Topic34:
Write an expository article for your school magazine in which you analyse the causes and effects of examination stress on students.
Typical Essay:
The pressure on young people to succeed academically is now so great that an alarming number of students do not achieve the grades of which they are capable. University admissions personnel, private tutors, teachers and fellow students all contribute, in different ways, to the creation of such stress. But a prime responsibility lies with parents.
Long-term economic uncertainty makes an increasing number of parents concerned for their offsprings’ career prospects, and they are inclined to see high academic achievement as the only way forward. A survey was carried out in Britain with A level students which produced some rather alarming and depressing statistics. More than 75% of those surveyed reported that their parents became very anxious as the examinations approached and nearly 30% felt that the parents had passed on this anxiety to them.
Almost half of those questioned were concerned that they would let their parents down by achieving poor results and over 25% felt that their parents expected far better results than they felt capable of producing.
Most students felt that there was most definitely some degree of pressure being put upon them by parents. Experts feel that this stress can be compared with that experienced by high powered businessmen, both during the examinations and for quite a considerable amount of time in the months leading up to the examinations.
Students reported that the stress they felt manifested itself in disrupted sleeping patterns and some reported that they were barely sleeping at all. They also felt that their appetite had been affected with the worst cases becoming unable to eat a proper meal. It would be unfair to suggest that parental pressure is solely to blame for such developments but there is a convincing amount of evidence that suggests that it makes a substantial contribution.
If a student senses that his or her parents are worried about forthcoming examinations, it is almost certain that the same fear will be passed on to the candidate and make the prospect of poor performance all the more likely. The more the parent worries, the more the student worries, which may fuel parental anxieties even further. Regrettably, few schools offer any help in the management of examination stress.
Fear of failure is possibly the greatest obstacle to examination success so parents should ensure that their own private fears are not passed on to their children. They should appear relaxed, cheerful and confident about the outcome of the examination without putting undue pressure on them to achieve results they are not capable of.
Regular and consistent support is important to all young people involved in competitive situations, and public examinations are no exception. Parents should also familiarise themselves and be tolerant of the emotional and behavioural reactions to stress, such as fatigue, sudden mood swings or becoming withdrawn.
Topic35:
Write an expository article for your school magazine in which you suggest how parents can help their children overcome the problem of examination stress.
Typical Essay:
One particularly effective anti-stress weapon for parents is to encourage children to keep up normal leisure activities, such as swimming or cinema, to show that examinations are not the be-all and end-all of life.
There are important errors that parents should avoid. On no account should they offer in advance presents of money, expensive clothes, holidays, computer games or any other expensive consumer items as a reward for success. This only emphasises the importance of examinations that are being undertaken and increases the pressure on the candidate.
Similarly, parents should never hold up siblings, relatives or friends as shining examples of academic success to be emulated. This not only creates unfair worries about living up to family traditions but will also cause bitter feelings in any student who does not match the achievements of family ‘stars’.
Another thing for parents to avoid is to impose on their children the expectation that they will perform better than the students believe they are capable of. Unrealistic expectations can be very damaging to a young ego. Teenagers who are intelligent enough to take HKCE and A- levels and pursue university places are also intelligent enough to recognise when their abilities are being overstated. Parents of very able children should also be wary. Clever students do not like their cleverness to be exaggerated.
Parents should not do or say anything that has the effect of making the examination seem unduly important, special or difficult, because such attitudes greatly increase the amount of stress felt by the candidate.
Examination success is, to a certain degree, a case of mind over matter. Naturally, a student has to work hard and needs the academic ability in the first place, but having the right attitude is also important.
Topic36:
Write a composition in which you discuss the importance of reading.
Typical Essay:
It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary leisure activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away-in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, aside from books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving vocabulary and word power. It is advisable to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.
It is observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs. They are more creative and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading is said to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading aloud helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good ******** skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better.
Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge acquired, consistently. The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay in-touch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of yore and makes us sensitive to global issues.
Topic37:
Write a composition in which you discuss the phenomenon of school bullying.
Typical Essay:
As many adult survivors will testify, childhood is not always an easy thing to endure. One of the most difficult challenges a child can face is school bullying, the deliberate intimidation of weaker children by older or stronger children. A school bully is often a problem child with self-esteem and anger management issues who acts out through physical and mental assaults on those he or she perceives as victims or less likely to defend themselves.
School bullying is by no means a recent development. Many generations of children have experienced the wrath of a childhood bully, and for some of those victims the emotional scarring continues into adulthood. Some bullies work independently, while others seek strength in numbers as a gang. Certain neighborhood streets or sections of a school playground may "belong" to a gang of bullies, forcing other students to run an intimidating gauntlet or avoid the area entirely.
There are some child behavior experts who suggest that some school bullying is really a cry for help from the bully. The bully/victim relationship can be viewed as two sides of the same emotional coin, so to speak. While a victim of bullying or abuse may withdraw emotionally and physically, a bully essentially vents his or her frustrations on others. Both the victim and the bully may be experiencing abuse from siblings or parents at home, but one learns to cope by remaining passive, while the other learns to cope through aggression and anti-social behavior.
