SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NAM ĐỊNH TRƯỜNG THPT A HẢI HẬU BÁO CÁO SÁNG KIẾN NECESSARY PREPARATION FOR BOOSTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ESSAY WRITING COMPETENCE - ARGUMENTATIVE(OPINION) ESSAY Tác giả : VŨ THỊ THU THỦY Trình độ chuyên môn: Cử nhân SPNN Chức vụ: Giáo viên Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT A Hải Hậu Hải Hậu, tháng năm 2015 THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN Tên sáng kiến : NECESSARY PREPARATION FOR BOOSTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ESSAY WRITING COMPETENCE - ARGUMENTATIVE(OPINION) ESSAY Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến : Dạy học viết luận tiếng Anh- Dạng nghị luận 3.Thời gian áp dụng sáng kiến : 2012-2015 4.Tác giả : Họ tên : VŨ THỊ THU THỦY Năm sinh : 08/04/1980 Nơi sinh: Tân Thịnh- Lạng Giang- Bắc Giang Nơi thường trú : Hải Hưng- Hải Hậu- Nam Định Trình độ chuyên môn : Cử nhân Sư phạm ngoại ngữ Chức vụ công tác : Giáo viên Nơi làm việc : Trường THPT A Hải Hậu Địa liên hệ : Trường THPT A Hải Hậu Điện thoại : 0917515009 5.Đơn vị áp dụng sáng kiến : Tên đơn vị : Trường THPT A Hải Hậu Địa : Khu 6- Thị Trấn Yên Định –Hải Hậu- Nam Định Điện thoại : 03503877089 TABLE OF CONTENTS I THE SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE STUDY II ACTUAL SITUATION III SOLUTIONS Types of essay Structure of an essay Some steps of reaching a thorough essay Some tips of essay writing Suggestions of writing a good argumentative (opinion ) essay Suggestions of identifying an argumentative(opinion) essay Argumentative essay templates IV RESULT AFTER APPLYING THE STUDY IN TEACHING V PROPOSAL REFERENCES Reference Some outlines of several argumentative essay topics I THE SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE STUDY - Essay writing is a difficult skill in teaching and learning English at high schools - Teachers and students at high schools are in the period of getting used to new English textbooks Moreover, essay writing didn’t use to be the main part in class and almost all exams, so a lot of us – teachers of English at high schools – have difficulty finding out steps of teaching essay writing effectively - Some teachers haven’t been clearly aware of the roles of essay writing in teaching and learning a foreign language II ACTUAL SITUATION - To introduce necessary preparation of essay writing - To show how to organize steps of essay writing effectively and how to deal with initial problems that may arise - To give teachers and students confidence in teaching and learning essay writing, especially argument(opinion) essay writing - Scope : This subject is concerned with ways of enhancing essay writing competence, especially argumentative(opinion) essay writing Researching in the process of teaching and learning essay writing in English at Hai Hau A high school - Object: HaiHau A High School Students - Methods: Reading reference books , discussing with other teachers, applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences III SOLUTIONS Types of essays 1.1 The Descriptive Essay 2.1 The Definition Essay 3.1 The Illustration Essay 4.1 The Comparison/Contrast Essay 5.1 The Cause/Effect Essay 6.1 The Narrative Essay 7.1 The Process Analysis Essay 8.1 The Classification Essay 9.1 The Argumentative/Persuasive Essay 10.1 The Research Essay 11.1 The Critical Analysis Essay Structure of an essay Essay Format Capture attention – thesis statement (paraphrase the essay statement) Supporting idea - topic sentence -explanation/details 123Conclusion Supporting idea - topic sentence -explanation/details 123Conclusion (Transition) Supporting idea - topic sentence -explanation/details 123Conclusion (Transition) (Transition) t Restate the thesis Restate General Supporting Ideas Powerful Conclusion or Statement of Significance Some steps of reaching a thorough essay 1.3 Brainstorming - Writing an Essay is to express insight of your own, genuine essay-writing brilliance - Generate a bunch of questions related to the topic, and start to think about them until you come up with original insights to answer them 2.3 Thesis (Thesis Statement) - This sentence is definitely significant in an Essay - It is also a challenging task with which Essay writers usually have to struggle - Your thesis must be performed as a clear and concise sentence, which generates your main points and tell the reader what you are going 3.3 Outline - Straightway sketch out your essay - Map out each paragraph with one point corresponding to the order of the essay’s main points in the thesis - Bullet points to describe what each paragraph will contain Some tips of essay writing 1.4 Reading as much as you can to explore new ways and new beautiful structures as you need to supplement your essay in order that your essay becomes more professional and vivid 2.4 Using as many synonyms as possible to create an abundant essay 3.4 Following the four elements essential to a good essay In order to write a good essay, students need to understand the four essential elements of essay writing and how each element contributes to the whole The four elements essential to good essay writing are: unity, order, cohesion and coherence , and completeness The following example illustrates the importance of these elements in essay writing Element 1: Unity Unity in an