in future, adequate medical facilities will be there as day by day new inventions related to medical
field are coming into existence, remedies for diseases, which are incurable in the present scenario,
might be possible in future.

To recapitulate it can be stated that in upcoming few years human will be blessed with adequate
facilities, which definitely will make their lives quite easier, due to advanced technology.

13

A zoo has no useful purpose.

Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 2: (Agreement)

Some people believe that zoo has no useful purpose while others argue that zoo is used for
recreational purposes. This is an issue which is greatly debated and controversial but I strongly
believe that a zoo interrupts our ecological system. There are several reasons for my standing on the
side why the zoo is worthless.

Firstly, animals always look beautiful in the forest which is their natural inhabitant. Whenever we put
animals in cages from the forest, we interrupt the natural law. Thus forests lose their beautiful
natural environment. It is also inhuman to put the free animals in cages. Because day-by-day animals
which are used for human entertainment purposes get deteriorated in their physical growth as well
as get interrupted their normal proliferation. Thus many animals have become extinct. Besides,
without the interruption an animal wondering in a natural forest keeps our natural environment
safe.

Secondly, sometimes many animals cannot cope with the cages. Moreover, many zoo authorities
don’t provide necessary foods and proper accommodation and right treatment which are required
for the survival and production of the animals. Furthermore, zoo authorities earn a lot of money to
display these wild animals among the general peoples but this money is not properly utilised among
this wild animals. As a result, these animals suffer from various kinds of diseases and scarcity of
foods.

Thirdly, another important point is that Zoo is destroying our food chain system. It is actually
destroying the food ecosystem nature preserves. At least not at least, Kids who captive animals for
their fun and entertainment, get a bad impression and this is not good for their mental growth.
Safari park, which is an alternative system of a zoo, where animals get large places and greener trees
and foods at the same time, can be a better alternative than a zoo. General people can learn about
the animals from these short of natural parks and this way we can cause less harm to the wild
animals and to the mother nature.

In conclusion, we can say that zoo is inhuman and serves almost nothing for us while it destroys the
natural equilibrium.

Model Answer 4: (Disagreement: A Zoo has MANY useful purposes)

Whether a zoo has useful purposes or not and should we put the animals in a zoological garden or
not is an issue that has been much debated. People are divided in their opinions and when one
group says that, zoos should not exist; other group presents the usefulness of it. In my opinion, a zoo
has many useful purposes.

People, who are against the establishment of zoos, always show the logic that we should not keep
the free animals in cases and that’s completely a mockery of our true humanity. They have their
logics and to a degree this is logical but when they question humanity for this act, they are wrong
from many perspectives.

A zoological garden does not keep all the animals in cages and many recent zoos ensure the natural
environment for the animals they keep in their places. In most of the countries, a zoological garden is
monitored strictly and the health, treatment and food of animals are ensured. The authority makes
sure that the animals are properly taken care of and do not die in diseases.

A zoo keeps only a few animals and this is not a threat to the natural inhabitants of animals. When
we talk about humanity about the ruthless act of keeping the animals in a zoo, where is our
humanity when we are killing thousands of animals and birds and selling them in well-decorated
shops?

The zoo sometimes saves the endangered species and becomes a safe house for many animals.
People do not visit the zoo to boast their superiority; rather they go there for recreational and
educational purposes. A child who visits a zoo can learn many things which otherwise would not
have been possible.

In conclusion, zoo indeed has many useful purposes and it is a great educational and recreational
place for many people.

People remember special gifts or presents that they receive. Why?

15
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Model Answer 1:

A person in his lifetime receives many gifts and presents and with the span of time he might forget
about them. But special gifts are kind of gifts that he would remember for a long time or even in
some cases forever. There are various reasons why we remember those short of special gifts and the
most influential reasons are physiological, economic, memory and effort related to the gifts.

First of all, a gift, no matter what it is, is always special when it is given by a very dear person. Gift
received from parents or children on special occasions are cherished by most of us. In this case, the
cordiality and attachment it more important that the gift itself. For instance, many people treasure
the gift they receive from a lover, friend, father, mother or a special person for a long time. The gift I
got from my father on my 12th birthday was merely a diary and that I still consider a very special gift
for me. This special gift reminds me my childhood and the love of my father and that’s why I will
always remember it.
Second, people often wish for certain things which are they usually can’t buy and if such a present is
given someone, it is likely that he will remember it for a long. For instance, when my uncle
purchased me a laptop when I was around 18 years old, I was very excited and I will never forget the
gift. Sometimes the surprise gifts are memorable and become special to some persons. For instance,
the gift I gave to my college on his birthday became one of the special gifts for him as he later
expressed. Thus these sorts of special gifts remind us the goodwill and love we actually receive from
that person.

Third, expensive gifts often surprise people and can become their special gift. If a car is bought to
someone which he would not be able to afford is ought to become a special gift as well. It is common
human psychology that they would remember such gifts for a long.

Finally, the memory related to a gift is the most important factor for a special gift. The small gift
given by a father who is no more with the children would definitely become a valuable gift to that
son/daughter. With time the gift might get lost or broken or even useless but the memory remains
and thus the memory involved with a gift is an important factor and that’s why people would
remember the gift.

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Alternative Answer 2:

Receiving gifts is always exciting and many people remember the gift for a long time. I think that all
people like to receive presents from their relatives, friends, co-workers, and people they love and
care about etc. Personally, I am sure that a person does not remember all the gifts he receives
because it is impossible. However, I think that all people remember some gifts that were special to
them. There are many reasons for people to remember those special gifts.

First of all, I believe that people remember special gifts because they were from very close and dear
people. For example, I remember my parents gave me a ring when I was sixteen years old. It was not
an expensive ring but it was very valuable for me and when I left my home and moved to another
city, I often looked at that ring and felt like my parents were somewhere near me. I felt their
support, care, love and understanding. It is like people who are close to us give their small parts of
their souls with that gift. They want us to remember them and they want to make us happy. Gifts
sometimes remind us the memory of a certain time. For example, if a child gets a toy at an early age
and if he sees it when he grows older, it reminds him about the childhood. Besides, special gifts
always remind us the caring and love of the person who gave it. These gifts are very valuable for
people of all countries and nationalities.

Another reason why people remember special gifts because they were exactly what people wanted
to have for a long time, but for some reasons, they just could not afford those things or they did not
buy them. So, when they receive those things as gifts it makes them very happy and they remember
those moments for a long time. When I was a child my mother could not buy me a bicycle because
we did not have enough money at that time. So, when my grandfather bought me my first bicycle it
was the happiest moment in my life. Moreover, he personally taught me how to ride and I spent all
my spare time after that doing cycling.

To sum up, I think that people remember special gifts because they are presented with love, care
and come from special people.
16

We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in business, hospitals,
crime detection and even to fly planes. What things will they be used in the future? Is this
dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Answer 1:

Today, the computer has become an indispensable tool in our day-to-day activities. In fact, we find it
very difficult to get through a working day without it. In this essay, we will discuss the usage of
computers in the foreseeable future. Also, we will analyse how this dependency will have negative
impacts on the society.

To begin with, computers can be used in performing daily chores at the house. For instance, cleaning
of the home can be done with the minimum effort and time with the advent of robot maids. In
addition, teachers can use computers for teaching their students by staying at their own place. In
other words, tutors can arrange multiple classes in different cities at the same time by the help of
this tool. Thus, it is obvious that the computer can be used in household work as well as for teaching
purpose in the coming future.

However, inordinate usage of this tool has many disadvantages. First of all, human beings will be
replaced by this machine leading to the increase in the unemployment which is intrinsically tied to
the rate of the crime within the nation. Furthermore, the absence of physical presence of teachers in
the classroom can raise the problems of discipline within the students. In other words, social
development of these pupils will be harmed and thereby, will cause a hindrance in the nation's social
growth.

From above, it can be seen that computers will be used for various activities at home as well as at
educational institutions in the future. But, excessive utilisation of this machine can boost the issues
related to job causing rise in the crime and afflict the young people's development. It is thus hoped
that people will be made aware of the harmfulness of relying too much on computers.

Idea Generation for this IELTS Essay:

Essay Type: Discussion + Argumentative.

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. What things computers will be used in the future?

B. Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their

benefits?

Discussion: What things computers will be used in the future?

● In space exploration, the breakthrough in robots will lead humans to have access farthest
planets and stars. While robots have been sent to Mars, they could be sent to farther stars.
● In medicine, digitalization will revolutionise distant microsurgery, procedures which are
controlled from a distance, helping people all over the world to be cured far better than
being expected.
● Criminals and crimes will be detected far easier ways than now. More highly-tech satellites
will be used to track fugitives escaping from jail or criminals escaping from the crime scene
by using of more developed digital sensors.
● Present communication systems like fax, mail or telegram will be just history for the next
coming generation.
 ● Customers will be able to find, select, and purchase their favourite item through the web far
simpler. For example, digital scent technology will help people to smell the items via online
shopping.
● Pilotless passenger planes will be used be aviation companies as avian digitalization will
develop more.
● Undersea exploration and reaching in the deeper sea level would be possible. That would
enhance our knowledge about the creatures of the sea and would help us to find more
resources for our foods and other needs.
● The computer would replace many manual labours in most of the manufacturing companies.
● Traffic controls both in the highways and air would be fully automated and any violation of
traffic rules would be detected and fined instantly.
● Weather forecasts would be pretty accurate and reliable forecasts of natural calamities
would be easier to predict.
● Devastating weapons would be designed and used with the help of computer technology in
the near future.
● Mathematics, statistics, chemistry and Physics would enhance further with the high speed
and unimaginable calculating power of the computers.
● Teachers would be able to arrange multiple classes in different locations at the same time by
the help of computer based educations tools and the internet.

Arguments: Why the dependency on computers is a good thing.

● In many cases where calculation and long hour works are required, computers are more
reliable than humans. The amount of calculation a supercomputer can do in few seconds
would take the entire lifetime for a human.
● We can save our time. Computers assist us uploading data faster than other devices. They
can also contain massive data in a tiny storage device.
● They are more economical. By spending few hundred dollars of money to buy a laptop, we
can improve many other abilities. For instance, online courses are less expensive than the
regular training, so we have to have a computer and Internet for connection.
● To save information and files, less space is needed when it comes to using computers.
● They can be used in workplaces which are hazardous for the human.
● Humans are biologically unable to reach certain places like far away in the space or bottom
of the sea where computer-riven robots could be sent.
● Computers follow our instructions and always act as they were made. Their usages are
controlled by the human. So negative aspects of computers are not their fault, the fault is
ours.

Arguments: Why we should be more suspicious of the benefits computers offer?

● Cyber-addiction has led humans to become more isolated, inactive, and depressed.
● Our data might be hacked by the professional hackers. Using of highly-tech soft-wares, our
information can be stolen easily.
● Accessing to some important data is costly, and users might be targeted by cybercrime and
lose all of their saved data. For example, a user’s bank password might be hacked by a
professional hacker and thousands of dollars might be stolen by him.
● Human workers and employees will be replaced by this machine leading to the increase in
the unemployment which is intrinsically tied to the rate of the crime.
● Addiction to computers has increased the prevalence of obesity. The more people use their
computer, the more they will become inactive and overweight.
● Any error with the computers can affect lots of human lives and can create chaos.
[The above-mentioned points should be helpful for you to generate your own ideas and then turning
them into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment
section at the end of this article.]

Model Answer 2: (Source - Cambridge IELTS Book 1)

Computers are relatively new invention. The first computers were built sixty years ago and it is the
last thirty years or so that their influences has affected our everyday life. Personal computers were
introduced as recently as the early eighties. In this short time, they have made a tremendous impact
on our lives. We are now so dependent on computers that it is hard to imagine what things would be
without them. You have only got to go into a bank when their main computer is broken to appreciate
the chaos that would occur if computers were suddenly removed worldwide.

In the future, computers will be used to create bigger and even more sophisticated computers. The
prospects for this are quite alarming. They will be so complex that no individual could hope to
understand how they work. They will bring a lot of benefits but hey will also increase the potential
for unimaginable chaos. They will, for example, be able to fly planes and they will be able to co-
ordinate the movements of several planes in the vicinity of an airport. Providing all the computers
are working correctly nothing can go wrong, but if one small program fails-disaster.

There is a certain inevitability that technology will progress and become increasingly complex. We
should, however, ensure that we are still in a position where we can control the technology. It will be
too easy to suddenly discover that technology is controlling us. By then it might be too late. I believe
that it is very important to be suspicious of the benefits that computers will bring and to make sure
that we never become totally dependent on a completely technological world.

(Approximately 282 words)

Sample Answer 3:

Computers are relatively new invention and it's been only 50 years or so when the first computer
was evolved and till then computers have become an inevitable part of our life and we cannot think
even a single day without the uses of computers. From a small departmental shop to a large
corporate business, from traffic signal controlling to launching rockets, the computer is a must. Again
hospitals, offices, defence & intelligent departments, educational institutes use computers at every
level of their work and service. To understand that, we will just have to go to a bank, where account
holder’s information and other financial figures are kept on a server computer. If anything goes
wrong with the server computer, the result is overwhelming and devastating. Similarly, in a hospital
where all data and medical records are stored in computers and even these computers are used to
do many intricate operations. Any error with the computers can affect lots of human lives. It seems
that computers are a very vital part of the current world and as the speed and capability of
computers increasing day by day, we are becoming more dependent. From personal entertainment
to collecting outer-space data, from traffic controlling to DNA research, computers are the main
tools to depend on.

In the future, researchers will use computers and the Artificial Intelligence to bring out the result
from most of the research. Human will try to gather more data on outer world and the computer
systems and computer controlled machines will be used to find a suitable alternative for the world to
live in. Scientists will invade inner-sea environment for more resources. The education system will be
mostly dependent on computers. As Artificial Intelligence will improve in future, so will the robotics
to replace humans by computers to do most of the jobs. Lie detectors and DNA testing system will be
flawless and the criminal investigating departments will use the computers to find the clues of any
crime. Satellite communications and internet would be a part of our lives and all the present
communication systems like fax, mail or telegram will be just history for the next coming generation.
Most people will read from a computer screen and will write through a keyboard or voice
recognition systems. In short, Computer will be used in almost all levels of life from playing video
games till digital cyber war in future.

Throughout the history, human always invented and still trying to invent new tools and machines to
make our lives more secure and easy. But no other single device or tool had been so influential like
the computer. Day by day we're becoming more and more dependent upon computers. In my
opinion, we cannot stop using computers or even we can't lessen the uses of computers. The
development of technology will follow its own track no matter what we think about it. Dependency
is necessary but too much of it can be malevolent for the whole human race when it comes in term
of computers. So we must make sure that we are controlling machines, not the machines controlling
us. We don't want a scenario like the famous Hollywood movie "Terminator", where human fighting
for their existence against their own created machines.

17

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following as media for communicating
information. State which three you consider the most effective.

● Comic
● Books
● Radio
● Television
● Film
● Theater

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Answer 1:

In our daily life, we communicate information through lots of different media like the internet,
televisions, radios, books, cell phones, films etc. We are living in such a time when information is one
of the most important issues and the information technologies as well as the communication media
greatly influence our lives. The rapid-growing websites and TV channels are many of few little
examples how media are spreading to make information easily accessible. All the media for
information interchange have advantages and disadvantages and not all can attract all types of
audiences. Comics, books, radios, televisions, film and theatre are all very powerful media for
communicating information. In my opinion books, televisions and film among those aforementioned
six media are most effective.

Books are the witness of history and the main source from which we gain knowledge. From a very
ancient period till now, books have been working as the light-house for our society. In our childhood,
we gather most of our knowledge and skills from books. It opens new horizons in front of us. The
writer writes down their experiences, imaginations, knowledge, explanation etc. about each and
every issue of our lives. Books are the long lasting protocol to make a bridge among writers and
readers.
However, all are not happy to read books. They expect something easier and more vivid. Music,
radios, films etc. are more appealing to them. Television is another powerful media. Watching
television is a part of our daily lives. Most of the people who have a TV set, watch programs, news
etc. with apt attention. It is a strong medium for Government and other organisations to send their
messages to the mass population. Program representatives also broadcast the people's view and
opinions about different controversial issues in TV programs. However, this medium has lots of
demerits and bad impacts. Government and politically biased organisations often send negative and
misleading news. Again young people watch different satellite channels and try to adopt the alien
culture which is really harmful for the culture and tradition of a country.

Films are an audio-visual representation and can catch the attention of people from different
geographical locations, races and cultures. A good film can shape someone's morality and doctrine
and the film-makers with their huge amount of money, are so careful to make their films realistic and
eye-absorbing. Every film has a direct or potential message or moral. On the contrary, some films
also bring a wrong message to us. For example, protagonists are always smoking in the films and it
seems that smoking is a good and smart habit. It causes many younger people imitate them smoking.

In conclusion, I would like to some up that books, televisions and films are the most powerful and
effective medias for communicating information.

(Approximately 459 words)

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Pick three most effective media for communicating information.
B. Compare advantages & disadvantages of these three media for communicating information.
C. Explain why these three media are most effective for communicating information.

Comic:
Advantages: 'Comic' as a media for communicating information.
● Comic books provide information in the most interesting and interactive way to the readers.
● It is more efficient for kids who are yet to start reading big books.
● Comics are often very effective to convey information and to produce an aesthetic response
to the readers.
● Readers of comic books find it very easy to remember the information delivered by stories
and cartoons in comics. It is less time consuming to read a comic.
● Comic books provide information to the reader in the most interesting and interactive way.
● Comics represent the oldest continuous form of communication in history and a much-
revered form of communication between generations.
● Comics can transcend language and cultural boundaries.
● Comics and comics’ techniques could be used in various types of business and technical
communications. When Google launched its Chrome Web Browser the accompanying
technical documentation was a widely distributed comic book. The visitors guide for the
European Organization for Nuclear research is also a comic and that proves the efficiency of
comics to educate people.
● Comic readers do not have to spend a lot of time on reading. This is preferred by many
readers who do not like reading pages after pages.
Disadvantages: 'Comic' as a media for communicating information.
● While reading comics readers often do not pay attention to the main information due to
irrelevant cartoon or story.
● It can be a waste of time for readers who wanted to receive useful information from comics.
 ● Comic books are often published based on pure fiction and imagination and might have
negative effects on the psychology of young kids.
● However, because of the simplicity of comic books, they can only communicate short
information.
● Not as much informative as books are.

Books:
Advantages: 'Books' as a media for communicating information.
● Books are very instructive and effective in conveying information as they comprise the
writer's thought and life experience and are usually written over a longer period of time.
● Book is a significant media to receive information ranging from basic skills to professional
knowledge.
● Reading books help us to nourish our mind and keep us moving forward in a positive
direction.
● A reader always has a wide range of choices to pick a book based on his/ her interest.
● Books are everlasting while the basic formation of other media changes a lot over the time.
● Readers pay more attentions while reading a book and that is why they can learn better from
reading.
● Books are the accumulated version of history, knowledge, experience and wisdom. Books
have endless offerings and stories to bring out the best of creative readers.
● Reading books can give us an insight into many different cultures, and civilisations.
● The secret to a successful life is knowledge and information. The answers to nearly all our
problems and query are documented in texts somewhere.
● Books can stimulate and excite a reader’s imagination as well as arouse his curiosity, thus
bringing out the creative oneself.
● Books help to articulate our thoughts and reading books improve our vocabulary and
communication skill.
● Reading the book is like peeking into the minds of the greatest people - A book is like a
conversation with the writer and reading many books gives us an insight into the thinking
process of different writers.
● Intercultural understanding will be developed by reading more related books. Humans will
become more familiar with demographic of nations as they read more books about them.
● Individuals will have a better comprehension, grammar, communication skill, and more
variety of vocabularies.
● Readers always have a wide range of options to read books that would entertain and interest
them.
● Books are portable and people can access it from almost anywhere.
Disadvantages: 'Books' as a media for communicating information.
● Books are not always attractive to many people. For those people, books are not the
greatest source of information and knowledge.
● It required more patience and time to read books.
● Book production requires cutting down trees which has a negative impact on our
environment.
● Information presented on books could be outdated in many cases.
● Sometimes a writer can instill an ideology to a reader and can influence his thinking in a
negative way.
● People have to have a high level of literacy to read some specific and advanced book.

Radio:
Advantages: 'Radio' as a media for communicating information.
● Accessible in anywhere and anytime, during driving or travelling.
● Radio is less costly than the other media devices, like TV. Unlike TV, which users have to pay
a monthly payment for cable, Radio does not need this cost.
● It is available in the rural areas as well.
 ● Have less detrimental issues.
Disadvantages: 'Radio' as a media for communicating information.
● No access to any visual features which TV has.
● Less being developed compared to TV or other media devices. Every year, new versions of
TV, like introducing of smart TVs, have led users to be satisfied more, while there are no any
significant changes in the technology of Radio.
● Less accepted by the new generation.

Film:
Advantages: 'Film' as a media for communicating information.
● Becoming familiar with other cultures by watching movies.
● Watching films is a kind of entertainment. People have less stressful lifestyle by watching
more films.
● Some films improve viewers’ relationships. Family films are the best ones helping families to
have a better communication.
Disadvantages: 'Film' as a media for communicating information.
● Cultural invasion can happen. Young’s minds are more affected by watching other countries’
films.
● Addiction to watching film may be costly and time-consuming. We have to pay fees for
Netflix or the cinema and have less enough time to concentrate on our work.
● It can reduce juveniles’ study performance. Instead of studying, they spend their precious
time on watching plenty of films each month.
● Violence and sex scenes that are shown on movies can phenomenally increase the rate of
crime among viewers.

Model Answer 2:

Communication media plays a vital role in today’s world. It enables us to stay informed of the
happenings in the entire world, provides access to real-time information, and entertains us. There
are different kinds of media in use today, namely comics, books, radio, television, film, theatre etc.
out of these, the most effective are the television, radio and books.

Television, or TV for short, is an electronic device that enables us to see and listen at the same time
to an act that has been recorded. These can be replayed any number of times. News on a TV enables
us to view the current events occurring in different parts of the world. Video of an event can be
telecasted live as it happens through remote satellite links. A TV can also be a source of education
and entertainment. Educational channels, such as Discovery channel, telecast several interesting
programs on topics such as wildlife or solar system. Other channels, such as Star movies, telecast
movies throughout the day.

A radio is an electronic device that uses microwave communication to send and receive information.
Unlike a TV, a radio cannot display an image or a video, and the communication is limited to voice
only. Typically, a radio is used for access information such as news and live traffic updates. The
information is conveyed on fixed bands of microwave frequency called channels. A user can set the
frequency of the radio to access a particular channel.

Books are the one of the oldest kind of communication medium. A book typically consists of several
pages, made from wood pulp bound together. A book is typically identified by a title and an author,
and optionally an ISBN number which identifies a book uniquely. A book usually contains a material
on a given topic, divided by sub-topics in form of chapters. Books are often classified by genre, which
is a theme in which the topic can be classified. Examples of genres include fiction, non-fiction,
science fiction, mystery etc.
Of all the communication media available today, television, radio and books are the most important
and effective ones. These are also the most commonly used media in the world today and they are
responsible for binding the world together.

19

Some people claim that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages. Do you agree
or disagree? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a car.

Give reasons for your answer.

Model Answer 1:

In our lives, we travel from one place to another for a great variety of reasons and while travelling
we greatly depend on cars, whether it is a private car or a public bus. The number of car owners is
increasing every day because every person expects the freedom to travel and comfort while
travelling. And that is why most of us want to own a car. However owning a car have many
advantages and disadvantages as well.

The main advantage of owning a car is it gives the freedom to travel. If you have a car then you don't
need to be limited to fixed routes and timetables. Moreover, a car-owner can take is/her family
members with him/her and other necessary goods whenever he/she wish which might have been
impossible otherwise. In addition, personal cars give comfort while travelling on the contrary to the
public buses which are so crowded and disgusting. You can read books, listen to music or even can
play with kids while you are in your own car but those all seems to be impossible in a public
transport. On the contrary, owning a car is very expensive. The price of the car, the cost of the tax,
insurance cost, fuel cost, driver's salary, car repairing etc. all must be considered before buying a car
and that is why it is out of reach of the middle-class people.

Moreover, private cars can not carry many passengers at a time yet occupy spaces in the street. As
the number of cars is increasing in the road so does the traffic jam. Perhaps the major disadvantage
of cars, in general, is the huge damage they do to the human health and to the environment. More
cars mean more pollution. The environment pollution is a serious issue today and at any cost, we
must reduce the amount of pollution and if we consider it then owning a car is never a good idea.

To sum up, having a car gives someone freedom but if public transportation system is easily
accessible, safe and efficient, then the idea of buying and owning a car should be abandoned.

(Approximately 354 words)

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Idea Generation for this IELTS Essay:

Essay Type: Agree / Disagree as well as Advantages & Disadvantages.

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Do you agree that there are more disadvantages of the car than its advantages?
B. Advantages of having a car.
C. Disadvantages of having a car.
Note: This essay topic is a bit tricky. It is a combination of both "Agree/ Disagree" and "Advantages &
Disadvantages" type essay. First, you need to write whether you agree or disagree that cars have
more disadvantages that the advantages they offer. Again you need to write down the advantages
and disadvantages of owning a car. In the introduction part of the essay you need to mention
whether you agree or disagree. Then in the following paragraphs you can write the advantages and
disadvantages of cars and at the end of the each paragraph you can summarise why having a car has
more advantages than disadvantages and vice versa.

Disadvantages of having a car:

● Owning a car is expensive and requires additional costs to maintain and repair it. Not all
families can afford it.
● Cars have increased the level of air and noise pollution in cities, causing more humans to
suffer from respiratory, heart diseases, or cancers.
● City travellers have to spend longer hours on traffic jams. Using more private car, the density
of traffic has been increased phenomenally and citizens have had to stay longer time on
traffic load.
● As the number of private cars increased, more car passengers have been injured or died by
severe accidents.
● More pedestrians’ accidents have been reported annually. As the usage of private cars
increases, it is more probable that people walking through the street die by them.
● Private car is more expensive than the public transportation. Paying huge money for tax,
renewing of licence, or air care, people have to pay more for using cars.
● More fossil fuels are consumed as more cars are used by people, leading other generations
to face a shortage of these fuels.
● The governmental expense will be raised far dramatically. To build and maintenance of more
highways for more cars, hire more police force, the local government have to consider a
larger budget.
● The use of cars to commute has decreased the average health of car users as they do not
need to do any physical movement.
● The consumption of fuels to run the car is contributing to the rise if global warming and
affecting the ozone layer.
● The car owners need to worry about the safety and parking places for cars wherever s/he
travels.
● It saves the time as the commuters can reach his destination quickly than it would be
required in a public bus.

Agreement: Why cars have more disadvantages than advantages? Considering all the disadvantages
the cars have to the health, environment, government budget and the hassle and expenses the car
owners have to bear, it is quite clear that having a car has more demerits and the advantages it
offers.

Advantages of having a car:

● The private car is a convenient mode of transportation. Having more comfortable seats,
ventilation or other novel technologies help people to feel better than using other methods,
like a bicycle or a public bus.
● Users have a more secure privacy compared to using public transportation.
● This will increase more job opportunities because more workers will be involved in working
in car companies or as drivers, reducing the unemployment rate.
● The local state will have more budgets, paid by car owners’ taxes, to renew the roads.
Annually, car drivers have to pay hundreds of dollars for renewing their car insurance,
licence, tickets, or air care.
 ● Other industries have been developed as car industries developed. The more humans use
more private cars, the more car companies have to raise their technology, leading other
mother industries to be developed too.
● People can have absolute freedom on deciding the schedule and roads to reach their
destination.
● A private car owner can utilise his time but it is very tough to do so on a public bus.
● In a car, a person does not have to worry about the dust, noise and fumes present in the
road while in public transportation it is not always possible to avoid those.

Disagreement: Why cars have more advantages that disadvantages?

Considering the advantages the car ownership offers, I would say that it is more beneficial to own a
car than using public transportation. Many people might argue against owning a car but I think most
of them would buy a car if their financial condition allows them to do so.

[These ideas should be helpful for you to generate your own ideas and writing an excellent essay on
the given IELTS Essay topic should be easier for you. If you have new ideas that we might have
missed, add them in the comment section and we will publish it.]

Alternative Answer 2:

Owning a car is a birth-right for some people while other people try their life-long to purchase one.
Apart from these two groups, there are certain people who do not dare to even think about
purchasing a car because of their miserable economic conditions. However, for all those people the
four wheel car is a fancy machine with advantages and utility. Owning a car can also bring some
drawbacks.

Among the advantages of owning a car, in my opinion, freedom of travelling is the most important
one. Someone who owns a car can plan his route, timing and destination. He won’t have to wait for
the schedule of a public bus, stand in a long queue, wait for hours for the bus to arrive, and sit in the
public bus uncomfortably. A person car gives the freedom, saves time and the owner can utilise the
time while he travels. Apart from that, he can carry the grocery, goods and other valuables in the car
at his discretion. Owning a car also offers the flexibility of visiting relatives and friends who stay far
away without much hassle of a public bus. Taking a child or an old person in a public bus is quite
impossible and owning a car would facilitate someone to take his kid, old relatives with him if
needed. The comfort and safety of a private car can’t be achieved in a public car. In terms of
expense, sometimes personal car saves monthly expenses that would otherwise be required for a
person if he travels frequently.

On the other hand owning a car has some disadvantages as well. First of all, private cars require the
garage place and parking hassle. Sometimes the expenses on hiring a driver and purchasing fuel
might exceed the budget for the people who could have easily availed public transportations for
infrequent journeys. The traffic issue, paper renewal issue, tax, police cases are sometimes too much
to handle for the personal car owners. For example, if a public bus gets busted in the middle of a
road, the passenger can easily leave it a look for another one. But in this same situation, a private car
owner who was riding in his car would have to take the burden of taking care of the busted car and
reach to the automobile repairing centres.

In summary, though owning a car has some disadvantages, it offers many advantages as well.

A company has announced that it wishes to build a large factory near your locality.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new influence on your community.
Do you support or oppose the factory establishment?
Explain your position.

Model Answer 1: (Oppose the factory establishment)

To meet the demand of increasing population large companies, factories, etc are growing faster than
any other past time. New factory means new job opportunity. Again, a new factory means more
pollutions and a new threat to the environment. In the whole, new factories bring good
opportunities to a community but the risk it creates by increasing the environment pollution is too
much. In my opinion, the benefits of having a factory near my community are out-weighted by the
risks. That is why I strongly oppose the establishment of a new factory near my community.

It is true that a new factory offers many positive things to the people. For example, a new factory
creates lots of job vacancies as well as many potential employment opportunities. It also creates
small business opportunities surrounded the factory. The authority of the factory improves the
transportation and communication systems of the area. It is often observed that a locality having a
large factory or industry offers better economic freedom than an ordinary urban area.

But I believe, people of my locality are happy with their current economic condition. My community
is a beautiful and calm area with almost ignorable pollution. My community would be harmed by a
large factory. In particular, the factory will destroy the calm and neat environment as well as will
increase the air, water and sound pollution. In the long run, the environment will be seriously hurt
and people's health will be affected. Again the newly created factory will make the community
crowded. To accommodate more workers more homes will be needed. I don't want to see too many
cheaply constructed townhomes in my locality.

I heartily believe this growth will change my community too much. I was born here and most of my
memories regarded of the area. I love my community very much. I feel that dangers of the factory
are greater than the benefits. So I would strongly oppose the idea of establishing a factory near my
community.

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Idea Generation for this IELTS Essay:

A. What advantages your community will get from the establishment of the large factory.
B. What difficulties your community will face from the establishment of the large factory?
C. Do you support or oppose the factory establishment? Why?

Advantages: What advantages will your community get from the establishment of the large
factory?

● Local residents will be able to find more job opportunity in this factory and have a better
social status.
● Local retailers will pay less for transportation of goods due to having better access to this
factory.
● Because this factory needs the better quality of roads, transportation will be improved for
local citizens.
● Hiring more workers, the population of the region will increase far significantly, which will
cause the local government to pay attention more to basic infrastructures, including
transportation, education or healthcare.
 ● Local people’s lifestyles will be improved remarkably. Having better businesses and a higher
salary, the level of economic condition will be improved. They will have less stressful lifestyle
due to being able to have more record of travelling annually.
● The tourism industry will gradually develop because its products may attract more tourists.
● To be employed in this corporation, more young have to become more educated, so the
level of educated juveniles will increase notably.
● Overall infrastructure of the area will be developed.
● This establishment would attract more businesses in the area and it would finally boost the
economic development.

