Write about the following topic:

Plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic

packaging are bad for the environment.
What damage does plastic do to the environment?
What can be done by governments and individuals to solve this
problem?
Model Answer 1: [Band 8 sample answer]
It is irrefutable that plastic harms the environment to a great extent.
Plastic pollutes lands and water, degrades the fertility of the soil, and
harms animals disrupting the entire ecosystem. Recycling plastic and
limiting its use while also introducing biodegradable alternatives to
plastics are by far the most effective solutions to this problem.

The environmental damages caused by plastic are severe and often

extreme. Plastic bags, bottles, packages, toys and many other materials
made of plastic remain in land and water for hundreds of years as they
are not biodegradable. Plastic materials, that get mixed with soil, impair
the breathability of soil and hamper the water flow in it. Thus it hurts
the fertility of the land. Moreover, plastic that reaches the water bodies
harms aquatic animals and coral reefs. Plastic pollution plays a
considerable part in animal deaths. Today, plastic particles could be
found in fishes, birds and other animals, and it disrupts the entire
ecosystem.

However, the authorities concerned and mass people can turn the tide and mend the
damage done to the environment to a great extent. For that, they have to ensure that they
both play their part efficiently. First, people have to spontaneously take part in the plastic
recycling process by putting plastic waste in a separate recycle bin. The authority has to
make sure that all recyclable plastics are properly recycled and reused. To limit the use of
plastic bags, people need to use bags made of biodegradable materials like jute fibre. They
can start carrying their own glass-made bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles.
Reduction in consumption of plastic-made materials could contribute to a large extent in
limiting the harms caused by plastic. Finally, the government can limit the use of plastic
bags and bottles by imposing a hefty tax on such items.

Write about the following topic:

Some employers believe that job
applicants’ social skills are more important
than their academic qualifications.
Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from
your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1: [Agreement] [Band 8/9 level sample answer.]

Whether job applicants’ social skills are more important than their
academic qualifications is a much-debated issue, and employers'
opinions, regarding this, vary. I agree with the opinion that the social
skills of candidates are more vital than their academic results, and in this
essay, I will explain the reason for this belief.

The benefits of excellent social skills of a job seeker are apparent. Firstly, communication Is the key to
career success in modern days. This is primarily because the 21 st century is best portrayed by constant
interaction with different people, no matter the communication media – in person or online. Secondly,
the ability to sell products or services is of paramount significance in any business – this requires strong
social skills. For example, an employee with excellent social skills is able to have an impact in front of
customers or clients; as a result, products or services can be perceived as high-value. Furthermore,
employees with better social skills are generally more easy-going, which is very important to the
workplace, including the employer. After all, as the saying goes, “who you work with is as important as
what you do”, and an enjoyable work environment needs socially skilful employees.

In contrast, some employers may claim that academic qualifications are a prerequisite for employment.
Apparently, many positions require certain academic qualifications. However, in modern-day society,
more and more employers have realised that whether employees can get the results that the business
wants is the key to a business’s success. It can be seen that qualifications do not play a key role in this
regard.

In conclusion, I believe employees’ social skills are of extreme importance for a company or
organisation. Also, I would suggest employers consider job applicants’ social skills first, which I believe
would bring long-term benefits for the company and make a positive impact.

Nowadays the way many people interact with each

other has changed because of technology. In what
ways has technology affected the types of relationships
people make? Has this become a positive or negative
development?
Give reasons for your answer and give any relevant
example or experience you have to support your
answer.
Model Essay 1:

Today, more than ever, when it comes to the issue of determining whether or not advances in
technology affect the types of relationship individual make a plethora of perspective have been put
forward. The expansion of modern means of communication is the ongoing debate which triggers so
much controversy. This issue is fiercely criticised by some experts who are on the view that they pose a
direct threat to social lives and may come at the expense of a severe social isolation and sedentary
lifestyle. Others realise the significance of these means of communications and stick to the idea that
these types of relationship are integral parts of interpersonal communication. Consequently, they are
regarded as worthwhile. Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned, the opinion put forth by the second
group is more logical. In the following paragraphs, I will shed light on my own attitudes for this issue.

To begin with, in the past, communication among people looked bleak. People used to meet and make
an appointment to see each other and in according to the fact that communities had busy people and
they seem doomed to have far-reaching communication.