essay begins with the thesis statement Every essay has two or three controlling ideas that is expressed in the body of an essay In order to write a good essay, think about your theme and all the points you want to make Element 2: Order Order refers to the way you organize your supporting ideas Whether you choose chronological order, order of importance, or another logical presentation of details, a solid essay always has a definite organization In a well-ordered essay, the reader follows along easily, aided by signposts which gain importance in the argumentative essay Order helps the reader grasp your meaning and avoid confusion Element 3: Cohesion and Coherence Coherence is the quality that makes your writing understandable Sentences within a paragraph and the body paragraphs need to connect to each other and work together as a whole One of the best ways to achieve coherence is to use transition words These words create bridges from one sentence to the next and one paragraph to the next as well You can use transition words that show order (first, second, third); spatial relationships (above, below) or logic (furthermore, in addition, in fact) Cohesion describes the way in which a text is tied together by linguistic devices, such as And so we see , Additionally , Therefore , However and On the other hand So cohesion refers to connectivity in a text Coherence refers to how easy it is to understand the writing Element 4: Completeness Completeness means an essay is well-developed If all sentences and paragraphs clearly and sufficiently support the thesis, then your essay is complete If there are not enough sentences and paragraphs or enough information to prove your thesis, then the essay is incomplete Usually three supporting ideas, in addition to a introduction and concluding paragraph, are needed for an essay to be complete The conclusion or the last paragraph should restate your thesis by reinforcing your points 4.4 Adding transitional words, such as adverbs at the beginning of the paragraph and between each sentence if possible This makes your essay sound smoother and more professional TOOLS OF COHESION Linking ideas and making transitions Meaning Function Sentence Connectors Clause Connectors Coordinators Subordinators Content Options To introduce a similar or additional idea Also addition Beside moreover Furthermore And Nor (‘and not’) Another(adj) An aditional(adj) To compare things Also Likewise Similarly too in too An Both…and Not only…but also neither…nor As Just as As…as Like / alike Just like Similar to (be)alike (be)similar To introduce an opposite idea, and to contrast things To introduce an example To signal chronological order To indicate order of importance However Nonetheless In contrast Instead In / by comparison Nevertheless On the other hand On the one hand Still For example For instance First,second First of all now,then, Then, next after Meanwhile Last, finally then But Yet But rather Although Even although Though Whereas while Despite In spite of Compared to/with (be)different (be)dissimilar (be)unlike Differ from Such as Like An example of Including gradually After As As soon as Before Now that Since Until _ When While soon after that since Above all First and foremost More/most importantly Significantly Primarily Last but not least The first, the second, the next, the last, the final Before After Since 19 _ In the year _ A more important_ The most important_ The second most important_ the primary_ To introduce a cause or reason for To introduce an effect or result Accordingly As a result Consequently Hence Thus Therefore To emphasize In fact In particular To explain That is Indeed To introduce an alternative Otherwise However To conclude All in all In brief In conclusion In short In summary Indeed Because Since as so Result from (be) the result of Due to Because of The effect of The consequence of As a result of As a consequence of Result in Cause Have an effect on Affect The cause of The reason for Repetition of words that or If Unless It is clear that… We can see that The evidence suggests that… These examples show that… Suggestions of writing a good argumentative (opinion ) essay 1.5 Here is what you need to keep in mind in order to write a good opinion essay + Decide your opinion as for the topic discussed + Make a list of examples, viewpoints and reasons to support your opinion + Write well-developed paragraphs + Use linking words and phrases to join the sentences and the paragraphs within the text + Write in a formal style, introduce the topic clearly and state convincing arguments Normally, an opinion essay should be divided into parts  Part 1: Open(Introduction) In this part you should introduce the topic and state opinion clearly You may want to use some of these expressions + Some people claim/believe/say + It is sometimes said that + The question is + We often read/hear that + In my opinion , I strongly believe that , I am in favor of , it seems to me that + From my point of view, as far as I can see, as I see it + Many people think that…However, I think… + According to some people,…., Personally, I believe… + Some people are for the opinion that… Nevertheless, in my opinion,…  Part 2: Body In this part you use examples and reasons to support your viewpoint (at least paragraphs).You can also include a paragraph