Disadvantages: What problems and difficulties will your community face from the establishment of
the large factory?

● Air and water pollution caused by this factory will ruin the local environment and wildlife
fundamentally.
● People may suffer from more noise pollution, produced by gadgets, constructions or vehicles
transporting products.
● Local residents will pay for renting or purchasing of properties due to increasing the density
of population.
● The level of crime might increase because of raising the local population and visiting more
foreigners.
● Passing more vehicles carrying goods for the factory, traffic congestion will rise notably.
● This factory will destroy the calm and neat environment we currently have.
● The pollution would cause many diseases among the community people.
● The land required for the establishment of the factory might be acquired by deforestation or
seizing fertile farmland which would have serious long-run consequences in our community.

Alternative Answer 2: (Support the factory establishment)

People have argued about the plan of building a factory near the residential area. Some people think
that it will bring many benefits for the local society, while others believe that it will have a negative
effect on the environment. The following essay will discuss in details about the advantages and
disadvantages of it.

On the one hand, it is true that building a new factory near the local residential area will bring a lot
of benefits for many parties. Firstly, it will generate a lot of job opportunities for the local people. It
is common that a factory will absorb many employments, and for efficiency, it will give priority in
hiring the local people. Secondly, the plan will boost the economic development of its' surrounding
area. Many investors will build mini market, gas station or restaurant as many of the factory's
workers will seek these commercial places. As a result, it will positively affect the real estate business
of the surrounding area as well.

On the other hand, it is undeniable that the plan could also bring negative effects to the society and
to the environment. It is a fact that many factories are generating wastes and they could create
harmful effects to the local environment. For example, the waste water from the factory might be
directly flown into the local river and contaminated the surrounding environment. And then, the
factory might also generate some smokes which might be a treat for the local people. These people
might have some serious respiration problems due to inhaling the polluted air. Therefore there
should be a clear regulation and strict monitoring over it in the future.

In conclusion, it is a fact that the plan of building a factory near a residential area will create some
pros and cons. In my opinion, I do believe that the positive sides of the plan outweigh the negatives,
as long as the plan follows the government regulation and it is clearly monitored by the authority.
 20

It is said that "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?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience

Model Answer 1: (Notion: the knowledge we gather from our experience is far more important)
Books are our best companions and source of knowledge from our infant time till the end of life. Our
learning begins by reading books. Books open new horizons in front of us. But sometimes the
hardest and most important lessons we learn in life come from our participation in different
situations. The things we learn in real-life can never be learned through anything else. We can't learn
everything from books and in my opinion, the knowledge we gather from our experience is far more
important, than anything else.

Of course, learning from books in a formal educational institution and learning from books for
someone's own interest are highly important. Books are like open doors. Whenever someone read
books, it helps the readers to broaden their power of imagination, to introduce them new ideas. In
facts, books are a fine collection of ideas, experiences, imaginations and innovations of writers for
the readers. But everyone's life is quite different than others. So, we sometimes face a whole new
situation. I believe, most important lessons cannot be taught. It must be faced and learned all by
ourselves. The experiences we gather from our daily life help us to rectify our future act. We learn
from watching a situation even if we are not the part of it. We even learn from the stories we hear
from our friends or family members about some strange situations that have occurred.

No one can teach us how to live alone, how to share our feelings, how to create self-respects. Those
all must be learned from our experiences. Experiencing our own triumphs and disasters is really the
only way to learn how to deal with life. Books, teachers, parents give us guidelines and our
experiences give the perfection of it.

Idea Generation for this IELTS Essay:

Essay Type: Compare & Contrast + Your opinion.
Main question of this IELTS Essay:
A. Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books.
B. Which one is more important and why?

Compare: Comparing the knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books.

● Books present us true facts, history, subject matter expertise, story and knowledge that we
need to evolve as a true human. Our life experience also gives us wisdom, knowledge and
teaches us lessons to become the better persons we are.
● Books are the primary source of knowledge and enhance our horizon. Experience gathered
in life also provides us guideline and wisdom to broaden our horizon.
● Both are excellent sources of knowledge and unparalleled sources of great wisdom.
● Without reading, we cannot home our brain. Without experiencing things we cannot learn
how to deal with difficulties.
● Without reading books we can't become wise enough to gather the right experience and
lessons in our life.
● Books give us knowledge and our experience and practice hones it.
Contrast: Contrasting the knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books.

● Books provide us theoretical knowledge while our experiences give us firsthand knowledge.
● Theories learned from books are often pointless if you cannot use it in our life.
● Lessons learned from books are often forgotten but we never forget our first-hand
experience.
● Lessons learned from an experience could never be learned from reading.
● Most important lessons in life can't be taught, but experienced.
● Books contain the experience gathered by many generations and their observation.
Experience is limited to a person only.
● Some knowledge could only be learned from books like the atmosphere of Mars but can
never be experienced by a person.

In favour of Books:

● Books are important to raise our concept about important subjects affecting our life, like
science, nature, or health.
● The materials we learn from books can help us to become more competitive in our real life,
at our job or study.
● Books increase our abstract thinking. We will be able to have better conceptual thoughts if
we analysis them before by reading more books.
● Reading more books, we will have better basics to create better frames in practice. Those
only trusting on their sole experience may make more mistakes.
● Books improve our self-confidence. Reading about experts’ opinions, we will able to rely
more on performance in practice.
● Books can help us to become successful businesspersons than those who just rely on their
experience.
● Humans can save their money as they read more due to using other professionals’
knowledge and experience written in books.

In favour of Practical Experience:

● Practical lessons help us to have more deeply understanding, while theory learned from
books will be forgotten far easier.
● Having a better experience, we can save our time. We may have to review several times a
book to learn about its subjects, while by having enough experience it is not necessary we
review them.
● By having more practice, we will become more flexible to critical conditions.
● Experience assists us to become more socially active. Instead of studying materials in an
isolated condition, for example in a library, we can meet more people by practising more.

Sample Opinion 1:

I personally agree with those studying more books than those just relying on experience. They will
have a better performance in their work and education, more competitive, better confidence, and
more rich by saving more time than those just use their experience.

[The above points should be helpful to aid you generating your own ideas and then turning them
into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment section.]

Alternative Answer 2: (Notion : Knowledge gained from books plays a very important role in the
modern life)
People are learning and practising through their entire life. I believe that life experience and practice
are the basic reasons of the humankind's evolution. However, in my opinion, knowledge gained from
books plays a very important role in the modern life.

The most obviously important advantage of books is that they hold all knowledge gained by previous
generations. People write books about their discoveries and inventions, which are gained through
practice and experience. This knowledge is accumulated in books that are passed from generation to
generation. So, basically, people get all knowledge about the previous achievements from books,
analyse it and then, according to their experience and new data, write new books. In this case, books
are the holders of humankind's experience.

For example, at old times people thought that the Earth was flat. It was concluded from observations
and studying. However, the next generations, using the experience of their ancestors, proved that
the Earth was round. Personally, I think that books are very important because they are able to give
people the basic and fundamental knowledge. Books store history, the important events and
discoveries. Without them, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to move forward, make new
discoveries and inventions.

To summarise, I think a person should take basic knowledge from books because it will help him to
make his own inventions, conclusions and discoveries. Only using both books and one’s experience
one can move forward

21

The overuse of natural resources causes an ultimate exhaust of them. People have been using
them to be in the swim of new styles such as making new furniture of recent design. This causes a
huge harm to the environment. Therefore, the government should discourage people the overuse
of these resources.

To what extent do you support or oppose the idea?

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

In our life, we use the natural resources in many different ways and in fact natural resources are vital
for our existences. Our lives will simply become impossible if we stop using natural resources. But it
is a matter of pity that the way we overuse those resources. The existing natural resources are
limited and the demand and consumption are increasing day by day as the world population is
increasing. As a result, natural resources are rather being reduced with the increased and imprudent
uses. We must control the overuse of these priceless resources for our own survival

The population and their demand are increasing and with technological improvements the natural
resources are being used more than any other time in the human history. We use those to meet our
daily and vital needs. For instance, we use natural gas to cook food. But the natural resources like
fuels and gas are also used to fulfil our luxury. In fact, the mass people will try to use natural
resources to adopt new fashions and changing demands. People changes their furniture models, car
models so frequently and it has become a symbol of their prominence. Thus they use natural
resources like wood and fuel so unwisely and in my opinion, this is quite unnecessary.
The government of a country sworn to look after the betterment of the countrymen. People are
unaware of the aftereffects of this overuse. So the government has to play a vital role by sending the
message to the mass population and by taking necessary initiatives to prevent this overuse of the
natural resources. However, we all should understand the issue and should take part to prevent the
overuse of our natural resources. The government can not stop such a bad trend all alone. Making
new furniture is a right to a citizen and Government can not stop this by enforcing laws only. The
citizen must be conscious about the devastating aftereffects.

In conclusion, I personally believe that the Government should be strict and discourage the mass
people overusing natural resources. In addition, a comprehensive effort by all is needed to make the
steps taken by the Government successful.

Idea Generation for this IELTS Essay:

Essay Type: Argumentative (Support or oppose an idea).

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Should government discourage people from overusing the natural resources as this overuse
causes harm to the environment?

Arguments in support of this viewpoint: Why the government should discourage people the
overuse of natural resources?

● The use of natural resources must be controlled for our own survival.
● The existence of natural resources is limited and that is why we should prudently use those
resources. Otherwise, we will endanger the environment and the natural ecosystem.
● Scarce of raw materials for other generations. For instance, shortage of fossil fuels, which
are the leading source of energy for heating and transportation.
● This has widened the gap between rich and poor countries. Western countries have moved
their industries to other developing countries and those industries are consuming more of
their natural resources. So, the latter, developing countries, will face many environmental
challenges and become poorer in the long run.
● We will have more starved humans. Eroding of soil and contamination of freshwater will
damage farming products, leading the world to have more malnourished humans.
● War might happen. Now, in many countries shortage of fresh water has led a tremendous
conflict between them, and this will become worse if uncontrollable usage continues.
● The alternative sources of energy are yet to be fully accepted throughout the world. So we
should preserve as much/many natural resources as we can.
● Ultimate exhaust of natural resources would create a chaos and many wild lives would be
endangered as well.
● There is no easy and usable artificial technique to reproduce the natural resources again.
● It is too selfish not to think about the next generation and by consuming natural resources
we will give them a worse world than the one we live in.

Opposing the viewpoint: Why the government should NOT discourage people the use of natural
resources?

● Raw materials would be restored by novel technologies. As technology develops, factories

will be able to find better ways to restore the wasted resources being used before.
● This strategy will have huge drawbacks on the economy of countries. Accessing less to
natural resources, their production will fall and a considerable economy recession will occur.
 ● This will raise the rate of unemployment. Consideration of more restrictions on industries
will cause them to become less profitable, so they will lay out more employees.
● Using of modernised filtering systems, disposals will be restored and recycled far more
quickly than now, so consideration of more constraints is not necessary.
● Having more different variation in life, a variety of goods and manufactures, people’s living
condition has improved fundamentally.

[The above points should be helpful to aid you generating your own ideas and then turning them
into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment section.]

Model Answer 2:

Nowadays many people express a contention that natural resources will have been used up by the
end of the century. However, others do not share this concern and keep buying luxurious items
which are far from being environmentally friendly. There is no doubt that some measures have to be
taken to save the environment. Some people think that government is capable of solving this
problem by discouraging the overconsumption of the natural resources. I strongly believe that to be
effective this measure should be accompanied by developing new technologies.

Undoubtedly, the government should make efforts to save as many resources as possible, which can
be realised by introducing various laws. Many countries have already witnessed traffic congestion
schemes and improvement in public transportation. Quite often people are encouraged to cycle in
order to reduce the consumption of petroleum. Nevertheless, much more can be done on the
governmental level. For instance, it might be effective to the introduce a special tax on luxurious
items such as powerful sports cars which consume a lot of fuel or elaborate furniture which is made
of rare kinds of trees. This way, people will think twice before getting something which cannot be
described as environmentally friendly. Therefore, the government has the authority to make natural
resources last longer.
Furthermore, the government has to invest a substantial amount of money in the research and
development of new sources of energy. Although many nations have been working on solar and
wind power for a considerable period of time, the results are not impressive enough. The process of
developing unconventional sources of energy must be sped up, which can only be done by extensive
cooperation. Scientists in all developed countries should be willing to unite their efforts for the
common good. Such cooperation can be achieved by creating the governmental incentives or any
kind of financial support. If more countries will be interested in finding alternative sources of energy,
natural resources will no longer be at risk.
As it can be seen, the issue of the natural resources overuse can be resolved. Implementation of
particular laws coupled with the development of the environmentally friendly technologies is bound
to give a positive result and let future generations live a better life having no concerns about the
exhaust of vital substances.

22

A University should accept male and female students equally in every subject.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above statement?
Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1: (Agreement: A University should accept male and female students equally)

There is an old saying - 'Give me an educated mother and I will give you an educated nation'. This
proverb alone emphasises the issue of women education. Throughout the history men and women
both worked together to build a perfect world and whatever stage the current world is in, that has
been contributed both by male and female - surely not one specific gender. As university education
is so important for the full bloom of one person's merit skill and knowledge, there must arise the
equal opportunity for both male and female students. They work side by side as friends but not like
competitors. If only men go ahead in education, research, arts, history and women remain
backwards then no good can be done. So I strongly support the idea of taking the same number of
male and female students in every level of education as well as in the university level.

The history suggests that men are dominant in numbers in science, arts, engineering, creativity and
business sectors. But we cannot deny the contribution of Mother Teresa and Madam Merry Currie
who have devoted their whole life to the betterment of the world. It is true that if the competition is
arranged regardless of gender more male student will be ahead of women. But still, universities
should accept an equal number of students. If fewer females hold the important sectors of a country
naturally women will feel deprived and this will lead them to compete with men.

It is a mother who is much more emotionally attached to their children and friendlier to children
than fathers. So they help the kids about their study. So the importance of female education in the
higher level should get a priority considering this single issue.

In conclusion, universities should accept the same number of students from both sex and give the
equal opportunity in every level.

(Approximately 308 words)

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Main question of this IELTS Essay:

A. Whether a university should admit an equal number of male and female students in each
subject?

Agreement: Why universities should accept male and female students equally in every subject.

1. According to human rights, both genders must be permitted to study on their favourite
subject. In some countries, due to religious beliefs and social issues, male doctors are not
allowed to become Gynaecologists, and this has increased the rate of mortality and
morbidity of cases.
2. Males and females pay the same rate of taxes, so they must be given similar opportunity.
3. Students will have a higher level of competition. To achieve higher encouragements from
opposite gender, students will have tougher competition than when they compete with the
same gender.
4. This can help both sexes to increase their communication skills when it comes to having
closer relationships with the opposite sex. Definitely, students of these schools will most
probably have less matrimonial problems in the future.
5. This will ensure the women empowerment and the society would benefit from this
arrangement.
6. Women in most of the society are underprivileged and this arrangement would ensure their
better education and thus contribution to the family, society and country.
 7. If an equal number of male and female students get admitted in every subject offered in a
university, more areas of research and employment would be explored by women and that
would benefit the country as they would contribute more.
8. Chances of gender discrimination in the classrooms would greatly reduce.
9. If fewer females hold the important sectors of a country naturally women will feel deprived
and this will lead them to compete with men.

Disagreement: Why universities should NOT accept male and female students equally in every
subject.

1. Physically some areas of work and related study fields are not appropriate for the women
and that’s why they would naturally show less interest in those areas of study. For example,
a female construction engineer working in outdoor may become frustrated by heavy physical
activities that are normal for men.
2. Sensationally, women are more fitted to some areas of study than men. Nursing is a good
example in this case. So women in such subjects should get priority.
3. It can be costly. Governments have to consider larger budgets for admitting an equal number
of males and females.
4. The level of sexual violence can be increased fundamentally.
5. Reserved quota for females would be discriminating for some talented male students.
6. University education should be based on talent and performance, not based on equal gender
opportunity.
7. In reality, the identical number of male and female students in every subject in a university is
a fanciful idea that would deprive many talented male students of getting the university
education.
8. A form of natural selection will take place: survival of the fittest; and the end result would
benefit us all.

[The above points should be helpful to aid you generating your own ideas and then turning them
into a nicely written IELTS Essay. Add any point you think we have missed in the comment section.]

Model Answer 2: (Disagreement: A University should NOT accept male and female students
equally)

The society and educational system have changed significantly from the old era when it was almost
impossible for a girl to study in a university while only boys were allowed to do so. Now a girl can get
admitted to a college or university at her wish and merit. A boy has to fight with the girl applicants to
get admitted at the university level and in most of the countries the equal opportunity in case of
education has been established. There are many cases in a university that women students exceed
the male students in many subjects. I oppose the idea of admitting the same number of male and
female students in every subject offered in a university bypassing the merit list.

First of all, a university aims to educate people and prepare them for the future and those students
would lead the country in the future. If the admission process prioritises sentiments and tries to
admit an equal number of female students in each subject, it would not be a good idea for the
country. Rather they should focus on merit and there is no harm if more female students can get
admitted to the university level than male. The point is merit and qualification, not the gender and if
a university is trying to feed the sentiment, it would harm the future.

Second, the important qualifications are the result, talent and merit. Here male & female issue
should not be considered. The equal number of male and female students in every subject is a
whimsical idea that would deprive many talented male students. Third, since there is no restriction
on the number of female students allowed for a subject, they can naturally compete in a fair fight
and show they competence rather than being pitied by a policy. Again, not all male and female are
equally interested in studying in every subject, they have their own choices. Implementing the equal
number of male & female students in each subject would take away the freedom from students to
study in their favourite subject. Girls would naturally prefer to study in particular subjects while
more boys would want to study in other subjects and the proposed idea would destroy this facility.

In conclusion, the idea of admitting the same number of male and female students in university level
in each subject is not a good idea and the admission should strictly base on choice and merit rather
than emotion.

Some people say that television is a very useful tool when it comes to education. Others argue that
television is a much overused, ineffective teacher.

Discuss both of these views and give your opinion as to the usefulness of television as an
educational tool.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

There is a lot of controversy on the topic whether TV can play a role of a teacher. Some people hold
a viewpoint that it can never be educational at all. Others, although, disagree, referring to TV's high
potential of teaching through amusement.

As a matter of fact, television nowadays can hardly be called educational. All those talk shows and
soap operas we see every day are a complete waste of time and can even have negative effects by
distracting young and undisciplined people from their studies. Moreover, the most of the so-called
educational programs in channels like National Geographic channel can not replace books and
academic lectures because they tend to entertain people and have not an aim to give deep and
concentrated knowledge.

However, TV can be a powerful mean of delivering information and a nice part of learning process.
Educational Methodists have proved that the more senses are involved at the time of studying; the
more effective result can be achieved. Television produces both picture and sound, so its usefulness
is obvious. Many teachers already use this advantage actively by showing students video cassettes
which go as supplementary material to many language courses. So why not to broadcast such movies
through television?

The problem of the ineffectiveness of television as an educational tool is in fact not a problem of
television itself, but of people who decide the content of the particular channel. It is hardly unlikely
that content directors would abandon their high profits and change talk shows to lectures and video
lessons. Therefore, those, who insist on the uselessness of TV, maybe right, but let us not forget that
as technology improves new cheap ways of broadcasting appear, for instance, video broadcasts.
They can prove the exclusive power of such learning tool as television.

Alternative Answer 2:

People are divided in opinion if television is a great source of education and knowledge or not. Both
of these two groups have their reasoning and logic. In this essay, I will discuss both the viewpoint to
represent the effectiveness and drawbacks of TV as the source of education.
To mention the disadvantages, television channels are too much commercial nowadays and they
would produce any program to attract people no matter if they are authentic or not. There are
plenty of choices for channels and people tend to use their TV as an entertainment media than an
educational source. The biased news, politically influenced talk show etc. often mislead people and
that has a very negative impact on the society. Programs that contain violence, the negative
impression often distracts young people and the addiction on TV programs often restrain people
from doing other important activities. TV is a great source of knowledge sharing but the programs
choice must be prudent to learn something from it and most of the people fail to do so.

On the other hand, there are lots of advantages of TV according to a group and these advantages
supersede the disadvantages as they opine. There are always options for a TV viewer and if s/he
takes it as a medium of educational sources, the can always do so. It is an effective medium for
updating people about the current news, different viewpoints and current affairs. People no longer
need to travel a great deal to learn about other countries and it is TV that actually made it possible.
Channels like Discovery, National Geography have been successfully broadcasting education
channels and they are hugely popular around the globe. This is a strong tool for a government to
communicate with mass people to deliver a message. After a stressful day at work people often find
it refreshing to watch music, movies, soap opera, reality shows, travel shows at their homes and
there is no argument that those things have their educational references well rooted into.

In conclusion, TV can be a great source for education if properly and prudently watched and also can
be a negative factor for some people if their program choice is somehow negative.

24

News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What
factors do you think influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be
better if more good news was reported?

Use your own ideas knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and
relevant evidence.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

In today’s modern world, a growing amount of news and information on television or newspapers
have considerably influenced the public. Besides, what factors are impacted on reporting
information on news media is an issue many people feel strongly about. This essay will discuss
various influences as well as associated with phenomenon above.

As far as I am concerned, there is a wide range of factor accounting for publishing news and
broadcasts. The most noticeable, I believe, is that aiming at a high audience rating so as to maximise
profits. This leads to pursuing the increasingly diverse needs of viewers from all walks of life in order
to satisfy and cater to them. Another contributory factor is that for many countries, news editors
have to succumb to political pressure, distorting facts and misleading the public. To put it another
way, they are controlled entirely by powerful political parties and enjoined to disregard the truth.
This is particularly true in many undemocratic countries like Chinese, North Korea, and Vietnam
where information is seriously censored and even disseminated political ideals to guide public
opinions.

Moreover, living in the information era, people are bombarded with the daily amount of news,
including good and bad news, from multiple media. Today’s coverage and press might sometimes be
less trustworthy mainly because it often exaggerates the level of the real information, in order to
boost the attention of the desired audiences. Furthermore, some media companies use the stories of
people’s private life, seductive images and violent or obscene contents to appeal viewers, especially
teenagers. It means that their thoughts and behaviours might be changed and shows a tendency to
hatred, violence, jealousy, and even copycat phenomenon. However, the role of news media in
reporting good news, such as someone’s achievement and human stories, should be acknowledged.
That will make quicker progress toward society better.

In conclusion, what today’s news and information on media we receive is influenced by some main
factors as hooking viewers, increasing profits, and obeying political regulations. Besides, the news
media can have a double-edged impact on society by the good and bad news. By doing so, we can
ensure that choosing information carefully before reading and watching are indispensable to us.

Model Answer 2:

It has often been said that "Good news is bad news" because it does not sell newspapers. A radio
station that once decided to present only good news soon found that it had gone out of business for
lack of listeners. Bad news, on the other hand, is so common that in order to cope with it, we often
simply ignore it. We have become immune to bad news and the newspapers and radio stations are
aware of this.

While newspapers and TV stations may aim to report world events accurately, be they natural or
human disasters, political events or the horrors of war, it is also true that their main objective is to
sell newspapers and attract listeners and viewers to their stations. For this reason, TV and radio
stations attempt to reflect the flavour of their station by providing news broadcasts tailor-made to
suit their listeners' preferences. Program specialising in pop music or TV soap operas focus more on
local news, home issues and up-to-date traffic reports. The more serious stations and newspapers
like to provide "so-called" objective news reports with the editorial comment aimed at analysing the
situation.

If it is true, then, that newspapers and TV stations are tailoring their news to their readers' and
viewers' requirements how can they possibly be reporting real world events in an honest and
objective light? Many radio and TV stations do; in fact, report items of good news but they no longer
call this news. They refer to these as human interest stories and package them in the program
specialising, for instance, in consumer affairs or local issues. Good news now comes to us in the form
of documentaries the fight against children cancer or AIDS, or the latest developments in the fight to
save the planet from environmental pollution.

25

Fatherhood ought to be emphasized as much as motherhood. The idea that women are solely
responsible for deciding whether or not to have babies leads on to the idea that they are also
responsible for bringing the children up.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your answer with
examples and relevant evidence.

Model Answer 1: (Neutral Notion)

For nine to ten months, a woman endures the drastic physiological and emotional changes that
pregnancy brings about. Because of this, a woman has the greatest right to decide on whether she
will have a child or not. An ideology exists that because women take full responsibility for decisions
about childbearing, she also is responsible for rearing the child. I believe that this idea is absolutely
faulty.

Firstly, decisions on childbearing may be greatly affected by the woman's choice. However, other
factors are also considered such as a couple's financial ability to support a child's growth. Aside from
that, parenthood is a shared responsibility. A father's role is not limited to sperm donation but also
includes changing diapers in the middle of the night. Also, a father should always be involved in child
rearing because there are activities that are best suited to be done by a father figure, such as
bringing the child to a sports event. Consequently, a child who rarely sees one's father creates a
negative perception of him and may possibly create a stronger relationship with the mother alone.

In addition, women are different in the modern era. More women are breaking the traditional view
that they are confined to the four wall of the home as a housewife. Therefore, there should be a
joint agreement between both parents to divide the tasks. To cite an example, a mother would send
the child to school while a father will be in charge of picking up the child after class.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that it is time to abolish the idea of putting the entire child rearing
work on women. The idea of shared parenthood must be implemented to keep up with the change
in family dynamics that occurred over the years.

Model Answer 2: Neutral Notion

I believe that child-rearing should be the responsibility of both parents and that, whilst the roles
within that partnership may be different, they are nevertheless equal in importance. In some
societies, it has been made easier over the years for single parents to raise children on their own.
However, this does not mean that the traditional family, with both parents providing emotional
support and role-models for their children, is not the most satisfactory way of bringing up children.

Of crucial importance, in my opinion, is how we define 'responsible for bringing the children up'. At
its simplest, it could mean giving the financial support necessary to provide a home, food and clothes
and making sure the child is safe and receives an adequate education. This would be the basic
definition.

There is, however, another possible way of defining that part of the quotation. That would say it is
not just a father's responsibility to provide the basics for his children, while his wife involves herself
in the everyday activity of bringing them up. Rather, he should share those daily duties, spend as
much time as his job allows with his children, play with them, read to them, help directly with their
education, participate very fully in their lives and encourage them to share his.

It is this second, fuller, concept of 'fatherhood' that I am in favour of, although I also realise how
difficult it is to achieve sometimes. The economic and employment situation in many countries
means that jobs are getting more, not less, stressful, requiring long hours and perhaps long journeys
to work as well. Therefore it may remain for many a desirable ideal rather than an achievable reality.

26

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence
increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with
examples and relevant evidence.

Model Answer 1: (Agreement: Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.)

Before talking about the essential role of the death penalty, you have to think about the meaning,
and the purpose, of any kind of punishment. If you consider that the purpose is to prevent the guilty
from being nasty again, you can be seduced by an argumentation in favour of the suppression of
capital punishment.

But you have to think about another aspect of the problem: a punishment is also useful to impress
people, to make them fear the law. In fact, let's take the example of a young misfit, which has grown
in a violent atmosphere, influenced by older delinquents, etc. He lives in the streets; he's got no aim
but to survive. This is the kind of person who could possibly kill someone for money, or even for
fun .Why would he fear prison? Life would be easier for him there. In addition, in many cases, when
you behave normally, you can benefit from penalty reductions. This young misfit needs to be
impressed; he needs to know that the law is a frontier. When you cross it, you can lose your life. That
is why capital punishment helps keep a distance between robbery and murder. If you abolish it, you
suppress the difference between these two types of crime, which are completely different.

But there is also a limit to define: even if the death penalty is unavoidable, it would be a crime to
apply it to inadequate cases. If there is no premeditation or past facts which can justify such a
punishment, it is far too strict to apply the death penalty. That is why the lawmakers have to
establish precisely the context in which capital punishment car being pronounced. That is the price
to pay to limit violence without using excessive violence.

Model Answer 2: (Agreement: Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.)

Nowadays, the crime rate is accelerating according to many surveys. To rein this situation, there
should be a mechanism in place like jail for lifetime and death penalty based upon the crime severity.
The government should enforce such laws to create a high alert around the society and endorse a
secure ruling to its people.

Many incidents are the best examples of imbalanced society values in the recent days. Those are like
killing someone's own mother or a plan to murder the best friend due to immaturity. If there is no
mechanism to stop such kind of incidents would severely impact the society livelihood. Hence,
capital punishment is mandatory to implicate a fear among the people who create such violence and
which ensures the peaceful life among communities.

In fact, I believe the death penalty is the only way to punish the criminals as they commit serious
crimes which directly aid in controlling the violence at least to some extent. For instance, recently a
group of five men brutally raped and murdered a woman in the broad daylight. Due to that, the high
court had punished death penalty to that group which has created a sensation as the capital
punishment is very rare in my country and social volunteers said the crime rate is gradually
decreasing after that incident. Thus, violence is effectively controlled if the capital punishment is
endorsed by a society.

In some society, the crime is so violent and severer that the government and the law enforcing
authority have to handle that strictly. As a result, they do not have any alternative other than
imposing capital punishment. Capital punishment gives a message that you won’t be given any
second chance if you commit a serious crime like murdering someone. This message is strongly
needed in some society to control the crime rate. Without capital punishment, you can’t ensure that
the same criminal won’t commit the crime again. You can’t actually control the crime and severe law
breaking with the minor punishment in all of the countries. The theme that someone who murdered
another human will regret someday and after few years would lead a dignified and free life when the
relatives and family members of the victim would remorse forever. What punishment do you have
in your mind if someone is a psychopathic killer and is out of redemption? Minor punishment and
reformation facility? This does not just make sense.

To summarise, capital punishment is important to bring down the crime ratio and to also provide the
secured life. Otherwise, ambience in the society will disturb which is not recommended for the
common man. Hence, it is advisable to imply such punishment which leads a peaceful life with less
violence in these days and also in the future.

27

When a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and ways of life die out. It is
pointless to try and keep them alive.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
You should write at least 250 words.
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with
examples and relevant evidence.

Sample Answer 1: (Disagreement)

The issue ‘with the development of the technology traditional skills and the conventional lifestyle
die’ is a controversial one and needs deeper argument before supporting or opposing the issue.
Overall, I disagree with the opinion expressed; I would like to begin by pointing out that ‘traditional
skills and ways of life’ are not totally vanished from one country, culture or community because of
the introduction of technology.

In many ways, the history of civilisation is the history of technology: from the discovery of fire to the
invention of the wheel to the development of the Internet we have been moving on from previous
ways of doing things. Some technologies, such as weapons of mass destruction, are of negative
impact. Others, such as medical advances, positively help people to live better or longer, and so very
much help traditional ways of life. Surely, few people would seek to preserve such traditions as living
in caves. Technology will always follow its own footsteps no matter what we, some people think
about it. Technology advances because we need it. So there is no way to prevent the advancement
of the technology but we should embrace it positively. The generation of a country is responsible for
preserving their own custom and tradition and if people feel eager to save a tradition then there is
no way technological advancement will destroy it. There are many cases where technology replaces
human labour to create certain things, for example, handmade sari, which is still popular in many
countries. Technology, in this case, has not destroyed the old tradition but has introduced a faster
and less expensive ways to create the same thing.

Interestingly, technology can positively contribute to the keeping alive of traditional skills and ways
of life. For example, the populations of some islands are too small to have normal schools. Rather
than breaking up families by sending children to the mainland, education authorities have been able
to use the Internet to deliver schooling online. In addition, the Internet, and modern refrigeration
techniques are being used to keep alive the traditional skills of producing salmon; it can now be
ordered from, and delivered to, anywhere in the world.

In conclusion, without suggesting that all technology is necessarily good, I think it is by no means
‘pointless’, in any way, to try to keep traditions alive with technology. We should not ignore
technology because it can be our friend and support our way of life.

