Topics: The tradition that the family gets together to eat meals is disappearing. What are the reasons? What are the impacts?

Essay Plan:

Introduction: comment on the statement, state that you will discuss some reasons and impacts.

Paragraph 2: reasons (1) children eat in front of the TV (2) close-knit family is disappearing – so no regular mealtimes.

Paragraph 3: impacts (1) on family life – stability of family routine impacts on upbringing of children (2) on children's health – they develop unhealthy eating habits, leading to disorders.

Conclusion: some reasons can be identified and the impacts are serious.

Essay :

The traditional family mealtime is indeed becoming a thing of the past. There are some reasons which can explain this changing pattern of behaviour, and there are significant impacts on family life and health.

There are two obvious reasons why families no longer share mealtimes as they used to do in the past. Firstly, children are often too impatient to eat at the table, and parents sometimes allow them to have their meal in front of the TV or sitting in front of the computer. Secondly, the close-knit family is disappearing in the face of economic pressures. In single-parent households or families with working mothers, it can be almost impossible to arrange regular times for meals when all the family is together.

The consequences for family life and children's health are dire. From the perspective of the family, meals taken together are a critical feature of a stable family background. This stability of family routine is an essential factor in shaping children's personality during their formative years. Family mealtimes are a time to share news, give guidance and to make plans together. In terms of children's health, family meals were an opportunity to provide all the family members with a healthier diet, based on wholesome home-made food. Without this routine, children are sometimes left to have snacks, or eat junk food at fast-food chains. Health consequences such as obesity and hyperactivity often result when youngsters fail to eat a balanced diet, such as used to be provided at family mealtimes.

In conclusion, some reasons can be identified for the decline in shared family meals, and the impacts are overwhelmingly negative.

Vocabulary :Family and Children :patterns of behaviourMeaning: ways of acting and doing things (either positive or negative).
Example: Patterns of behaviour copied from parents often influence the way that children grow up.a close-knit familyMeaning: a family having strong relationships with each other, helping with problems and enjoying a lot of time together.
Example: Children who come from a close-knit family generally perform well at school and enjoy a happy childhood.a single-parent householdMeaning: a family in which one parent takes care of the children without the help of a husband, wife or partner.
Example: As a result of changes in society, single-parent households are no longer considered unusual.working mothersMeaning: women who have a job and also have to take care of their children. Example: As more and more women have entered the workforce, working mothers have to balance the demands of home and work.family backgroundMeaning: the details of a person's family life
Example: Criminals sometimes have a bad family background, neglected or abused by parents.to shape a child's personalityMeaning: to decide or influence the form of a child's personality.
Example: Parents are very influential in shaping their children's personality through the example that they set.formative yearsMeaning: A period of a person's life, usually childhood, that has a big influence on the person that they become later in life.
Example: UNICEF states that the early childhood years from birth through age 8 are formative years in terms of intelligence, personality and social behaviour.Food and Diet :to provide somebody with a healthier dietMeaning: to give somebody a diet which is more healthy than that which they have at present.
Example: Eating only fresh fruit and vegetables provides people with a healthier diet.home-made foodMeaning: food which is prepared at home using individual ingredients.
Example: In developed countries, the young generation must rediscover the art of preparing home-made food, as part of a healthy lifestyle.to have a snackMeaning: to eat a small amount of food between main meals.
Example: Unless people are doing vigorous exercise, it is a bad habit to have a snack between meals.junk foodMeaning: food that is quick and easy to prepare and eat, but that is thought to be bad for your health.
Example: The consumption of too much junk food is a major factor in the increase in childhood obesity.fast food chainsMeaning: groups of shops owned by the same company, serving food to the public.
Example: Healthy eating means avoiding eating out at fast food chains like McDonald's or Pizza Hut.to eat a balanced dietMeaning: to eat the correct types and amounts of food.
Example: The health benefits of eating a balanced diet are obvious.Other Vocabulary :hyperactivity (noun)Meaning: a state in which a person, usually a child, is only able to keep quiet and still for a short period.
Examples: Children who show signs of hyperactivity cause problems for teachers and parents.overwhelmingly (adverb)Meaning: in a way that is very great or very strong.
Example: they voted overwhelmingly against the plan to raise taxes.

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Topics: The media should include more stories which report good news. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Essay Plan

Introduction: refer to the opinion. Partly agree.

Paragraph 2: agree with more reporting of good news. Positive impact on public morale – example, new cancer treatments

Paragraph 3: tragic news must still be fully covered by the media. (1) people should know about civil wars, natural disasters (2) e.g. environmental issues -there is more bad news to report than good news. Media must act as a watchdog.

Conclusion: more publicity for positive messages; full coverage must continue for reporting bad news.

Essay

It is sometimes argued that news coverage should focus more on good news. While I partly agree with this view, I also consider that bad news should continue to be reported when necessary.

There is a good case for believing that good news is under-reported. It is rare to read a positive story which makes front-page headlines. Yet it is undoubtedly essential that the public is kept informed about some of the good things which are happening in the world. In recent years, for example, breakthroughs have been achieved in the treatment of certain types of cancer. It should form part of editorial policy to carry stories such as these because they have a positive impact on public morale.

However, it would be misguided to introduce restrictions on the reporting of tragic news events. Civil wars and natural disasters, for example, may sadden viewers and readers, but they are an unfortunate reality of the world today. While sensational journalism may at times exaggerate, the public needs to keep abreast of these happenings, to have some informed knowledge of contemporary issues. Sadly, for instance, there is relatively little good news to report on the host of environmental problems facing the world. If these problems are ignored by the media, in the interests of reporting cheerful news, then the chances will surely increase of an ecological crisis. The media must act as watchdogs in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation.