presenting the opposing point of view and reason why you think it is an unconvincing idea Some useful expressions - Making extra points + What's more + In addition + Furthermore, moreover - Introducing a contradictory point + Although, even though + Despite + Despite the fact that + However - Contrasting views for and against + On the one hand/side on the other + While it's true that + You could also argue that + Nevertheless / However + One advantage / Another disadvantage is that + Opponents of this idea claim/ maintain that… 10 the main advantages of banning private education? Are there any circumstances where private education should be allowed? What is your own opinion on the matter? - Education is not for only a group of people + Private education creates the big differences between rich and poor families + People should be treated like each other's and being affluent should not create any borders among pupils - The quality of education is quite wide in every society + Parents are not able to find a suitable school for their children  They will look for private education + Parents concerned about their children's classmates, friends and even teachers TOPIC 6: Some people believe that children's leisure activities must be educational; otherwise, they are a complete waste of time Introduction - Today, children are required to make their best of studying to have a good future  They are not allowed for leisure activities school hours  Misguided Body - Children need to develop skills other than intellectual ones - Play make - believe games + develop imagination + learn physical co-ordination + learn social lesson (winning, losing) - Form strong, personal relationship with other friends - Grow up emotional mature Conclusion: - Children need relax as well as work - If everything is related to education or academic work  get tired of studying TOPIC 7: Only formal examinations, written or practical can give a clear picture of a student’s true knowledge and ability at university level Continuous assessment like course work and projects are poor measures of student ability How far you agree with this statement? The debate about how to assess students at university - In one group, the only sure way to test the ability to study or achievement is through formal exams + It’s difficult for teacher to assess their students’ course work because they can download from the Internet + It’s impossible for tutor to access the student properly because they may have done part of the work + Teachers ignore the possibility of students’ stealing ideas from somewhere 36 - In the other group, formal written are wrong and assessment should be continuous throughout a course  Because a lot of students not perform well under pressure in exams - I feel, lies somewhere in the middle  a University degree should be based on a combination of both forms of assessment TOPIC 8: People attend university or college many reasons ( ) Why you think people attend university or college, use specific reasons and examples to support your ideas State that the most common reasons are prepare for the future career, to have new experience and to increase their knowledge Career preparation is the primary reason: - Job market is very competitive - Model jobs (related to tech) ask new workers New experiences: - Can meet people from many places - Become more independent, learnt to live their own and to take care of themselves Increase knowledge: They decide what they want to study, purpose and interact w/ classmates, so they learn much about themselves - Learn many subjects at classes - Skills and knowledge related to their future career TOPIC 9: School should ask sts evaluate their teachers Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer Good ideas: Good for teachers - Get a lot of useful information - Help teachers improve their classes Good for school administrators - Work better with the teachers - Work together to improve the school program where necessary Good exercise for sts - Have to organize their thoughts about their teacher - Give sts a chance to develop honesty and responsibility worthwhile Conclusion: This is ideal solution TOPIC 10: Should one’s aim of education be the development of talents in such as music, art, drama? One aim of education should be to develop talent ability, whatever that ability may be 37 The pressure from education theorists today is to concentrate teaching on preparation for employment - Parents feel that the priority for their children is to become equipped to earn a good living - Governments urge concentration on certain subjects, so that a poor of labor can be formed which can move easily into specialized training Both governments and parents discourage arts today - Modern education has spawned a sense they are totally unproductive and a brood of these non-subjects - They are the necessary enrichment of the culture of all countries in successive generations The greatest concept of education originates in the European cultural Renaissance in Italy, and dates back to the late Middle Ages - It is the development of the whole person, even attention to sports training It is clear that Music, art and drama should be encouraged: - Every country has it’s own artistic heritage - Artistic pursuits have now become international and offer brilliant careers to gifted