Alternative Answer 2:

The technological revolution affects all countries around the world in many ways significantly. It
seems that the traditional skills and the ways life used to be present have disappeared. This essay
will discuss how the technology has led to this case and whether it is worth attempting to save
people's traditional life or not.

To begin with, there are various reasons why traditional skills no longer exist as it was many years
ago. One major reason is the development of technology. For illustrations, modern technology has
been used for many tasks such as agriculture, industries, and the machines have replaced people’s
manual tasks in most cases. Moreover, the internet alters the way of communication dramatically;
instead of visiting family these days, for example, people speak with each other over the phone or
chat using social media like Facebook or Twitter. Perhaps, that is why the traditional skills are
expiring with the demand if time and modernization.

Let's move to another point in the statement: some people argue that the traditional experience
shouldn't be saved. The principal reason for their opinion is that global advertising encourages
everyone to buy the same products. For instance, people wear similar clothes, rather than traditional
costumes, and eat from the same types of restaurants such as KFC and Mac Donald and their
branches are present all over the world. This shows that it does not make sense to keep the
traditional skills alive.

To conclude, this essay has looked at the possible reasons of die out of traditional life, such as the
revolution in technology and popularity of the internet, and also the reason why it is aimless to
keep them alive.

28

The position of women in society has changed markedly in the last twenty years. Many of the
problems young people now experience, such as juvenile delinquency, arise from the fact that
many married women now work and are not at home to care for their children.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Model Answer 1: (Agreement)

Over the last twenty years, the women empowerment and employment have gone through rapid
changes and more women are working in the different sphere of society than ever. This is, in fact,
advantageous for the overall growth a country and at the same time this is one of the main reasons
the juvenile delinquency has increased nowadays.

First of all, a child needs the tenderness and guidance of parents and if both parents are working
they have very little time to spend with the children. The trends of both working parents are leading
depression, lack of morality and lose family tie which has severe psychological damage among the
teenagers. This is directly leading to issues like crime, drug and immoral activities conducted by the
adolescents.
Again, this is a long time trend that a father would bring the daily bread for the family while mother
would foster and take care of the children in most of the society and with the women
empowerment, this harmony has been changed. There is no harm in women employment and in fact
this is positive from many perspectives and yet we can see an immense competition among the
married couple especially regarding their career while they totally overlook their needs for their
children. Fatherhood is important and he has many roles to play for the children but a mother, as we
have seen throughout the century, makes the major share of contribution towards upbringing the
children. When a mother has very little time to share with her kids, the problem related to juvenile
crime increases.

The teenage time is a very sensitive time in everyone’s life and if parents can’t contribute their duties
at that time, the children have a chance to go astray. With working mothers, this is happening more
than ever.

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just
one example out of many possible answers.)

Model Answer 2: (Disagreement)

It is certainly true that the position of women in society has undergone a dramatic change in the past
twenty years but I do not feel that this is a direct cause of the indisputable increase in juvenile-
related problems during this period.

It is now accepted that young women should find work on leaving school; indeed to rely totally on
their parents' financial support is no longer an option for many families. Likewise, once they get
married, the majority of women continue working since the financial pressures of setting up a house
and establishing a reasonable standard of living often require two incomes.

Twenty years ago it was common for women to give up work once they had children and devote
their time to caring for their children. This is no longer the general rule and the provision of
professionally-run child care facilities and day nurseries have removed much of the responsibility for
child-rearing that used to fall to mothers. However, these facilities come at a cost and often require
two salaries coming into a family to be afforded.

I do not believe that the increase in the number of working mothers has resulted in children being
brought up less well than previously. Indeed it could be argued that by giving mothers the
opportunity to work and earn extra money children can be better provided for than previously.
There is more money for luxuries and holidays and a more secure family life is possible. Of course,
there are limits as to the amount of time that ideally should be spent away from home and the ideal
scenario would be for one of the parents (often the wife) to have a part-time job and thus be
available for their children before and after school. It is important to establish the correct balance
between family life and working life.

Model Answer 3: (Mixed Opinion)

The issue whether 'married women should work or should stay at home to care their children' is
always a disputable issue. Strong arguments are present from both the sides and let us discuss in a
detailed way.

Firstly, married women should work to get financial independence and her income helps the family
too. Nowadays, expenses are increasing day by day and this extra income definitely helps the family
to overcome the expenses. I observed that the families who are having two salaries always can
afford the better education for their children can have a better lifestyle, and can plan better savings.
Everybody is aware that currently many women got a good education and gained skills which are
required for the industry. So married women should go the work and utilise their skill which helps to
the Society.

There is always an opposite side of a coin. Married women have more responsibility for their
children. Children are connected more to their mothers, so mothers should take care of children.
Mothers should teach children about society, need of education. If married women become busy
with the work, children future will become uncertain. I observed some children are grown in a
systematic way who are taken care by a mother.

In Conclusion, I prefer married women should work as well as concentrate on children career. They
should balance their work and personal life. Male too needs to help women in children's care.

29

Some Governments say how many children a family can have in their country should be strictly
controlled. They may control the number of children someone has through taxes. Is It sometimes
necessary and right for a government to control the population in this way?

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1: (Disagreement)

Over population is a great concern for many under-developed countries and the government takes
many steps to control the uncontrolled increase of population. In many countries, government
impose rules to restrict the number of children a family can have and also restricts many facilities in
case a family has too many children. But imposing a tax to restrict the number of children in a family
is not a feasible solution. In my opinion, other ways of controlling the population in a country should
be considered rather than imposing the tax.

First of all, the population is the main problem in most of the third world countries whereas the
developed countries mostly have control over that issue. In countries like china, the population is not
a burden rather they have been able to use the large population as the main workforce for the
steady improvement of the country. Overpopulation in an under-developed country directly related
to poverty, illiteracy, unhygienic lifestyle and crime. So controlling the population in these countries
is a must and imposing a tax on the poor people would not be a good idea. The trends show that
educated upper class and middle class do not take more than two children in these countries where
the poor people seems like have no control on that. If the government imposes the tax on those
poor people, their life would become more miserable.

I completely agree that each government should maintain some policies and should impose strict
rules to control the population a country has but increasing awareness and implementing other
policies than tax imposing would be better solutions.

In conclusion, I completely agree that the government of a country should take any initiative to
control the over population growth but tax imposing to poor people is the least effective solution
since there are many alternatives.
Model Answer 2: (Agreement)

The population is one of the biggest problems for some of the countries today. The population
distribution is every uneven across different countries and while some countries have very less
population, some other countries suffer from a large number of population. There are certain
countries like India and China which are two highly populated area where as countries like Ireland,
Russia and Switzerland are thinly populated. So I agree that the countries that are suffering from the
huge population should take steps like imposing a tax on the number of children a family has.

There are various problems that appear due to the huge population, like poverty, unemployment,
crime and illiteracy. Every country has limited resources and if the population rises beyond
permissible limit, it results in rapid exhaustion of these resources. Therefore, I agree, sometimes it is
necessary for a government to take harsh action to control population. And one of these harsh
actions can be limiting the available facility to the persons who have more than an approved number
of children and to impose a large amount of taxation due to the large number of children s/he has.

India and China are the world’s most populated countries. During the '70s, the population of both
countries’ population was growing at rapid rate and in order to curb its population, china imposed 1-
child policy and strictly implemented it. As a result, we can see their population growth rate has
reduced drastically to 0.6 % per annum, whereas though India promoted 2-children policy but didn’t
enforce any policy. It tried educating people about benefits of small families, give benefits to small
families.

Though, there growth rate decreased but wasn’t significant as china. India’s growth rate is still
hovering around 1.2% per annum and it is believed that they will surpass China’s population in next
decade or so. Problems associated with population are quite evident in India. Healthcare system is
abysmal; unemployment, illiteracy, and poverty are rampant.

On the contrarily, certain European countries have less population and encourage to have more
children. Citizens in certain countries are also given extra grants if they have more than two children.
The average age of Japan is over 70 years and Japanese government encourages people to have
more children in order to have more young population. So countries who have a decent population
and are forecasting to decrease the population in the coming ages, should not adopt this taxation
strategy.

To conclude, I think it is of utmost importance that country’s population is proportional to its

resources and total area and to strike that perfect balance, sometimes it is mandatory for the
government to intervene and impose rules to control the population like taxing the individuals who
contribute to increasing the population even more.
30

In many countries, children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Some people regard this as
completely wrong, while others consider it as valuable work experience, important for learning
and taking responsibility.

What are your opinions on this issue?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with
examples and relevant evidence.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

The issue of children doing paid work is a complex and sensitive one. It is difficult to say who has the
right to judge whether children working is ‘wrong’ or ‘valuable’. Opinions will also differ as to
‘learning’ benefits: no doubt teachers and factory owners, for example, would have varying
concerns.

An important consideration is the kind of work undertaken. Young children doing arduous and
repetitive tasks on a factory production line, for example, are less likely to be ‘learning’ than older
children helping in an old people’s home. There are health and safety issues to be considered as well.
It is an unfortunate fact that many employers may prefer to use the services of children simply to
save money by paying them less than adults and it is this type of exploitation that should be
discouraged. There is a big possibility that those working kids are influenced by different types of
people they are working with and some lead them to a malevolent way. For example, most of the
working kids in the factory start smoking and even abuse drugs at a very early age. Some kids are
engaged in full-time jobs to support their family and thus how completely destroying their
education.

However, in many countries children work because their families need the additional income, no
matter how small. This was certainly the case in the past in many industrialised countries, and it is
very difficult to judge that it is wrong for children today to contribute to the family income in this
way. A working child in many cases is the only earning member for many families. So their support is
invaluable and they can’t leave the jobs no matter how hazardous the job is.

Nevertheless, I would like to conclude that, in better economic circumstances, few parents would
choose to send their children out to full-time paid work. If learning responsibilities and work
experience are considered to be important, then children can acquire these by having light, part-
time jobs or even doing tasks such as helping their parents around the family home, which are
unpaid, but undoubtedly of value in children development.

Model Answer 2:

In the past few years, life has become really tough for many people and because of the ever
increasing living expenses some people send their children to earn to lessen the load. In some cases,
children of fatherless families have no other choice but to start working for a living and supporting
the family.

In fact, children going to work has become a very common issue that has been discussed by many
human rights organisations. In my opinion, the young children must be brought up to be responsible
and be able to face the difficulties of life and hence they should start working from the early ages.

I strongly recommend the tradition of working for children who are not intending to participate in
academic institutions, those who want to work in trade and business, carpentry, blacksmithing or
any other craft-related jobs. It's very useful to be engaged in paid work from the early age as it would
increase the skill and experience they need to run a successful business. Imagine that a young child
whose parents want him to the run the family business as a blacksmith and send him to school to
have a good education, and can’t support the expense, would actually do more harm than good to
the children. Eventually, he would become more frustrated and won’t be able to run the business
the way he should have been.

So why go to school and university if your parents can’t afford it? In my belief, it's less expensive and
more effective to learn this craft works from the young age by going to learn and work practically,
and that, of course, will give him valuable experience. On the other hand, working from the early age
teaches people to become more responsible and practical. We might go against the idea of child
labour in first world country but the scenarios in a third world country are completely different. In
those countries, there are thousands of families where children are the primary earner. The country
can’t ensure the education and living of these families and hence they do not have the right to
abolish the early childhood working trends.

In conclusion, I am not with the idea of children's work in all the circumstances, but in certain
situations as I have illustrated. If the child is looking forward to having a good profession in a large
organisation, I don't think that going to early work is a good idea.

31

Improvements in health, education and trade are essential for the development of poorer nations.
However, the governments of richer nations should take more responsibility for helping the poorer
nations in such areas.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with
examples and relevant evidence.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

In balancing the world economic growth, the underdevelopment of the third world nations has been
drawn to the attention of the developed countries of the Western. Thus, governmental policies and
interference in the agricultural business of the poorer nations were made to secure their dominant
source of the economy. Many discussions among economists and politicians also put their focus on
the other aspects. That is, to improve the health, education and trade for the developing countries.
However, the improvements cannot be made by these countries, but more external assistance and
aids should be done.

Because of the shortage of food supply, the people in poorer nations (i.e. Africa) are easily prone to
disease, hunger and death. When natural or environmental disasters happen, they are threatening
with their lives. Education cannot be well developed as a result of frequent droughts, famines and
disease spreading. The other countries, while emphasising on the development of agriculture in the
Third World, cannot really give the solution to the cyclical problem which has been existing for a long
time. It is time to consider the consequences of all the waste of efforts in trying to help the economic
growth of the Third World and to think from the other perspectives. The richer countries have the
power to rebuild the Third World by taking care the essentials - health, education and trade. More
aids for providing the medicine, educational needs and materials can be done by the richer
countries. The assistance of trade and developing business in the poorer countries also can be of a
great help to the poorer nations.

If the richer countries can be more serious about the essential issues of how a nation develops, and
well consider the special situations and circumstances those poorer nations are facing, the
improvements will be more efficiently made. The governments of developed countries are, in some
ways, responsible - though not obliged - for the future of those developing countries.

Model Answer 2:
Education and health are fundamental factors for any nation. Research shows that the gap that
exists between the level of education in rich and poor countries has a tendency to increase with the
time. I completely agree that the governments of richer nations should step forward to help the poor
nations to overcome the obstacles they face in areas like healthcare, education and trade.

Education, health and trade are interconnected with each other and that is why an increase in
educational level will very likely to affect both health and trade.
Many industrialised rich countries have enough resources at their disposal in order to help poorer
countries. Nowadays there are plenty organisations funded by prosperous countries, which focus on
helping third world countries by sending workers and volunteers to the poor nations in order to help
the development. Many even grant medical equipment and other necessary goods. Another way
how rich countries help is by giving loans for development. However many governments refuse to
give a financial aid due to the high risk involved.

But there is always a flip side of the coin and the government of such rich countries who help the
poor nations should make sure that the fund they provide is utilised properly. Alternatively, they
should take schemes like establishing schools, commercial places and hospitals in their authority
rather than providing the fund to these poor nations.

In conclusion, governments should unite and take more responsibility for providing help to poor
countries. Otherwise, the gap between poor and rich countries will continue to grow exponentially.

32

Some people think children are more successful in foreign language studies than adults.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Sample Answer 1:

Learning at least one foreign language has become a necessity in the modern world. Although some
people believe that one can easily acquire a new language after extensive learning, others claim that
age also plays a considerable role in foreign language acquisition. Indeed, it is much easier for
children and teenagers to master a new language than it is for adults and especially elderly people.

To begin with, younger individuals tend to be fast learners due to their developing acquisition skills.
Most children and teenagers are used to learning new things, which make mastering a new language
as easy as a piece of pie. For instance, toddlers are able to pick up a new language if their parents
interact with them using this particular language. However, adults are unlikely to learn a foreign
language in the same way.

Then again, adults are too busy at work and have to worry about supporting their family, which
certainly distracts them from the process of learning. A good illustration of this case will be evening
language courses. Tired after work, adults are not able to make the most of their lessons and thus,
cannot learn effectively. Younger people, in their turn, spend a lot of time studying and possess a
range of skills to help them improve their foreign language.

Undoubtedly, there are individuals who are so talented that they can learn a new language at any
age. However, one has to remember that such people are often a rare exception rather than a
common fact.
Research shows that the brain pattern of a child is in better condition to accept new things that the
brain pattern of an average adult. This gives a competitive advantage to the curious young people to
learn new things easily than the adults. The trends of quickly learning how to operate a computer by
younger people are much more efficient than the learning process of an elderly people and this is
true for learning a new language as well.

To conclude, learning a foreign language is a challenge for most people. However, younger people
have better chances to speak a new language faster compared to those who are over thirty.

Model Answer 2:

The viewpoint that children are better learners became almost a common sense, although it is not
always true in terms of learning foreign languages. When it comes to making an approach to, for
example, Japanese or French, adults have proven themselves superior learners because of their
experience of getting knowledge of their own language and their performance is generally better
motivated.

Every adult has some amount of education and it means that he has already received a general
understanding of the structure of the native language. Thus, this more or less categorised base
usually serves as a template for foreign grammar or vocabulary. A person only has to place new
material on certain shelves in his memory and operate them like it his own language. Children, in
contrast, are usually confused by any grammar, even of their country. Bringing foreign language to
curriculum adds embarrassment because they do not have sufficient understanding of grammatical
of semantic categories and can not bring to order such huge amounts of information.

Grown-ups also appear to be more enthusiastic about language studies. As a matter of fact, this skill
for them is a tool that can be used to achieve career goals. Obviously, a more motivated individual
do better, and even if his abilities are modest, through practice success can come very fast and a lot
of success stories can prove it. Kids, though, usually consider second language lessons as a fun or,
otherwise, something boring and, even if they tend to absorb knowledge like sponges, without use it
rapidly disappears. With no proper encouragement youngsters just do not know they have to
practice new words and grammar in order not to forget them.

Thus, while it would not be a mistake to suggest children are naturally better learners, let us not
forget that adults are usually better suited to language studies.

33

Some people think that cities are the best places to live. Others prefer to live in a rural area.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city to living in the countryside.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

The places where people live affects greatly in their lifestyles and the living place is one of the very
basic needs for people. People opine differently while choosing the living places. Some prefer and
argue that city is the best place to live at since it provides so many advantages over the rural area,
but other think that villages are the best places to live a good life. Both places have advantages and
disadvantages.

It is true that a city offers so many opportunities and advantages those are absent in a countryside.
For instance, the modern transportation and communication systems are better in any city
compared to a village. In a city people have access to many different transportation systems and
have latest technologies to communicate; like cellular phones, internet, fax etc. Moreover, when a
new technology arrives at the country it is first introduced in the city area and usually 2/3 years later
to the village. Secondly, cities provide better security to its inhabitants like the mobile police patrols,
special forces, community police, security guards, traffic police etc. But in the village, the number of
security force persons are too low compared to the overall population. Moreover, cities provide
better treatment, hospitals, qualified doctors, better educational institutes, and amusement parks
etc which are really inevitable to lead a better life. In many cases, those facilities are absent or rare in
a village. In my opinion, the reason for why most people tend to live in a city is the vast opportunities
of jobs. Most of the corporate offices, industries, factories, government offices, garments and
manufacturing industries are either situated in a city or close to the city. People have much more
employment opportunities in a city than a village. On the contrary, people living in a village, are
often forced to do a job that is not suitable at all for him since the job opportunity is so narrow
there. Again, schools or colleges are not equipped with a better environment, labs, teachers and
that's why students in a village might not get a better education he/she deserves. If we consider the
entertainment facilities in a city then citizens of a city have so many options like theatre, park, art
gallery, museum, amusement parks, libraries etc. But people in the villages have only TV or books
and very little facilities to spend leisure time.

On the other hand, Villages offer many invaluable advantages those are completely absent in the
cities. First of all, someone living in a village can get fresh air and water. There is no intense pollution
with smoke, Carbon-DI-oxide, Carbon-mono-oxide, Nitrous-Oxide and people living in a village are
less prone to suffer diseases like asthma, bronchitis etc. The city can provide security against visible
foes but it causes people to face some invisible and dangerous enemies like toxic and polluted air,
water and environment. Secondly, people of villages live much nearer to the nature and breathe in
the fresh air, as well as eat fresh foods, vegetables, fruits collected directly from the garden. On the
contrary vegetables, foods, fruits in the cities are normally stored and mixed with preservatives and
can cause serious harms to the health. The living cost in a countryside is much lesser than that of a
city. The density of population in a village is much less than a city and village people are naturally
grow up their personal relationship among all people and live like a real community and take care of
each other. While in the city people do not know even who live in the next door and personal
relationship in a community is rare.

In my case, I prefer to live in the city. I feel relaxed and comfortable staying in my own city. There are
lots of facilities I can't deny are presented in my city and those are the invaluable part of my lifestyle.
Moreover, I like to lead a busy and challenging life and want to be connected with the world. I enjoy
visiting countryside but get bored there if I stay more than 2/3 days because all of my necessary stuff
to lead my as usual life are absent there.

Model Answer 2:

Whether cities are better than rural area or vice-versa is a contentious question, it depends on one's
choice, as to, what they prefer. Both cities and rural areas have their pros and cons. Rural areas have
quaint environments whereas there is always something fascinating about big cities.

Cities generally have better infrastructure, education system and advance health care facilities. You
get to meet people from all walks of life, learn to coexist with people from different ethnicity, race,
caste and culture; hence you become more tolerant, open minded and start respecting each other
differences. Whereas countryside people are less tolerant, caste system still prevails and the powers
lie with a certain group of people. If you see, today in India, Love marriages /inter-caste marriages
are very common in cities, whereas people are being murdered in the name of honour in rural areas.
Gender inequality is very evident in a rural area, where women are being restricted only to
household chores and do not have much say in decision making, but in cities, both are treated
equally. It is not uncommon to see people migrating to cities for better jobs, better education.

People in the cities are always under tremendous pressure and stress, they always have to be up to
date with technologies and hence there is no time to relax. Recently studies have shown a surge in
the number of cases of heart attacks, which is due to increase in stress level. People in cities are
constantly exposed to high level of pollution, adulterated food and chemically grown vegetables,
which adversely affects their health, owing to which the average life of people living is cities is less
than people living in rural area. Increased cases of obesity, suicides, diabetes are also resulting in
stress and unhealthy living. Rural areas on other hand have no or very less pollution, pure food item
and less stress, people have more time for themselves and their families.

To sum up, I think both cities and rural areas have their own charm. Cities have more busy and hectic
life but have better facilities, rural areas, on the contrary, have more relaxed, laid back lifestyle but
lacks in up to date technologies like computers and international standard of healthcare and
education system.

Tobacco should be treated as illegal like other drugs. Smoking has not a single positive issue but
lots of negative effects and therefore, it should be banned.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above statement.

Model Answer 1 :

The drugs those are strong and cause harm to human are considered illegal and are prohibited in
almost all the countries considering the bad effects. Those drugs are very much addicted and the
people who take it regularly destroy his life and can not lead a normal life. Likewise, tobacco is
another phenomenon that has a strong beckoning towards people of all ages. Considering the bad
effects, therefore, it should be considered unlawful and prohibited.

There are lots of substances presented in the tobacco and people become much more addictive to
the tobacco because it is easily accessible and does not cost that much at a time compared to other
illegal drugs. There are enough scientific reasons to believe that once a person becomes addicted
towards tobacco, can't leave it easily like other strong drugs. Many people even exhaust more than
20 cigarettes daily and eventually increase the possibility to be infected with lung cancer or many
other serious diseases. The person who smokes or takes tobacco in other ways harms himself as well
as the people surrounding them. Because it is proven in medical science that second-hand smoking
causes the same physical problems as the first-hand smoking does. So considering the issue I strongly
opine that all tobacco should be banned like other harmful drugs.

Many people think that tobacco creates some opportunities. For instance, they mention the number
of people involved in these industries from farmer to manufacturing workers. They also think that
tobacco companies often help people by sponsoring big sports events, initiating some social works
like tree-plantation, star search programs etc. In my opinion, all those are eye wash for people. The
companies are uplifting their fortunes by destroying innocent peoples' lives. Think about a family
that has loose their only earning member because he was a chain smoker for 20 years and recently
died of lung cancer. The effects are overwhelming compared to what tobacco companies do for us. I
believe there are lots of organisations who are happy to initiate the same social programs for the
betterment of people. Science has proven that the amount of nicotine contained in a cigarette is
pushed directly into someone's body, he will die at once. So tobacco business is a social crime at
large. Furthermore, those who cultivate tobacco, process it prepare cigarette and smokes ultimately
become the victims of many serious diseases like cancer, heart diseases and bronchitis. In addition
buying tobacco costs money which could have been used for some good thing. Teenagers addicted
to tobacco involve themselves to some other drugs and tobacco is always the gateway to other
drugs.

I don't think there is any one benefit we get from tobacco rather it harms us in so many ways. There
are huge scarcities of food in the world right now and a huge amount of fields and many farmers are
engaged in producing tobacco. So I strongly give my opinion to declare the cultivation, production,
manufacturing and selling of tobacco should be strictly prohibited for all our betterment.

Model Answer 2:

Health is considered the most precious gift that we all have so it is essential to think carefully about
things that may have a harmful effect on individuals. Many people argue that tobacco smoking
should be considered illegal as other drugs because it has more detriments than benefits. However,
this is refuted by others. Both sides will be critiqued before a reasoned conclusion is formed.

It is felt by many that cigarette smoking has deleterious effects on person's life. For example, it has
been shown in many research studies that tobacco is one of the risk factors to many diseases
including cancer, particularly lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and others. This example clearly
shows that smoking can be very harmful and has a tremendous financial burden on not only the
personal budget but also health sector.

On the other side, many people think that smoking is a personal decision. In addition, it cannot be
compared to drugs as it provides health benefits like memory and attention enhancing and
preventing ulcerative colitis. Moreover, it is used in some medications.

After analysing these two points of view, I believe that the cons of smoking outweigh the pros and
the usage of tobacco should be limited for medical treatments authorised by governments. Without
a doubt, I think that smoking is an important topic that has effects on various aspects of human's life
and other people's life as no one focus on the passive smoking issue and the government should pay
more attention and invent new policies regarding smoking.

35

Some people prefer to eat at restaurants while others prefer to prepare and eat at home. Which
one do you prefer?

Give reasons for your answer.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

Food is a vital need for our living and people from different geographic locations are habituated to
eat foods differently and the menu differs so greatly. Many people are happy to eat food outside the
home and they think that preparing foods is a waste of time but to others outside food is like a toxin
and they always avoid outside foods and prepare foods at home. In my opinion, both ways of taking
foods have some advantages and disadvantages.

If someone takes foods from a restaurant or fast food shop, he can save a great deal of time as food
preparing is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. For those people there is no monotony of
flaming the burner, washing the dishes, preparing the ingredients. They simply order the dishes and
everything is ready for them. Moreover, restaurants offer a sound environment with a variety of
menus. They don't have to maintain a time schedule to eat and mostly they spend time at a
restaurant while they are not busy. Thus they can do lots of work without thinking the cooking issue.
Cooking involved going to the grocery and buying vegetable, spices, rice, meat or fishes and it is
really a difficult thing to do if someone is very busy with work. Restaurants offer an overwhelming
environment to attract the people. They offer music, calm environment and better services.

But eating in a restaurant is not always pleasant. It costs a great deal of money. Almost all of the
dishes cost at least 3-4 times higher than those of home-made foods. Foods cooked in restaurants
are not hygienic always and as the restaurant owners want more profit, they don't hesitate to cook
low-cost vapid foods. Almost all the items prepared at home are cooked with great care and as it's a
matter of our health issue, we choose the fresh and best ingredients while shopping. On the other
hand restaurant owners always buy low-quality ingredients. This causes some serious health issues.
Those who eat at restaurants are more likely to suffer from different diseases.

Again, home-made foods are easy to digest and can be taken any time staying at home without
thinking ' what the overall bill are going to be'. Foods prepared at home can save a lot of money and
considering the nutrition facts I prefer to prepare and eat foods at home.

Model Essay 2:

Many people go to the restaurants for a meal whereas the others cook and eat meals at home. In my
opinion, I opt to cook and eat meals at home because I would argue that it is healthier than to eat at
restaurants.

Firstly, many restaurants do not purchase fresh foods since they would like to decrease the cost of
meals. They do not attend to the cleanliness and hygiene of foods. Hence, some people get poisoned
by eating in restaurants. It is particularly dangerous for children because they are more vulnerable
and can be easily ill from the poor quality of foods. As it is known, many people eat using the same
dishes and drink from the same cups and bottles which are not even properly cleaned. If these things
are not cleaned properly, they can be extremely dangerous for human health.

Secondly, to prepare and eat foods at home can be more economic especially for a family. Because
to eat at a restaurant frequently would cost a large amount and that would be pretty tough for low
wage earners. The good restaurants that maintain the quality and hygiene of foods cost a lot that
average people won’t be able to accommodate.

On the other hand, restaurants can offer some advantages. For instance, if you eat at a restaurant,
you can save your time. Because to prepare and eat at home one needs to spend a considerable
amount of time and effort which could have been used in other constructive works. In addition,
some restaurants offer delicious and variety of meals including foreign menus that we could not
make at home on our own. You can eat awesome meals there and drink wines in a fascinating
atmosphere. Moreover, to prepare and eat at home is a tough task for single and busy people who
have very less spare time. So restaurants can be a better alternative for those people.
In conclusion, it is considered by many that health is more important than money and delicious
meals. I believe that if we prepare meals at home, we can prepare foods and dishes properly and we
can use healthy ingredients. However, if you eat at a restaurant, you can not be sure that the meals
and dishes are clean and healthy.

36

The threat of nuclear weapons maintains the world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and
clean energy. The benefits of nuclear technology far out-weight the disadvantages.

Do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 3:
Nuclear energy is a two sided sword. On the one hand, it provides sustainable clean energy, while on
the other hand, it provides weapons of mass destruction. However, I believe the benefits of using
nuclear energy far outweigh its disadvantages, and it is essential to the world peace.

Throughout human history, man has derived energy by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and
natural gas. Excavation and burning of fossil fuels on a large scale for factories and automobiles have
disturbed the ecological balance of nature and is leading to pollution and global warming. In
contrast, nuclear power provides a clean source of energy as it does not release any harmful gases
into the atmosphere. Energy generated using nuclear power is even cheaper than that generated by
burning fossil fuels. The radioactive waste products of nuclear energy can be kept in specially created
containers so that they do not disturb the environment.
Opponents of nuclear energy always cite the risks of a nuclear war by the development of nuclear
weapons. However, it is interesting to note that till today there has not been a single major war
between states possessing nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia were rivals during the
cold war. However, they never went to a war as doing so would mean destruction on a large scale on
both sides. India and Pakistan fought three major wars since their independence. However, after
possessing nuclear weapons, there has not been a single major war between them. Possession of
nuclear weapons acts as a deterrent to war, as a war between two nuclear weapons state would
lead to catastrophe on both sides. The only use of nuclear weapons the world has seen is on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War 2. Both the cities were levelled with
tens of thousands of people killed instantly and more than thousands later by the radiation
poisoning. Mankind cannot afford such devastation.

In light of the above arguments, I believe the benefits of using nuclear energy far outweigh its
disadvantages, and it is essential to the world peace.

Model Answer 4:
The use of nuclear power has been one of the most controversial issues over many years. Although
there seem to be clear benefits of this power, its drawbacks can never be underestimated. I,
however, strongly agree that the pros of this technology are much more than its cons which will be
discussed in this essay.

Those who are against nuclear weapons present their arguments on the base of the threat it
presents to the world. These powerful weapons, if goes into destructive hands, would be devastating
enough to wipe off an entire city in minutes. The two cities of Japan namely Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
destroyed during the Second World War can be taken as examples. Furthermore, natural disasters
like earthquakes and Tsunamis might, at any time, collapse the nuclear power plants. This will not
only kill thousands of people by their radio hazards but also might leave negative impacts on the
future generations.

Nevertheless, the merits that nuclear weapons bring are crucial to the world. Firstly, it is the
cheapest source of energy, a tremendous amount of energy can be produced to meet the demand of
the growing population with very little resources. So, the use of organic fuels can be cut down. In
addition to this, it is pollution free so the global warming and greenhouse effects might be reduced
to some extent by replacing fossil fuels with it. The natural resources like fuels and oils would not
last forever and then the nuclear power can be the best solution as a source of energy. It would be a
cheaper form of energy as a single nuclear power plant can provide the energy required to run a
whole city.

Therefore, I would like to conclude that in spite of some drawbacks of nuclear weapons and power,
their advantages are enumerable. They should however, be used with safety and precautions.

37

The first car appeared on British roads in 1888. By the year 2000, there may be as many as 29
million vehicles on the British roads. Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and
international laws introduced to control car ownership and use.

What are your views on this issue?

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

Modern life is almost impossible without motorised transportation and people are to move so
frequently that they always want to own cars. In fact, transportation has become one of the most
important parts and parcels of our lives. As the number of total population is increasing day by day,
so do their demands and needs for modern transportation facilities and that is why the number of
vehicles has increased rapidly all over the world. However, for the last few years, the air pollution
has reached an intolerable level and it is the motorised vehicles that have been creating this acute
problem with other factors. Currently, almost 58 million vehicles are running alone on the roads of
Britain and day by day this number will increase geometrically. In fact, the problem began with the
rapid development and growth of the cities and because of increasing demand of people and it is
badly needed to control it for our own benefits.

