Writing.........Sample Essays and Strategies to Practice

Essay writing is a part of IELTS TOEFL as well as PTE.

There are some simple rules to write good essays.

Here are the essential ones:

First Plan then Write

Talk about one theme in one paragraph

Take one agenda and build your argument around it

Give Examples

How to develop writing skills

 - Make a list of standard phrases
A list of standard phrases to be used in all the essays, can be a great time-saver. A customized way of writing intro, body, conclusion can bring speed and precision.

 - Practice different varieties of Essays
You can write an essay on every topic under the earth - that's a fact. But, you can definitely write one essay on each of the different types, and then, use the same pattern.

 - Get your essays checked
Interestingly, you do not commit 'many mistakes', but you commit 'a few mistakes' - many times. Thus, it makes eminent sense to get your essays tested by an expert.



Writing Intro

1. State the Obvious
2. State your Opinion
3. Deep Dive

First Paragraph
Start with a rhetorical question
Answer it
Give an example
Summarize It.

Second Paragraph.. exception paragraph
Tell about the exceptions...
Use standard phrases to introduce an exception
Make this paragraph very short and crisp.

Conclusion
Not more than 3 sentences.
Make it clear and to the point.


Some Examples

Who is primarily responsible for children’s health - Parents or governments?

Like the two wings of a bird, parents as well as governments have to play their chartered roles to achieve the worthy and important goal of healthcare. Both of them are unique roles to play.

So who should make policies regarding vaccination of kids and controlling epidemics? Clearly, it is the government machinery, by means of its robust civic machinery and ample public funds that can plan and execute policies pertaining to child-health. Polio eradication mission that was initiated in India presents a convincing case of how governments can bring about a positive change in controlling dreaded diseases like polio and others. By mobilizing its resources it created awareness, organized free medical camps etc. As a result, India is a polio free nation today.

Nonetheless, it is the parents who need to shoulder the responsibility of their children’s health. The aforesaid polio eradication mission would not have been so successful if parents had adapted a lackadaisical attitude towards it. Similarly, parents decide type of medication and the doctor they should consult if their children get ill. Preventive healthcare by ensuring kids eat healthy food, and follow a healthy lifestyle is another domain within the purview of parents primarily. No amount of policy making by government can help if parents ignore their kid’s health.

To conclude, child health is of prime importance that drives the growth a nation. To accomplish this goal, government needs to provide the necessary health-care infrastructure but it is the parents who need to shoulder the primary responsibility. 

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Why people attend a college?

Points to ponder:

A line on its history from the time.. college graduates were a rare entity and highly respected.. my father was the only pg in his villege 40 yrs back… now it is common..

Persuit of higher learning and  jobprospects propel some to join a college..

Management colleges provide a good alumni..

Plethora of reasons…

Nuptial bonds… status symbol.. foreign digree.. exposure.. learning never ends.. explore and expand horizons..

College- the abode of higher education attracts people for different reasons. Quest of higher education, opportunity to be a part of elite alumni, bright career prospects in the knowledge industry, making good friends and having fun in a vibrant environment are a few to quote.

Historically, pursuit of knowledge has been the top driver. The legendary story of Gandhi going to South Africa to study law is well known. The trend still continues with an enormous number of young aspirants heading towards foreign shores in their endeavour to earn a foreign degree. On one hand, they earn reputed degrees from well known institutions, on the other hand, they get a platform to learn about different cultures and make friends with students from different ethnicities and backgrounds.  No wonder, earning a foreign degree is one of the top choices of the youth today.

My grandfather used to tell me that he was the only boy in his village to earn a graduate degree enabling him to secure a high paying job in the district court. His father took pride in his accomplishments. The scenario has not changed much since then. To many a college degree is a ticket to a promising career and hence a respectable life.

Last but not the least, for a young hearts full of dreams and aspirations- college is the place to be. Movies like 'Three Idiots' vividly depict how young men and women enjoy their college days and make life-long friendships there. It is rightly quipped that - 'a student may leave the college; but the college never leaves a student'.

To sum up, to me college is like a sojourn (short break) in the journey of life. Thishiatus helps to gain knowledge and meet wonderful men and women who may not live with us forever but become an inseparable part of our lives.

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for an year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

Yes it is good:

Get to understand their talents. Get to meet and network with people. Can explore and experiment. Else after sometime taking a U turn becomes ardous and counterproductive. Look before you leap. One should put their head where the heart leads.. introspect and analyse do a SWOT analysis...; the purpose of life is a life of purpose..

Disadvangates.

Can be a waste of time if not used properly. One needs to plan and execute well. One should realize that the purpose of this hiatus.

Choosing the right course for higher education is a crucial decision for a student. An year of introspection and exploration, if spent prudently can be a boon to a student’s career.

