Writing task 2: Essay collections

Topic: Dieting to lose weight has become increasingly prevalent in the developed world. Why do you think people nowadays are so concerned with body shape and size?

Nowadays, it has become fashionable to be slim and fit, especially in developed countries. In my point of view, the growing concern with body shape and size is generally formed by the media, the fashion industry and modern notions of health and fitness.

            Firstly, people seem to associate slimness with positive traits.  It has been demonstrated that people who are overweight are more likely to suffer from health problems such as heart diseases and diabetes, whereas those who do not eat too much are seen as having good self-control and considered healthier.

            Secondly, advertisements appear to encourage people to value slim figures. They often show desirable consumer products alongside slim models. Obviously, advertisers would not use slim models unless the public already had a favorable view of them.

            Moreover, many elements of society promote the idea that having a perfect body is a guaranteed way to others’ admiration and approval. Societies may portray this perfect body as the key to attract a romantic partner, to land a dream job, to have a good health as well as success and self-confidence. Furthermore, it seems that the perfect body might be the passport to a good life. However, the majority of media photos which portray human with perfect bodies are enhanced by modern technology to achieve the effect. It is both unfair and unrealistic to expect everyone to look like these so-called perfect bodies, but the power of such images remains hard to resist.

            In conclusion, we should take consideration into what stereotypes of the perfect body may affect us. And above all, we should accept ourselves for who we are, not for what these measurements might be.

Words count: 276

Topic: The problem of obesity is mainly due to people’s lack of knowledge about healthy eating. To what extent do you agree with the statement above?

Nowadays, there is a growing concern about the prevalence of obesity in societies. Many people would blame that it is the consequence of lacking necessary information about healthy eating. In my opinion, this notion deserves good attention. However, there are other factors that might be worth considering as well.

            It seems that many people do not have sufficient knowledge and awareness about good nutrition or a balanced diet. Some people may even underestimate the amount of calories in food. Therefore, they cannot lose weight even if they know what is in their food and how much they should eat.

            Besides, obesity may be due to genetic factors. A child who has overweight parents might be overweight too. However, if the family adopts healthy food and active habits, the child’s chance of being overweight or obese can be reduced.

            Lack of physical activities may be another major cause that leads to obesity. In big cities, people tend to find work primarily as office staff. They leave behind physical labor and adopt sedentary jobs. Also, the development of modern technology has made people rely heavily on cars and labor saving machines. This leads to low level of physical activities and creates an inactive lifestyle. People who are inactive are more likely to gain weight because they do not burn the calories that they take in from food and drinks.

            In conclusion, not only lacking of knowledge about healthy eating but also genetic factors as well as insufficient physical activities can increase a person’s risk of gaining weight and obesity.

Topic: What can governments do to encourage children to eat a healthier diet?

Children’s health is of primary importance to a country; however, nowadays their health is increasingly deteriorating due to bad eating habits. Therefore, it is likely that governments should take this issue as a matter of urgency and take necessary steps to raise awareness as well as encourage children to eat a healthy diet.

            Firstly, governments may regulate the food industry. This can be taken by requiring food producers to fortify their products with vitamins; as a result, children would eat healthier food without having to change their habits. However, this would be unpopular and expensive for food producers.

            Secondly, due to the fact that school meals can account for the majority of the food children eat during the week, regulating school meals can be considered as another solution. School should be asked to provide only healthy food and drink at lunch time. The obvious benefit from this approach is that children would have at least one healthy meal per day. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that children would cease to bring unhealthy packed lunches or go out for lunch to fast food outlets.

            One more feasible solution is to educate children thoroughly about healthy eating. This could be implemented by requiring schools to teach children to cook healthy foods. As a result, children can take pride in their learning and transfer these skills to their home. But the biggest disadvantage of this method is that schools may not have the facilities to teach cooking.

            In conclusion, the responsibility for incentivizing children to eat a healthier diet not only falls to the governments but also needs the involvement of all parents, families and schools.

Topic: Convenience foods will become increasingly prevalent and eventually replace traditional foods and traditional methods of food preparation.

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

Partly disagree:

These days, there is a growing tendency that convenience foods are well on their way to become the dominant foods instead traditional one in human’s daily meals. In my opinion, I agree that convenience foods may continue to outweigh ordinary ones, but I believe people would never take them as permanent substitutes.

            It seems to be undeniable that nowadays, the popularity and favorite of convenience foods is remarkable, especially in hectic societies. Many people do not have enough time to cook; therefore convenience foods present an attractive option. People can consume convenience foods nearly on a daily basis, from breakfasts at home, lunches at workplace to schools’ meals. Almost everyone is fancy of processed foods because of their diversification, time-saving and ease of consumption factors.

            However, traditional foods and traditional methods of food preparation still play a vital role in human’s life. Take family’s ordinary meal as an example. This is when parents and children prepare foods, cook together as well as spend time talking to each other in the kitchen, which can be taken as a unifying element in family life. Gathering around a family table for a home-cooked dinner is a precious moment that no convenience meal can offer. Besides, preparing and cooking foods can also help people control over the nutritional content and the overall healthfulness of the foods they eat. 