It is true that with the development of the civilisation, the number of cars has increased on the
streets and resulting air pollution, accidents, scarcity of fuels, sound pollution, and so on. But we can
not avoid or cut off cars from our life overnight because life today has become hasty enough with
routine work, office jobs, travelling, holiday activities, amusement etc. and without cars, it would be
more troublesome. Therefore I believe that it is important to control the use of cars and to introduce
an alternative form of the transportation system as well. Increasing the price of the fuel might be a
solution as it will discourage people to drive cars so frequently and for those who are settling their
mind to buy a new car. The cars omit Carbon dioxide, Carbon-Mono-Oxide and other harmful
chemicals which are dangerous for the environment as well as for public health.

To reduce the use of cars, we can introduce some alternative transportation systems like
underground railway, city coach service, train service, subtle train etc. If the transports are easily
available and comfortable, people will be encouraged to use those to reduce the cost of owning
private cars. Some non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles and rickshaws can be the substitute for
the motorised vehicles. Once people are aware of the effects of global warming and air pollution,
they will definitely use those forms of transportations for their own betterment. Those vehicles are
environment-friendly and in some countries people have already started using bicycles instead of
cars, for example, China. If we can introduce river-based cheap and user-friendly transports and try
to make them favourite among people, then it will be definitely helpful for the environment. This
type of river-based transportation system has been already introduced in countries like Brazil.

On the other hand, introducing a new law to regulate car ownership is also important. If there were
an existing rule that any family can not buy more than one car, the rapid increase of the car could
have been controlled. Besides, Government should introduce a heavy tax on purchasing cars.

In summary, increasing use of cars and fuels is an acute problem for all of us. This problem can only
be solved by introducing a new form of cheap and comfortable transports and by enforcing and
introducing new strict laws. Otherwise, life in cities will become tougher with traffic jam and serious
air pollution.

Model Answer 2:

Transportation is one of the human tools of development. That is why all countries are concerned
about that topic and support research and initiatives in this field. The quality of transportation of
individuals and goods affects strongly on economic growth. That article focuses on individual
transportation and how transportation modes have been changing trough years from 1888 to 2000.

At the end of 19th century, there were few transport forms and all of them were simple with very
slow speed except cars. Number of cars in that time period was not so high to extend that caused
traffic, fuel or environmental problems. Therefore there was no motivation to invent innovative
transport systems and modes.

With the passage of time from 19thcentury till now transportation demands and needs have been
greatly increased. The dramatic increase of numbers of cars especially in last three or four decades
forces all states to establish bridges, tunnels, highways etc. These different kinds of infrastructures
and superstructures have extremely high costs. Such costs affect on the state budget and lead to
undesirable cuts of education, health and other services’ share in the annual budget. As those
sectors are so vital, essential and cannot be cut for the sake of the transportation sector,
stakeholders started thinking about new transport planning concepts and strategies which
contribute to solving all transportation-related problems.

Those problems are economical, environmental and social problems. Most of the experts in the field
of ‘Urban Planning and Transportation’ admit that decreasing number of private cars is the best
effective way to solve all the previously mentioned problems. There are many ideas which can help
reduce private cars in the streets like public transportation, carpooling, and encouraging bicycles as
transport modes. It requires many actions and promotion to convince people to leave their own cars
and use such alternative modes. These actions can be: improving public transportation, providing a
discount on bicycles, giving priority to public transportation through special bus lanes and raising fuel
prices etc.

In summary, the whole world should encourage alternative modes and forms of transportation to
compete with the traditional mode which is private cars. That will make our mother Earth greener
and a better place to live in.

38
The government has announced that it plans to build a new university. Some people think that
your community would be a good place to locate the university.

Compare the advantages & disadvantages of establishing a new university in your community.

Sample Essay 1:

Universities provide a high standard of education to their students and there is always a demand of
new university to cater the need of growing population. Some people argue that having a university
in the community has numerous benefits. It helps peoples to save time and cost of transportation to
university and provides easy access to state of the art library and computer lab facilities. Despite this,
the educational institution within our community could have detrimental effects on people lives.
Congestion, traffic problems and increased housing rents are few issues mainly caused by it.

Firstly, local people can save handsome amount and time while having a university in their
surroundings, which was earlier utilised for transportation. Secondly, students have freedom of using
laboratory and other services longer hours without having a feeling of being too distant from their
homes. Thirdly, it also provides business to local peoples as many students come from other nearest
cities and need basic amenities such as food, accommodation and others daily use of items.

However, a university in our community could have dire consequences on the area it is located. It
will cause congestion that will affect the privacy of the people and also create traffic problems and
make people l badly suffer in reaching their offices and jobs on time. In addition to this, it is often
seen that there is a dramatic rise in rents as a new institute established in any community. We have
a university near our community and a new university establishment would create a great debate
among the people in our community.

To sum up I would like to say that university in a communal place is not a pragmatic approach and
will increase people woes. Therefore, education institution should be in the suburbs of cities to cater
large numbers of student efficiently and effectively. It will also ensure smooth working of traffic and
others services. Considering all these, I would oppose the establishment of a new university in my
community.

Model Answer 2:

I think it is a great idea to build a new university in my community. However, I think it is a

controversial question whether the building of a new university will bring only benefits to our
community. In this essay, I will analyse advantages and disadvantages of this issue and present my
view in favour of establishing a new university in my community.

From the one side, establishing a new university in my community brings many benefits. First of all, a
new construction means more job opportunities. I think it would be good for my community because
many people have to spend much time driving to their work day in and day out because they could
not find a job in our neighbourhood. Second, of all, a new university is a good chance to meet new
people and I like this opportunity. Many students will live in our community. Finally, if a new
university is built in my community there is a big chance that I will be willing to enrol in it. I think it is
great because it is not far from my place and I do not have to move to another part of the city.
Another important aspect of this is that people from my community will have a chance to use new
libraries and facilities of a new university. For example, some people can take courses and classes
there.

From the other side, building a new university can bring some disadvantages. A new construction
means noise, traffic jams and different kinds of pollution. In addition to these disadvantages, many
young people in our community can cause more noise, especially in the evenings.

To sum up, I think that I would support the decision of the government of establishing a new
university in my community despite a few disadvantages that could follow this construction. I believe
that a new university will increase a chance of many young people to get a higher education, gain
more knowledge and experience, which will help them to succeed in today’s world.

Nowadays we are producing more and more rubbish. Why do you think this is happening? What
can governments do to help reduce the amount of rubbish produced?

Model Answer 1:

The modern society is generating an increasing amount of waste and the waste management has
become one of the pressing issues both in developing and developed countries. With the inevitable
rise in population and industrialisation, this problem will be further aggravated. The government can
help decrease waste production by educating the public and by promoting recycling.

The global population has reached a staggering seven billion recently. Solid waste is a by-product of
this phenomenon. This number is expected to balloon to nine billion by 2050 if the current trend
goes on. The amount of trash produced is likewise expected to rise. Manufacturing industries also
contribute to the total of accumulated waste. While market demands go higher, the number of
factories built also increases to satisfy this demand.

This unsavory problem has taken centre stage as the world focused on tackling global warming. One
way that the government can help alleviate this burden on the environment is by educating the
culprits – the general public. By promoting the use of reusable bags when shopping, the amount of
plastic bags can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the government can also run advertisements and
put up posters in ways that a household can reduce the trash it generates. Another step that the
government may undertake is through sound recycling. It must invest in a technology that can be
managed through the municipal level. To encourage its citizens to adhere to this program, collection
areas for recyclable materials must be accessible. Sweden has set these areas within 300 meters
from residential areas and so far they are succeeding.

To conclude, it is a fact that the human population will continue to rise. In order for the world’s
natural resources remain sustainable, the government and the public must cooperate to find a
solution to this ever-present problem.

Model Answer 2:

In our highly industrialised era, there is a growing awareness about the excessive amounts of trash
people producing. We are about to be flooded by different types of garbage if certain measures will
not be taken. This essay will explore some causes of this and propose ways to solve the problem.

To begin with, different food producers decided that their products will be selling better if they will
pack them in small-sized boxes and packets. These colourful and attractive packs go straight to the
trashcan; the number of packs is growing along with the consuming growth.

More consuming produces more waste. Government and businesses encourage consuming because
it leads to high profits and development of state economy. They are not interested in the situation
there a person is going to use something for a long time. Society is being bombarded with
commercials, pleading to buy, for instance, a new mobile phone; buying new things because
throwing away old but good things.
The problem of garbage is very complicated. As we can see, the government is not interested in
reducing consuming. Thus, the responsibility has to be taken by individuals and non-governmental
organisations. Certain laws, regulating the percentage of packaging material per tonne of the
product should be established. Moreover, interesting programs, involving people to participate can
be developed. For example, a bonus for not asking for a plastic bag in supermarkets or for buying
extra large packs of food.

In addition, everyone should become concerned about the future of human beings and our planet. If
we do not wish to be buried in rubbish, we should think twice before buying things we do not need.

40

Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important
professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discuss both of these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

As a result of constant media attention, sports professionals in my country have become stars and
celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant
lifestyles with huge houses and cars.

Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of
top surgeons or research scientists or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of
governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution
to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the
public popularity of the sport in general and the level of public support that successful stars can
generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not the issue.

Those who feel that sports stars’ salaries are justified might argue that the numbers of professionals
with real talent are very few, and the money is recognition of the skills and dedication a person
needs to be successful. Competition is constant and a player is tested every time they perform in
their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of
the spotlight. There is a huge number of sports persons compared to those who have become
successful and having a huge salary. It takes lots of practice, skills and time to become a sports icon.
Again Sports personality like Sachin Tendulkar, Tiger Woods, Shane Warne inspires the new
generation to be attracted to the games they play. So all of these factors may justify the huge
earnings of the sports personality.

The first reason why I think that such high salary is deserved by famous athletes and entertainers
because we all need them. Entertainment plays an essential role in our everyday's life. We need to
relax, watching TV with our favourite TV stars or favourite football players. Entertainment is one of
the best ways to eliminate stress and tension and leave all troubles behind. For example, I can not
stay home all day long without watching TV. So, basically, I believe that famous athletes and
entertainers have such high salaries because we need them. They like doctors for our minds and
soles. Scientists say that people usually spend the same amount of money for their food and
entertainment. I think this fact tells a lot.
The second reason for this is that famous athletes have to work hard in order to get good results. I
am sure that achievements they make are the result of hard work, persistence and pain. They
sometimes risk their lives and health. For example, I am a big fan of L. Amstrong, the most famous
cyclist in world's history. He faced probably, the most challenging difficulty in his life, cancer. He was
very young for this disease. Amstrong was in his early twenties when he found out about it. I read a
book about his life, and what impressed me were his words after his victory in France. He said:
"Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me ". He defeated the disease only because he
believed in himself and did not give up. I think such person deserves to have a high salary and be
loved by many people throughout the world.

Personally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge
earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on the
sport than on the essential professions and achievements.

Model Answer 2:

Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Tiger woods are some famous sports professionals who earn
great deal. The reason behind these great deals is the constant media attention on them. However,
it is true that they do not contribute too much to a society like doctors and scientist.

Sports professionals who earn a great deal of money are the hard workers in their respective field.
They use all their efforts for the success of their one and of their teams. The person with real talent
in the field are very few that is why they worth the deal. Even more, A player has a short career and
he is tested in that period with the massive competition on the respective field. The pressure of
media is intense and there is no privacy in their life. So, this can also justify the huge earnings.

However, Sports professional does not contribute more to the society. Other high profile
professionals like doctors make a great contribution to the society by treating sick and injured
people. Furthermore, scientists who work for the new invention and climate change also contribute
more for the society. If we favour these points then they must have a great deal of money. However,
the salary of sports professional is not determined by the percentage they contribute to society.

Personally, I think the mega deal of money sports professional received is more justified than the
huge earnings of the movie stars. This also points out the importance and value of sports than on
other professions and achievements.

41

By punishing murderers with the death penalty, society is also guilty of committing murder.
Therefore, life in prison is a better punishment for murderers.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
You should write at least 250 words.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Answer 2: (Agreement)

Punishment is the weapon which society uses to limit and reduce murders’ actions. Punishment type
and toughness are different according to the types of crime or action. The most serious crime, which
is killing a person with previous planning, leads the murderer to the death penalty after making sure
that he/she is the killer through clear proofs. This essay tackles and discusses two contrasting
opinions. The first party believes that death penalty is essential and fair enough for killers. Whereas
others see that it is fighting badness by badness and that does not generate good and balanced
society.

The first group of people who are pro penalty death have their own logical reasons for their opinion.
They say that nothing is equal to life but life itself. So any other form of punishment will not be
sufficient or fair. A human body is a unique private property and if somebody causes damage to it or
destroys it, he/she must have the same damage. In addition to that making penalty extremely harsh
is considered as an effective alarm or red light to whoever may think about committing crimes.
Therefore the main aim of penalty will be achieved by reducing crime rates especially killing crimes
which have bad results without sufficient compensate.

On the other hand, there are many people who believe that death penalty is not the best
punishment they say that death of criminal or murder will not make the victim return to life. So it is
not perfect compensate for victim’s relatives. Although it seems that by killing murder the balance of
society will be return, some experts believe that it will raise violence in the society. As a result, they
recommend that life in prison sentence is better. That penalty makes killer think always about his
crime. It is also lifelong mental punishment when he/she finds other prisons finish their sentences
while he/she stash for the rest of his/her life.

Finally, I agree with the first party because of the same reason which I have mentioned previously.
Also, that opinion fits my religious belief as Muslim.

Model Answer 3: (Agreement)

In the recent years, there has been a vast increase in the number of people committing
manslaughter. It is a widespread belief that people who commit murders should only be punished by
death penalty. However, some people are of the opinion that death penalty should be eradicated
and life in prison should assume its place. Apropos of the statement, I am in part accordance with it.

It is inarguable that when someone commits an act of manslaughter, the said person must be
punished at all costs. However, I believe the death penalty is not a permanent solution because by
condemning murderers to death, society is also taking part in murders. Despite the well-known
saying that goes "an eye for an eye", punishing someone for a murder with another murder charge is
no justifiable by any means.

On the flip side, I also believe that prison does not serve as an appropriate solution as it is too lenient
a punishment for murderers. Furthermore, when murderers are put in the same cells, studies show
that it gives rise to more crimes, as they are likely to plot another murder together. Also taking into
account that in this developing country, society is most certainly not going to employ people with
the background of having been locked in a prison, people who commit murders will most likely
commit other crimes owing to the unpalatable fact that they need money to survive in this world.

As such, I believe a more appropriate solution will be for the government to utilise prison as a means
of learning and honing skills which could be useful for life after prison. It goes without saying that
murderers should without a doubt take responsibility for their crimes, and I believe that can be done
by giving them some sort of voluntary works as a lifetime punishment.

To sum up, punishing murders with the death penalty is unjustifiable and life in prison might not
serve as a permanent solution. Instead, the government should make prison a place to repent and a
means of learning new skills for murderers that could be useful for life after prison.

42
Some people say that computers have made life easier and more convenient. Other people say
that computers have made life more complex and stressful.

What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

At present computer is one of the essential parts of our daily life. Many people of today's society are
of the opinion that computer is the blessings of modern science which make our life more
comfortable and handy while others oppose this concept but my inclination is toward the former.

On one hand, it is argued that due to the more dependency on the computer, life is more tensed and
complicated now. The most vital point for the demand which can initially be mentioned is that
excessive technology based recent life. For example, modern school education systems are mainly
computer based so students have no opportunity to learn mathematical skill even small subtraction
and addition they cannot count without a computer. Besides Children are too much addicted to
computer games rather than other outdoor activities and finally our future generation are becoming
more machine dependent and physically disable and it results seems like in near future horror
science fiction will be true. A further point is that computer hard disk crash and viruses are like
natural disasters and make our life literally impossible.

On the other hand, there are quite plausible reasons how the computer is becoming the part and
parcel of our everyday life. What can be cited first regarding this is due to communication and
information technology now World is in our hand. Anyone can reach any corner of the world within
in a second. There are so many ways to communicate with each other such as email, online chatting,
voice mail, video chat etc. To clarify this matter from home any one takes part in a job interview,
conference or any online class. He/she does not need to go there physically but in the digital world,
it is possible. What's more online marketing, banking etc. make our life more convenient so we can
enjoy a strong personal relationship. Last but not the least, any business and official work can be
accomplished efficiently because of electronic data management, for instance, electronic files are
easily stored and maintained rather than paper documents.

In a nutshell taking all the aforementioned pros and cons into account, I personally opine that
computer is the most wonderful gift of our life.

Model Answer 2:

With the advent of technology and computers, our lives have totally changed. Today, we see
computers being used in every sphere of life; be it, at offices to store massive data; be it, at colleges
to help research works or by housewives to learn new recipes. Though admittedly, use of computers
can also be done in negative ways, but I think there are more pros than cons, and computers have
certainly made lives easier for everyone.

With computers, access to information has become very easy. It is immensely helping financial
institutions, police department and big businesses to store and use data for constructive purposes. In
earlier days, all the business transactional data was in form of files and managing these files and
searching for information was a cumbersome task. Computers have also helped students in a great
way. Now, instead of going to teachers, they can browse for information online. They can find
multiple research papers and discussion forum online. For instance, when I was studying for MBA, I
finished my secondary research on the internet and read about 100 online books to complete my
thesis. I could study at my own pace and in a comfortable home environment.

Another area where computers have helped us is in the communication field. It enables us to keep in
touch with our loved once by means of internet chats, video calls like skype, VOIP, social networking
sites and various applications. Though I agree, we can contact each other by phone also, but phone
calls are quite expensive especially international calls, but now we can contact out family and
friends; and often see them without spending the extra penny. Emails have revolutionised the
business communication world and aptly made them a formal mode of communication and
documentation.

But, in my views, the most significant use of computers have been applied in the field of scientific
research like building satellites, thermal power plants and in defence operation. We can now predict
weather and natural calamities and hence take precautionary steps to save human lives. Computers
have successfully forecasted cyclones like Katrina, Praline, Tsunami etc. and timely evacuation was
made to save thousands of human lives. Similarly, computers also play vital roles in the military
operations; where most of the weapons are controlled by computers and hence helps in
safeguarding the country.

In a nutshell, computers have become a crucial part of our lives. It is rightly said that the world is
constantly shrinking and everyone is getting close to each other by use of computers.
43

Modern technology is creating a single world culture.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Model Answer 2:
In today's world, the use of technology is ever increasing. People in all over the world share the same
information. I totally agree that contemporary technology is creating a single world culture. It is
now much easier to communicate with people who are far away. Modern transportation, TV and
also the internet are bringing to people closer together.

Firstly, almost every family has their private TV. It is connected with satellite. TV programs can be
received anywhere in the world. Now people in every part of the world can watch all the same TV
programs. When people see the same news and entertainment programs, they contribute to the
development of a single world culture.

Secondly, if we look at the internet, people have access to information and news from all over the
world. They can communicate easily with people who are far away and exchange information each
other. When people share the information on the internet, they become under the same cultural
influence. They move toward the creation of a single world culture.

Thirdly, as regards modern transportation, a trip to a foreign country becomes easily. Now people
from all different places are more together than before. They can see how people in other countries
dress, eat and spend their free time. Moreover, they can adopt some of the customs. This also
causes for the developing of a single world culture.

In conclusion, these types of communication technology have brought people from all over the
world closer together. People these days have more opportunities to share ideas and information. In
this way, they are coming under the same cultural influence. So, a single world culture is being
created.
Model Answer 3:

At the present time, modern technology has created a mono-cultural world. Due to the internet,
rapid communication facility, improved transportation facility, TV, satellite channels etc. people are
sharing similar information and the modern technology has made it possible to access data very
easily. People all over the world are using similar technology, accessing same websites, watching
same movies and following same fashion styles. As a consequence, the tradition, lifestyle and way of
life all over the world are getting similar. Therefore, people are widely accepting cultures, fashions
and trends of other countries and sometimes forgetting their own cultures. I partially disagree with
the rubric above and it'll be shown in the following essay.

Currently, almost in every home has their own TV and the same data are shown on it. Channels all
over the world are broadcasting programs and people are accessing more international channels
than their national channels. For instance, when I was younger I used to watch one TV show and
amazingly, my friend from another country also watched it every day. Another example can be,
when there is any international sports event, people all over the world are watching it at the same
time. It's obvious from my example that it doesn't matter where you are living; the mass media is the
same in every country. Thus, the influence of TV and the internet is quite enormous in creating a
single culture. Yet, this is partial as many people around the world are still struggling to earn their
daily bread and the technological facilities are inaccessible to them.

However, the opinion of human beings shouldn't rely on only the mass media. People should limit
themselves from the technology that we have nowadays. Because the consequences aren't just
going to come in a psychological way but in a physical way as well we should be very wary of this. For
example, while an individual is working in front of the computer his body is adjusting itself because
in a chair the whole mass of person lays on his back and in the near future it can cause fatal diseases
such as numbness or even paralysis. This example clearly shows that the mass media is impacting on
people only partially but not entirely. The modern technology has made our life easier and more
convenient and yet there exist many demerits that we can’t deny.

After analysing both benefits and drawbacks of modern technology, I've concluded that the modern
technology has indeed reduced the distance and gap among nations but the difference still persists.

44

Children should never be educated at home by their parents.

Do you agree or disagree?

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

You should write at least 250 words. Give reasons for your answer.

Model Answer 1:

Nobody can say with a full confidence whether children should be taught at home or at any
children's institutions. There are many different children and everyone demand of education suitable
only for him.
But for most of the children, the best way of learning the life is being in the children's institutions.
Nobody would argue that contacts between children of the same age are very important for bringing
your child up. Such a contact is very important for playing, entertaining and learning to live with
other people. The harmonious living with other people, to my mind, is the first task for any man.
Lack of this harmony sets problems and troubles.

The children need space to run and make noise, to jump and cry. Do you or your neighbours allow
these actions for your child? If you live in town, it is difficult to find a safe place to play.
Kindergartens give such a possibility. They give space, a lot of toys and constructions for physical
exercises. So, if you have bad living conditions, the kindergarten is the best way for you. But if you
have a large family with many children and enough space, you may keep your child at home. You
should be sure that the child feels, dressed and comfortable. His brothers and sisters give him
necessary contacts. It's noticed long ago that children in big families are much more easy-tempered
and calm. They are located in the more harmonic world than others.

Sometimes differences in age put troubles in contacts between children in large families. Then it is
better for the children to be sent to the kindergarten (school). But if quarrels don't last for a long
time, everything is all right. In general, quarrels develop an ability to cooperate with people. They
develop a personal initiative and force setting the balance. In such a way the child gets lessons of life.
Oddly, the quarrels often take place in kindergartens and schools and we shouldn't fear it.

Side by side with quarrels parents often are afraid of colds which happen in kindergartens more
frequently. Parents prefer keeping the child at home. But for a healthy child odd cold (if illness
occurs, it goes its normal course) can't make big harm to the child. And if the child is adaptable to the
conditions of public places earlier it would be better for him in future.

In general, I am a follower of the theory of keeping children in adapted places such as good
kindergartens. But keeping children in such a place can't replace family and home. Only together
they make the harmonic and beautiful union.

Model Answer 2:

At the present time, children have the choice where he wants to study at school or at home. Thus, a
lot of children are taught at home and never go to the school. It’s believed that parents should stop
this kind of curriculum and give the children to the normal school. I strongly agree with the rubric
above, because of parents won’t be worried about the safety of their child and why don’t study at
home if it gives good results?

Firstly, parent’s in charge of their child and they know what is necessary for their kid. Therefore,
some parents prefer to teach their kid themselves rather than giving them to the school. Parents
always worried about surrounding of their child, because nowadays environment influencing on
children very strongly. But when children at home, they will be sure that no one pressuring on their
child.

Secondly, schools aren’t always giving results that parents are expecting. Thus, parents have decided
to take it on their hands and teach children by themselves. Parents always will control their
“student” and I can’t say that school can do it either. Due to constant supervision of parent’s,
children will study hard even if he doesn’t want to.

To conclude, in my opinion, home education is a good way to develop the knowledge of a child. It
also helps to parents to control their kid and keep him away from the bad influence of surrounding.
In addition to this, only parents will be responsible for results of their child in entrance examination
of universities.

45
It is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city.
Do you agree or disagree?
Use specific reasons and examples to develop your essay.
You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

Some people believe that it is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city.
However, other people think that a big city gives more opportunities and it is good for the long run.
Personally, for several reasons I think that it is better for children to grow up in a city that offers
numerous advantages.

First of all, it is very important for a child to grow up in a healthy environment. Children need fresh
air, not polluted by the huge amount of cars and factories of the modern city. In the country, they
can spend more time exercising and walking with their friends. Scientists say that now children
spend the same amount of time watching TV as they do at school. Probably, the possibility to join
their friends for a play will change this proportion. Another important aspect of this is that parents
will have more time to spend with their children as a result of eliminating traffic jams and decreasing
driving time as a whole.

From the other side, children have some advantages living in a big city. For example, they have more
opportunities to choose from what they want to do. They can choose to attend ballet school, school
of art, gymnastics, etc. For the long run, it is good for them. They will be better prepared for a life in
a "real world" and they will have more chances to make a good career and succeed. Moreover, a big
city usually has many entertaining centres with movie theatres and play stations. When I was a child
I liked to go to the movie theatre with my parents to watch a premiere.

One more reason to choose a big city for a child is that a city provides better live conditions and
services such as medical, dental, etc. My friend lived in the country for a while and one time he and
his family had to drive a couple of hours to the nearest medical centre when his child got a heavy
cough.

To summarise, I agree with those people who want to raise their children in a city. The plenty of
opportunities offered by a city helps children to find what they really like and be the best at it.
Moreover, despite the air pollution, children get a better medical service that is good for their
health.

Model Answer 2:

Bringing up young generation in a big city is not as good as the countryside. I partially disagree with
this statement. In my view, cities are the best place to grow up children and to live. However, cities
have some drawbacks which will be discussed in this essay.

Many people opt to live in large cities rather than the countryside because they prefer to live in the
metropolitan area than remote areas. Such a good benefit is an employment. People, who are living
in a city can easily get a job in different types of professions.

Another reason is the easy availability of transportation services, large complex network maps of
buses and trains covering almost all surrounding suburbs of a city, which can save a lot of valuable
time spent by travelling with the own vehicle, which is more convenient and economical when your
children go to school. And you will know where they are.
However, the cost of living in a city is usually much higher than in the countryside. Inhabitants of
cities have to pay higher prices for housing, transport, and even food. Moreover, the big cities have
some social problems such as high crime and poverty rates in comparison with the countryside.
Furthermore, the air quality in cities is often poor, due to pollution from traffic, and the streets and
public transport systems are usually overcrowded. As a result, city life can be unhealthy and stressful
to our children.

After analysing the essay, we can conclude that those points are the important factors when
considering living either in the urban or rural area. Apart from those, entertainment facilities, well-
developed infrastructure and living with latest trends are other reasons for living in cities.

46

Nowadays, international tourism is the biggest industry in the world. Unfortunately, international
tourism creates tension rather than understanding between people from different cultures.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Model Answer 1:

Today the world is more connected than any time before and people from all over the countries can
arrive at their destination within 24 hours. However, while this possibility permits to millions of
individuals to encounter different cultures every year, the phenomenon of the international tourism
brings also conflicts between people with different habits and costumes.

To begin, tourism creates isolation more than integration. In fact, tourists prefer to look at different
places, costumes and habits like sitting in front of the television screen, watching a documentary,
more than sharing time with the indigenous population. Furthermore, tourists don't respect foreign
habits and cultures, often because they don't understand it. For example, they throw the litter on
the ground, or even worse they don't respect their hosts’ religion.

Nevertheless, the effects of international tourism are not all negative. Sometimes tourists fall in love
with people and places they visit and decide to live in there, acting as mediators between cultures
and enhancing integration. It's the case of lots of tourist guides that decided to move abroad and
enjoy a different lifestyle and culture, trying to share their feelings with visitors. Also speaking the
language of the place we visit can help us understand people from different cultures.

In addition, a large amount of money around the tourism business contrasts the tendency of some
countries to close their border to foreign people. This can lead to a better comprehension of these
cultures and so to integration.

In conclusion, the biggest industry in the world have to feel the need of changes in the way tourism
is structured, so it could become a mean of integration and reciprocal understanding more than
create tensions between cultures.

Model Answer 2:
The growth of tourism and the numbers of people travelling to other countries for their vacations
has led to debate as to whether this is beneficial. I believe that there are many problems which arise
out of the tourist industry, and will examine these in detail.

Many people argue that travel broadens the mind. However, this statement does not fully hold
water. I would argue that spending a few weeks in another country is not long enough to gain a
proper understanding of an alien culture. A foreigner visiting Britain might be met with the
traditional British reserve, and mistakenly conclude that the British are unfriendly. Furthermore,
some people are unwilling to open their minds. A Western traveller to an Arab country is unlikely to
consider that the veiling of women is acceptable.

Being a tourist in a foreign country brings with it problems that can lead to the dislike of the native
people. Firstly, a foreigner is vulnerable and is often ripped off by locals. Secondly, the language
barrier can lead to misunderstandings. Thirdly, tourists are often hassled to buy goods, which can
ruin a holiday. When I went to Bali, people tried to sell me something every five minutes, and this
totally spoils my sunbathing.

Local people also often end up disliking foreigners. Visitors may mistakenly act contrary to local
norms, or they may just be plain offensive, as many drunken British holidaymakers must seem to the
Spanish. Global tourism can lead to hostility from the native people, who may feel their traditional
way of life is under threat. Additionally, the relative wealth of the foreign visitors can cause envy and
resentment.

In conclusion, I would say that I largely agree with the argument that global tourism creates
misunderstanding between people from different cultures and that the differences are often a cause
for conflict rather than celebration.

47

Companies should encourage employees who work in a high position to leave at the age of 55 in
order to give opportunities to the new generation.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples.

Model Answer 1:

I totally disagree with the idea of high-level employees leaving at the age of 55 to make room for the
upcoming generation. While it is true that the energy level and fresh ideas of youth can rejuvenate a
company, the steady hand of experience can still best guide a company in most cases.

In English, there is a saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” In the fast-paced world of
business, bolstered by even faster hi-tech innovations, a younger more pliant mind would seem to
be able to adapt with greater flexibility, while such an environment might boggle an older more set-
in-its-ways mind. Take, for example, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, whose energy and brilliant insights as a
youth helped him to pioneer new territory in the computer software world and establish a digital
empire. Now as a more mature CEO, this king of the “computer” mountain is constantly on the verge
of being knocked down by upcoming digerati entrepreneurs. However, it is now the experience he
has accumulated as an older man which keeps him on top. So, combining the vigour and innovation
of younger workers with the experience of older workers would seem to be the winning hand in the
world of business.

The assertion is to give opportunities to the younger generation. If everyone retires at 55, there will
be a smaller pool of experience at the company. So, who will show them the ropes of the trade? It
would be as if we lopped off the last few chapters of a textbook. On this point, the argument would
seem to be built on false presumptions.

And think of all the other problems retirement at 55 would create. With life expectancy in many
advanced nations at 70-plus years, how would the state along with private enterprises be able to
support their retirement pensions? The economic repercussions of such an idea could be great.

Besides, the Western form of capitalism is built on competition and merit and not seniority according
to age, and democracy is built on equality for all regardless of one’s age, so the argument clearly
goes against these two pillars of Western society.

Granted, my counter-arguments are perhaps as simplistic as the original assertion itself, but without
qualifying the assertion with greater supporting evidence or background information, both sides can
be argued. Nevertheless, even after thoroughly considering the argument, I believe I would still
adhere to my viewpoint that the assertion lacks merit for the aforementioned reasons. Besides,
when I am 55 I do not fancy the idea of being put out to pasture. I think I will still be full of vitality
and have a desire to work, so I hope my workplace will view me as a treasure house of valuable
experience to pass along to the next generation and keep me on until I am at least 65 if not older.