School bullying is a major problem which must be addressed by school administrators, teachers, parents and the students themselves. Some school bullies may need professional counseling in order to deal with the circumstances that trigger their outbursts and aggressive behavior towards other children and adults. Others may need to be monitored closely for signs of escalation, such as artwork or writings depicting violence and other disturbing subject matter.
If school bullying is not kept in check, the results can be disastrous. Many of the school shootings in recent years can be traced back to previous incidents of school bullyism. Either the victim of school bullies decides to seek revenge on those who have wronged him or her, or a student with an anti-social or bully mentality decides to escalate from fantasy forms of violence and bloodshed to the real event. In either scenario, early intervention could still help prevent incidents of school bullying from escalating into school tragedies.
On an individual level, parents who receive reports of school bullying from their children should take those concerns seriously and not dismiss them as part of a rite of passage or "boys will be boys." Some school bullies are fully capable of committing sexual assaults or smuggling real weapons onto school property, so any palpable threats against a child should be investigated by parents or school authorities before threats become actions. Reporting credible threats to law enforcement officers is also a way to counter serious incidents of school bullying.
Topic38:
Write a composition in which you discuss the advantages of private schools.
Typical Essay:
One of the advantages of private schools is that they have a small community atmosphere that allows for a lower student-to-teacher ratio. With smaller class sizes, teachers are able to focus more attention on individual students, and have more time to get to know students better. Classmates also get a chance to form more intimate bonds, when there are fewer students.
Other advantages of private schools include fewer disciplinary problems. When teachers and staff know students better, they are able to take appropriate measures applicable to particular students. This works far better than, for example, punishing the entire class, which holds no one accountable. The children that behave properly are not motivated to continue good behavior, if they are going to be punished for someone else's actions.
Private schools also have the option of expulsion, which is rare in public schools since public education is considered a "right" rather than a privilege. While this may not seem like one of the advantages of private schools, the possibility of expulsion might make some students less likely to fight, to take drugs, or to cut classes.
When parents pay for their children's education, they enjoy more of the advantages of private schools, because they have a say in how things are done. When children attend public school, parents who voice concerns frequently complain of being treated as "nuisances." In the private school setting, they are paying customers. The tuition factor enables other advantages of private schools, such as well-maintained campuses, and excellent books and learning materials.
Many parents who return their children to public school soon miss the advantages of private schools. They immediately learn that their children are well ahead of their classmates. They are frequently offered the opportunity to allow their child to skip a grade, because their children have already surpassed what the public school has to offer at their grade level--even in most honors classes--and the students quickly become bored.
Aside from the many other advantages of private schools, students who receive private schooling also have a lower drop out rate, experience fewer drug problems, and report less violence. They also tend to have higher scores on standardized tests and college entrance exams. One of the most important advantages of private schools is that by percentage,
Topic39:
Write a composition in which you discuss distance education.
Typical Essay:
The traditional model for higher education usually involves the student travelling to the same physical campus as his or her educators. With the advent of videotapes, CD-ROMs, closed-circuit television and the Internet, however, a student can now receive pertinent classroom information without even leaving home. This is the basis for what colleges and university call distance education. Distance education utilizes a combination of audiovisual lectures, objective examinations and planned meetings with human instructors.
A form of distance learning called correspondence schooling has been available for decades, but the programs have usually been limited and accreditation is often questioned. Students taking these distance education courses would receive a packet of study materials, worksheets and objective tests. A representative of the correspondence school would periodically grade these mailed-in tests and eventually bestow a certificate of completion. There is very little interactivity between student and instructor for most of these classes, and practical lab work is nearly impossible.
Traditional colleges and universities have now improved distance education through some trial and error. Earlier attempts at distance education involved little more than a series of videotaped lectures and a one-off final examination. Low test scores revealed a need for more interactivity between off-campus students and their campus-based instructors. Modern distance education courses now feature real-time lectures with remote communications and regularly scheduled online exercises. Professors are encouraged to treat emailed questions with the same respect as those posed in a traditional classroom.
Distance education programs are generally aimed at older or returning students who cannot afford to commute and support themselves financially at the same time. Many of the class lectures are on videotape or CD-ROM, allowing students to select the best time in their daily routines to study. Because distance education classes fall under the same auspices as on-campus classes, they are considered accredited. A student enrolled in a videotaped freshman English 101 class receives the same number of writing assignments as a traditional student on campus. The difference is that the distance education program might allow for emailed submissions or a slightly modified grade turnaround time.
Those looking for a bargain-basement education may not necessarily find it through a distance education program, especially one provided by a major college or university. Registration fees for many distance education classes are compatible with those paid by traditional students on campus. The major financial advantage is significantly lower travel expenses. Meeting with a virtual instructor a few times during the semester is much cheaper than commuting to the campus every day or paying for on-campus housing and food.
Enrolling in a distance education course is a great way to earn a degree from a respected educational institution without the need to uproot yourself and your loved ones to another state for the privilege. Information on distance education courses can often be found on the Internet webpages of individual colleges or through the school's admissions department.