young people of every country - Parents’ role: Make children’s play time and studying time uality time TOPIC 11: Most developed countries spend a large proportion of their health budges on expensive medical technology and procedures This money should be spent instead on health education to keep people well To what extent you agree or disagree with this statement? Author’s viewpoint: Agree Body: main ideas - Educating people to care about their health will save money + Educate people to prevent expensive health problems will reduce the health budget + Patients lack advice from doctors - Why is health care expensive? + People want the best medical when they get ill  Modern diagnostic equipments are required + When health problems are dangerous Complex operations are necessary The request of intensive nursing care and hospitalization Conclusion: - “Health dollar” is limited - Direct more resources towards the prevention of ill health is rational Fewer people would become ill Save the country money 38 TOPIC 12: “Prevention is better than cure” Out of a country’s health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from treatment to spending on health education and preventative measures To what extent you agree or disagree with this statement? Author’s viewpoint: Agree - In recent years, more resources are putting into health education and preventative measures - The ignorance should be combated Body: main ideas - Cure as soon as possible - What is the proportion of the budget should be diverted? It should be made on the basis of an acceptable health service model Conclusion: There is a need for a rigorous process of evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the health education campaigns in both medical and financial terms TOPIC 13: Tourism is a modern form of colonialism It distorts local economics, causes environmental damage and ruins the places it exploits Support or reject? It is not true that tourism distorts economics, cause environmental damage and ruins the places it exploits Tourism is good for local economics: - Bring to government much money - Seems to be the most important income source in lots of regions Tourism is good for local environment: - Tourism make local people rich → the local government and people can use the money to solve problems given by natural sources Tourism brings both other civilization and regional culture to that place: - Tour will boom off lands of culture instead of ruining them TOPIC14: There is an excessive number of cars on your roads today and this leads to many problems Individuals and Governments should ensure that public transport plays a more important role in modern life in order to tackle these problems To what extent you agree with this statement? - The increasing number of cars  air pollution, a higher accident rate, more traffic congestion - Public transport – a greater role  certain actions should be taken - important changes to make more people use public transport + Travel by train – have to be reduced + Public transport services – Need improving - Higher car taxes, congestion charging, better public transport services: some individuals off driving 39 - However Attraction of the private vehicle – too powerful: convenient and total independence TOPIC 15: How movies or TV influence people’s behavior? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer We spend hours watching TV programs every week  affect our behavior (usually negative) - Many program and movies are violent - Make us less active + Not spending moving around + Not playing sport + Not taking a walk - We don’t exercise our imagination + All the stories are told for us on TV + Don’t have to invent a way to spend a few free moments TOPIC 16: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Modern technology is creating a single world culture Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer -TV programs is broadcast by satellite + Access to all the same TV pros + Influences by a big culture - Modern methods of transportation + use different culture in other places + expose to customs and easy to adopt - Internet + Access info & news from over the world + communicate easily with people far away and share + Under the same cultural influences toward international understanding  Easier to communicate people far away  Brought people closer together  Creates a single world culture TOPIC 17: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Telephone and email have made communication between people less personal Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion - Easy to communicate with someone by phone or email + Phone: pick up a phone or turn on the computer + Email: send message at any time 40 - Communication by phone or by email is informal + Phone: can converse with someone as informally as you in person + Email messages: usually less formal styles of writing - Are inexpensive to use + Even long distance phone calls are cheap + Email costs nothing if you already own a computer   Make frequent communication convenient  Help maintain personal relationships TOPIC 18: Parents should restrict the using television and computer of their children Do you agree or disagree? Negative effects: - Impact on children’s health + damage their eyesight + If children are sitting for long periods instead of playing in the