Model Answer 2:

Unemployment is one of the leading problems in many overpopulated countries. Owing to this, few
companies offer voluntary retirement services to the staff members above the age of 55. I strongly
agree with the given statement. Offering positions for younger generation has major benefits. Firstly,
the young people work faster, stronger than the elders, who are weaker and slower at work. Just as
the companies which are based on labour work require stronger and healthy labourers. Secondly,
they are competitive and creative work sectors which enable the projects to grow at a faster pace.
Such as in IT companies most of the employees are under 55. Lastly, the selection of new personnel
can reduce the problem of unemployment to some extent.

However, on the other hand, it is argued that older generation should be allowed to extend their
services. They have experiences in particular kinds of work, in which the new staff may lack
knowledge and proper experiences. For instance, many businesses require experience in particular
field to compete with the opponents and they prefer experienced and aged people. Next, it could be
insensible to terminate the honest and worthy members. Therefore most of them would like to
continue with the old workers. Finally, they serve as the best resource of knowledge and skills, which
is essential for the community survival.

Overall, it is clear that elderly contributes a lot to the companies. However, they cannot be extended
to work for longer times. Therefore I believe that older generation needs to be replaced by the
youth.
48

You have decided to give several hours of your time each month to improve the community where
you live. What is one thing you will do to improve your community? Why?
Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice.

Model Answer 1:

I think the question what would I do if I had a chance to improve my community is difficult. I have in
my mind many things, the improvement of which will make our community better place to live but
they all require the participation of many people and, moreover, they require investments, which I
can not provide. For example, my community is quite noisy. We have the huge mall just in front of
our community, so traffic jams are very common for this place. I think that the construction of a few
pass-by roads will benefit all people who live here as well as people who drive by every day.

Unfortunately, the question is what I can do for my community giving a few hours of my time every
month. I think I can not do much, but I still can help someone in my community. For example, I can
babysit. I know a couple of families with little children, who can not afford to spend much money on
the babysitter. One of these families is a single mom with a little girl. Julia, this is her name, is a
waitress in a restaurant. She is a great person and we became close friends. So, sometimes I offer
her help with her child when she has to work in the evenings. Another family has two funny little
twins. One time their parents asked me to babysit their children because they had to attend an
unexpected presentation.

I think this kind of help brings many benefits to my community. First of all, people become friendlier.
For example, those families, which I mentioned above, became friends after I introduced them to
each other. Secondly, people get to know each other and feel more secure in their houses and
apartments. Finally, I am ready to help those people because I am sure that they will help me too.
One time I lost the keys from my car and Julia offered me her car for a while.

To sum up, I believe that the babysitting is a great way to help my community in many aspects.

Model Answer 2:
Historically humans have dwelled in a community which sets them apart from the other species on
earth. Communities have existed in different forms and can be the epicentre for any grown
civilisation. Any community is made up of individuals who contribute towards the growth and well-
being of the overall community. Since I am an integral part of my community, I equally share the
ownership and duty towards my community. I have decided to spend few hours every month to
contribute towards building up fitness facility in my community.

I consider ‘Fitness’ as a very important aspect of an individual’s life. It doesn’t have a very high
priority in our day-to-day life due to our busy work schedule and thus it always takes a back seat in
terms of our daily itinerary. To quote the famous saying, “A healthy mind in a healthy body”,
exercising is the best way to keep our body and mind healthy. Besides keeping us healthy, we can
bring freshness in our daily routine by exercising every day. Having fitness equipment in the
community just a few footsteps away can have very motivating results. People can exercise at their
convenience without spending unnecessary time on the commute.

Another reason to set up fitness equipment in the community is the affordability. Not every family
can afford the Gyms and fitness centres. Since these commercial fitness centres charge a lot of fees,
fitness at times is perceived as a luxury commodity, thus depriving the people of the best of the class
equipment. But, in this world of technology, world class equipment with the best design are
available at low prices too. To give an example, Singapore government has deployed fitness
equipment at every 100 meters for their Housing Development Board Units. Thus, the success of
Singapore can be repeated in my society.
To conclude, I consider fitness as a daily need and not a once in a blue moon activity. Having fitness
in a community is the best way to push ourselves to the treadmill every day. I recommend having
fitness in the community to enjoy the benefits of a healthy body.

49

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.

Model Answer 1:

It is quite common these days for young people in many countries to have a break from studying
after graduating from high school. This trend is not restricted to rich students who have the money
to travel but is also evident among poorer students who choose to work and become economically
independent for a period of time.

The reasons for this trend may involve the recognition that a young adult who passes directly from
school to university is rather restricted in terms of general knowledge and experience of the world.
By contrast, those who have spent some time earning a living or travelling to other places have a
broader view of life and better personal resources to draw on. They tend to be more independent,
which is a very important factor in academic study and research, as well as giving them an advantage
in terms of coping with the challenges of student life. However, there are certainly dangers in taking
time off at that important age. Young adults may end up never returning to their studies or finding it
difficult to re-adapt to an academic environment.They may think that it is better to continue in a
particular job or to do something completely different from a university course. But overall, I think
this is less likely today when academic qualifications are essential for getting a reasonable career.

My view is that young people should be encouraged to broaden their horizons. That is the best way
for them to get a clear perspective of what they are hoping to do with their lives and why. Students
with such a perspective are usually the most effective and motivated ones and taking a year off may
be the best way to gain this.

Model Answer 2:

Peoples are divided on the issue that countries should encourage the young peoples to do jobs or to
travel before attending university. Some people think that it is better for students to attend
university, while others believe that travelling and working before joining the university for formal
education is better for the students to understand the world. In my opinion, it is very important for
students to develop communication, attain maturity and develop professional attitudes and the later
approach is the better way of achieving it.

First of all, this will prepare the students for higher education. In the school student are no fully
matured. Even some remain childish in thinking and behaviour. In the university, a student will meet
with different types of peoples so there require a good understanding and mental maturity stage for
that. The university campus provides special and deep knowledge of particular field which require
hard working and learning capability. Because university education and teachers prepare the
students to survive in the real world on his own basis any place, some prior travel and work
experience would even accelerate it more.

Moreover, it will make one to understand the professional life. This will provide important
experience to a student to mange theirs studies with work, because in higher studies students have
to finance their studies or to work in research laboratories. Working at shop or small office will teach
the students to understand the working pressure, cooperation with coworkers and complete the
task in schedule. In my school days I worked in a drug selling shop from where I learned how to
convince and cool down the angry customer during selling. This, later on, proved to be valuable
experience in my university level.

Finally, it gives the chance to improve communication skill. Communication skill is an important part
not only at working area but also in learning centre. With excellent speaking and respecting
attitudes, one can win the favour of opposing persons. Travelling makes the person to share views
and learn various cultures, languages from other peoples. Exchanging opinion enriches one’s
speaking ability.

In summation, it is clear that pre-university jobs and travelling are vital experiences. These not only
prepare one for civil life and toward maturity but also make one to improve communication skill.

50

What are some important qualities of a good supervisor?

Use specific details and examples to explain why these qualities are important.

Model Answer 1:

It is a fact that a good supervisor should have some competencies and skills. The following essay will
discuss the qualities that a supervisor should have in details.

Firstly, a good supervisor should lead by examples. As a leader, his way and style of working will be
viewed by his staff, therefore he should lead his team by giving good examples. For instance, when a
supervisor wants his team to have good absence records, he should never come late as well. He
should become the role model for his teams by coming on time and work with discipline attitude.
This example will motivate his team to come early in the morning.

Secondly, a good supervisor should have the capability in managing his team. As a supervisor, he
should not be objective in judging his staffs, but he should treat his team professionally. For
examples, when a supervisor needs to prepare an absence schedule, he should make the timeline
fairly for all his teams. He should not make any time schedule which is unfair and would only be
beneficial for certain people.

Thirdly, a good leader will also pay attention to his team. He will help and assist his staffs who face
difficulties at work. For example, some staffs may be facing difficulties with their new computer
programs, and it is the supervisor's task to give some training and coaching to them until they
understand the new system.

In conclusion, a good supervisor should have some important qualifications in his work, such as lead
by example, have a good management skill and would assist his team.

Model Answer 2:

The job of a supervisor requires a lot of preparation and the strong attitude in caring about the
quality of work. The most relevant qualities of a supervisor will be analysed in the following
paragraphs, supported by specific details and examples.

Firstly, one of the most important characteristics of a supervisor is the perfect comprehension of the
nature and dynamics of the work he has to manage with. Furthermore, the supervisor is a manager
who leads the work of a group of people, so he has to be comprehensive on errors and at the same
time, he has not to lose the control over his subordinates, letting them do unrepairable mistakes.
That's a really challenging task that I'm experiencing this current year like responsible of a group of
research which represents the University of Padova in a European competition called Solar
Decathlon.

Another fundamental quality that makes a good supervisor is the capacity of judging equally all the
subordinates' works, instead of being preferential towards the ones which respect more his ideas.
The quality also includes his/her focus to the deadline and attaining excellence in the team.
Supervising a group of people with a strict rule is not always possible and more leadership qualities,
in this case, are essential. Being able to keep balance in the team and observing the progress while
learning from the past mistakes three other qualities each good supervisor should have.

In conclusion, a supervisor has to be perfectly acknowledged on the tasks he's working with and he
has to be a leader strict but right at the eyes of his subordinates.

51

According to those in the travel business, the nature of the average 'holiday' is changing. Rather
than seeking a relaxing break in a far-away place, people now want excitement on their holidays
and are keen to participate in unusual and challenging activities.

Do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 1:

Holidays are important because they provide a break from our normal daily routine and from the
world of work. Traditionally, holidays have been seen as a time for relaxation and as an opportunity
to visit another country in order to find out about its geography and customs. Nowadays, however, it
seems that other types of holiday are becoming popular.

Some people want their holidays to be adventurous and find this more exciting than going to the
beach or visiting museums. On an adventure holiday, you may stay in quite basic accommodation,
rather than a luxurious hotel. Activities may involve things such as bush walking or cycling, or may
form part of an aid project designed to help communities in remote areas. Holidays such as these are
popular with people of all ages and can often help to promote tourism in rural environments.

The increasing popularity of dangerous sports has also boosted the number of adventure holidays;
for example, water sports, mountain climbing or paragliding. These holidays are more popular with
the younger generation, as they can be both physically and mentally demanding. Participants are
often seeking the sort of thrills that they cannot get in ordinary life.

There is now greater awareness of the damaging effects of mass tourism and this may be one reason
for the changing nature of holidays. This can only be a good thing. But perhaps people are also
discovering that it is just as refreshing to take an active holiday, as it is to lie on a beach - though that
is still a question of personal preference.

Answer 2:

Nowadays, people live very hectic lives. They want to break the monotonousness of life. By means of
holidays, they get temporary escape from the routine and busy life. Thus, holidays play an important
role in everyone`s life. According to those who are in travel business, nature of the holiday is
changing. I completely agree with it.
On holidays people prefer to do some unusual activities which they usually don`t do. In past people
went to a distinct place with family and friends. They visited places near farm house or hill station for
relaxation only. Even they used to visit historical places, at various cuisines. To the previous
generation mean of holidays was to go to different places and have rest for body and mind.

Now the era has changed and the idea of holiday activities has also changed. There are so many
activities available for refreshments. People go with family and friends for the holidays. They even
plan international holidays too for great adventures. People go to beaches, they prefer surfing,
boating and swimming. In recent times, various adventurous activities like scuba diving, paragliding,
tracking, river rafting are on demand. People want to experience the peak of the excitement. By
attempting adventurous activities some people fulfill their dreams also.

In addition, now people want more excitement and different things to do which they usually don’t
do in their daily life. With unusual activities, they get not only physical exercise but also get mental
refreshment. These types of activities boost up their brains. This activity energise their body and
mind and refreshes them for better performance. Apart from that, it also prepares the body and
mind to work more efficiently.

In the end, changing are taking places of attitudes of people towards the holidays, they are keen to
participate in unusual and challenging activities which I totally support as great ways of refreshment.

52

Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives to
stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits.

Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why?

Model Answer 1:

Some people like to live in the same house, have the same job and habit all their lives. However,
others aspire to changes and new experience. Personally, for the several reasons, which I will explain
bellow, I prefer the first approach to life.

First of all, changes in one's life bring many benefits. One tries new things, gains new knowledge and
experience. I think it is great because without changes life becomes boring. I always try to make
changes in my life. Moreover, when I feel that my life is boring I do not feel well about it. I feel like I
spent those days for nothing. I did not do anything exciting, I learnt nothing interesting and I just
wasted my time.

Second of all, people need changes. Furthermore, we need obstacles to overcome and reach our
goals. I believe that changes make us stronger, more persistent, more self-confident, and more
patient. Also, I feel that all people who succeeded in life like changes and new experience because it
is impossible to be the best at some field without perfecting the present knowledge and gain new
experience. People catch every opportunity to learn more and change their life for the best.

From the other side, people who like their lives to stay the same are very permanent. They have the
same job all their life, the same habits, the same weekends and even the same years in years out. I
think it is boring. What will they tell their children about their lives? What kind of contribution will
they make for the society? I think such people are just afraid of changes.

I think curiosity and aspiration to the new experience are two of the main reasons of human
evolution. People always wanted to break limits and gain more knowledge and experience. So,
people who enjoy change are the engine of human development.

Model Answer 2:

Some People are adventurous so they prefer to grab new opportunities, while others like to stay
with their past but my inclination is towards the former group. In this essay, I am going to discuss the
both ways of life and then give my own opinion on the matter.

On the one hand, there are some merits and demerits for people who like to stay with their ancestral
attitudes or status. The most vital points which can be cited first regarding this is that they do not
want to leave their safe and secure places by any chance. Though like is boring sometimes but they
find their happiness in the secure and familiar places. These types of peoples do not want to explore
other planets like Mars, Venus or Neptune ; this way of living is not helpful for any positive
advancement of society.

On the other hand, there are some peoples who are adventurous and they try to embrace something
new. Firstly they believe that life is like a journey so you need to adapt yourselves to the changes.
Otherwise, you will be in a backward period and you have to stay alone in a society. These
categorised peoples are helpful for new inventions and also cause of the advancement of society. For
instance, our ancient people had left their tomb and embark new way of life as a result, they
invented fire and other amenities of ancient life.

In my opinion, I enjoy the approaches how life is becoming new with new inventions or experienced
new opportunities. I believe, if I get together with my old habits, it will give me tranquillity of life. But
after sometimes it makes me bored and inactive. So I am very eager to experience new places and
new cultures. By the way, I can feel myself and enjoy my times with the new opportunities.

53

Would you prefer to live in a traditional house or in a modern apartment building?

Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Model Answer 2:

Times have changed and so has the way people live. Due to changes in lifestyle and advancement in
technologies, people have started leaving many of their traditions. Some people still prefer to live in
a traditional house, others, however, are attracted towards modern houses. I would love to live in a
modern apartment, for several reasons that I will mention below.

On the one hand, those who prefer living in the traditional houses are the one who faces lots of
issues with routine living. One of the great disadvantages of the traditional house is that it is
impossible to use our favourite electronic goods. So these people lose the chances to get interaction
with the latest technologies. The maintenance costs of these houses are comparatively very high.

On the other hand, modern apartment offers security in different forms. So the robbers cannot
break in easily. This is the exact place where people can enjoy most of the latest technologies.
Apartment life teaches us good manners, scheduled work and cleanliness in a better way. Also, we
can get exposure to a lot of people from different communities. For example, a friend of mine who
shifted from a traditional house and now living in an apartment got the opportunity to mix with
people from different states and also over time she became good with technologies.

To conclude, the strong current of technological advancement has indeed eroded some traditions of
our nation, which includes traditional houses. Nevertheless, both of them are mutually incompatible.
The only way we can preserve our tradition which reflects our origin and roots by modern
apartments, which should be built in the form of our traditional houses.

Model Answer 3:

In big cities variety of houses are available and every living place has some pros and cons. I would like
to get a detached house which is more traditional than a modern apartment. In my opinion to live in
a typical house is comfortable, spacious and independent. Multistoried flats are congested and have
compromised space.

Home is the place where a man relaxes. If someone owns a house according to his wishes and needs
then he can enjoy his life with friends and family. Independent houses are separate buildings with
least contact with the neighbourhood. These houses are having a more covered area, garage, small
compounds, backyards and rooms for guests. While living in these houses one can manage to park
two to four vehicles in building and cars are more protected when they are under the roof.
Ultraviolet light is blessing from nature and it kills bacteria, vanishes the smell from rooms and it is in
excess in these houses. A man can enjoy gardening in backyards and front lawn and multi coloured
flowers add the charm in a house.

I will not like to live in an apartment. These small houses do not have parking place, backyards and
separate rooms for guests. Rooms are not well aerated and sunny and this factor put an adverse
effect on human health. Multi-storied buildings usually have offices and shopping Malls on lower a
floor that is the source of noise and rush. Moreover, any activity one floor above and one floor down
produce the discomfort to habitants of that floor. Middle-aged people and old cannot get deep sleep
in a noisy environment. Modern buildings management receives monthly charges for the provisions
of lifts, water and cleaning of common areas.

In conclusion, I will choose a routine house for living. Traditional houses are having more space and
are friendly for domestic activities. I will enjoy exercise, weather, and flowers in day life and take
deep and comfortable sleep while at night.

54

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Children should be required to help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Model Answer 1:

The issue about whether children should help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so
is open for debate. Some people say that children should devote more time for playing with their
friends, watching TV and studying. However, other people believe that children should help their
parents with household tasks. Personally, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I adhere to
the latter point of view.

First of all, I think that every child should have his or her own responsibilities. When I was a child my
parents taught me how to make breakfast in the morning. So, I woke up, went to the kitchen and
prepared a couple of toasts for breakfast. It was easy and I enjoyed doing it because I liked the way
my parents thanked me and I felt that they were proud of me. Also, my mom always wanted me to
know how to cook, clean and iron my cloth. Thanks to the learning, nowadays, when my maid can
not come to my house I handle all household tasks myself.

Second of all, performing household tasks teaches children to value the job of people who did it.
When I was a child I did not imagine that cleaning house could be so time and energy consuming. So,
when I began to do some of the household tasks by myself I began to respect the job of others and
tried to collect all my toys after my playing with them.

Finally, doing household tasks teaches children to arrange their time. In addition to those practical
benefits, help from children allows parents to have more spare time for their personal lives and for
the children. A family can have more time to spend with each other talking, watching movies or just
enjoying the beautiful moments.

To sum up, I think that children should help their parents with household tasks. Doing household
tasks helps them to grow into independent, self-confident, and attentive persons who respect their
parents.

Model Answer 2:

As time goes by, parents have less and less time to spend at home with their children because of
their working pressure & schedules. Lots of people think that it should be better to teach their
children to do house works, so they could do household tasks more rapidly and especially together
and can prepare for the upcoming days. I think that is right to teach children to do house works and I
will discuss this topic in the next paragraphs.

The reason why children should learn how to do household tasks is that it will become extremely
useful to them in the future. In fact, learning to do the house works will prepare children to adult
life. Furthermore, the fact that children can contribute to household tasks is a concrete help for their
parents and a reason of pride.

Parents should firstly teach to their children to complete easy tasks such as removing dust or
washing their toys. Secondly, children could give some help with gardening or take care of pets,
which are tasks that require interest and more attention. Finally, young boys and girls could use the
hoover or the dishwasher. The most important aspect of teaching how to do house works is to make
them easy-to-do and even amusing if possible.

To conclude, people who don't believe that their children are able to do household tasks are
completely wrong and have to change their mind even if they hadn't been required to do house
works when they were children too.

Model Answer 3:

Learning and education is an important part of a child’s life. Children learn a lot from their
surroundings. The parents are the first guides and mentors of their children.

Involving the children in household tasks is a vital part of their learning. When the kids are old
enough to be able to help in such tasks, they should be made to do so. Children can be asked to help
their mother in cooking, cleaning the house, organising their wardrobes, setting the dining table for
lunch and dinner, putting the things in order at home. These are small tasks, but in doing so, the
children learn a lot.
These small chores inculcate a feeling of responsibility in children. For example, my two-year-old is
always instructed to put her toys back in the bucket whenever she is done playing. Now, she does
not need to be told that either, because she knows that it’s her responsibility to put her things back
in order when she is done with them. This sense of responsibility also makes a child more confident.
The child also learns to help people around. It develops a caring attitude towards other people. It
also helps children to develop a habit of doing things together with their peers. The child gets
disciplined when he is used to organising his room and wardrobe.

In short, in order to make the children a useful part of a community, we should involve them in such
activities. This will not only groom their personalities but also set an example for others to follow.

55

The number of overweight children in developed countries is increasing. Some people think this is
due to problems such as the growing number of fast food outlets. Others believe that parents are
to blame for not looking after their children's health.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with these views?

Alternative Answer 2:

An increasing number of overweight children in many developing nations is a major problem which is
always open for a debate. This is a topical question nowadays. Regarding this issue, some people
think that problem is due to rise of the number of fast food centres while others point out that
parents are responsible for lacking care on children's health. I strongly opine that food habits are
completely transformed which need to be rectified immediately.

On one hand, different types of foreign dishes are spread throughout the world. As children are
more interested in these foods, they choose them without knowing cons about them. Consequently,
a developing country cannot deny the entry of foreign trades which affects economic condition of a
nation. The ingredients used to prepare an item in the fast food outlets are of low quality but rich in
fat contents and other elements which affect a child's health. Factors behind increasing demands of
fast food centres include - low cost, instant availability, and finally, their distance from workplaces
and our home. Fast food shops are located in every corner of the streets and people are being
attracted by the variety of different tasty yet detrimental foods.

On the other hand, parents are more blamed due to this problem. There are many factors relevant
to this. In this challenging world, both parents are willing to have a job to adopt posh lifestyle and
also to show their status. Consequently, their vision on the child's food habit plunged to the low level
and thus results in unhealthy food habits. Other reasons like hormonal imbalance or gene transfer
from parents to children result in obesity. In this urban life, families prefer to late parties, restaurant
foods etc. These new interests devastated healthy food habits.

Finally, in short consumption of fast foods should be reduced gradually simultaneously parents ought
to pay more concentration on children habits and also force them to do exercises which keep body
it.

Alternative Answer 3:

All around the world, the living standards are becoming higher and all more similar to western
society. This changing in the everyday life brings also its contradictions and drawbacks, like the
dramatic increasing in the number of overweight people. This problem is even more worrying if we
consider the number of overweight children, which causes will be treated in this essay.

One of the reasons lots of people think is the cause of such a problem is the exponentially growing
number of fast food outlets in developed countries. Fast foods originally were places where to eat a
meal in few times, but now have become also the easiest and cheapest solution to have lunch all
over the world. Consequently millions of families prefer to eat in fast foods where the food is
appealing, thanks to the huge work on advertisements, and the cost is reasonable. Therefore,
parents bring their children to the fast food outlets, where food isn't organic at all and the
dimensions of a meal are completely over-proportioned.

However, parents are responsible for their children's diet and have to look after them in order to
avoid they become overweight or even obese. Parents have to find time to prepare healthy food for
children, for example, fresh vegetables or meat, that don't require more than half an hour of
cooking. Moreover, parents have to free their children's diet from sweets, exchanging them with
fresh fruit.

In conclusion, both fast foods and lack of parental control are causes of the increasing number of
overweight children. Consequently, a change in familiar eating habits and in fast food outlets menus
could prevent the risk of a future worldwide spread obesity problem.

56

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Television has destroyed communication among friends and family.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

The invention of television is undoubtedly one of the humankind's greatest inventions. It is a way of
communication among people of one country and different countries and nations. People watch TV
to find out about the latest news, weather, sports, etc. It is a great way to learn new and extend
one's range of interests. Scientists say that children spend the same amount of hours in front of TV
as they do in school. I think that this can be said about many grown people too. Also, television is a
great means of eliminating stress and tension. One can relax and leave one's troubles behind lying on
one's favourite sofa and watching a comedy. However, some people believe that television has
destroyed communication among friends and family.

Personally, I do not agree with this statement. A couple centuries ago people spent their time
gambling, reading, gossiping or playing chess. I do not think that television is a cause of destroyed
communication among family members and friends. First of all, if members of a family have common
interests and they want to make each other happy they will always find many ways to spend their
time together and be close. Otherwise, if people avoid each other and they do not have anything to
share with each other they will find television a great way to escape from this miserable existence. I
believe that many people chose family and their friends over some soap operas or a movie.

Second of all, I think that television can be a great resource of subjects to discuss. Many people
watch different educational programs to find out more about their environment, nature, wildlife
animals, economic situations, etc. So, when they gather with their friends they discuss important
issues and argue with each other in looking for the truth.

My husband and I often watch the news channel to keep abreast of the latest news. After that, we
always discuss some issues we concerned about. Also, we like to watch a TV show "the funniest
animals". We like this program because it makes us laugh. I cannot imagine how these programs can
prevent our communication and be harmful to our relations.

To conclude, I would like to add that if people want to communicate with each other they will find a
way to do it. Otherwise, if television were not existent, people would find other escapes and reasons
not to be with each other such as drugs, gambling, etc.

Model Answer 2:

Some people believe that the existence of television brings many negative effects in our
communities. It is reported that television is one of the main reasons for the miscommunication
problem between families, relatives and friends. I personally disagree with the statement, since it is
not the television’s fault, but mainly due the irresponsible act of the individuals themselves, and the
following paragraphs will explain it in more details.

For a number of reasons, television brings a lot of benefits for many individuals and societies. Firstly,
televisions provide lots of crucial information which are certainly useful for many communities. For
example, it is common that news on television informs about the economic and political conditions
of a particular country. This crucial information is definitely important for investors, financial analyst
or bankers in making short and long term investment. Secondly, television also provides educative
shows which are truly beneficial for the communities, specifically for students and scholars. Some of
the shows are National Geographic Channel, Discovery or Animal planets which educate the public
regarding the wildlife and natural sciences.

On the other hand, some people are addicted to television and have spent a large portion of their
personal time in front of the television and ignore their main duties as a member of a family or part
of certain communities. I personally think that these kinds of problems are not due to the existence
of the television, but due to the individuals themselves who are not capable and responsible in
managing their times. It is also noticed that some people are not being wise in utilising their
smartphones which certainly exaggerate the issues.

In conclusion, I strongly disagree that televisions have caused some serious problems for individuals
in terms of communication among families and friends, as it is the mistake of the individuals
themselves who are not being responsible for organising their time.

57

Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things that we really do not need. Others
say that advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives.

Which viewpoint do you agree with?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Sample Answer 3:
In a literal sense, Advertising is an art of showcasing a product to its future consumers. When a
company or a person advertise a product he is conveying how the product would benefit the
consumer with its unique and best features. Since the Inception of consumer markets merchants
have been using Advertising and marketing to sell their product and increase their reach to
maximum consumers. I am in absolute discord with the statement that Advertising insists people to
buy things they do not need. In my view, Advertising is a key tool in the market mechanism and can
benefit customers and ultimately merchants in several ways like spreading awareness, increasing
competition, discourage monopoly and help the overall economy.

Advertising has helped and is continuing to help spread the right information and makes a consumer
cognizant of what is available in the market. It helps drive the competition upwards benefitting the
end customer by getting varied options to choose. For example, when 'Colgate' came in the market
as the first toothpaste, consumers did not have any other option other than Colgate until other
companies like 'Close-up' started advertising their product. This resulted in a boost in the
competition which ultimately slashed the prices of the product. Thus, Advertising plays a very
important role in engaging the end customer such that the buyer gets the best worth of what he is
spending. While a consumer is the end target and beneficiary of any product produced by a
merchant, a consumer is also the best judge of the decisions he takes in terms of what he wants to
buy. In my opinion, it is inappropriate to blame the advertising for an increased consumer spending.
To curb the unnecessary spending both people and government have to work collectively. People
need to be wary of their spending and pay heed to their finances by managing them smartly. A
government can play its part in authorising and monitoring the right contents to be published to the
public. Hence, right and smart advertising can help a nation and its population in great ways by
exploiting the benefits of advertising.

To draw the conclusion, barring a few disadvantages Advertising can be used as a tool to enhance
the growth of an economy by increasing the spending, bringing the right products to the consumer,
boosting the competition. Even Government can use smart adverts to make people aware of
managing their finances and increase financial literacy. All in all, I would recommend healthier
advertising to benefit the consumer, merchant and ultimately the world economy.

Model Answer 1:

The purpose of advertising is to tell the consumer about any new product or service or any new
promotion on the existing product and service. We need it so we can make good decisions when we
go shopping. Advertising tells us when new and improved products become available and lets us
know which ones have the best price.

Through advertisements, we learn about new products. For example, many grocery stores now sell
prepackaged lunches. These are very convenient for busy parents. They can give these lunches to
their children to take to school. Busy parents don’t have time to look at every item on the store
shelf, so without advertisements, they might not know about such a convenient new product.

Even products we are familiar with may be improved, and advertising lets us know about this. Most
people use cell phones, but new types of cell phone service become available all the time. There are
different plans that give you more hours to talk on the phone, you can send text messages and
photos, and next week probably some even newer type of service will be available. By watching
advertisements on TV it is easy to find out about new improvements to all kinds of products.

Advertisements keep us informed about prices. Prices change all the time, but everyone can look at
the ads in the newspaper and see what the latest prices are. Advertisements also inform us about
sales. In fact, some people buy the newspaper only in order to check the prices and plan their weekly
shopping.
Advertisements improve our lives by keeping us informed about the latest products developments
and the best prices. Advertisements serve a useful purpose.

58

Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with
modern buildings?

What is your viewpoint on this issue?

Model Answer 1:

Some people think that old, historic buildings are no need for the city and they should be destroyed
and replaced with modern ones. However, other people believe that historic buildings must be
preserved in order to know and remember our past. For several reasons that I will mention bellow I
agree with those people who want to preserve old, historical buildings.

First of all, by preserving historical buildings we pass our history to our future generations. I think
that out children should know their history, learn from it and respect it. People need to know their
traditions and customs, which are priceless and irreplaceable. Our history is our knowledge and
power. In my opinion, we need to preserve and restore historical buildings. By destroying them we
show our disrespect to our forefathers and their traditions.

Second of all, by preserving historical buildings a city can attract many travellers. Welcoming tourists
a city can get many benefits including money, which can be spent on preserving historical buildings
as well as on improving roads and facilities. Every city has its own tradition and history which is
reflected through the art and creation of the building mostly. Destroying those heritage means
destroying the old value and history.

Also, many tourists mean a lot of new business opportunities. Another important aspect of this is
that businessmen will be willing to build new recreational centres, hotels, movie theatres, shopping
centres to make a city more attractive for travellers. In addition to those practical benefits, many
people will have the opportunity to get a job. All this is good for the economy of the city.

To sum up, I believe that preserving old, historical buildings can bring only benefits to a city and all
humankind.

Model Answer 2:

Modernization has resulted in rapid expansion of cities, which has left its heritage and culture
behind. Day by day new commercial complexes and other buildings are coming up in the place of
older buildings. Sometimes historically significant buildings have been demolished to build new
structures. This has stirred into an interesting debate on whether the historic buildings should
become a prey of modernization or not.

Firstly, conserving historical building is a means of transferring ancestral legacy to the future
generations. These are a great means for our children to learn about our culture and heritage, also
such monuments often give insight into our ancestor's lifestyle. Knowing our history and giving
respect to it is very much important to advocate patriotism in young people.

Secondly, such buildings will attract more tourists, hence, the tourism industry will grow. This brings
more money, thus improves the lives of people over there. This money could be used to preserve
and renovate such buildings. Additionally, a city becomes well known among other parts and this
increases chances of getting more funds and investments.

Finally, increased tourism means increased income. To cater to the increasing number of tourists’
new hotels, resorts and better facilities have to be built. Apart from bringing more money, it
increases employment opportunities too.

In my opinion, by preserving such buildings would greatly benefit to the economy and also teaches
future generations about their history, culture and traditions. Furthermore, it significantly
contributes to infrastructure developments and modernization, at the same time allows saving the
cultural beauty.
59

People have different job expectations for jobs. Some people prefer to do the same job for the
same company, whereas others prefer to change jobs frequently.

Write about the advantages and disadvantages of each viewpoint?

Model Answer 1:

In the modern workplace, there is no longer the attitude that ‘a job is for life’. Nowadays, many
people take the option to change jobs, while others prefer not to. In my essay, I will explore the good
and bad points of the above attitudes. One of the main benefits of staying in one job is security.
Changing employer often means a period of instability, where one may have to think about moving
house, or temporarily losing a steady source of income. Staying in one job means these problems are
avoided.

