Writing Topic A
Do you
agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should begin learning
a foreign language as soon as they start school. Use specific reasons and
examples to support your position.
☆Let’s think
1) Is
it important to learn a foreign language?
2) If
so, is it good for children to start learning it as soon as they start school?
☆Ideas and
Expressions
About
language learning
1. In
today’s world, where English is the de facto lingua franca, it is necessary to
be able to have a command of the language to live a better life.
2. It
is good to be able to know as many languages as possible to have multiple views
and to be tolerant to other peoples.
3. The
important thing is to establish your own style or acquire a specific skill or
knowledge, and language ability is not always relevant to it. Interpreters and
translators can help you with your communication if necessary.
4. It
is important to focus on completing the mother tongue acquisition to be mature
enough in one’s own society and to preserve one’s culture.
About
early language education
1. The
earlier the start, the better the language acquisition will be. Children have
fewer barriers against foreign languages, so it is easy for them to learn it.
2. Learning
the basics of a foreign language at an early stage of life will make learning
higher levels of the language easy.
3. Most
of the brain network is completed by the time one turns 6 years old. This means
that children learn the language as a foreign language. The class could be a
burden for some.
4. Learning
two languages at a time may lead to insufficient acquisition of both and minds
that are ready to be satisfied with superficial understanding of anything.
☆Sample Essay
Structure
A.
【Introduction】Considering that the real command of English is necessary in
today’s world, I agree with the idea that children should begin learning a
foreign language as soon as they start school.
【About
foreign language learning】Many
parts of the world are getting multinational, so it is better to be able to
speak English.
【About
when one should start learning a foreign language】To
become a bilingual, one should be exposed to the language intensively before
they become a teenager.
【My
opinion】Young children
are better learners of a foreign language than older children, especially in
terms of pronunciation.
【Conclusion】English should be introduced on starting school in today’s
world.
B.
【Introduction】I do not think it is necessary for everyone to begin learning
a foreign language when they enter the elementary school.
【Point
1】Elementary schools are supposed to teach
children what is necessary in social life, and a foreign language is not one of
them.
【Point
2】Young children should spend more time
reading books in their own language.
【Counterargument-treatment】Some people will need to use foreign language at work in the
future, but machines and interpreters will take care of the language barrier
problem.
【Conclusion】There are more important things that children should learn at
primary school than a foreign language.
Your
Sample Essay Structure
【Introduction】
【Point 1】
【Point 2】
【Point 3】
【Conclusion】
☆Speech Time
Make a
one-minute speech on this topic.
☆Sample Paragraph
Development
【Main Idea】Young
children should spend more time reading books in their own language than
learning a foreign language.
【Supporting Detail (in general)】They
need to develop high capacity to think, and this is done through their mother
tongue.
【Supporting Detail (specific)】People
with low reading abilities have been increasing lately. This could be part of
the causes of social problems such as online bullying and hate speech. They
often happen as a result of inability to grasp the meaning of a statement in
context, as well as lack of imagination and flexibility in thought. Moreover,
the meanness of the culprits indicates retarded and/or perverted mental
development, which is closely related to the low level of their mother tongue.
High suicide rates of the young might also be related not only to insufficient
general knowledge and common sense but also to weak thinking power, or weak
mother tongue. Probably, overall relationships of the young are poorer than
before because of this decline of the first language ability.
【Follow-up】Learning
a foreign language is also good for the development of mind as it widens views,
but this can be done during teenage years, when mind starts to be sensitive to
new ideas.
【Conclusion】 What
is necessary for young children is developing their cognitive ability, which
will be the base of higher levels of studies, and time should be spent for the
purpose rather than a foreign language.
Your
Sample Paragraph Development:
【Main Idea】
【Supporting Detail (general)】
【Supporting Detail (specific)】
【Follow-up】
【Conclusion】
Comments
or Suggestion from your partner or group members
Writing
Topic B
Some
people are always in a hurry to go places and get things done. Other people
prefer to take their time and live life at a slower pace. Which do you prefer?
Use specific reason and examples to support your answer.
☆Let’s think
1. Share
reasons why you are always in a hurry or prefer to take time with those who
have the same preference as yours.
2. Ask
questions of those who have the opposite preference in how much time you take
to get things done. For example, you can say, “Don’t you think that being
always in a hurry is kind of jittery or uncool?” or “Isn’t that kind of lazy?”
☆Essay for Ideas
and Expressions (Barron’s, Writing
for the TOEFL iBT, pp. 278)
Life
is short. Haste makes waste. What’s your hurry? These three sayings
characterize the way I manage my day-to-day chores. I don’t want to rush
through things; I prefer to take my time.
Life
is short. You never know what may happen tomorrow, so it is important to enjoy
today. By doing just a few things slowly and doing them well, you can savor the
experience. You can truly enjoy what you are doing.
Haste
makes waste. We are not machines. We can’t just rush through our chores. If we
do, we might forget something. We might take shortcuts and do a poor job. Then
we’ll have to do the job all over again. That certainly doesn’t save us any
time. By going more slowly, we can do a chore carefully, completely, and
correctly.
What’s
your hurry? Where’s the fire? I don’t see any need to rush to the next
experience. There’s still a lot to see and learn from the chores around you.
Taking care of your baby brother, for instance, can be very rewarding. If you
are in a hurry to get many things done, you can just keep the baby near you
while you work on other chores. Or, you could devote your whole attention to
him and observe his reactions to the environment. You can’t observe carefully
if you are rushing to do other things at the same time.
To
twist a common saying, “Don’t just do something, sit there!” Take life easy and
savor each minute. Life is shorter than you think.
Your
Sample Essay Structure
【Introduction】
【Point 1】
【Point 2】
【Point 3 / Counterargument-treatment】
【Conclusion】
☆Speech Time
Make a
one-minute speech on this topic.
☆Sample Paragraph Development
A.
【Main Idea】 Do not do today what you can do tomorrow.
【Supporting
Detail (in general)】 Things
change, and doing things a little too early will often turn out to be just a
waste of time, while time is life, as the author of Momo says.
【Supporting
Detail (specific)】 For
example, even if you study the next two chapters before the class, your teacher
might actually digress and would not even finish one chapter.
【Follow-up】Although the extra preparation is not a waste because you can
use it later, you could have used the time for something you could have done
only on that day, such as spending time with your family and friends. Textbooks
will not change, but you and your folks change day by day.
【Conclusion】 Tomorrow will be a totally new day full of the
unpredictable, while today will never come back. All you need to do is make the
most out of what you have today.
B.
【Main
Idea】 Make hay while the sun shines.
【Supporting
Detail (in general)】 Hesitation
or procrastination must not ruin my life.
【Supporting
Detail (specific)】 If I think
of doing something and do not do it, thinking now is not the time for it, or I
could do it later, I will never do it and regret not doing it in most cases.
【Follow-up】Of course, there are things that need time and careful
attention like friendship, and I do not hurry in dealing with them. In terms of
all the other things, however, waiting makes no sense.
【Conclusion】Taking my time often costs me my precious moments of life, and
I do not want to miss them.
Your
Sample Paragraph Development:
【Main Idea】
【Supporting Detail (general)】
【Supporting Detail (specific)】
【Follow-up】
【Conclusion】
Comments
or Suggestion from your partner or group members
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