fresh air, their general health can be endanger - Children need to learn how to communicate with other people and not merely occupied with solitary pastimes - This tech could harm them emotionally or morally Positive effects - TV and computers are a valuable source of learning about new subjects and the world in general - Having knowledge of tech the younger generation will stand a chance of finding a decent job - TV and computers can provide a more security means of entertainment within their own homes Suggestions - Children should be permitted to watch TV or use computer but with certain restrictions - They shouldn’t watch whatever they want - Parents ought to limit the number of hours of viewing and use special devices to block harmful websites TOPIC 19: Sports which depend on violence for their entertainment such as boxing and wrestling, have no place in civilized society and should be banned To what extent would you support or reject this idea? - Agree: + because sports like boxing or wrestling cause aggressive feelings + Many young people watch these programs and try to be like the boxers or wrestlers have a fight and have to be in hospital  Boxing and wrestling should be banned 41 But rugby is accepted as team sport and accepted in society while boxing isn’t In fact, rugby is as violent as boxing We should ban these kinds of sports as well if you want to prevent society from violent sports TOPIC 20: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement Attending a live performance (for example a play, concert or sporting event) is more enjoyable than watching the same event on television Use specific reason and examples to support your opinion If you have a good TVbetter to watch a performance on TV Because of reasons: Much more convenient - Don’t have to go anywhere - Don’t have to worry about leaving the house on time - Don’t have to worry about traffic and parking - Don’t have to stand on line for ticket  Just stay at home and enjoy ourselves Much more comfortable - Can wear any clothes - Have a good seat and good view - Can get up; get sth to eat at any time  Relax and enjoy ourselves in the comfort of our own home Much cheaper - Don’t have to buy ticket - Don’t have to pay for parking or meal - Watching a performance cost nothing - Can turn off TV and sth else if don’t like this performance save time TOPIC 21: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Dancing plays an important role in a culture Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer Agree: Folk dances keep us connected with our traditions Dancing brings people together When we dance, we release energy There are important roles that dancing plays in our culture TOPIC 22: Some movie is serious, designed to make the audience think Other movies are designed primarily to assume and entertain Which type of movie you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer After a movie, make us ready to get back to work and study when having troubles Make us laugh and connecting people Keep us in good spirits Make us relax, laugh and put in a good mood 42 TOPIC 23: 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 Disagree: All different kinds of people live in city  having the opportunity to learn about and understand different kinds of people Many opportunities to attend cultural events People on city work in different kinds of jobs  having greater opportunities of choosing a career The city is definitely a better place for children to grow up TOPIC 24: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement Classmates are a more important influence than parents are on a child’s success in school Use specific reasons and examples to develop your answer Disagree: Parents are important role models their children->children may learn something from their classmates but the examples they get from their parents are stronger Parents are the most important people who love and care for a child  Feelings from parents are more important Parents have expectations for their children Expect them to behave well and be good people and be successful in school Many people have influence on children while they are growing up but parents are the ones who have strongest influence TOPIC 25: 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 so Use specific reasons and examples to support your answers 1, Introduction: - Children should the household because it helps them learn skills and responsibility 2, Body: - Household tasks build skills + Young children learn motor skills and classification skills + Older children learn skills as adults such as: cooking and cleaning - Household tasks help children learn responsibility + Organize their time + Have to chores before playing + Help children success later in life - If children household tasks, parents will be happier + The housework gets done more quickly + Parents don’t have to feel like servants to children 3, Conclusion: 43 - If children can handle tasks at home, they will handle life better - Become more confident and responsible adults TOPIC 26: Some of the methods used in ads are unethical and unacceptable in today’s society To what extent you agree with this view? Intro - Advertising dominates the world today - Appear on TV, World Wide Web, street, mobile phones… However, many advertising strategies are immortal and