In conclusion, even though convenience foods maybe more suitable and popular in modern societies, the traditional cuisines would never be substituted.

 

Topic: Success in formal ‘pen and paper’ examinations is often seen to be a sign of intelligence.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the view that formal examinations measure intelligence?

Synonym: 

Assessment = evaluation = appraisal (n: đánh giá hoặc xác định phẩm chất tốt)

Take test in normal way = handwritten test

No one can deny the fact that paper tests have been proved to be an indispensable part of knowledge evaluation. It is believed that students achieving god results from these tests are considered clever. In my opinion, the traditional form of examinations would continue to be used as an intelligence measurement.

Needless to say, formal tests have been rated as an effective tool to evaluate students’ knowledge due to its plentiful forms of inquiry. For instance, a well-designed test paper including a range of tasks, such as multiple choices, true or false questions or writing questions can thoroughly examine students’ learning ability and their master of knowledge from different perspectives. However, sometimes students may cram for the exam or learn by rote, which could make pen and paper tests fail to fully measure the comprehensive academic ability of students.

Another undeniable reason why paper tests can measure learners’ true knowledge achievement is that they could have the opportunity to share their own views to specific problems. Take essay as an example. When students are given an essay topic at an examination, they are encouraged to freely write about anything based on what they have learnt. As a result of this, there would occasionally be some possibility to get genius ideas from those results. The minus point of taking exam in normal way is that it might trigger anxiety in students so that they cannot show their real capacity.

          In conclusion, I believe that formal paper and pen exams can provide trustful assessments on students’ intelligence. Therefore, they would persist continuously as a vital method of evaluation in education system.

Topic: In order to be truly employable, the educated person should be able to demonstrate not just knowledge but also the ability to work independently in teams

How can teamwork best be encouraged and assessed in educational settings?

1.      Synonym:

-          Ability = competence ( competence in teamwork)

-          Educated person = qualified person

-          Demonstrate = present = show = demo

-          Assess = appraise = determine = estimate = judge = evaluate

-          Encourage = inspire = strengthen = fortify

-          Educational settings = institutions

2.      Outline:

Introduction:

It is a fact that competence in teamwork is not only necessary but also an enormous advantage for students who are about to enter the jobs market. Therefore, training students in teamwork plays a vital role in every educational setting. This essay will examine the common methods used to fortify and appraise teamwork skill among students.

Body paragraph 1: Bottom of Form

Solution 1: require students to work on group projects outside of school.

Specific action: assign group research project investigating aspect of local history

Positive consequences: motivating for students; students would learn to work as a team independently.

Drawback: difficult to assess individual student’s contribution to team effort.

Firstly, students should be required to work on group projects outside school. Specifically, schools can assign group research project investigating aspect of local history. With this approach, it would create motivation for students as well as teach them how to work as a team independently. However, there would be difficult for teacher to evaluate precisely individual student’s contribution to team.

Body paragraph 2: Bottom of Form

Solution 2: group project could be done partly in school, partly outside of school.

Specific action: ask students to periodically present ‘work in progress’ in class

Positive consequences: teacher could monitor students’ work more easily.

Drawback: time-consuming for large classes.

Secondly, group project could be done partly in school, partly outside of school. In order to closely determine students’ performance, teacher can ask them to periodically present ‘work in progress’ in the class. Hence, students’ work would be monitored more easily. Though, this method might be unfeasible in case of large classes due to its time-consuming factor.

Body paragraph 3: Bottom of Form

Solution 3: in addition to some teacher monitoring, students assess own progress.

Specific action: ask students write a learning journal throughout the project

Positive consequences: burden of monitoring and assessing progress shared by teachers and students.

In addition to some teacher monitoring, students could also self-evaluate their own progress. For instance, teachers can require students to write a learning journal throughout the project. Thanks to this, the burden of monitoring and assessing progress can be shared by both teacher and students.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are variety methods that can be used at educational settings in order to reinforce and assess teamwork skill. However, pros and cons of each approach should be carefully considered so that it can be done in the right way.

      It is a fact that competence in teamwork is not only necessary but also an enormous advantage for students who are about to enter the jobs market. Therefore, training students in team work plays a vital role in every educational setting. This essay will examine some practical methods that can be applied at schools to fortify and appraise students’ ability of working in a team.

       Firstly, students should be required to work on group projects outside the school. Specifically, schools can assign a group research project investigating different aspects of local history. With this approach, it would create motivation for students as well as teach them how to work as a team independently. However, precise assessment on individual student’s contribution to team might be a difficult task for the teacher.

       Besides, group project could be done partly inside and partly outside of the school. In order to closely determine students’ performance, the teacher can ask them to periodically present ‘ work in progress’ in the class. Hence, students’ work would be monitored more easily. Though, this method might be unfeasible in case of large classes due to its time-consuming factor.

    In addition to some teaching monitoring, students could also self-evaluate their own progress. For instance, teachers can require students to write a learning journal throughout the project. This can bring benefit for both teachers and students since the burden of monitoring and assessing progress has been shared respectively.

      In conclusion, there are various methods that can be used in educational settings in order to reinforce and appraise teamwork skill. However, pros and cons of each approach should be carefully considered so that it can be done in the right way.