To cut a long story short, for better or worse, we live in a world which is surrounded by computers, cell
phones on an unprecedented scale with which people spend their spare time. The truth is that, in this
hectic lifestyle, the responsibility of real-time conversations, visualisation of each other, information
exchange which enables individual to share a variety of information such as activities, events, interests,
ideas falls on these ways of communication. Thanks to tremendous advances in technology.
Last but not least, emails and messages make people more comfortable which pave the way for
explaining their feeling without shyness and give them a sense of absolute confidence, also they are the
backbone of introducing friends among youth which increase their social friendship

In conclusion, all in all, rather than devoting a great deal of time and energy solely in terms of face to
face interaction, the trend today is toward using modern means of communication to get in touch with
others. The pivotal role these ways of communication performed in interpersonal communication is
hard to ignore. However, many people fail to appreciate it.

Studying the English language in an English-speaking

country is the best but not the only way to learn a
language.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this
statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Model Answer 1:

Learning the English language in a country where people speak English is a very advantageous option,
although not the only way. Personally, I completely agree with this statement, because living in English
spoken country has a lot of benefits in terms of mastering this language.

Learning English is easier in an English-speaking country because the people around you are speaking
English and makes it easy to adjust to English accent and also sentence patterns. For instance, it is very
hard to learn English accent without listening to English. Besides living in English speaking country will
enrich your vocabulary and grammar and that enhancement will occur spontaneously. And you can ask
anything about the language that you have doubts about. You are bound to speak in this language and
that would give you an excellent opportunity to enhance your speaking skill.

On the other hand, it is not the only way to learn a language. There are a lot of books that you can
utilise. English radio programmes or TV shows are best options to learn the language. So, it will help you
increasing your listening skills. In addition, nowadays, the internet is widespread and also a superiority in
our world. Thereby, the internet comprises all kind of information and it will help you about your
doubts. It is evident that there are enough programmes for speaking with somebody in which it will
improve your speaking skills

I would agree that people who live in a country like Canada, USA, UK or Australia, where English is used
as the primary way of communication, would help them master this language pretty quickly and
accurately. But not always you need to live there to learn this language. It is not uncommon for people
who have never been in an English speaking country to have an excellent command over this language.
Some of the poets and writers who wrote successful English literature have been born and raised and
lived in non-English- speaking countries.

To sum up, learning English in an English spoken language will make it easy to study but there are a lot
of ways that can be used for learning this language.

Students should continue their study abroad than to

study at home.
To what extent you agree or disagree with the
statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:

Education is one of the essential things in people’s live because it will help us to face the globalisation
era. Talking about going abroad for the study is a common thing. There are no doubts when people want
to study overseas. At the first time it will make them shocked or frustrated because of the new culture
of atmosphere, but then it will create many advantages. Personally, I really do agree that students
should continue their study abroad rather than study at home because there are some benefits and it
will produce an exciting prospect for future.

In this modern era, study abroad is one of the popular issues in the globe. The corporation from one
country with other countries open the ease way to study overseas. A student who studies at overseas
university should learn the language because it is used for everyday conversation for academic purposes
such as spoken, written, et cetera. People who learn about a second language will help them to apply for
a job. High qualification in education supporting by skills in another language will make a huge
opportunity to get better jobs.
Studying abroad will create big chances to keep the relationship with others or to make friends around
the world. It will make us become professional and help us to adapt with others, learn about their
countries, lifestyle, and the most important thing is open up our mind to see the world deeply with
experiences. In addition, studying in another part of the world enables us to support the government in
terms of improving the country in many aspects such as education, politics, economy, arts, and so on.
We can make a positive contribution to take care of our country.

In conclusion, it is very understandable that study overseas will create some difficulties in some aspects,
but it offers us with worthwhile experiences and also makes us beneficial to others. Furthermore, a
person who pursues his/her education abroad will experience such an unforgettable moment in his/her
life.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Modern technology plays a vital role in
preventing and solving crimes in society.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from
your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
The world will always develop with the time. However, the increasingly
complicated problems faced by human beings have resulted in a huge
number of crimes, which is crucially being all people’s concern.
Regarding this, state-of-the-art technology has a fateful role in the effort
to hinder and tackle any crimes haunt our societies.
In today's globalised era, people are being more secured due largely to
the more sophisticated technology through many ways. This is, for
example, the existence of hidden cameras which have already been
provided in almost every corner of the world. It will allow us to monitor
people’s activity where those cameras are put. Moreover, more sensitive
tools used to detect what people bring or put in their bag or belongings
have been invented. This also can help us to reduce the possibility of
terrorism in which terrorists usually do by bringing bombs put on their
body and burst them in important places. Furthermore, the availability of
satellites and other devices to detect where criminals are located also
has a big contribution in reducing the crimes committed. Another
example, digital, automatic lock systems have already been installed in
vehicles such as cars and motorbikes in order to prevent them from
thieves.