Another benefit of not changing occupation is that one is able to gain a lot of experience and
expertise in his specific profession, thus enhancing job security. One’s company may recognise their
loyalty and reward their service. On the other hand, those who often change jobs may be seen as
unreliable, lacking in experience and employers might be reluctant to hire and invest training in
them.

However, there are arguments in favour of changing job frequently. One is that a worker improves
his employability. Working in several different jobs often means that the individual has more skills.
Such people are seen as more dynamic and versatile.

Another benefit of changing jobs frequently is that one never gets stuck in a rut. From my own
experience, I got bored when I spent too long in a job. Following this, the quality of my work would
suffer. I also believe that employers generally don’t tend to greatly reward loyalty or commitment.
Increased wages and promotion are often easier to attain by changing jobs.

Overall, it can be said that the disadvantages of changing jobs are the advantages of staying put, and
vice versa... In my opinion, I feel that changing jobs every once in a while is of more benefit.

Model Answer 2:

People have many expectations from their jobs. Jobs are usually done by people to fulfil their needs
and also for self-satisfactions and for gaining skills. Employees look for promotions and salary hikes
whenever they think they deserve it. To obtain this some people prefer to change jobs frequently
while others continue with one job in the same company. This is a typical question nowadays. I
strongly believe that both situations have pros and cons.
Firstly, if people endure in the same company in the same job, then they gain a lot of experience
which is counted to offer promotion ultimately and that results in salary hike. Moreover, for this
scenario responsibility increases, it provides security and also shows loyalty to a company. So, the
company recognises the employee as a trustworthy person and offers many benefits including
foreign job promotions. On the other hand, continuing a job in the same company for a longer time
is a slow process of career growth. Same work throughout the career is also tedious to many people.

Secondly, switching from one job to another job will bring challenging environment whether they
continue in the same company or not. While doing this, they get chances of having new social
relations, gain different job skills. By continuous changes, new pictures come to the screen. So,
ultimately the person will be fresher to the new job. But if the transferring takes place with the same
job among various companies lead to quick career growth. In general, more people become
interested to follow this process. The one big advantage is salary hikes will be more.

Finally, I strongly opine that continuous change in job provides quick career growth. While staying in
a single job in the same company avoids personal problems like shifting house, children's education
growth, adjusting to new environment etc.

60

In a number of countries, some people think it is necessary to spend large sums of money on
constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. Others believe the money should
be spent on improving existing public transport.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Sample Answer:

People, in some countries, prefer to have a fast and extensive rail communication while others think
that improving the existing road transportation system is far more important and that is why more
budget should be spent on roads. This essay discusses both views and includes my opinion before
drawing a reasonable conclusion.

On the one hand, people in favour of having a speedy and reliable train communication system
mainly base their ground on the fact that trains can carry a great number of passengers and goods at
a time and can remarkably reduce the traffic congestion. Rail communication is safer, faster and can
connect cities and towns that build a better communication system than the conventional road
transport system, according to these people. Furthermore, locomotives are already famous in many
countries and have greatly improved communications there. Due to such advantages, people often
opine that more money should be allocated for constructing new train lines. For instance, train
system in China has a groundbreaking contribution to improving its overall communication system
and many countries have started adopting this model.

On the other hand, public transport system plays an essential role for interconnecting the different
parts of the cities and the highest percentage of people use this system to travel to different places.
Though trains can improve the city transport facilities, it is not an alternative to the existing road
transports. That is why many people believe that national budget should be utilised on improving the
public transport for the sake of the better communication for mass people. For instance, train line in
the UK has always contributed to a great extent to the overall transport system in the country.
Nevertheless, the public transport has always been the main commuting mode for the UK citizens.

To conclude, I personally believe that, the national budget should be fairly distributed both for the
improvement of the rail and public transports for the overall expansion and improvement of the
transportation system.

Environmental problems are becoming a global issue. Environmental problems are counter-
challenging the quality of life people enjoy in modern advanced societies. Do you think that
environmental problems will produce better results if it is addressed globally or it should be
addressed by individual countries?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Sample Answer 1:

Some environmental problems are regional like cyclones and some others are global - greenhouse
effects for instance. With the span of time, most of the environmental problems are becoming global
issues and I believe that global initiatives should be taken for the best result and to make the world a
better place to live in.

To begin with, environmental problems are generally caused by humans and while some of them are
national in nature, most of them are global issues. Noise or water pollution at a time remain national
problems but after a certain period, it would turn into a problem for the whole world. Thus if some
environmental problems are left unaddressed due to its span in a country, it would soon become the
problem for all nations.

Moreover, not all nations are equally qualified to address issues of such magnitude, due to their
economic and political aspects, and this is why other affluent nations should extend their helping
hands to solve such problems. Rich nations contribute more to the global warming and this is why
they need to build a common platform to bring all nations together to fight the environmental
problems. For a poor country, it is quite tough to allocate budget for saving the greenery while
millions of its population are suffering from hunger and natural disaster. This is why other rich
nations have natural obligations to help those poor or developing nations.

To draw the conclusion, global environmental problems like greenhouse effects, global warming etc.
have already become the concern for every nation. A collaborative effort to address these problems
would be a better strategy while each nation is not equally adept to solve the global problems.

Model Answer 2:

Environmental problems greatly vary in terms of their magnitudes and some of these are local, while
others are definitely global in nature - the greenhouse effect or global warming for example. For the
best result, these short of problems should be addressed at the most appropriate levels, sometimes
even at multiple levels.

To begin with, some environmental problems are generally caused by a group of people in a
particular region and these issues get accelerated by the rapid expansion of industrialisation in this
region. These sorts of problems often include noise pollution, air pollution, deforestation,
intoxicating waste disposal etc. and these are generally national in nature. It is better to address
these types of environmental problems at the national level and educating people is a viable solution
in this scenario. International aid sometimes can help a poor or developing country to address
environmental problems but the government of the country should take initiatives to solve such
national problems.
Having said that, some environmental problems, for instance, common river, coastline or sea
pollution concerns more than one countries and those sorts of problems should be addressed at a
bilateral level. Similarly, if an environmental problem concerns a large region, for instance, a
continent, that should be discussed and fought by the countries that are located on this continent.
Some common examples of this type of environmental problems are desertification, soil erosion,
aridness and floods.

Finally, some environmental problems pervade across national boundaries and calls for multinational
or global collaboration. For example, radioactive industrial wastages in oceans, ozone layer
degradation, global warming are global issues and these types of problems should be addressed by
every single nation in the world. For greater success and effectiveness, I believe that the
commitment of countries, especially rich nations, is quite important.

To conclude, environmental problems should be viewed as a common problem for the mankind and
those global problems should be endorsed and shared globally by all nations. Similarly, rich nationals
should help the developing nations to fight their regional and national environmental problems for
the best result.

62

Due to effects of globalisation, the cultures of some countries are influenced by others. Some
people think this is a natural process. Others think this is a threat to cultural identity. What is your
opinion about this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Sample Answer 1:

Globalisation is sweeping all the differences and boundaries among nations. The buzzword
globalisation refers to freeing up of markets, free flow of goods and information and as a result, the
traditional barriers among nations are gradually breaking down and the world is becoming closer in
terms of cultural and economic relations. So as a natural process, the culture of different countries
are blending together and a country is adopting foreign cultures faster than ever.

In recent years some countries are experiencing rapid cultural changes and the culture of a
dominating country is being adopted by the people of other countries. For instance, due to the
spread of Indian TV channels and their Bombay-centric flamboyant Hindi cultures, many SAARC
countries are on the verge of losing their century-old cultural uniqueness. Interestingly, Indian
culture is also being influenced by more dominating Hollywood.

In the age of globalisation, countries are seeking greater cooperation and the spirit is a greater flow
of commodities, information and people across the borders of different countries. Mass media and
technology have played an even greater role in promoting the norm of globalisation and people
these days are aware of the cultural presence of other countries. The tourist influx in different
countries is creating a mix cultural global village where no country is unique, rather they all have a
mixed-culture.

Some people treat this as a natural process while others take it as a threat to their own cultural
identity. I personally believe that cultures are dynamic and living phenomena. Culture, what we
know today, was different in the past and that is why we should not be too much wary of changes.
Even before globalisation swept in, we started celebrating the 31st December and the Valentine’s
Day, which is completely foreign to our culture. This is the era of free information exchange and if we
stop international cooperation for the sake of our cultural identity, our progress would stop
overnight.

In conclusion, the free trade and global market is such a powerful concept that it cannot be stopped
anymore. Keeping the window of progress is better than keeping them close even if this means
inheriting foreign cultures.

Nowadays many young people leave home at an early age to either study or work in another city.
Do you think this has more advantages or disadvantages for young people?

Support your point of view with reasons and examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Sample Answer:
Today, because of better job opportunity or better education, many young people leave their house
and go to continue their life far away from their families. This growing trend has both pros and cons
which will be elucidated in the following paragraphs. I personally feel that leaving home for a better
education or career is a right step to take.

On one hand, if young people live separately they will learn how to become self-reliant and make
decisions independently. For example, when those young people live with their family, most of their
tasks are done by their parents. However, when they start living far away, they learn how to manage
their time, clean the house, do laundry, shop, cook and pay the bills and so on. Also, they will learn
the value of money and try to spend it reasonability and save it for the future. Furthermore, they
make new friends and learn about diverse customs and cultures.

On the other hand, when those young live alone, there are lots of responsibilities to take which they
often fail to complete accurately. Initially, this perhaps leads them to feel isolated and if they do not
find a suitable way to get rid of that, it causes depression. Furthermore, they are often not mature
enough to avoid the pitfalls of bad company and habits. So, if they find inappropriate friends or
roommates who have bad habits, they would probably get involved in unethical acts or even with
crimes.

In conclusion, from what has been discussed, although living alone may have some drawbacks but it
leads to young people bringing up more independent which it is really pleasant for their entire life.

64

Some young people look forward to a year of travelling, a gap year, before they begin work or
university and see it as a chance to broaden their horizons. For others, this is an expensive waste
of time.

Which viewpoint do you agree with?

Sample Answer: (Supports the year gap before starting the university or job)

Some youngsters consider a gap year the key to sharpening their career prospects, others think it is a
worthless pursuit. I believe that pursuing a gap-year can provide worthwhile experiences to
juveniles, laying the seeds of a prosperous professional career. Although a gap-year is an exciting
opportunity to undertake a self-development project, it is risky at the same time.

On the one hand, youngsters can gain relevant work experiences, key skills; broadening their view of
the world. Working during the defer years can increase invaluable knowledge. Furthermore,
experiencing other countries can help gain an appreciation and awareness of global issues, putting
people in the lead. Such knowledge is paramount to secure a dream job.

On the other hand, it can cost an awful amount of money to organise and realise. To add to the
ordeal, one can get bankrupt. One in ten people face financial ordeals from budget mismanagement
according to gap-year tour operators, however, that number is negligible.

Finally, in my opinion, hefty expenses should be the least cause for deterring a gap-year. The return
on investment is high, bringing positive drastic change to the personality of the youngster. Travelling
to other countries solidifies young adults with soft, and hard skills; moulding character and
individuality. Facing and circumventing adversity in an unfamiliar country sets a solid foundation for
solving problems in life. Such experience is worth the expense.

In conclusion, there is definitely an edge some young person can attain contrasting to those who
consider gap-years an expensive waste of time. However, improper planning can adversely affect
personal finances; accurate gap-year budget plans eliminates the risk of debt and bankruptcy.

65

With an increasing population communicating via the internet and text messaging, face to face
communication will become a thing of the past.

To what extent do you agree?

Sample Answer:

Use of the internet and smartphones has become a global phenomenon and each of us is dependent
on these technological marvels in one or the other way. While there is a notion that asserts that
widespread use of the internet, online communication and cellular messaging will replace the
traditional form of face to face interaction, - I completely disagree with it.

Supporters of this belief argue that extended use of the internet mitigates homesickness and the
drive to meet the loved ones for people residing abroad. This can especially be true when one gets a
chance to express his feelings via a text or phone call. To quote an example, Skype and Facebook
have enabled people living in far flung areas to communicate effectively through video chats,
thereby putting a lid to the urge of seeing somebody. Significant reduction of home visits to family
and friends will be a direct result.

However, while this might scale back in personal meet ups to some extent for a short term, the web
can, in fact, enable the present and future generations to become more polarised towards seeing
siblings, parents and mates in the long run. This can be easily visualised by taking into account the
fact that if we are to sustain the net as a tool to deliver our emotions and beliefs to the world, we
will need to picture proof gatherings, celebrations and events thereby obviating the need for face to
face communication. Secondly, it is a well-acknowledged fact that 'The human is a social being' and
it is to the credit of this physical presence that we as a species are able to harness long-term
relationships, so its value cannot be undermined for times to come. Moreover, adults can only set a
precedent of high moral values for their progeny by serving as role models, which is only possible off
the net. Mere endorsing words of good character by texts cannot inculcate the right kind of virtue,
thereby further laying emphasis on human presence for future.

Therefore, by seeing both sides of the spectrum, it is clearly evident that the internet and text
messaging will not make the face to face communication as a footnote of the past.

66
One of the major problems facing the world today is the growing number of refugees. The
developed nations in the world should tackle this problem by taking more refugees.

To what extent do you agree with this opinion?

Sample Answer:

The recent political unrest, war and the rise of a few terrorist groups have made many people
become refugees and this issue is now a global problem. As an immediate solution, many express
their view that rich countries should allow more evacuees to enter their border to reduce the
severity of this crisis. However, accepting a higher number of migrants by the developed countries is
not a viable solution to this refugee crisis, in my opinion.

Worldwide refugees and their constant sufferings are often reported on TV. At a first look, it might
seem that industrialised countries can easily solve this emergency and sufferings by allowing more
refugee immigrants to enter their countries. In reality, this is certainly not an easy solution. If we
only look at the few recent catastrophic events that the migrant refugees have caused, it would
become clear why the governments in developed countries are unwavering to accept more people
to their countries. Besides, historically, it is evident that only granting more refugees in other
countries does not solve the problem, in some cases, it actually deteriorates it.

Due to the humanitarian reasons, developed countries should help destitute and needy people as we
live in a global village. It is no longer possible, unlike the past, to ignore what happens on the other
side of the world. This is partly a moral issue and partly because it is in the self-economic interest of
the industrialised countries to other nations to develop. Considering this, a practical way of reducing
the severity of this crisis would be to accept more refugees, particularly when it is caused by natural
disaster and civil war.

From a more practical point of view, mass immigrations would bring more negative effects. Solving
the root cause of the outbreaks of refugees is a far better way than allowing them freely migrate to
developed countries. On a practical level, homeless refugees are sometimes better off receiving aid
in their homeland than suffering racism and begging on the streets in a country where they cannot
speak the language.

To conclude, affluent countries should take refugees but only in extreme cases and should focus on
solving the primary reason behind the refugee issue. Sometimes funds and aids for refugees in their
local area are far more beneficial than accepting them as migrants and finally forcing them to beg on
the street.
67

Overpopulation in most developing countries in Asia and Africa is a problem. If these countries do
not try to control the population immediately, they will face serious problems. What are your
suggestions to control population?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Sample Answer 1:

The world already has an unendurable population and the highest percentages of them either live in
Asia or in Africa. Poverty, corruption, pollution and diseases are epidemic in these parts of the world
and the higher populace is the main reason for that. If the population in these two continents are
not controlled, the problems would completely get out of hand and this essay suggests some ways of
curbing the expansion of population.

To begin with, Africa and Asia have the largest proportion of the population on one hand, and the
highest share of poverty driven inhabitants on the other hand. The high population density, poverty,
unemployment and other social problems have already made it tough for these countries to
progress. increasing population growth there makes the future even more uncertain. Higher
population in some developed countries are seen as a blessing while it is not the case in most of the
Asian and African countries as most of their citizens are uneducated and unskilled.

To control the population the first step has to come from the government. The authority should
restrict the number of children a family can have and violation of this policy should be severely
punished. Countries like China have already adopted this policy and have been able to control their
population to a certain extent. Besides, the citizens have to be aware of the negative effects of the
uncontrolled population and spontaneously take the birth control measures. Without the support of
the ordinary population, the government alone cannot control it. Above all, the international
organisations like WHO, UNDP and other humanitarian organisation should work in these countries
to educate people about the negative consequences of the higher population growth. Besides, they
should provide funds for birth-control in these countries.

In conclusion, the higher population in poor countries are the greatest threat and the main
hindrance to the progress. The government, ordinary people and international organisations should
work together to control the rapid population growth in these countries. Without a combination of
policy, awareness and a free flow of fund, it would be impossible to help those countries control
their population.

Model Answer 2:

The population growth in the world is already out of control and this is more daunting in Asian and
African countries. The population growth in these regions is uncontrollable due to ignorance, poor
quality of life, and the religious and social taboo against population control. In this essay, I will briefly
suggest some issues that overpopulation causes and some ways to control it.

Overpopulation causes a complex set of problems that negatively affect the quality of life, increase
crime, pollution and corruption. Increasing population create more pressure on the already limited
resources in the poor and developing countries and an upsurge in population will simply make the
situation worse. Unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, poverty, malnutrition, low literacy rates
and high competition already make the citizens suffer a lot and if the population growth is not
controlled, it will make things worse day by day.

Controlling the population in a country could not be achieved overnight and despite initiatives and
educational campaigns, the result might come slowly due to the social and religious taboo and lack
of education. However, proper steps should be taken to control the rapid expansion of population.
First and foremost is to make the social movements and awareness campaigns more frequent,
especially among the poor citizens to educate them the negative consequences they will go through
if they do not control the number of children in their family.

Making contraceptives available for free among the poor population should be ensured. Finally, the
government must impose laws and rules to restrict the family members. For instance, families in
China are not allowed to have more than one child and if any family violates it, they are financially
punished. This may seem cruel at first but the one-child policy has already given positive outcomes
to many populous countries.

In conclusion, if the population keeps on increasing at the current rate, the world would soon find
itself in the verse of war for food, shelter and medicine. Increasing population can only deteriorate
the lifestyle of people and this is even cruel in poor and developing countries. The time has come to
take every step possible to tackle the heinous speed of population growth and countries should work
together to bring an effective solution.

67

Youth drug abuse is a serious problem. What are the possible causes of this behaviour? Do you
have any suggestion to control that?

Sample Answer 1:

Youth drug abuse is perhaps the most notorious and concerning issue that the poor and rich nations
suffer from equally. Many young talents are wasted and families are destroyed due to drug abuse,
especially by teenagers. Not only the illegal drugs are being abused, but also the youth's experiment
with the alcohol and illegal substances are on the rise. Suggesting accurate remedies for youth drug
abuse is quite tough as it requires a clear understanding of the underlying reasons.

To note down the possible reasons for youth drug abuse, we need to consider the availability of
these drugs and corrupted police department first. According to several recent news reports and
investigations, the police department has the list of all drug dealers and possible spots where illegal
drugs are sold. If this is the case, why they are yet to wipe out the illegal drug business from the city?
Possibly money and corruption play a role here. Some people say that family bonding in modern life
is not as close as they used to be. Due to family issues and pressure, many young people start
abusing drugs. Initially, they find it a relief but soon they get trapped. Thirdly, the lack of proper
counselling and teenagers curiosity drive many teenagers to try new drugs. This is a serious trend
and family and teachers must consult with students to find out whether they have some bad
companies who are on drugs. The concrete reason for young to abuse drugs are still unclear and
many psychologists and sociologists blame the examples set by the elders. Public advertisements,
magazines and movies that depict smoking and drinking can attract young minds to try them and this
is just the beginning that ends is abusing serious substances like cocaine or heroin.

Personally, I would like to suggest that the authority should try to wipe out the illegal drug
businesses from the country. If the illegal drug business is closed, teenagers would not be curious to
try them. Another way to tackle this issue by having a better family bonding and parents spending
quality time with the children. Finally, all sorts of public advertisement of tobacco or alcohol should
be banned.

Hopefully, the day is close when we will have no young drug abuser in our society and this can be
achieved by us - as a father, as a teacher, as a friend and finally as a law-enforcing officer. If we play
our roles properly, we will have a better society.

68

Some people prefer shopping in shopping centres while others prefer local markets. What are the
advantages of each? Which shopping experience do you prefer?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:
In the recent decade, shopping centres have become increasingly popular than local markets
because of different advantages they offer. Despite its advantages, some people still prefer local
markets. This essay will discuss the advantages of each type of marketplace and will give my opinion
and preference about it.

On the one hand, most of the people select super centres, due to is higher benefits. For busy people,
such as businessmen and office goers, time saving is the key factor and they more frequently go to
shopping malls than local markets. Indeed the introduction of the shopping mall concept drag all the
time bounded consumers to them. For instance, shopping malls offer a variety of goods under one
roof and they take the responsibility for providing guarantee of the quality of goods which
encourage the consumers to buy products from them. Moreover, the environment of shopping malls
is way better than that of local markets. Convenient ways of payment methods, such as pay by using
credit cards, is another great advantage that most shopping malls offer. Since plastic money offers
more security and convenient ways of shopping, people prefer to go to a shopping centre where
these types of payments are accepted. It is often said that shopping malls are the future of shopping
while local markets are the concept of bygone days.

On the other hand, local markets also offer a wide range of advantages and products to the people.
In fact, the freshness of the products could be a great advantage of local markets why so many
people still prefer local markets over shopping centres. Because of that some people still believe in
local markets and put the quality of products over the shopping environment. At the same time, the
price difference is another reason many people think local markets are best places for shopping. It is
indeed true that a local market offers a comparatively cheaper price than that of big shopping malls
and this is a significant factor for the people in some certain financial background. Therefore, these
advantages exemplify the necessity of local market to the people and why people prefer it.

To conclude, shopping centres and local markets both offer different positive experiences to the
consumers and both need to be in form because of their different benefits. I personally believe
shopping centres are producing better shopping experience for me than local markets as I most
frequently shop in a shopping mall than in a local market.

[Written by - Anton Rodrigo]

Sample Answer 2:

It is a fact that people have different preferences in term of shopping places and shopping
experiences. Several people choose to shop in malls or plazas while others like to buy things in the
traditional markets. The following essay explains about benefits of both places.

For a number of reasons, some people choose to purchase goods and clothes from the modern
markets such as departmental stores or supermarkets. Firstly, it is undeniable that shopping in these
modern places is safer than local markets. Malls and plazas are equipped with surveillance videos
and there are many security guards inside that make attendances feels safe and secure. Secondly, it
is true that buying things in shopping centres is more convenience. Most shopping malls are
equipped with air conditioners that make the temperature mild and there are a lot of facilities in the
places such as children play zone and food court as well.

However, few people still think that it is better to shop in the local markets. One of the reasons is
that it is cheaper to buy things from the traditional market than in the shopping centre. It is common
that in a traditional market people could bargain before they purchase the goods. If they are good
bargainers, then they could buy things with a reasonable price. Another reason is that many unique
or traditional products are not sold in modern places. For examples, handmade crafts are only sold in
local markets and each of the items is unique because it is a custom made product.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that shopping in modern market places or in traditional markets has
their own positive sides. I personally like to shop in the local market because I am a good bargainer
and I could buy things with a very good deal. Shopping experience, price and variety of goods in a
local market makes it more suitable for me to shop there more frequently.

69

Children brought up in families with less money are better prepared for life than those from
wealthy families.

To what extent do you agree of disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:

Money plays a pivotal role in today's social and family life and it has a relationship with the way a
child grows up and prepares to meet the challenges in the future. Usually, rich families compensate
better life and vice versa. However, some people argue that children who are brought up in middle-
class families are often better prepared for their future than those who are brought up in wealthier
families. I personally believe that children from wealthier families get better opportunities and they
learn far more to be prepared for the future challenges.

On the one hand, it is said that families with less money prepare their children for better future as
they always learn to value the important things and learn from their experiences. It is true that those
children learn the key elements of life in their childhood- such as- the real value of money as well as
how hard is it to earn, the importance of family tie and sharing. Often, those children learn to save
money for their future use. Therefore they automatically prepare for setting a target in life and make
plans for pursuing them. Therefore many significant qualities of life are learned by these children
from such a family in their earlier stages in life.

On the other hand, children from wealthier families are little behind in terms of learning many
important things in childhood when comparing with the mindset of poor children. However, they
have all the facilities which they need for their education and future. For instance, they are well
equipped with all the necessary requirements to start a business or joining a job without a hassle.
Furthermore, those families build the foundation for their children to begin their life perfectly. The
education, teaching and facilities those rich children get are far better than the education and
teaching of the poor children. Moreover, those rich children will eventually learn the most important
aspects of life, may be little latter than the poor children, but they have far greater facilities that will
ultimately give them advantages in life.

To conclude, money and education build a better future life. Because of that, wealthier children have
much better and flexible life than poor children. Therefore, I believe children from wealthy families
get a competitive advantage than the children in poor families in terms of education and preparation
for the future.
Sample Answer 2:

It is believed that children who are raised in the low-income families are stronger in facing life
difficulties than those who come from rich families. The following essay will discuss both views in
details.

For a number of reasons, many experts believe that children who are brought up in the poor and
low-income families are better prepared in facing life, as life is not always easy for everyone. Firstly,
these children are accustomed living a simple lifestyle. Instead of having their own room, with all the
toys and comfortable beds in the room, they have to sleep with their siblings in a small and
uncomfortable room. They learn how to share, take care of others, manage the budgets and most
importantly become contented with whatever they have. As these children do not have many
luxuries in life, they would easily adapt to the harsh conditions. Secondly, these children are already
taught to be independent at an early age. Many of their parents could not afford to pay school
tuition fees, therefore they have to have a part-time job to pay the school fees. They appreciate
more about education as they have to pay by their own and thus learn to be independent at an early
age.

These experts also believe that children who are raised in rich families will face difficulties when they
grow up and face the real world. One of the reasons is that their parents have always provided them
with all the materials they wanted and needed. They have fancy clothes, expensive toys and
advanced gadgets in their hands without having to work hard. Another reason is that they are
accustomed to live in a comfortable environment, where they have a comfortable house with air
conditioner and entertainment systems in their room. As they rely heavily on the parent's wealth,
they will face problems if there is a financial crisis and their parents are bankrupt.

In my opinion, to a certain extent, I would agree with the statement that children who were raised in
a low-income family are better in facing life than those who came from a rich family. However, I also
believe that it really depends on how parents teach their children. There are some wealthy parents
who are not spoiling their children, such as Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft. He is not inheriting
his fortune to his children as he is teaching his children about working hard and facing challenges in
life.

70

All over the world, the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. What problems
does this cause? How can we overcome the problems of poverty?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:

The gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger worldwide. This enormous gap
certainly causes a lot of problems which one must endure to solve through various means.

There is almost an endless list of problems of poverty. To name a few, scarcity of food and water,
lack of proper or even minimal clothing, weak shelters, increased mental frustration, indulgence in
criminal activities and even self-destruction. The root cause of poverty is a lack of proper formal
education and hence problems related to employment. Most of the countries spend huge amounts
of money on educating rich people living in the urban areas. This creates an imbalance, as the poor
people who are living in the villages do not get their fair share of education. They, on their own, are
unable to meet with huge expenses, which are required to move to bigger cities. Very often
government spend enormously on welcoming foreign diplomats or celebrities to their respective
homelands. This is a sound example of the imbalance in wealth distribution throughout a country.
Where the poor are struggling even harder to meet their basic means, the rich are getting pampered
to the wealth and luxury.

In order to overcome the problems of poverty, governments should do a careful and considerable
analysis of the distribution of funds throughout their respective countries. Non-profit voluntary
organisations should work actively in rural areas for the upliftment of the poor, mainly in trends of
education. Furthermore, the rich and the prosperous should contribute financially and should work
selflessly towards reducing poverty.

I sum up saying that, the world would be a better place to live in only if we keep poverty from rising
beyond limits.
70

Some people consider computers to be more of a hindrance than a help. Others believe that they
have greatly increased human potential. How could computers be considered a hindrance?

Use specific reason and example to explain to your answers.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:

Nowadays, computers are widely used in every field such as banking, hospital, education, research,
sales, traffic control, production & manufacturing, railway, personal entertainment and so on. People
have different views about the benefits and drawbacks of computers. But I would like to examine
how could be computers considered an impediment followed by a reasonable conclusion.

To initiate with, using computers in early life is negative because children can lose their creativity.
Moreover, at that stage, a child starts learning how to calculate and other academic activities, but
with computers, they do not need to calculate manually and their grammatical errors can be
corrected automatically by spell checkers. Apart from that, the health related issues that overuse of
computers causes cannot be overlooked. Next, hacking is very common these days and there are
many cases when individuals’ bank accounts, emails, and websites are hacked. This is a serious
concern about people’s privacy and safety. Furthermore, some people are addicted to computers
and the Internet, especially in online games, social networking and videos. That’s why in China there
is separate boot camp training available for computer and internet addicted persons. This example
shows how computers can be a hindrance for many.

In addition to this, the national security of any country could be compromised due to the over-
reliance on computers. For instance “Garry McKinon” who was accused in March 2002 perpetrating
the biggest military computer hack of all time, hacked the server of “The Pentagon” and learned
about the secret of defence department of the USA. Finally, with the use of computers and the
Internet, interaction with family and friends has become less personal these days than it used to be.

To wrap up, I would like to say that, every technology has two sides, like a coin. It depends on the
persons who use it, not on computers, whether the use of computers would be positive or negative.

Sample Answer 2:
A group of people believe that computer technology has helped people in many ways, but others are
convinced that it has more drawbacks than the benefits. The following essay will discuss why some
people believe that it has more negative points than the positives.

One of the reasons why a computer is considered to be a hindrance is because people become over
dependent on the computer technology. Without the existence of computer, many people believe
that they could not work or could not continue their study. For example, some people who work in
the blue collar environment could not work when the electricity is down. It is because most of their
works are saved in the computer and they are not used to work with manual documents anymore.

Another reason is because computer also has a negative effect on the human's health. It is
undeniable that computer produces various kinds of radiations which are bad for our health. One of
the examples is the solar radiation from the computer screen, which damages our eyesight. It has
been reported that the number of people who wear glasses has increased significantly since the
invention of computer technology.

Lastly, the existence of computer has some negative effects on the way people socialise and interact
with each other. With the invention of portable computers, tablets and smartphones, people just get
busy with their own devices. They often surf the internet, chat and monitor their social media pages
all day long in their room without having any face to face interaction with others. Consequently, a lot
of couples and families are having problems these days, as they have lackings in communication.

In conclusion, although some people think that the computer technology has brought a lot of
benefits for mankind, but others think that it has more negative sides. Some of the reasons for this
view are because of people's overreliance on the technology and negative effects on our health and
social life as well.
71

Many people say smoking should be banned and some say it is not a good idea. What is your
opinion on this?

Use your own experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant experiences.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:

Banning smoking is a controversial issue as many people strongly support this ban while others
disagree with it. It has been around for centuries and in many countries public smoking is prohibited
and against the law while it is open in many other countries. There are discussions and arguments
whether smoking should be banned completely or not.

First of all, smoking is detrimental to health. It causes lung cancer which ultimately leads to death. It
might take long time to show symptoms but it always happens. Secondly, it is a waste of money as
smokers spend a lot of money on cigarette. Addiction to smoking leads to addiction to marijuana,
yaba etc. Eventually, the addicted people get involved in different types of crimes. They start
collecting money by stealing, lying and robbing and the severity of the crime keeps on increasing.
Moreover, smoking not only harm the smoker but also people around them. Recent studies on
smoking suggest that passive smoking is as harmful as active smoking.

On the contrary, tobacco industry is the source of huge tax for government. Government makes best
utilization of the tax money by building schools, mosques, overhaul streets etc. Thousands of people
work in cigarette related industries and this creates a huge job opportunities. If smoking is banned
completely, these people will become unemployed. Another vague benefit of smoking is that
smokers believe smoking refreshes their minds and relieves them from tension and stress, though it
has not been scientifically proved. Some people think that banning smoking is like imposing
restriction on people's freedom and they completely oppose the idea of imposing restrictions on
smoking.