In conclusion, while I agree that important positive messages should be given more publicity, it is also necessary for the media to continue reporting all the significant bad news in the world today.

VocabularyMedia and Advertisingnews coverage

Meaning: the reporting of news in newspapers, on the TV, the internet or the radio.
Example: The US presidential elections usually receive global news coverage, as the results are of interest to many people worldwide.

to make front-page headlines

Meaning: to be an important item of news in the media
Example: It seems that every insignificant event in the lives of celebrities makes front-page headlines.

editorial policy

Meaning: the policy of a newspaper, TV or radio station, as decided by the person in charge of producing the newspaper or programme
Example: The editorial policy of a newspaper determines whether serious news items are reported in a responsible way.

to carry a story

Meaning: to include an item in a news report
Example: The media today carries too many stories about celebrities, such as pop stars or footballers.

sensational journalism

Meaning: reporting which tries to get your interest by presenting facts or events as more shocking or worse than they are
Example: Unfortunately, sensational journalism has resulted in much public distrust of the media.

Governmentto introduce restrictions on

Meaning: to limit what people can do or what can happen
Example: The government must introduce restrictions on smoking in public places.

Communication and personality:

to keep abreast of

Meaning: to have the most recent information about something
Example: The new website helps doctors to keep abreast of the latest available treatments.

Environmentan ecological crisis

Meaning: a serious situation that occurs when the environment of a species or a population changes in a way that endangers its continued survival
Example: Environmental degradation caused by human activity is provoking an ecological crisis that threatens our existence.

climate change

Meaning: changes in climate patterns, such as rainfall, temperature and winds
Example: Unless we consume fewer of the Earth's natural resources, it will be impossible to fight climate change and safeguard our future.

environmental degradation

Meaning: the process or fact of the environment becoming worse
Example: Africa is a continent in which environmental degradation is evident in the spread of deserts and the extinction of animal species.

Other Vocabularybreakthrough [noun]

Meaning: a new and important discovery
Example: The work of Charles Darwin was a breakthrough in our understanding of how evolution has taken place.

a host of [expression]

Meaning: a large number of
Example: When deciding on a subject to study at university, young people today can choose from a host of possibilities.

watchdog [noun]

Meaning: a person or group of people whose job is to check that everything is being done legally and in the interests of the general public
Example: The organisation acts as a watchdog to protect consumer interests by exposing the activities of companies which are cheating the public.

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Topics: Many people say that universities should only offer places to young students with highest marks, while others say they should accept people of all ages, even if they did not do well at school. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

ESSAY 1: 

In this increasingly competitive society, more and more young people against each other to enrol in hall, which is considered as a symbol of success in study stage. However, some claim that universities should merely accept students with the flying colours academic results, while others believe that every student should be provided with equal opportunities to access tertiary education. I will discuss both sides and outline my personal opinion in the essay below.

Firstly, high school students with higher marks are far more deserved to enter institutesinsteadof dumb students who are always slow on the uptake and cannot get head nor tail of what the teachers are explaining.This is because students having a good memory, logical thinking and management skills should be fostered and study intensively into their aptitude fields, resulting in talented citizens who will contribute to the development of the national economy as well as scientific achievements in the future. Secondly, by offering academyeducation to solely a limited figure for students, professors and tutors can easily evaluate the students' level of ability and skills during the teaching process, resulting in high-quality graduates. For example, National University of Medical, one of the most prestigious halls in Vietnam, only admit the top scorers in national university entrance exam in order to make sure that all recruiters are well-qualified and able to deal with a huge amount of specialized knowledge.

Nevertheless, many people debate that only accepting young, academically-gifted individuals is unfair to students who do not do well at school. The understandable reason is that performance at school does not reflect their potential to succeed at university. Thus, it is immoral to decline enrolling requests from some students, especially in this society where formal degrees are considered to be more essential than hand-on experience when it comes to recruitment. Moreover, offering higher education to high proportion of young people not only open up an equal change for students to have better career prospects in the future, but also help maintain a diverse community, where each student is valued and rewarded for their abilities.

In conclusion, although it seems to have many advantages to admit all students to the academy, I believe that university education is only reserved for students with high marks.

ESSAY 2:

Education is an essential part of our life. Most folks believe that Institutes should give admission to only those young learners who get good scores in their previous classes, but others contradict to the notion by saying that there should not be any such restrictions regarding age and marks. In my belief, they must give equal opportunities to everyone who keens to learn and wants to get success in their life. I will discuss both views in upcoming paragraphs.

Firstly, there is no doubt that youngsters are mentally and physically more active than other age groups and the student with good results have almost the same IQ level they can understand easily so it will be easier for the teachers to teach them and concentrate on other productive material. For example, in a class of 50 students if there are all intelligent student then there is no need to waste time on every single individual instead of having 25 good and 25 weak learners the professor have to give his time to the weak student so that they can understand everything.

Secondly, they increase the performance of the college by getting merits. However, on the other hand, everyone should have the right to learn whenever they want, even if they are losers in their past because with the age they get more experience and they know the values of higher degrees and sometimes young students learn moral values and experience from the older. Other than this, if there will be mixed students in the class then the student with low marks have the curiosity to get good marks as they see their intelligent peers. 

To conclude everything, I will say that universities should give chance to everyone who meets their admission criteria because no one is perfect in this world sometimes people need time to learn things.