unacceptable Body - Can’t escape from advertising + Have to look at derisive and irritating images and signs constantly + Few places we can avoid them - Encourages people to buy products they may not need + Bad effects on children and young people: toys, clothes… + Put enormous pressure on parents to buy - Advertising of tobacco products and alcohol Con: Many aspects or advertising: immortal and unacceptable TOPIC 27: The International community should reduce or eliminate the debts of the world’s poorest countries To what extent you agree or disagree? Intro: Many of the poorest countries in the world are locked into a cycle of debts to the rich countries It gradually comes to the massive debts Body: - The reasons why these debts should be eliminated or reduced + They are facing to Not only diseases, indigenous industry and agriculture, but also poverty and ignorance in education + As the result of these, Third World citizens is suffering and dying young  it is more hard to pay off the huge interest from the debts - Another argument: These debts should be retained because: +These debts have been legally incurred + If everyone with a debt want to it eliminated, it will possibly cause damage to the whole banking system Conclusion: Where people are suffering and dying for debts… banks, can and write off bad debts and for humanitarian reasons TOPIC 28: Improvements in heath, education, and trade are essential for the development pf poorer nation However, the government of richer nations should take more responsibility for helping the poorer nations in such areas 44 To what extent, you agree or disagree with this opinion? Intro: In balancing, the developed countries of the Western should pay attention to the underdevelopment of the Third World nations in not only in the economy but also in politics aspects Body: Some possible reasons: - The shortage of food supply in poorer countries (e.g Africa) which lead people prone to disease, hunger and death - Disability in solving to the cyclical problem, which has been existing for a long time Some essential actions: - Rebuilding the Third World by taking care: health, education, and trade - More aids for providing the medicine, educational needs and materials… Sum up: If the richer countries can be more serious about the essential issues of how a nation develops and well consider the special situations those poorer countries are facing, the improvements will be more efficiently made TOPIC 29: Business should hire employees for their entire lives Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer Intro: In today’s economy, it is not important to hire employees for their entire lives The important considerations for companies are an employee’s performance, speed and ability to change Loyalty is not a consideration Body: - We need to hire workers who can perform their jobs well, on the other hand, those who can a job without a lot of extra training - We need young people who are aggressive and will push themselves to their jobs faster, are willing to work long hours as well - Necessary to change our workforce frequently, so we can have new ideas Sum up: It is not necessary to hire employees for their total lives, company need refresh the workforce as necessary to create a new working environment TOPIC 30: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising can tell you a lot about a country Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer Agree: Advertising is like a window into the life of the country By looking at advertisements, you can see: What kinds of people like to buy? Learn about the average lifestyle in a country What kinds of situations are attractive to people  See people value Can know whether a country is affluent or not 45  Show how people like, what they want to buy and give us the picture of a country’s daily life TOPIC 31: In some countries, teenagers have jobs while they are still students Do you think this is a good idea? Support your opinion by using specific reasons and details I don’t think this is a good idea because: - A job can interfere with a teenager’s schoolwork: + Education today is complex and difficult => students must work hard and concentrate + Difficult to attend classes most of the day, research for project, go home homework - Disrupt a teenager’s home life: + Have job => won’t be home for dinner or even after => doesn’t have much time to spend with his family + Teenagers still need the companionship and support from families - Misses out on the fun of being young: + Have a whole lifetime ahead to earn a living + This is the free time he will have (to hang out with friends, enjoy himself, etc.) TOPIC 32: Workers like doctor and teachers are under valued and underpaid, at least compared to actors and actresses What is a your opinion on this matter? Workers like doctor and teachers should be paid more: - They are more important for the society than actors are + So they should be paid large sums of money to keep them educating +They play an important role for any performing this necessary aspect of development + They build students progress socially, intellectually and educationally - Film actors not play the same role as doctors + Doctors protect people from spread of diseases + Without doctors, many well-educated people may be killed - Disagree that film actors