Up to this point of view, we see that there are opinions for and against the banning of smoking. I
believe, government should think rationally and wisely before they make any decision about
prohibiting smoking. Personally I believe that public smoking should be prohibited and any violation
of this rule should be penalized but complete ban on smoking should be made slowly and with
proper planning.

Sample Answer 2:

People have different opinions about imposing restriction on smoking as some people believe that
smoking should be totally banned while others disagree with it. The following essay will discuss
about both opinions in details followed by my own opinion and a rational conclusion.

On the one hand, it is understandable if several people dislike the controversial idea that smoking
should be banned in all places. Firstly, they believe that everybody have their own right in doing
things they like. Smoking is a preference and It is up to the individual themselves whether they
would like to smoke or not. Secondly, prohibiting smoking will also affect the economic condition as
cigarette factories absorb so many employments. If smoking is totally banned then many of the
factories will be closed and will result a high unemployment rate. Finally, the high amount of tax the
government collects from the tobacco industries will no longer be available as well.

On the other hand, it is a fact that smoking has many negative effects for the smokers themselves.
Based on the researches of some experts, smoking has become the main trigger to some serious
diseases, such as lung cancer and heart attack. Besides that, smoking would also have a serious
threat for the passive smokers. People who do not smoke but inhale the smoke of active smokers
will also have a risk of lung cancer as well. Therefore, many people think that smoking should be
totally banned, as it could have a serious effect to both the active and passive smokers.

In my opinion, I personally support the idea that smoking should be totally banned in all places
because smoking is dangerous for our health. But before executing the idea, the government must
have an alternative plan for the employees of the cigarettes factories because they might be
unemployed. The government could expand and developed a new industry therefore these
employees could be allocated to the new area.

71

Some people think that family life and parents have great influence on children’s development,
while others consider that external influence plays a more important role in children’s life.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Sample Answer 1:

It is generally believed by many that parental influence and family life are extremely important for
the development of children, while others realise that children behaviour is influenced more by
external factors like friends, teachers and surroundings. In my opinion, influences of parents,
relatives and family life are essential for proper psychological and physical growth of a child, but
environmental and external influences are more useful for them to confront real life. This essay will
discuss both of the views before drawing a rational conclusion.

In one hand, many think that parents as the closest ones for children have a significant impact on
their development, especially to shape a good childhood. The sense family, relationship,
responsibility, punctuality, sense of humanity etc. moral qualities which are instilled in a child by
parents play an important part in the growth of children. Love and attention from parents will
develop strong character in a child while lacking of proper parenting will often ruin it. According to
some psychological research, children who grow up with the lack of attention from their parents
often turn into a trouble-maker in their teenage. Furthermore, children mostly mimic their parents
and become more like their parents than anyone else. Undoubtedly, this single fact proves how
important it is for a child to have a family and proper parenting.

On the other hand, to become a complete human, we need to study in a school, interact with
teachers and neighbours, have friends, face challenges, learn from our environment, gain social
experiences and all those factors have crucial roles to play in a child’s life. Parents keep their
offspring safe from dangers while their real life experiences teach them how to deal with those
challenges. In schools and in other places, children will encounter several kinds of situations that
teach them how to solve their own problems. Consequently, not only education but also social skills
can be acquired by children in the school which is invaluable for his life and can help children to
develop ability in a community to interact with other people and have a normal life beyond their
family borders.

To infer, I am convinced that while parents have a huge impact on children’s attitude, social
interactions and external factors are also imperative and cannot be ignored for the overall
development of children.

72

Education and health care should be funded by the government and free for everyone.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:

Nowadays, education and health care are two most important aspects of human life. Without proper
education and health care system no country can develop. It is the responsibility of the government
to provide proper education and good health care system to its citizens and I strongly agree with this
view.

To initiate with, according to the “National Sample” survey of India in 2015, people have to spend a
large portion of the money they earn on health care and education because these two are the major
sectors of every country and also expensive in most of the cases. These should be free as poor
people cannot afford the higher education and good health care system. Moreover, if the
government provides free education, the literacy rate of that country will surely increase and the
citizens would contribute far better for the overall development of the country. So, in this way the
economy of that country will flourish day by day.
In addition to this, another survey shows the result that about 35% to 40% of people are dying every
year without proper treatment because they are incapable of spending money on the treatment of
their family members. Furthermore, if medical treatment is made free, then poor people will surely
benefit from this. A healthy nation is the base of an industrial nation and it is the government's
responsibility to make sure that the citizens get proper medical treatment and services.

In conclusion, I would like to say that, if education and medical treatment sectors are provided by
the government for free to its citizens instead of other facilities, then a country will get more
benefits from it. Education and healthy life are two basic needs of every citizen and a government is
in fact formed to make sure no citizen is deprived of his basic needs.

Sample Answer 2:

Some people believe that the government should provide free education and medication for their
residents. To a certain point, I would agree with the idea, but I also believe that everybody should be
responsible for their own education and health condition.

For a number of reasons, some politicians and mass people believe that the sector of education and
healthcare should be provided and funded by the government. Firstly, it is because productive
residents have paid their taxes and duties to the government. As most of the people have paid their
tax obligations, they should also have their rights to get some benefits from the government in the
form of free medication. Secondly, it is a fact that education is an essential factor for the
development of a country. By providing free education by the state to their residents, it is hoped
that there will be more skilled and educated workers in the country. These potential workers will
definitely boost the country's economic sectors.

On the other hand, a group of people disagree with the idea of providing free health care and
education to the public. One of the reasons is that some people become irresponsible of their health
condition. As some people think that they have free medication, they do not follow a healthy
lifestyle program. They consume high-calorie food, smoke cigarettes, drinking alcohol and do not
take part in any exercise. Another reason is that some parents become lazy as they do not have to
work hard to pay their children's tuition fee. Therefore, the second group of people believe that they
should pay their contributions to the government as it makes them become more responsible.

To a certain extent, I support the idea that the government should provide free education and
medication to their people. But I also believe that people should also be responsible for their own
life. For example, although we are provided with free health care but we should also maintain our
health condition.

73

Some people think paying taxes is a big enough contribution to their society, while others think
people have more responsibilities as members of society than only paying taxes.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1: (View - Paying tax is a useful contribution but not the only one that citizens
should follow.)
It is thought by some that making a big contribution to the society can sufficiently be done just by
paying taxes, while others argue that other than paying taxes, there are many more responsibilities
which should be fulfilled by people as members of a society. This essay will elaborate both of the
views in detail.

To begin with, paying taxes will certainly be a useful and effective contribution to the society as it will
give financial resources to the authority for the development of a country. Since the public budget
from the taxes is used in all crucial aspects of a nation, paying taxes is undoubtedly a great
contribution for a citizen. Firstly, it is used to develop infrastructures, like constructing streets,
hospitals, parks, schools, public service buildings such as government offices, and so on. Secondly, it
is used to provide public facilities, like public telephones, transportations, libraries, amusement parks
etc. Furthermore, it is used to pay salaries of civil servants who works for the government and the
society. Moreover, it can be used to give public subsidies on education, medical treatment, and fuel
prices. Obviously, it is right that from taxes, a government gets financial resources which significantly
helps to develop the country. Yet, to create an exemplary contribution in a society, people are
required to take other responsibilities and abide by the rules and laws.

Meanwhile, other forms of contributions from citizens are really needed to make some positive
changes in a society, particularly in developing countries. Indonesia, for example, as one of the
biggest countries consisting of 34 provinces and having more than 200 million people, really needs
involvements of citizens in supporting government initiated programmes, especially by mutual
cooperation as a form of contribution. By doing so, people can directly and immediately work
together to protect their environment like planting trees and cleaning up their surroundings, as well
as protecting the public facilities which are already available. Being a law-abiding citizen means much
than paying tax and that’s why all citizens should follow the rules and laws a society has.

To infer, I am convinced that while paying taxes is a useful way to contribute to the society,
participating in country’s development is also a necessary contribution that citizens should
spontaneously get involved in.

74

Some people think that the government is wasting money on the arts and this money could be
better spent elsewhere.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Sample Answer 1: (Disagree)

Arts sometimes reflect the cultural heritage of a country and also depict the creativity of an
individual. While many believe that financing in arts is a wastage of money, I am of the opposite view
as I believe that financing in arts is a good idea to for the government.

Supporters of the idea put forth that diverting funds towards arts hamper the national well-being.
For example, available monetary resources could be put to use in building more hospitals, roads,
infrastructure and schools. This means increasing care of the sick and improved transportation to
previously inaccessible areas. For children, it caters for increased literacy rates. This group of people
believe that art is a luxury and many governments can not afford this extravagance. According to
their view, there are more important sectors that require more money and hence a government
should stop spending money on arts and invest in more important areas.

However, while investments in such areas are crucially vital, spending on the arts is equally
important. Allocating money to the development and sustenance of arts helps boost the economy.
Art galleries can attract tourists from all over the world, generating revenue in return. It is also the
case that viewing and practising arts are good sources of venting out stress and recreate. Such
activities also portray a positive picture about a nation and help to feel pride within if pieces of arts
become famous. If governments fail to support arts fiscally, many art galleries and theatres would
not be able to survive or run a business on their own.

Hence, it is clear to me that spending on arts is beneficial both for the individual and society.
Therefore funding arts is not squandering money. Encouraging them financially is beneficial for the
individual and the society.

74

Environmental problems such as pollution and climate change affect all the people in the world.
Although global decisions are made to reduce these problems, the solutions are not effective. Why
are the solutions ineffective? How can these problems be solved?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Essay 1:

Our mother earth is weeping because of the two major threats, pollution and climate change. In
spite of many global conferences being held to find out a permanent solution, a promising remedy is
yet to be put into action. This essay will shed some light on the need to look for an effective plan and
the alternatives that could put an end to these ever growing issues in the near future.

There are several reasons to support the ineffectiveness of the solutions provided. Firstly, the more
pragmatic the solution is the more it would be implemented and many decisions which are taken so
far to combat the climate changes are less pragmatic. Take for an instance, putting up the usage of
private vehicles tends to be something that can only exist on black and white. Secondly, measures
taken so far seem like would be effective only in a long run. As a result, we still suffer the
consequences of poor air quality, global warming and unpredictable climate. Finally, if only the rules
enforced are stringent, is there a possibility for it to be implemented. The figures of authorities are
usually less careful about the long-term effects of these global concerns on the future generation.
Mitigation! That is what the world needs. The world leaders take decisions to fight the pollutions and
climate change and many of these decisions remain in the papers and never see the daylight. The
ideas should be implemented not discussed. The lack of implementation and budget are two main
reasons we still have the pollution and increased Earth temperature.

However, there are possibilities to make this planet clean and habitable again. For this to happen,
sharing of vehicles among commuters of same destination or a reliable public transportation could
be introduced. Besides, instead of focusing on long-term actions like reducing deforestation done for
residential purposes, plantation of a large number of saplings and creation of awareness
programmes for students would be much more operative. Furthermore, a hefty fine for non-
environmental friendly activities ought to be followed to make the solutions efficient. The world
leaders have to make things happen rather than discussion and decisions. They should enforce every
country to implement the measures they think useful. Funnily, they decide to reduce the number of
private vehicles on the roads and yet their countries produce millions of cars to export to other
countries and they are investing more on space research than to make the world livable. That’s
something that should be taken seriously not lightly.

To bring the curtains down, the whys and wherefores of dissolutions that didn’t bear fruits were put
in the limelight and also the immediate changes that can be done to hand down the globe as it is to
the posterity were suggested.

Sample Essay 2:

It is undeniable that environmental issues such as global warming and pollution have negative
impacts on all countries and these negative consequences would affect the whole world. Even
though some global solutions have been addressed to solve these problems, many people believe
that they were not effective and efficient. The following essay will discuss some of the reasons why
the solutions were not successful and how these issues should be resolved.

For a number of reasons, solutions that have been implemented for resolving environmental issues
were considered as ineffective. Firstly, solutions were only implemented by certain countries. For
example, only a few countries in the world implement carbon monoxide test for vehicles such as
Canada or Australia while it should have been done in all countries. Other countries such as India and
China are allowing vehicles with all conditions to commute in their streets and roads. Secondly, some
countries do not provide clear regulations and laws regarding to environmental issues. For instance,
in several countries, there is no fine or penalty when people throw the garbage to the river or sea. As
a consequence, oceans are still polluted with waste from these countries. Though many global
policies have been taken, many of them are not implemented in many countries. This is the main
reason we still have increasing world temperature and pollutions.

There are some solutions that the United Nations and governments could consider to resolve these
environmental issues. One of the solutions is that it must be agreed and implemented by all
countries. For example, Air Conditioners and Refrigerators must not use CFC gas which is dangerous
for the ozone layers. These regulations must be implemented internationally, and for countries that
still use CFC must be banned and given penalties. And then, each country should have strict
regulations regarding to environmental issues and the United Nations should audit each of these
countries on a timely manner. By having a review from an independent party, each country is forced
to implement friendly environmental practices in their area.

In conclusions, I believe that global environmental issues could be resolved, as long as all countries
participate in implementing the solutions.

75

Students in many countries are encouraged to travel or work for a year before starting their
university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to
work or travel after finishing high school and starting education in a university.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 1:

There is no doubt that some young are encouraged to work or travel a year before finishing high
school. Some people assume that such a step is so beneficial to students while others oppose such
idea. In my point of view, I think this idea has its advantages and disadvantages as well.

An advantage of working during high school is the gaining of valuable experience. When young
people decide to work during their high school, they will get accustomed to the work environment
and know several expertise and skills upon which they can build their future. In this way, it can be
definitely assumed that they will be more than ready for any future work, be it a university study or
any other job. For example, my brother preferred to work when he was at high school level with the
aim of learning new skills. Upon completion of high school, he easily found a suitable job and
impressed the employers with his experience.

On the other hand, travelling during high school has some negative impacts. When young people
prefer to travel before completing their high school, they may encounter cultural shocks. For
example, one of my relatives decided to travel when he was in high school. Due to his immaturity
and lack of knowledge of the outside world, he was utterly shocked by the customs and the way of
life there. He was unable to get familiar with that community and was completely disappointed since
he was unable to stay there.Consequently, his decision was against him because he did not get any
benefit from his travelling.

In conclusion, No one can deny that travelling or working during high school has its positive and
negative impacts. So, high school students are highly recommended to know their abilities and
readiness before embarking on working or travelling in order not to be shocked or otherwise.

[ Written by - Abdulaziz Alharthi ]

Model Answer 2:

In today's modern world, many students are planning to further their studies immediately after they
finish school. However, there are a handful of people who assert that the young teenagers should be
given a chance to travel or work for at least one year before they really attend to a university. Thus,
it is important for us to establish both the positive and negative impacts on the young people who
plan to go on a trip or start to work before starting their tertiary education.

Undoubtedly, there are numerous benefits if young people were to work or to travel around the
world after they finish school. To begin, working or travelling helps the students to gain the precious
life experiences which are not available on textbooks. To illustrate, when young adults come out to
work before attending to a university, they are actually being offered a valuable opportunity to get
into contact with others. It is crucial for them to develop the interpersonal skills which play an
indispensable role in their studies and their prospective jobs. In addition, if they were planned to go
on a trip worldwide, they would, unquestionably, learn about the cultures and traditions of the locals
which may be slightly or totally different from theirs. It, indirectly, widen their horizons and may help
them to reduce the experience of culture shock when they arrive in a new place in the near future.

Nevertheless, a coin always has another side. If they decide to work or to travel for a year, they may
graduate later than their peers. The statistic of a recent research conducted in Columbia has shown
that memorising and interpreting abilities of a student deteriorate as they grow older. In other
words, it means that they are likely highly not to achieve their aspirations due to the continual
weakening of the mental abilities of their brains. Besides, they may have forgotten about the
foundation of certain subjects that they have learnt in secondary school. Again, it will probably lead
the students who start their tertiary education late fail to gain success in their academic
performances.

In conclusion, although there are both benefits and damaging consequences if they travel abroad or
work after they finish school, I believe every individual can still strive hard and achieve their set goals
regardless of life experience and age. Our nation will continue to prosper and flourish in the decades
to come if more educated and knowledgeable generations are being raised up.
 76

The quality of the health care a person receives should not depend on the size of their bank
balance. The government is responsible for providing a high level of healthcare for all its citizens.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

Quality health care is a basic need for all citizens in a country regardless of their economic or social
statuses and the government should take every effort possible to ensure superior health care
facilities for all of its citizens. I quite agree with the notion that government is responsible for
ensuring high-level health care service of all its citizens, no matter what their economic levels are.

First of all, every government has a responsibility to ensure some basic needs to its citizens and
health care is one of the most important aspects that a government should take care. Only a
corrupted and inefficient government would discriminate among its rich and poor citizens and thus
would build a country where rich will enjoy all the facilities while poor people would be deprived in
every step.

Second, in this modern era, most of the countries, specifically in democratic countries, have a
government selection model where people decide who would rule the country. The participating
parties give their agenda and the list of developments they would implement for the progress of the
country. In most of the cases high-level health care facility gets special emphasise in their pre-
election agenda and if the government fails to ensure this facility, it is kind of a violation of their
promise to the whole nation.

It is not unlikely that the government cannot offer better healthcare facilities in public hospitals
while the rich people get far better treatments and diagnosis from the private healthcare facilities.
This is a scenario which is quite unexpected and should not be the case in an ideal legislative system.
All the citizens in a country are equal to the law and constitution and the facilities they are expected
to get from the country has no way to be different.

In conclusion, when people need to spend a lot of money to get quality health care service, then we
can easily assume that the government has failed to establish a proper healthcare sector for all the
people. In the same way ensuring quality health care facilities to all the citizens of a country is a
responsibility no government can deny.

77

Some people feel that the legal age at which people can marry should be at least 21.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 1:

Nowadays, it is a unanimous notion that for some people that the legislation about marriage in
terms of age should be at least 21.However, the others suppose that this rule is completely based on
the fallacious opinion. In this essay, I will cite some arguments and give my stance on this issue.

Firstly, the young who are going to marry should fathom the life painstakingly. Whilst the duration
elapses the egregious plight and quandaries inculcate them to learn the new experiences in the
mankind. For most people, in order to underpin this learning, the age limitation is one of the most
paramount prerequisites. Because the person whose age is beneath 21 cannot adapt to the certain
circumstances easily. Sometimes he will have to deal with tremendous problems and as an
implication of it, he will abdicate his responsibilities. Subsequently, it can be rather perilous for his
marriage in the future.

On the other hand, everything is contingent upon the person himself and if he is trustworthy,
nothing can cease him from attaining the authentic pinnacle of his marriage. In such condition, the
responsibility plays a major role. In spite of the age difference, at times younger people’s marriage
becomes happier than those who are older. Because of it, they are so ebullient and their love is
rather strong in order to struggle with the difficulties. As a result, these features bring to the
stupendous fruition about their marriage.

Taking all things into account, it seems to me that the age is not a big problem for a happy marriage.
The main issue is the dearth of love and responsibility that contribute to the augmenting divorce
rate.

78

In many countries, there is a shortage of housing due to a growing population. Some people argue
that new towns should be built in the countryside, others argue for the regeneration of cities.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of building new towns in the countryside?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

With around eight billion population in the world, many cities have little spaces to accommodate the
growing number of population and their housing. Thousands of people are moving to the urban
areas each day for better jobs, modern facilities, education and healthcare services only to increase
the woes the cities already have. To solve the housing and other pressing issues due to the booming
of the population, many people opine that constructions of new cities near rural areas is the best
solution while others have a different view on this. The second group supports regeneration of cities
rather than building new towns close to country sides. Establishing new cities in the vicinity of the
countrysides has its advantages and drawbacks.

First of all, building new cities near the countrysides would require a huge budget. Since many
underdeveloped and developed countries already have a scarcity of budgets even to support the
basic needs of citizens, taking such initiatives would uplift their debts only. Besides, constructing new
cities close to country sides would require destroying farming lands and natural geography which will
have severe consequences including deforestation and degradation of lands. Further, such cities
would be far away from the main cities and if the government fails to provide every facility that the
already established cities have, people would not stay there and this possess a chance of the
wastage of money in the long run. Finally, many cities already have severe congestion problem and
building such new cities near rural areas would make the situation worse as people’s necessity for
commuting to these new cities would increase.

On the other hand, accurate planning and proper execution of establishing new cities near rural
areas rather than regenerating existing cities have many merits. First of all, this would be an
excellent way to solve the housing problems many cities have. If the government can ensure proper
facilities in the newly constructed cities, the pressure on current cities would decrease
tremendously. This would result in less traffic congestion, decentralisation, less pollution and better
life standard in both types of cities. Newly built cities would open many new job facilities and that
would help the adjacent rural areas to develop as well. No doubt the constructions would require a
huge budget, but the government will have an excellent opportunity to control many business
sectors there to earn a steady revenue. Finally, these new cities would have modern buildings and
new constructions which would fight better against the natural calamities like the earthquake.

In conclusion, building new cities near rural areas is a plan that can bring many amenities both for
the citizens and the government in a country. It can be an excellent way for solving housing and
pollution problems in existing cities though some negative consequences of this plan should be taken
into consideration.

79

Modern technology is now very common in the most workplaces. How do you think this has
changed the way we work? Do you think there are disadvantages to relying too much on
technology?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Essay:

Innovative and latest technology such as internet and computer have an intense effect on the
people, especially in their workplaces. As a result, the method of working is transforming
continuously. These days, technology has epidemically flared and even overtaking the humans, who
are the inventors of the technology. I personally believe that there are more pitfalls on relying
technology than the advantages it offers.

Technology made us work less and move even least. We rely on computer and the internet to have
our work done. The faster communication has made the global business a reality, though not
without a cost.

No doubt, technology has negative impacts on the human. Firstly, technology had made people
extremely sponger. For instance, people used to travel on foot to in the past especially, in India. As a
consequence people remained active and fit and also free from ample of ailments namely fatigue,
heart disease and severe disease like cancer as well. Their average life expectancy was far more than
the generation we see now. Though it is claimed that technological advancement has enhanced
people’s lifespan and cured many diseases, I do not see that it is true. When it was common for
people to live more than 100 years in the past, many people nowadays dies at their early 60s.
Moreover, technology has a greater impact on the young generation. Most of the students and
children even cannot do brainstorming in time base task. In addition to this, scholars and children,
are losing their own personal skills, this is all because they are not using their own knowledge and
creativity. As an example, most of the students are using Wikipedia and imitating the same text in
their projects or assignment which is an abominable way to pass the exam. The way people are
becoming dependent on technology, a simple mistake on a calculation or a wrong decision taken by
a computer device will create a disaster. Consider the nuclear research centre where everything is
computerised. If a computer virus attacks this station or a hacker hack this station, this could lead to
a global catastrophe.

Our relationship with each other has seriously been affected due to the modern technology like
smartphones, computers and social networking websites. People no longer interact each other in
person so intimacy among them is plunging day by day. To illustrate, webcams and the internet are
the predominant reasons behind this. Technology has reached to the institution where students get
best study (smart classes) hence communications among students and tutors are dropping.

To encapsulates, technology has alleviated humans to some extent but, when the technology will
advance to the redundant level and we will solely rely on this - it will be the Doomsday for the Earth.

80

How extent do your agree or disagree with this opinion?

What sort of punishment should parents and teachers be allowed to use to teach good behaviour
to children?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1:

How much freedom a child should be given and what sort of punishment could be used to control
them is a matter of great concern. Undeniably, too much freedom and lack of necessary control
often lead youngsters to go astray while too much punishment makes them dull and less creative. I
personally believe that punishment is meant to help children learn lessons and that is why certain
punishments that do not involve beating the children is useful.

To begin with, early childhood experience and lessons have lasting impacts on someone’s life and
that is why parents and teachers should try their best to teach morality and good qualities to
children. Children are curious and sometimes less mature to understand certain harmful effects of
doing something while every father and mother want the offspring to become an ideal and
exemplary person in life. They often need to use certain punishment to teach a valuable lesson to a
youngster and the sole purpose of this punishment should be teaching a morality, should not be
driven by any sort of personal anger or frustration. Physically beating a boy or a girl is in no way
should be used as there are far better ways of punishing a child to teach him something.

While physical punishment is no longer used in most of the developed countries, it could still be
found in underdeveloped countries. This form of punishment, in my opinion, should not be used.
More effective penalties could be not talking to the child for a misconduct or not taking him to the
playground for a day or two. Similarly, parents could refrain from awarding the child with chocolate
or toys and reminding the child why he does not deserve those. If parents have a friendly
relationship with the children and simply expressing their frustration for an act of the child, that
would work like the magic. From my personal experience, I can say that I took matters more
seriously when my father stopped talking to me for a certain period for something he disliked about
me and I vowed many times to myself not to do that again.

To conclude, punishment is necessary to teach children morality and help them learn to distinguish
good things from bad ones. However, this punishment should not be physical, rather psychological
and practical.

Sample Essay 2:

Education is likely to be the most important thing to be learnt by every child and that education is
not restricted in academic lessons only but also in behaviour field as well. Most people think that
young children should be taught about attitude at an early age and a punishment is required in some
cases to complete this education. I certainly believe that some punishment for the betterment of the
children should be allowed which I will brief in the following paragraphs.

First and foremost, it seems that teaching good behaviour and virtues, when children are still in
young ages, will be easier both by parents and teachers. Moreover, if this lesson is followed by an
appropriate penalty, they will fear and think twice before breaking the applied rules. Research
carried out by Statistics Center in Semarang shows that the plenty of youngsters are easier to have a
good manner if they got this lesson before they reach their maturity. In addition, if the youngsters
know that they will be rebuked and punished if they commit bad actions, they will usually stay away
from committing mischievous acts. This research makes clear that a lesson followed by convenience
punishments at an early age is likely to be a wise idea to create the youngest being a good member
of the society.

However, the punishment should always bet to teach a lesson not to intimidate a child. The teachers
and parents should always think about alternative ways before imposing any punishment to a child.
If the child commits the same abominable act several times, then a minor punishment to teach a
lesson should be given. A severe punishment by a teacher or parents could psychologically damage a
child and the teachers and parents should always be careful about their way of punishment.
Sometimes taking away a favourite toy from a child can be an effective punishment where no
physical punishment is required. The teacher and parents should keep in mind that the main
purpose of the punishment if to teach the child a lesson not to hurt him physically.

After hashing out the issue, it can be concluded that a lesson to have good manner should be taught
as early as possible and the effective punishment like rebuking or taking away favourite toys.

Sample Essay 3:

Children are at such age of their life when they merely distinguish between the right and the wrong.
It is very necessary for parents and teachers to teach them the same, first, by suggestion or advice
followed by punishment as many times their inexperienced mind tempt them to do mistakes.
Punishment should not affect a child negatively; rather it must be constructive for them.

Nowadays children are most vulnerable to get affected by surroundings and electronic media as they
easily get exposed to such media. It is impossible to protect them getting exposed to the external
environment. Hence it is mandatory for parents or teachers to make them aware of morality and
injustice at this age and sometimes punishment is necessary to protect them. At an early age, a child
possesses boundless curiosity as he is just exposed to an outside world or society. Thus they imitate
what they see and that turns out to be disastrous at times. To avoid that minor punishment is the
best way as fear of punishment makes them stay away from many wrong doings. To prove that, the
Stanford University had done many surveys on children and the results show that 80% children who
had already been punished for their particular mistakes had not repeated the same, on a flip side
only 40% who are just advised.

On the other hand, punishments should always be associated with some lessons for children.
Punishment must be fruitful and it must not be physically or mentally harmful. For example, world's
nursery in Japan asks children to plant trees as a punishment. Many schools in India punish children
by asking them to run few kilometres. Such punishments are constructive for children's health and
society as well.

To conclude, I believe that children have to learn about positives and negatives at this age and
punishment is one of the effective ways to guide them learn this distinction. However, parents and
teachers must use constructive and positive punishments to show them the right path.

81

Genetic engineering is an important issue in modern society. Some people think that it will
improve people's lives in many ways. Others feel that it may be a threat to life on earth.

Discuss both opinions and give your opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Essay:

People all around the world take into account the significance of genetic engineering. Although it is
sometimes thought that it has numerous benefits to humanity, others are of the opinion that it could
bring destruction to the ecosystem. However, my opinion on that issue is that both negative and
positive effects of genetic engineering should be carefully researched and then should be used for
the greater good of humanity.

There are certain factors of the genetically engineering products. Firstly, crop modification will bring
resistant to various plant diseases and it also targets infestation of unwanted insects. In other words,
the amount of pesticides and fertiliser used are reduced. Furthermore, many countries are producing
genetically engineered crops to produce a good variety of plants and abundant harvest. Genetic
engineering can also address the increased food demands of people around the globe. Many
diseases that human genetically inherits can be fought against with the improvement of genetic
engineering and it can also ensure a generation.

However, some people argue that it brings long-term effects to humanity and environment. Certain
reasons for these are the concerns of human health in which most modified foods contain toxins
that are harmful to us. Also, it produces a minimal amount of nutrition. Another major concern is the
potential harm to the environment- once genetically modified organisms are released into the wild,
it interbreeds with the native organism and creates new species that may not be desirable.
Finally, in my view, it is essential to look at the positive side it brings to humanity. As the population
grows, the demand for food supply is increasing, thus, the natural method cannot cope the demand
of the people. In this way, scientific way of plantation and farming are fundamental in our
environment. Many diseases that cause death to a large number of people could be prevented using
the blessing of genetic engineering.

In conclusion, there are good arguments for and against genetic engineering, so people must
continue to research various methods to minimise the negative side effects of engineering products
to ensure the betterment of every individual in the future.

82

With all the problems in the world today, spending money on space exploration is a complete
waste. The money could be better spent on other causes.

To what extent do you agree with this view?

Model Essay 1:

Many developing and developed countries are spending huge amounts of money on space
exploration. They are keenly interested in finding out the existence of life on galaxies and stars. This
is a lengthy process, which required huge funds and time. People argue that space exploration is a
waste of time and money. This amount should be spent on other problems. I believe that helping
and improving living standard of poor nations is the best way to use the money.

Rich nations play a pivotal role in bringing change and prosperity for poor nations. Developing
countries such as Africa, Syria etc. have serious problems in health, education and employment
sectors. That could only be solved with the help of developed nations. Many countries are giving
financial aids and others are investing directly in order to solve and mitigate the woes of peoples and
received respect and gratitude in this regard.

However, discovering unresolved mysteries is a real challenge for the scientist. Many countries are
funding research centres to unfold hidden mysteries of the world. This is time consuming and
lengthy work. Scientists are in search of natural resources that are less in quantity on earth. Their
success could substantially change the world and will open a new horizon of success.

To conclude, I believe that it is an ethical and moral responsibility of nations to eradicate problems in
their neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, research on space exploration should be continued until
we get desired results. It is a time-consuming process but it will leave undeniable benefits on people
lives in case of success.

83

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?

Model Essay 1:

Today, more than ever, when it comes to the issue of determining whether or not advances in
technology affect the types of relationship individual make a plethora of perspective have been put
forward. The expansion of modern means of communication is the ongoing debate which triggers so
much controversy. This issue is fiercely criticised by some experts who are on the view that they
pose a direct threat to social lives and may come at the expense of a severe social isolation and
sedentary lifestyle. Others realise the significance of these means of communications and stick to the
idea that these types of relationship are integral parts of interpersonal communication.
Consequently, they are regarded as worthwhile. Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned, the opinion
put forth by the second group is more logical. In the following paragraphs, I will shed light on my
own attitudes for this issue.

To begin with, in the past, communication among people looked bleak. People used to meet and
make an appointment to see each other and in according to the fact that communities had busy
people and they seem doomed to have far-reaching communication.

In the second place, modern means of communication command people’s attention. They are the
fastest and easiest way of togetherness. People are at the mercy of virtual world to have
opportunities to get in touch with others even in the remotest part of the world which contributes to
saving their time and hanging out every moment. This issue questions the need to have face to face
interactions.

To cut a long story short, for better or worse, we live in a world which is surrounded by computers,
cell phones on an unprecedented scale with which people spend their spare time. The truth is that,
in this hectic lifestyle, the responsibility of real-time conversations, visualisation of each other,
information exchange which enables individual to share a variety of information such as activities,
events, interests, ideas falls on these ways of communication. Thanks to tremendous advances in
technology.
Last but not least, emails and messages make people more comfortable which pave the way for
explaining their feeling without shyness and give them a sense of absolute confidence, also they are
the backbone of introducing friends among youth which increase their social friendship.

