1032 ADVANCED ENGLISH 2
SECOND MIDTERM REVISION STUDENTS’ COPY
Choose one of the following topics and write a for and against essay consisting of four paragraphs: the introduction, body and conclusion. Your body section should consist of two paragraphs- one discussing the “for” side and the second discussing the “against” side of the given statement. Do not forget to use appropriate transition words to link your ideas.
(Use about 300 words)
1. Are exams the best way to measure students’ performance or is continuous assessment better than exams?
2. Should crime be prevented by external controls- policing and punishment or by attacking the causes of crime?
Exercise 1: Which transition and academic words can be used in the essay?
Additional point is | Also be argued that | Fairer in some contexts | Possible compromise would |
Particularly the case in | Arguments in favor of | Still occasions when | There is some dispute whether |
Exams or Continuous Assessment
Students have been subject to examinations of all kinds in education but no one has yet discussed whether it is the best way to assess student performance. It is true that exams are a source of stress and hard work for students, but is there a way to end this pain or replace it with a more effective method of assessment? 1.________________ the best method of assessing students is to use examinations or some form of continuous assessment. While some people believe that examinations are the surest way to assess student performance in the fairest way possible, some other people are against this idea. If there is one method that may apply best to all educational systems, it should be discussed in more detail. While there are proponents of using examinations for assessment, there are also those who favor continuous assessment.
There are three major 2. ________________retaining or keeping exams. One is that they provide a clear and objective measure of what students have learned, whereas any form of continuous assessment is probably going to be far more subjective. An 3. ________________that testing tends to be an excellent way of motivating learners to study harder and to reward the students who do best. Exams do justice for all because those students who study can get higher marks than those who don’t. Thirdly, examinations test the ability of students to work under pressure, and this is a vital life skill for their later careers. Eventually when students start business life they will be given hard tasks to complete within short periods of time. They will have experience in dealing with such situations in school life when they have to prepare for exams.
On the other hand, there are 4. ________________ it can be better to relieve the students of exam pressure and to measure their abilities through continuous assessment. This is
5. ________________ lower age groups where young children can be affected negatively by stress and under-perform in exams. It can 6. ________________continuous assessment is a more effective way of testing some subjects such as design and technology, which are more creative and less academic. A further point is that often continuous assessment can allow teachers to reward students who work hard, but who may be less able and not do well in more formal testing.
In conclusion, while continuous assessment may be 7. ________________there are still times when traditional exams may be more appropriate. It is hard to claim that one of these two options is better than the other. A 8. ________________ be to use both forms of testing together, allowing teachers to reward both ability and hard work.
In conclusion, while continuous assessment may be 7. ________________there are still times when traditional exams may be more appropriate. It is hard to claim that one of these two options is better than the other. A 8. ________________ be to use both forms of testing together, allowing teachers to reward both ability and hard work.
Read more: IELTS exams and continuous assessment essay | http://www.dcielts.com/blog/exams-and-continuous-assessment-sample-ielts-essay/#ixzz3YCstPZTy
Exercise 2: Which transition and academic words can be used in this essay?
But for others | Surely it’s best not to | I don’t think we can | The only way to |
On the other side of the argument | The argument in favor of | In conclusion | There are two main approaches |
Prevention or Cure
Reducing crime and achieving peace is a goal for many governments. What can be better than having a society with little or no criminal activity where the citizens can reside in happiness and security? It is not hard to achieve this if we choose the right way to prevent crime. In discussing how to reduce or prevent crime, 1.________________ - prevention or cure. We can either spend money on more police and prisons in order to control crime, or we can look carefully at why people commit crimes and then attack the causes of crime. Indeed for some, crime can best be controlled by policing and punishment, 2.________________, it can be controlled better by attacking its causes.
3. ________________reducing crime by attacking the causes of crime is that prevention is better than cure. Crime is like a disease, people can either have a vaccination which means they won’t develop the disease, or they can take some medicine or antibiotics after they have the disease which will hopefully cure it. 4. ________________ get the disease in the first place! Following this argument, we need to understand why people commit crimes so the government can develop a strategy to help solve the problems before they become too great. Some people commit crimes because they have uncontrollable emotions. Some commit crime because they believe they have been mistreated. If we can detect these people and give them psychological assistance and counseling and a good education, we can reduce crime.
5.________________, many people believe that crime can only be reduced by fear and control. If potential criminals know that the police force is excellent, they won’t commit crimes because they know they will probably go to prison. Similarly, if they know that all criminals are severely punished with long prison sentences, they will think twice before committing a crime. 6. ________________ deter potential criminals from committing crimes is to frighten them with imprisonment. If the person knows that he will pay the price of the crime that he commits then he won’t do it in the first place. In other words, knowing that there’s a severe retribution for what they do is the only factor which will stop them from doing wrong.
7. ________________, I think we need to be hard on criminals, and also hard on the causes of crime. However, some people who are very rich and have been given a lot of opportunities in life still commit crime (not paying taxes, for example), so 8. ________________ successfully reduce crime only by focusing on the causes of crime. We should have severe punishments for those who want to commit a crime.