‘Look before you leap’ - is clichéthat sums up the importance of testing the waters before betting our lives into a particular domain. This can save a novice from disillusionment and heartburns at a later stage.

To quote my personal example, I took an year-off after finishing my high-school and starting my college education. During that year, I worked with a computer training institute as an instructor. I got an opportunity to hone my communication and IT skills and meet a lot of professionals from public and private sectors. This helped me to understand and evaluate my own strengths and weaknesses and then I decided to pursue a course in Business Administration. The experience of working in a professional environment came very handy to understand various concepts and theories taught in the course. Having seen the value in this strategy, I recommended the same course of action to my siblings who in turn became successful in their careers.

A young teenager out of school is not well-equipped to select a course for his further studies. He / She easily gets deluded by other’s opinions and realizes it at later stage when chances of taking a U-turn are not there. Movies like 3-Idiots and Tare-Zameen-Par beautifully portray the importance of putting our heads where our hearts are rather than the other way round.

A word of caution though, this year should be spent sagaciously in exploring the options. It is not a hiatus to relax and wastethe precious time. Thus, if not spent judiciously, this year might go waste. A student would do well to scrupulously chart out a course of action before embracing the gap-year.

To conclude, the purpose of life is a life of purpose. Thus, if given an opportunity, it is worth spending an year to find your calling and leading a fulfilling life, instead of filling colors in other’s blueprints.

Life in outer space...

Some people say that government should spend money to explore in out space. While others think that that it’s a waste of public money. Discuss both views and include your own opinion and example.

Man is inquisitive by nature (jigyasu). The quest for (khoj) newer and better ways of life has led mankind (past tense of lead)  to explore possibility of life in outer space. While there might be some benefits of this exploration, I tend to believe (I think) that public funds would find their better use in such arenas (areas) which directly affect the wellbeing of the lay-people.

We are living in a world which is plagued by many problems (affected by / infected with / suffering from). Malnutrition and lack of education are the two major ones. Newspapers are replete with reports(bhare pade hai.. many reports are published) of deaths due to malnutrition. Likewise,(conjuction: similarly, further) lack of education facilities forces masses to lead a substandard life. It is imperative (it is clear that) to allocate a larger part of public money towards alleviating such maladies (bimari theek karna / pareshani dur karna).

On the other hand,with the advent of (with the invention of) advanced equipments in the form of telescopes and space-shuttles, many countries of the world, specially the developed ones are enticed by (attracted by) the possibilities of finding answers to many questions through space-exploration. For example, the attraction of using the land of other planets for building human dwellings(houses) is one strong reason. It is also probable that life forms living on other planets might have found remedies for many deadly diseases such as Cancer and AIDS with which humans are still grappling (jughna / facing). These and many such reasons act as a bait (jaal / dana)  to spend public funds for exploring life on other planets.

While I advocate (I support) the spirit of exploration, I consider it wasteful to spend an inordinate sum of money(beyond normal limits / too much) on remote possibilities as mentioned above. It would be imprudent to spend public funds on such endeavours where chances of success are remote.

To conclude, it is advisable to spend the major portion of public-chest in such areas which impact public-welfare directly and effectively.

Quest for: My quest for a making good content led me to read a lot of books.

Alleviate: Education can alleviate many problems.

Inordinate delay: There was inordinate delay in the pronouncement of judgement  in Sunanda’s case.

Should long term job seekers in receipt of government benefits be made to do voluntary work so that they give something back to the community?

Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Undeniably, every citizen is obliged to serve the nation in his or her capacity. I firmly believe that job-seekers should also contribute through voluntary work in the pursuit of nation-building. A deep dive into the subject will help to understand this subject holistically.

There are many reasons to support this view. Firstly, voluntary work will help the participants to use their skills. It is a known fact that if we do not use our knowledge and abilities, then they get rusted. Thus, the only way to retain and sharpen a skill is to use it. This is the very reason, that even during peace-time, defense personnel keep on doing ‘mock- drills’. 'The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war' is the guiding tenet they follow. The second advantage of voluntary work is that it helps the job-seekers to build necessary confidence to live with pride. Others also respect them for the work-ethic and contribution. Overall, it helps building amicable relations between different sections of the society. Most importantly, job-seekers can perform such activities which are beyond the realm of those employed. Activities such as caring for elders and kids, helping police to maintain law-and-order, teaching children and helping them learn new skills are some of the activities which are usually neglected. Sometimes, due to lack of funds many citizens are not able to afford such services. It will be a blessing in disguise if poor-sections get services absolutely free.

To conclude, it behooves long term job seekers to engage themselves in meaningful work which helps them as well others lead a happy and fulfilling life.