In conclusion, all in all, rather than devoting a great deal of time and energy solely in terms of face to
face interaction, the trend today is toward using modern means of communication to get in touch
with others. The pivotal role these ways of communication performed in interpersonal
communication is hard to ignore. However, many people fail to appreciate it.

84
Some people think that both travellers and business people must have the same attitude to local
people and the traditions of countries they visit.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give your own opinion

Model Essay 1:

There has been a significant increase in travelling over the last few years. People tend to travel for
the sake of entertainment, exploration and business activities. Some people argue that travellers
should obey and respect about religious beliefs and tradition of the countries they visited. Others
claim that visitors are not bound to practice the local people beliefs and should have the
independence to live according to their own set of rules. I strongly believe that foreigners must act
accordingly to the traits and norms of visiting country.

It is commonly seen that some of the travellers do not care about others sentiments and they like to
perform their own rituals openly in public places. They claim that it is permissible in free and open
society. However, this could have detrimental effects as some people could act violently and can
create riots in a society.
On the other side, it is our moral and ethical duty to respect others religions. Being as a visitor one
has to follow the customs, traditions and traits of the destination country. This will help them in
knowing about cultures and others traits of the society. This will also leave a positive message to the
local people.

To conclude, I would like to say that tourists represent their country and their acts and behaviour
can help in developing their good image to outside world. Therefore, travellers and business people
should mould themselves according to place and situation; it is also a natural phenomenon that
‘gives respect take respect’.

85

Throughout history, male leaders always lead us to violence and conflict. If a society is governed
by female leaders, it will be more peaceful.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Model Essay 1:

Most of the countries in the world are led by men, only a few countries are governed by women. I
personally think that whether a government or a leadership brings violence or peace has nothing to
do with the gender of the leader.

It is generally believed that women have gentler personality than men in the way they act. But, it
does not guarantee that if a woman leads a country or a society, they can prevent conflicts, clash or
violence from happening because a leader is not the only party causing or triggering conflicts. In
running her government and taking a decision or a policy, a female leader cooperates with and
discusses a lot with many other parties so I do not think that her mother figure will come first in
dealing with various complicated problems her government is facing. Instead, she can not give
priority to her feminine feeling (caring, loving, affecting, etc) in policy making. A leader, either female
or male, needs to take action in accordance with the situation. That is why I believe that the gender
of a leader makes no difference in this issue. Many countries like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan
were governed by female leaders and yet the conflict and violence increased during their time and
this is a clear indication that a female leader cannot guarantee and peaceful society.

Moreover, conflicts often happen because of inability or bad leadership skill of a leader in running his
or her leadership. In any country, the incapability of leaders, regardless of their gender, causes many
problems leading to the unsatisfactory of people and the decrease in people’s trust level to the
government, both of which are likely to result in chaos, clash, and conflict. I am convinced that
everyone will agree that capability and leadership skill have nothing to do with gender. It is ridiculous
to judge that men have a better capability in leading an organisation than women, or vice versa.
Besides, the success and the failure of an organisation or a government are determined not only by
the leader but also the staffs and the cabinet. No matter how capable the leader is, he or she will not
be able to execute his or her government programs to bring prosperity for his or her people and to
satisfy them if he or she does not have a good team.

In conclusion, the ability of a country to avoid and prevent conflict and violence depends on the
capability of the leader, regardless of gender, to run the country. It is not wise to say that men with
their masculinity bring violence and none can guarantee that women with their femininity will be
able to bring peace for people.

86
Computer games have become widely popular and people spend a lot of time playing them. What
are the negatives and positives of playing computer games and what can be done to reduce the
bad effect?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Essay:

Computers today are most common and their gaming aspect is a cult among the teenagers.
Computer games are considered to have numerous bad effects, but I think if used in moderation
they can be used as an effective tool for learning and development.

Computer games are considered as a social evil in the society as they are associated with the dogma
of time-wasting for school going students. To some extent, that may be true but everything about
these games is not negative. Computer games help younger children to develop good hand-eye
coordination which is crucial in their early stages. They are also full of fantasies which eventually aid
in developing children' brains to be more imaginative and innovative.

On the other hand, spending a long time on the computer not only wastes valuable time but also
renders users physically inactive. Health hazards associated to this mainly includes obesity, weak
eyes, lower back problems and so on. Apart from this, cognitive development, which is critical
during childhood, tends to go for toss thanks to increased addiction to gaming. These problems are a
cause of concern among parents.

To curb their negative aspects, parents should keep strict control over the time children are exposed
to these games and should promote engagement in physical and brain games. In fact, game
producing companies have also realised this and have started preparing gaming consoles which
involve more physical movement, suggesting that everyone is doing their bit to promote the positive
aspects of this innovation.

To conclude, there are always two sides associated with everything: one affirmative and the other
negative. It all comes down to how you want to utilise the potential of any innovation.

87

It is very clear now that English should be the primary foreign language taught in all schools
around the world. Learning a different foreign language before English is, in today’s world, a waste
of time.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Model Essay:

English is the most widely-spoken language in the world. In fact, it has gained so much importance in
so many countries that it has become an international language. However, other languages like
German, French and Spanish are also taught in schools and colleges as well in many countries. My
opinion is that giving other foreign languages priority over the English language in schools is not a
good idea.

Over the decade, many people from different cultures and countries have adopted the trend of
going and study abroad. Many of them choose to start their careers there as well. At this point, they
need to understand and speak English very well. It will help them to communicate with others and
they have a better chance to of growth in their fields. From academic success till better presentation
skill, from better persuasion till important international meeting and conference, English is needed
everywhere. The knowledge of the second language is important but none of them excels the
necessity of knowing English and this is why the schools should give priority to English over other
foreign languages.

Learning English as a second language is being essential nowadays, as, people around the world
understands English. It makes easier for you to visit any country. Most of the T V channels are in
English. All information on the Internet is in English. If you know English you have better job or study
opportunities as well. Learning other languages can only be beneficial as a hobby or if you are
planning to visit that particular country. Other than that, I firmly agree that English is the necessity of
today’s life.

To conclude, it is clearly understood that learning English is more constructive than any other foreign
language. So a priority should be given in schools to teach English as a second language over other
languages.

88

Do you believe that professional athletes make good role models for young people?

Model Essay 1:

From my viewpoint, young people are influenced by the grown-up people's behaviour in many cases.
They also mimic their favourite actors, singers, sportspersons and that is why professional sportsmen
or sportswomen have to pay more attention to their attitudes and they should be aware of how they
affect youth's lives.

Athletes are the people who are being observed by many people from all over the world and this
popularity means responsibility. Consequently what I meant with responsibility is how sports people
behave in their daily life. In one hand, engaging with sport might even make every man or women
stronger and healthier. Namely, youth who are watching sport will be encouraged by athletes' health
and also the lifestyle. Furthermore, they will become more eager to being athletes.

On the other hand, despite these athletes who have undeniably good lifestyle and health,
undoubtedly there are also sports people who have a vast popularity but haven't got a bit of ethic. In
spite of their bulk money, they waste the money whimsically. But they don't choose to do a charity
instead. So it is evident that these people's lifestyle cannot be a prime example for youth. Thus
professional athletes should not neglect their daily life and must take their role on youth into
account.

Again, the way they appear in front of media, they fashion trends that follow and the way they speak
or behave are often mimicked by people. They are already role models for many and they can
positively influence others, especially the young generation. A new hairstyle by David Beckham
would definitely become a fashion trend among many youngsters. They can definitely become the
role model of many young people especially who have passions for sports. The good example the
sports persons set through personal life, appearance, charity works can create a very positive image
to others and thus they have a greater influence on the young generation.

To sum up, in spite of the youth can be easily manipulated by other people, the professional athletes
through their works and behaviours can set positive examples and can become role models for the
young generation.

89
While many people say that parents are the best teachers, others simply state that teachers and
our own experience are our best teachers. Who do you thinks is our best teacher?

Model Essay 1:

Undoubtedly, parents can teach their children more efficiently than the others because both of them
know their children very well and have a greater bond with the kids. While the lessons learnt from
our teachers, friends and our own experiences are very important; none can exceed the parents as
teachers. This essay intends to assess this statement in depth as follows.

Parents get sufficient amount of time to spend with their children rather than teachers. During this
time, they teach each and everything about the world as well as academic subjects as much as they
can. Moreover, they clarify the doubts of children in various aspects which are the required quality
of an excellent teacher. Such activities help children to increase their wider knowledge considerably.

Secondly, parents know their children from the earliest stage of life. Therefore, they can easily
evaluate both strong and weak areas of their own children. This helps parents significantly to guide
their children to overcome their weakness which is the important responsibility of an ideal teacher.
Furthermore, in this way, parents can also motivate their children to learn more lessons which are
very useful for their bright future. For all these reasons, I can say that parents can be perfect
teachers without any doubt.

However, there are those who believe that all parents cannot teach their children due to their poor
knowledge, lack of social skills and so on. They also contend that only certain parents can become
the best teachers for their children. Nevertheless, I think that parents can give many moral lessons to
their children in spite of poor academic qualifications.

In conclusion, although all parents cannot perform as good teachers in academic areas, they can
teach all other lessons from their life experience which are also crucial for the future life of the
young generation.

90

In recent years, life has become more stressful than it has ever been. As a consequence, more and
more people are suffering from stress-related problems. What factors are contributing to this
increase and what do you think can be done to overcome the current problems.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Essay:

Life has become more stressful than ever. People seems like cannot find a successful path due to
stress related problem. Mentally disturbed one have problems in each and every step of the life. In
my opinion, people should have stress but not across the inordinate level of stress in day to day life.
Higher competition, higher expenses, limited resources, more expectation and globalizations are the
main reasons for this increased stress in our life. Having realistic ambitions in life, living a positive
life, better family bonding and being honest and contended are the main ways of overcoming this
problem.

I believe that higher competition in every step of life is the most common reason for our stress. I
believed that the stress has taken place into our mind due to the lack of our self-confidence. Main
reason behind the stress is to not having a clear vision towards foreseeable future. Many people
could not anticipate their aim and objectives in life. Mostly people who are always jumbling for their
destinations tend to face stress in day to day activities. A person in stress neither gets an opportunity
in life nor live the life happily. People in stress just waste their time for blaming others for their
problem. Higher living expenses force people to work more and that has reached to over 10-14
hours in many professions. Limited resources and the higher population have made it impossible to
have a decent life without competing. This is another reason people nowadays face more job-related
stress than ever before. Many people are not contented with whatever they have and they are
always in stress. Globalisation has opened the doors of new possibility and along with it new
expectations. This is another reason that can be contributed to the stress. The environment pollution
and junk food that we usually eat reduced our level of fitness and physical illness and mental stress
are correlated.

Again, frustration and depression are the reasons for mental stress for people and drug abuse, family
issues and social perspectives could be attributed to these. Stress decreases the efficiency of people
on job. People with such pressure also fail to manage good relationship within home and outside.
Such people cannot become happy as well as people around him are also affected.

There are many steps that the individuals and the society can take to make our life stress free. First
of all, we have to learn to be contented and satisfied. Without being self-contented no one can ever
overcome this problem. Proper planning, punctuality and better family bonding can solve this
problem to some extent. We should live our life in a decent way and should always be honest not to
question our own honesty and integrity. As far as I am concerned, sometimes, I have suffered for my
career growth stress. But I did not cross the inordinate level of stress. I immediately concentrate
towards the situation and find the problem myself and I try my best to come out from stress by
making a proper plan and solve the problem as soon as possible.

Again, the cumulative effort to be happy and contended by each family member can contribute to a
great deal. We should keep our body fit and do exercise daily. It is medically proven that proper
exercise helps us reduce our stress. We should pick up hobbies, travel new places and read
frequently to remove our stress. We also can travel to naturally beautiful places to reduce stresses of
our mind. Travelling creates an opportunity to encounter with new circumstances and help to
refresh our mind.

In my opinion, to come out from stress people have to identify the reason of stress and have to start
working hard to resolve the problems immediately. If we cannot take immediate actions for our
problems and stress, that might create a hazardous situation in foreseeable future.

91

These days more fathers stay at home and take care of their children while mothers go out to
work. What could be the reasons for this? Do you think it is a positive or a negative development?

Model Essay 1:

It is true that nowadays more men are looking after their children at home while more women have
become responsible for the family’s financial aspects. There are many reasons for this, and I believe
that it is a negative trend.

The main reason for this phenomenon is related to social factors. By this, I mean that the equality
between male and female in the modern society has opened the door for more women to gain
qualifications and to get good opportunities at work. For illustration, women who work as a nurse or
a doctor receive a large sum of money compared to men who work in other fields. These reveals a
structure change in gender roles in the family and at work. Another cause for more men to do
housework is the economic crisis of present era. Financial problems inside the family force parents
to going out and looking for a job to be able to cover the living cost.
In my opinion, this is completely contrary development. Firstly, in many cultures men are considered
to be the breadwinner for the family and women should do the upbringing of children. Secondly, kids
should stay longer with their mother; this is what is suggested by researchers in a recent study. They
have approved that children who left their first five years for a long time deteriorated at school, later
on, suffer mental stress than youngsters whose mothers stay at home to look after them.

In conclusion, fathers’ position in the family has significantly changed due to many reasons, and I
believe that it is a totally unacceptable development.

92

In your opinion, what has been the most significant transportation innovation of the past 200
years?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Essay 1:

From my point of view, new discoveries cannot be limited; in particular, new innovative
technological devices have increased and being developed every day. Transportation is one of the
most important discoveries in the world and has made it possible to have a modern world. In my
opinion train is the most significant innovation in the past 2 centuries in the transportation field.

Transportation has been a prominent part of humankind and the demand for new and more
comfortable vehicles made people discover life-enhancing transportation innovations. Over the past
200 years, transportation has been reformed from ordinary trains to more complicated and
developed magnetic trains. In my opinion, all vehicles such as cars, trains, airplanes or ships have
their own importance for people. Consequently, cars are undoubtedly predominant in our daily life
as these vehicles are comfortable and have adequate speed. Plains or ships comprise the majority in
the transportation of loads. Furthermore, travelling to short-distanced places is more optimal by
trains. So, those vehicles are specialised in particular areas.

From my perspective, the most remarkable transportation vehicle which is has specialised in its area
is the train. In particular, fast trains of modern days. These trains have been discovered by Chinese
engineers and are spreading around the world and are being utilised by many other countries. The
advantage of these trains is that they are too fast. Also, it can be clearly understood from its name
which is ‘fast train’. That train's speed makes it easier to travel between places without wasting time.
And developers are trying to discover a new magnetic train which can travel faster in the future.

To sum up, humankind was always in search for new innovations and transportation discoveries have
changed over the past 2 centuries and fast trains are the most significant innovations in my opinion.

93

Nowadays we are producing more and more rubbish. Why do you think this is happening? What
can governments do to help reduce the amount of rubbish produced?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Model Essay 1:

In the midst of globalisation and industrialisation, the amount of waste being exhaled, detrimental to
our planet earth, is appalling. Reasons are aplenty, as to why this is a frequent occurrence and the
imperative role of government worldwide over in countering this, is a moot one. Let us discourse on
the same below.

There are many reasons behind the increase in the production of rubbish throughout the world.
Firstly, the ever increase of population of the humankind has contributed to a mammoth share of
the trash. The number of people has always been directly proportional to the volume of waste being
produced from the time immemorial. Secondly, the industrial revolution, that shook the world a
decade ago, is considered sole culprit in the production of industrious waste onto earth’s surface.
Again the number of industries and factories contributing to this menace are on a steep climb, since
its inception.

Thirdly, the population rise has led to more transport system around the world, owing to increase in
the waste produced from the vehicles and other means of transport. To cite an example from the
part of the world I live, the discarded parts of cars, such as a blotted tire, is ubiquitous, compared to
the past. Finally, the sheer negligence from us, with regards to recycling of waste products has led to
adding more chaos to the present scenario. No care, what so ever, was taken in the production of
biodegradable products, so as to mitigate the amount of trash produced!

The role of government in combating the issue is inevitable. They should be imposing restrictions on
the above-discoursed factors, favouring waste segregation. Population check, of governments on
their respective states, should be made mandatory. The industries and factories should be restricted
and monitored for the effective recycling or biodegradation of their waste produced. The amenities
used by mankind, such as transport should be made more efficient and effective in terms of
discarded residual waste. Building eco-friendly homes should be encouraged. More emphasis
should be made on the recycling of all the industrial trash being produced o an emergency basis. The
government should focus more on the fact that, these are either biodegradable or can be recycled
effectively.

From the above discourse, someone's role as civilians of earth and that of government is quite
interdependent and significant, when comes to reducing the amount of waste being produced.
Punitive measures from the government are the needs of the hour, to tackle this issue, so as to
ensure rather envisage, a cleaner and habitable planet earth.

94

Governments should not provide care or financial support for elderly people because it is the
responsibility of each person to prepare for retirement and support him or herself.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Model Essay 1: [Mixed opinion : Both an individual and a government should share this
responsibility]
People have different views on whether a government should support the elderly and retired people
financially or not. I believe that it is mostly an individual’s responsibility to save money for their
retirement but I totally disagree that elderly people shouldn't receive any support from the state.
The combination of personal support and the government’s support could be the best possible
solution for the retired elderly people.
I think the government should support the elderly people financially as this is the part of a social
democracy which states the equality of opportunities and distribution of resources fairly. For
example, many developed countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United State are
following this strategy by allowing some money to be cashed for elderly people upon their
retirement. Moreover, it is their right to have some financial support as they had paid their taxes
throughout their lives. So they have to take some of their money back when they need it. The
government should allocate money to take care of its citizens no matter what are their ages.

On the other side, those elderly people do not have any alternative way of earning, as their chances
for employment is quite low in contrast to the young people, they should be taken care by the
savings they have, by their own children and by the government.

The people should always have savings and relatives who would be taking care of them when they
become old. The parents take care of their kids and sacrifice a lot. The children should always be
ready to take care of their elder parents. A prudent person would have some savings for his old years
and thus it is also an individual’s responsibility to save for their future need. Furthermore, the
government can’t deny its role to take care of the elder people. The combination of these three can
be very effective to take care of people when they become old.

In conclusion, governments should take the responsibility of providing senior citizens with all their
financial needs as part of ensuring their well-being and at the same time it is an individual's
responsibility to save money for their hardest time and their sons and daughters have some
responsibilities as well.

95

Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. What are the advantages and
disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Essay 1:

In order to cultivate children's intellectual development, a growing number of parents spend money
on purchasing different toys for their children. According to an official survey, children's educational
toys can allow their cognitive development to be effective and faster. The following paragraphs are
going to discuss the pros and cons for children having lots of playthings or toys.

Apparently, providing a wider range of toys to children to play with can benefit their psychological
developments. The best toys engage a child's senses, spark their imaginations and encourage them
to interact with others. For example, Lego blocks can help preschoolers to learn letters, numbers and
languages skills. Moreover, it can improve their communication skill as well when they play with
other kids. As everyone knows, communication plays an essential role in our life and the toys can
help them have playmates with whom they communicate a lot. Finally, some toys are made for
children's educational purposes. For example, blocks, educational computer games, puzzles etc.
ignite the creativity of children and let them find out their interests.

Nevertheless, other people propose that the argument above is merely a one sided story as children
having too many playthings become greedy. For instance, many parents spoil their children by
purchasing every toy the children want. Afterwards, those children will have a strong desire to
acquire more toys. Moreover, those toys need a plenty of money and wasting is an evil act.
Furthermore, too many toys may grow a conformist mentality in a child as they are immature to
distinguish the good from the bad and they just follow other children's playing style, activity and
characters. Finally, if a child gets every toy he wants, he will not value most of the toys and lose his
interests on a toy and would like to have a new toy. Thus the true need of toys is misused by
purchasing a lot of toys to the children.

In conclusion, toys play an important role in helping a child's growth but too many toys affect
children's psychological development negatively. Thus parents should lead them in a proper way and
purchase a reasonable number of toys that they would feel right for their children.

96

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

Sample Answer 1:

Increasing numbers of people have already become fond of travelling all over the world and the
trend continues to be evident even during these recent times. Travelling has become a hobby among
different individuals regardless of age, sex and race. Some people believe that increased travelling
nowadays is because of many reasons including better communication and technological
advancement and benefits of travelling to travellers are huge.

To begin with, one of the major reasons why travellers these days are motivated to travel different
places is because of increasing opportunities and demands abroad. In abroad, people can visit their
countries of choices to study as international students, work as a professional passionately and the
appealing part of grabbing to become future immigrants because of the various benefits they will
inherit compared to their country of origin. For example, my aunt decided to work as a licensed
nurse in the USA and due to her undying hardworking attitude, she successfully submitted complete
credentials and passed exams required for professional registration.

Another reason why people travel often is that they want to get stamps in their passports whenever
possible. In this way, people will have easy access of travelling to places they wanted without
hesitations or difficulties. They have the least chances of being denied by the embassies after calling
up for an interview.

The cheap air travel, better communication system and facility to work at anyplace have also inspired
people to visit more frequently.

In conclusion, when people travel more, they will learn the benefits of using other languages and will
develop multiculturalism in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes.

97

In most parts of the world, people are living longer. What is the possible cause of this situation? Is
this a negative or positive development?

Sample Answer 1:

In several countries across the world, the death rate has decreased dramatically. This may be due to
several reasons; this essay will analyse those and also suggest whether it brings benefit or drawback
to the enhancement of the society

First and foremost reason for this scenario is the revolution of health care technology. This is
because the fatal diseases or disorders which were considered difficult to fight against have become
an easier task to tackle these days. Polio is one good example in India which no longer causes death
or disorder among people which once was a very devastating disease. Moreover, the technical
advancements are also facilitating complicated cardiac surgeries, organ transplantation and 3D
printed organ replacement. So these illustrations are proving the worthy role of technology in
enriching and enhancing of people’s life.

While the life span of individuals’ increases, it would obviously benefit in several ways both to
individual and society. As far as a single person is concerned, if he lives longer then it is certain that
he would complete all his responsibilities in a proper way and lead a happy and contented life with
his or family. Looking onto the other side, the benefits outnumber the disadvantages here as well.
Due to the contribution of persons like scientists, politicians and other leaders to the nation for a
longer duration, the development of the nation is a reachable goal.

By and large, the people are having healthy and longer life because of the intervention of technology
in the health care sector. This has been proven as a positive impact on both individuals and a larger
community and thus can be taken as a sign of betterment.

98

The international community must act immediately to ensure all nations to reduce their
consumption of fossil fuels e.g. gas and oil.

To what extent do you agree/ disagree?

Sample Answer 1:

Increasing consumptions of fossil fuels have resulted in the emission of the greenhouse gas which is
one of the causes of issues relating to environmental damage in recent years. Therefore, some
people suggest that all countries should take actions urgently to lessen the usage of the harmful
energy. From my personal view, I agree with the statement to some extent.

First of all, it cannot be denied that fossil fuel is one of the major contributors to global warming and
climate change. Indeed, the burning of oil and coal produces tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and
it is one of the greenhouse gases that enhance radioactive forcing and contribute to global warming.
The rise in temperature of the Earth has associated with numerous of adverse effects such as melting
of polar ice caps, flooding of low-lying areas and rise to the sea level.

Secondly, fossil fuels are generally considered to be non-renewable resources because they take
millions of years to form. If the utilisation of mineral fuels is not reduced and controlled, it could be
exhausted and people may soon run short of fossil fuels while scientists have not found an
alternative energy source. As a result, the price of fossil fuels has also increased greatly which could
lead countries to fall into a fuel war.

However, there might be some concerns about the reduction of mineral fuels utilisation. One among
of them is that the approach will lead to failure to maintain well-balanced social order. In fact,
manufacture industry, transportation and even home heating require powers, which are generated
through fossil fuels. Accordingly, detrimental consequences might impact to the development of the
entire the world if we cut down the use of fossil fuel immediately. More than that, some alternative
powers such as nuclear, solar and wind power have not been applied widely due to reasons like
climate condition, high cost or safety requirement. It could take scientist many years developing
these energies to be perfect substitutes for fossil fuel.

In conclusion, in order to tackle environment problems and avoid the growing scarcity of natural
energy in the future, the reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels should be considered and
planned purposefully and gradually.
99
Some people say that success is ‘10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work’. Is hard work the key
to success, or is talent also important?

Sample Answer 1:

When it comes to the issue of success, a myriad of perspectives has been put forth. Some stick to the
idea that hard work plays a key role in success whereas others are on the view that talent is an
inseparable part of success. I personally state that the viewpoint put forward by the first group is
more logical. In the following paragraphs, I will shed light on my reasons for this viewpoint.

The price of success is hard work. Perseverance gives rise to success. Individuals, who always
succeed, try all times and never give up. It does not matter how many times they fail, they do not
give up and stop their attempt till they reach their goal. They never call themselves failure! They
really subscribe to the idea that the greatest accomplishment is not in falling down but in rising again
and again after falling hard which sets the stage for success. With regard to the issue of gaining
success, they really believe that winners never quit and quitters never win.

On the other hand, just hard work without believing in ourselves and certain talents does not serve
to achieve success. What is in our mind and how positive we think prepares the ground for physical
action and eventually gives rise to hard work and gaining success. If we believe that we can achieve
to whatever we want and we remove the negative thoughts which serve as mental barriers, we
certainly succeed in gaining our goals. Having purpose is also important to work hard. If we know
what we really want and why we need it clarifies our purpose which has beneficial effects on hard
working. So, besides being hard working person it is essential to be hard planning person too.

In my view, I really concede that success is 10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work hard. Hard
work and self-disciplined perform a pivotal role in gaining success, having a purpose and believe in
ourselves are also required along with the hard work.

100

Public transports in many countries have improved. People should use public transport to support
pollution control initiatives.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this viewpoint?

Model Answer 1:

Advancements in technology and infrastructure have revolutionised the human life and public
transportation is no exception. Nowadays the government transportations are rationalised. Does it
mean that the dwellers should not use private vehicles to travel? I believe, owing to excellent
commutation systems worldwide, citizens should avoid using their own cars. This opinion is reliant
on below arguments.

To begin with, on account of "global warming" warnings, various nations have developed a robust
transport system to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road and subsequently to alleviate
the greenhouse gas emissions. It can be confirmed by the environmental department's report from
India. As per the statistics in the report, if the people utilise only 60% of the public transports then
the pollution will reduce to 40% in metro cities. Thus, denizen must support the initiatives by
travelling via public transportations.

In addition, public transports have generic dustbins to support the rubbish while travel, which may
not be possible in private cars. For an example, if people commute by personal vehicles they will
throw out the rubbish outside on the road, which will cause the pollution and sometimes even block
the sewage system of the city. For an instance, recent sewage blockage in Mumbai, India was on
account of rubbish blocking the pathway. Thus, commuting with government vehicle will assist in
controlling of rubbish and assist legislators in reducing the pollution.

To draw the conclusion, in the view of mitigating issues of global warming and rubbish packages on
the roads, people must travel by public transport and make earth a better place to live in.

101

Multicultural societies, in which there is a mixture of different ethnic peoples, bring more benefits
than drawbacks to a country.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model Answer 2:

It is believed that multicultural environments bring many advantages for many people, since the
variety of races, cultures and traditions will make the country become unique and attractive.
Although, multicultural societies have some negative issues, but I do believe that the positive sides
are greater than the negative ones.

On the one hand, countries that have multicultural communities have some similar problems. Firstly,
it is common that discrimination would have been the main issue. Some groups of people feel that
their races are the most superior one; therefore they would underestimate certain kinds of races.
Secondly, there is always a debate about religious activities, as some groups might have extreme
faith in their religions and would annoy other believers. One of the classic examples would be the
debate of religion in Israel between the Jewish and the Palestinian, which have caused so many
casualties.

Despite all the drawbacks, multiculturalisms will bring many advantages for the government and the
people, if they are well managed. Multicultural societies make the city become alive and fascinating,
as some sides of the city shown Asiatic cultures, while on the other side it shows Western
civilisations. This situation makes the city becomes unique and would attract tourists from many
parts of the world. As a result, it will boost the tourism industry, create a lot of employments and
generate income tax for the governments. There are many multicultural cities that are well known,
such as Sydney, Toronto and Singapore and they are considered as advanced cities, due to the
proper management of its local government.

In conclusion, it is undeniable that multicultural environment has its own advantages and
disadvantages. In my point of view, I do believe that multicultural societies have more benefits than
its drawbacks if they are managed properly by the government.

102

Nowadays many jobs are more stressful and the working day is longer. What are the reasons for
this? What can employers do to help employees?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Model Answer 1:

The ever increasing job competition, the pressure of constant deadlines, the technological
dependency in jobs and people’s expectation to thrive in the workplace have changed the definition
of professional life and most of the employees require to work harder and for long hours each day.
In this essay, I will examine the reasons behind this work pressure and lengthy working hours and
suggest some ways that the employers can help improve the condition.

High competition in the job market is one of the reasons why jobs have become such stressful these
days. Employers always have options for finding new employees and replace someone and this is
why someone who has already been hired has to work hard to save his job. This naturally has
negative psychological effects on employees. Employees have to work for longer hours to meet their
performance target as the invisible threat of firing is there. Increasing competition caused by
globalisation is another reason to make the workplace such stressful. Many small and medium
business entities need to compete with other multinational companies and companies in developing
nations where labour price is cheaper. The effect of this on employees is that they know they may be
made redundant if the business they work for fails. This force the employees not only to work longer
hours but also suffer from work-related stress and uncertainty. In most of the organisations, the
employers these days set targets for the employees and most of the targets are hard to achieve. As a
result, employees are forced to work beyond 10 hours per day and even on days-off. Finally, people’s
expectation from the offices have reached to a higher position and people are ready to sacrifice their
personal life for the sake of promotions. This shift of mind setup has also attributed to the increasing
work pressure.

Despite the higher competition in business, employers should ensure a healthy working environment
and support their workers morally and financially in order to sustain in the long run. An organisation
cannot survive without experiences and dedicated employees and constant fear of uncertainty
cannot ensure a healthy workplace. Employers should encourage employees to work the regular
hours and work overtime only when it is absolutely necessary. The employers should also encourage
people who perform better and award them for their performance. The workers should be allowed
to take breaks and should not suffer from anxiety of losing jobs. Finally, the employers should have a
friendly relationship with the workers and have meetings to listen to their problem. If the employer
can assure the employees that they are ready to help each other and their jobs are secured, they can
then expect better outputs from the employees.

In conclusion, higher competition in the job market, globalisation and people’s aim to reach higher
are the main reasons for stress in the workplace and the employers have a lot to contribute to
improving this situation. A healthy workplace is very crucial for the best performance by the
employees.

Sample Answer 2:

It is a fact that working hours are getting longer and the work pressure is getting more intense these
days. There are various reasons that have caused the situation and there are some things that
employers can do to help their staffs. The following essay will discuss them in details.

For a number of reasons, people’s working hours are getting longer and jobs are getting more
stressful nowadays. Firstly, it is due to the tight competition in the labour market. As the supply of
labour is higher than the demand, it means that there are more people who are looking for jobs and
employers could be selective in hiring their potential employees. As a result, employers would select
labours who are multiple talents, could work for long hours and could handle many tasks. Secondly,
as business competition become tougher these days, companies are working in a more effective and
efficient manners. Consequently, there will be less manpower in many companies, which means they
only recruit selected people who can do many things at once and could work long hours.

There are several things that employers could do to solve the problem. It is believed that exercises
could reduce stress level, therefore many companies are providing fitness centre in their office these
days. This facility can be used by their employees outside of the working hours for free and it is
hoped that employees could maintain their health condition. And then, employers could also hire
unpaid internship to assist their employees. It is expected that with the assistance of internships, it
would reduce the workload and working hours of employees.

To sum up, it is a fact that works are more stressful and take longer hours these days. To solve the
issue, there are some things that employers could do, and one of them is providing gym facilities to
employees for reducing their stress level. Another thing is that employers could also recruit unpaid
internship to assist employees as it would reduce the long working hours.

[ Written by - Darwin Lesmana ]