Nonetheless, nowadays, as a result of the development of information

and technology, another type of crime emerges. This includes crimes
which are committed electronically, for example, deception conducted
via email and websites or even activities of black hackers who often
cause a great deal of loss in many corporation or countries. Therefore,
measures are also conducted to solve this emerging problem such as
good software to analyse any suspicious activities on the Internet which,
in other words, by improving the cyber security.

Having said that, it is also probable in the future will be some human
brain detectors which will, fortunately, ease people to detect any band
or negative willings or purposes of people. Consequently, before
commuting crimes, they will be detected or caught at first. However, this
kind of technology is still being tried by experts.
Although there are so many ways of preventing crimes including tools,
devices, or systems utilised in this mission, this will never be successful
without intervening the feelings of the criminals. For this reasons the
most important thing is that those ways will eventually make people who
are fond of doing crimes consider more or even make them recover,
become educated and come back to the right way.

All in all, the development of technology has a really great importance in

minimising the number of criminals whether to ease people to recognise
them or to make them think much more before deciding to do so.
Therefore, it is really essential to develop more highly-sophisticated
technology and invent more creative ways for the sake of reaching a
peaceful world.

Some people think the latest technology

for home entertainment such as
sophisticated TVs, high-speed internet
connections and tablets are having a
negative impact on people's lives,
especially young people.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
Like many other technological tools, modern home entertainment
devices have both positive and negative aspects. However, overall, this
has far more advantages than demerits and if not overused,
technologies like the high-speed internet and smart TV can be great
learning tools for the people, especially young.

To begin with, powerful internet connection, smart TV, gaming console

etc. all have entertaining as well as educational values. If not misused,
young generation can learn from these sophisticated and advanced
devices. The merits or demerits of these devices lie on the parental
guidance and the way they are utilised. For instance, if a child watches
TV programmes all day long, it would negatively affect his eyes, health
and academic performance. However, if a teenager watches educational
videos and programmes on YouTube and channels like the NetGeo or
Discovery, he would definitely learn many new things.
Another key point to remember, people need entertainment in order to
lead a stress-free and happy life. The lack of entertainment facility often
attributes towards the moral degradation and this is quite alarming.
Hence, people must have ways to spend some quality times on their
own. Modern tools like computers, tabloid PCs and smart TVs fill the gap
and allow busy people find ways to enjoy their leisure time. Considering
this, I would like to suggest that latest technology for the personal and
family entertainment is rather a blessing.

To conclude, the home entertainment technology itself does not have

the ability to bring detrimental outcomes for people. Rather how we use
them defines how useful or harmful those devices are and that is why
we should be more sensible to use those technologies even if they are
meant to entertain or educate us.

Write about the following topic:

The advantage of the spread of English as a

global language will continue to outweigh its
disadvantages.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer 1:
It is true that the proliferation of the English language on an
international scale is profoundly impacting many countries by benefiting
underdeveloped nations’ businesses and tourism through globalisation
and providing its people with a foundation for accessing the quality
education available in developed countries. Although the drawbacks do
exist, benefits are countless. I believe that the benefits of this trend
have more significance than its demerits and this will continue in the
coming years.

The widespread usage of a single language, English in this case, attracts

foreign investors and tourists from developed countries; promoting
globalisation, and it has both advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, the
economy is improved through the profitable businesses of multi-national
companies. In addition to this, the tourists’ arrivals increase due to
hospitality enjoyed when spoken to in a common language. Moreover,
this influx increases the government’s revenue generated from the
hospitality industry. On the other hand, the promotion of international
businesses can harm the local business expansions. Furthermore, due to
the increasing use of the English language, many local languages are
gettingg less priority and thus impacting the cultural identity of many
nations.

English provides a solid foundation for people seeking quality education

in developed countries and equips them to secure a high paying job in a
multinational company. Firstly, it is the only medium of teaching
instruction in the world’s top universities; an active command of the
language secures an admission to a university. To add, knowledge of the
language place candidates a step forward in the job hunting pool; the
chances are high that the desired position is earned.

While the increasing usage of English attracts foreign businesses and

tourists in underdeveloped nations, local businesses may be stifled, and
natives may be undermined. However, the benefits it brings to these
nations through globalisation, and their people by laying a foundation for
quality education eclipse its drawbacks, which in my opinion, is a
positive trend.