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.