are important + Do not take part in national’s heath + Do not achieve any significant development + Progress, technological development and health of the nation depend mostly on teachers and health care workers TOPIC 33: Some people argue that the government should give every unemployed person a mobile phone and should make sure they have access to the Internet They believe this is the best way of using public money to reduce the problem of unemployment To what extent you agree or disagree? Intro 46 - Unemployment causes many problems for society - Any measures reducing unemployment are to be welcomed Body - Internet: advantages + Internet can be useful in preparing for job interviews + Internet offers a unique tool for the job seeker looking for information - Mobile phone + Advantage: is more convenient than a conventional phone to respond quickly + Disadvantage: costs easily get out of hand - Using these help make tech available Con - Strong arguments for giving unemployed people access to the Internet - Providing mobile phones is less convincing - Should invest in relevant training programs TOPIC 34: Is it more important to be able to work with a group of people on a team or to work independently? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer Intro Work on a team- one of the most important job skills - Most jobs involve teamwork - A team gets more work done - Worker on a team has a lot of support Body - Most work is done in groups or teams Ex: + professionals work with professional colleagues, have assistants, support staff + Construction workers work with others - More work can be done by a team + Each member is responsible for one part  the parts are cut out together the job is done + Individual has to worry about every aspect + Having a group of people to help + Individual has to solve all problems Con - Teams usually a better job - Cannot work well on a team means having a hard time in work place TOPIC 35: 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 you agree or disagree with this option? Disagree with the opinion because: - “Traditional skills and way of life” aren’t automatically of one country, but of a culture or community - History of civilization is history of technology: 47 +Some technologies have negative impact but many others have positive one -Technology can contribute to keeping alive traditional skills& way of life: + Using internet to deliver school online rather than sending children to mainland in small islands + Keep alive traditional skills of producing salmon (orders, delivered to anywhere in the world) - Technology is necessarily good: + Try to keep traditions alive with technology + Shouldn’t ignore it, it can be friend& support way of life TOPIC 36: Too much attention is paid to and too much money is spent on keeping pets, while people throughout the world are starving Discuss the arguments for and against keeping pets To what extent you agree? Benefits of keeping animals at home as pets: - Help children and adults relate to animals and nature more( children are more likely to treat animals better when become adults) - Pets can act as companions for people Pets can provide a link between humans and nature! TOPIC 37: Many people have a close relationship with their pets These people treat their birds, cats or other animals as members of their family In your opinion, are such relationships good? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer Intro: It is not good to have too close a relationship with a pet, or to treat it like a human being Body: - Not wanting to become involved in other activities + No time for friends + No a weekend trip + Putting their pet’s interests before their own - Interfering with good relationships with people + neglecting the spouses and children + Losing interest in making friends and being with people + A relationship with a pet is less complicated than with a person - Money spent on pets could have other uses + Food and medical care for children all around the world + Sending the money to charity Conclusion: It is important to balance your pet needs with your own TOPIC 38: Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer 48 Intro: Progress is always good Body a Progress is required to keep the economy moving forward: -Without progress: +New products –not developed + New services-not created + Live and work in the same way with grandparents b Progress is required to raise our standard of living: - Home (more efficient + fewer resources)  improvement in home construction techniques - Clothes (warmer + safer)  development in textile manufacturing - Education system (better)  use of modern computer tech c Progress is re uired to improve the health of the world’s population - No progress  No vaccines  High infant mortality rates  No treatments for heart disease + cancer  Progress = our lives are longer and healthier Conclusion: The necessity of progress: no progress  no evolvement  Deterioration TOPIC 39: The expression “never and never give up” means keep trying and never stop working for your goals Do you agree or disagree with statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer (Totally agree) - There is always another opportunity (Giving examples) - There is always another goal (Giving examples) - There is always another option (Giving examples) → there is always something else Don’t give up TOPIC 40: When people succeed, it is because of hard work “Luck has nothing to with success” Do you agree or disagree with statement? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your position (Disagree) - Many people discover or invent things with the help of luck For example, Columbus worked hard to make his trip to India but he finally discovered the Americas by chance - Luck can help people become famous Not all the talented people become famous, some of them may meet good chances at the right time and places - Luck may help people find jobs (because of seeing a job hunter by chance.) 49  Hard work brings one close to success, but a little luck helps him succeed Luck and hard work go hand in hand TOPIC 41: “Men always make better managers than women” What is your opinion? (Agree) Both two sexes have a social position-equal but in general, men can make better managers than women - Women can’t reach a decision as uickly and properly as men - Managers are normally required to stay permanently at their firms but women need to take care of family - Managers must travel everywhere → need very good health but women are in fact weaker than men - Because of the gentle nature, women aren’t as resolute and impartial as men are - “Men make houses but women make homes” 50 [...]... English, etc However, how to master essay writingargumentative(opinion) esay writing, it is a problem to many high school teachers as well as learners because it is affected by so many factors I myself hope that in teaching and learning essay writing, these above suggestions and experiences can help alot and our students will have no difficulty writing English essays- argumentative(opinion) esays and... are paraphrased - you must not copy from the rubric! 19 2) Body Paragraphs For a good essay, you should have 2 or 3 body paragraphs - no more, and no less For your body paragraph, each paragraph should contain one controlling idea, and have sentences to support this Let’s look at the first paragraph for the essay about IT The essay is about the benefits and drawbacks of IT, so these will need to be... Trinh Trung Hieu – Class 11B1 (school year 2013-2014)- Hai Hau A High School Nowadays, regarding to learning a foreign language, if anyone has multi-languages, it will be a priority Therefore, it comes to the question about the most suitable time to learn a new one besides our mother tongue In my opinion, the bilingual education should begin at the same time children start school because of the following... Before starting writing, it is imperative to make a list of three ideas and choose the most suitable ones among them for supporting and refuting 11 Pattern 1 -Thesis statement(Agree/Disagree with the statement) - Paraphrasing, instead of rewriting, the essay statement Supporting idea 1( for your side) - topic sentence -explanation/details 123Conclusion (Transition) Supporting idea 2( for your side)... numerous benefits for commerce and business Furthermore, the World Wide Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us For example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more via the internet It is evident that these improvements have made life far easier and more convenient for large numbers of people and will continue to do so for decades... cassette playars for all classes to study English, not to mention malfunctioned multimedia study rooms Besides, there are some university lecturers who have reused their lesson plants, handouts, and extra materials for ages without changing them to be appropriate with various undergraduates Furthermore, students graduating from foreign universities could have higher opportunities to be offered highly-paid... reducing the need for people to travel from home for work, education, shopping.” Do you agree or disagree? By Pham Thi Thu Tra- Class 11A2- HaiHau A High School It is certainly undeniable that traffic in cities today is becoming more and more complicated compared to that in previous times The more private vehicles are used, the heavier that traffic volume is, especially during rush hours Therefore, finding... need for people to travel from home to work, education or shopping So to make our life better, we should make full use of them as much as possible Topic 4: Formal education methods, where the teacher instructs the whole class and the students work alone, are more reliable and produce better results than informal methods Do you agree or disagree? By Nguyen Thi Xuan - Class 12A9 - HaiHau A High School. .. Nonetheless, opponents argue that informal methods exerts negative influences on students because students’ activeties and the teacher plays the most important part However, according to a recent survey.At my school, almost all the students who are taught through informal education methods become more active, more creation and always get better studying results That’s the reason why informal education methods... education is enhancing students’ knowledge and helping them become good cititens, so it is wise to choose the most effective way to educate them from my point of view, informal education methods are our key 30 Topic 5 : “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? By Vu Quynh Trang- Class 11B1 (school year 2013-2014)- Hai Hau A High School It is common