How you spent your last holiday (Describe my last holiday)

During my last school holidays, I spent a few days at my cousin’s house at Morib, a well-known sea resort. I shall never forget that visit.

On the day I arrived at Morib, my cousin told me that he would do to make my stay there a very interesting one. He said that he would make a raft to use it in the sea. Then he would buy fishing net to catch some fish in the shallow water near the coast. When I heard all this, I was very delighted because it was one of the reasons that I had decided to visit my cousin. We then walked up to the beach which is near his house.

While we were there, sometime in the evening, the sea looked extremely beautiful. I saw the islands and hills in the distance, the birds in the air, and a few boys and girls playing on the beach. I also saw some fishermen coming out of the water with their catch. All this was indeed very interesting to look at.

On the next day, my cousin and I collected some tree trunks from the forest nearby. As my cousin’s house is close to the sea, we decided to make the raft on the beach itself. It took us almost the whole morning to make the raft. We then had our lunch and went to Banting, the nearest town, to buy fishing net. After that we returned to my cousin’s house.

In the evening we put the raft on the sea. The water was still high, but the raft floated quite well. My cousin and I sat on it and began to row it by using the oars that we had made ourselves. We felt very happy indeed and continued to row it. We remained on it for a long time, but as it was already getting dark we did not go far. We returned to the shore and tied the raft to a tree.

On the next day, we went out to catch some crabs and fish. We used the net that we had bought and caught a lot of fish. Then, we had our lunch and went out again on the raft. We continued to row it as far as we could. It was really a pleasure to be away from the shore. The sea was calm and we could row with ease. My cousin told me many interesting things about Morib. We then returned to the shore.

In this way, I spent my holidays happily at Morib, a place I shall never forget.

Talk about your teacher of English

Miss Wilde is our teacher of English this term. She has been teaching in our school for three years ever since her return from London, but I have never attended her classes before.

She is rather tall for a lady, about twenty-four years of age, and I find her really slender. She puts on a little make up in very discreet manner. Though young and attractive in appearance, she is dignified and reserved. She is somewhat strict at times, but never too severe or stern. Her patience is wonderful she will never give up explaining until every one of us understands.

Her method of teaching differs somewhat from that of our former teacher. She pays much attention in correcting our pronunciation and drills us in expressing ourselves in short English sentences. At the end of each lesson, she gives us assignments and lets us work out ourselves. Her method means more work for us to do in the evening, as we have to consult the dictionary again and again; but this help us to remember the new words and phrases and we feel that we have been making rapid progress.

Though my teacher is sometimes severe, yet her kindness and gentility always commands our respect.

Talk about your new friend

When the school reopened after the mid-year school holidays, we had a new classmate. Her name is Cheng Siew Hong and she has emigrated with her family from Hong Kong to Singapore.

The class was excited and I was too because she happened to sit next to me. My form teacher told us to make her feel at ease with us. Siew Hong is a cheerful-looking girl and an active athlete. She runs fast, swims well and even takes part in high-jump competitions. Siew Hong and I soon became very good friends because of our common interest in sports. We never run out of topics to talk about. We have lots of fun together, both in class and out on the field. I help Siew Hong cope with the English language while she helps me out with the Chinese language.

Since this was the first time she has been in Singapore, the class decided to bring Siew Hong to some of the local tourist attractions like Sentosa and Botanic Garden. We also brought her to Satay Club fitted into the class in no time. She is glad to join our class and we are glad to have her as a new friend.

Language: Phrases to list advantages or disadvantages:

Advantages:

- The first/main/greatest/most important advantage of …. is ….
- One/another/an additional advantage of …. is ….
- What makes … stand out/important/… is …
- One/Another point in
You are here: Home / Bí quyết IELTS / IELTS Writing Task 2 – Part 9: Advantages and Disadvantages

Một đề bài tham khảo:

“In order to solve traffic problems, governments should tax private car owners heavily and use the money to improve public transportation.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution?”

Essay Plan (Structure)

1.Introduction:

- Introducing the topic.
- Giving background information and Narrowing the topic.
- Giving your point of view and mentioning the main areas covered in the essay.
Để hiểu rõ hơn cấu trúc của mở bài, bạn có thể xem tại viết bài này của mình

2. Body

- Paragraph 1: Advantages.
- Paragraph 2: Disadvantages.
Các bạn hãy dành cho Advantages một đoạn riêng và Disadvantages cũng vậy. Với mỗi đoạn bạn nên đưa ra 3 supporting ideas, nghĩa là sẽ có 3 mặt mạnh và 3 mặt yếu. Tuy nhiên, 2 supporting ideas cho mỗi đoạn cũng là đủ nếu bạn viết đủ dài và sâu.
Lưu ý: Các bạn nên viết 2 đoạn với dung lượng tương đối bằng nhau, không nên thiên lệch (bias) đối với advantages và disadvantages. Giám khảo sẽ không đánh giá cao nếu bạn chỉ dành 50 từ cho advantages và đến 150 từ cho disadvantages.
Để chuyển đoạn,bạn nên sử dụng linh hoạt một số liên từ hoặc mẫu câu mang ý nghĩa nhượng bộ/đối lập. Dưới đây là một số mẫu câu ví dụ mà bạn có thể áp dụng cho mọi đề bài. • Despite these attractions, however, some drawbacks do exist… • Although … has many advantages, there still exist some noteworthy disadvantages. • However, … is not completely beneficial; there are some negative aspects that should be taken into consideration.

3.Conclusion:

Restate in summary the main advantages and disadvantages of the topic being detailed.
Nếu đề bài không yêu cầu đưa ra ý kiến cá nhân (vấn đề này tốt hay xấu, lợi hay hại) thì bạn không phải và không nên đưa vào ý kiến của mình. Sau khi đọc xong phần thân bài dựa vào những lí lẽ, dẫn chứng mà bạn đưa ra, người đọc đã phải hình thành một quan điểm riêng cho mình. Bạn nên khẳng định lại vấn đề có cả mặt tốt và mặt xấu, và tác động của nó phụ thuộc chủ yếu vào cách chúng ta khai thác mà thôi.
Ví dụ: To conclude, this solution is worth considering to improve the current situation, but there are advantages and disadvantages of introducing such a policy.

Language: Phrases to list advantages or disadvantages:

Advantages:

- The first/main/greatest/most important advantage of …. is ….
- One/another/an additional advantage of …. is ….
- What makes … stand out/important/… is …
- One/Another point in favor of …. is ….
Chú ý: Ở dạng bài Academic Writing, bạn nên tránh những từ informal như Pros/Cons, plus points/minus points, pluses/minuses,… Tuy nhiên những từ này có thể vận dụng linh hoạt trong phần thi nói Speaking vì ở Speaking part 1 rất informal, part 2 neutral/semiformal, còn part 3 thì Disadvantages
- The first/main/greatest/ most serious disadvantage of …. is ….
- One/another/an additional disadvantage of …. is ….
- Another negative aspect of …. is ….
- See more at: http://hocielts.vn/ielts-writing-task-2-part-9-advantages-and-disadvantages/#sthash.vMMHkjpD.dpuf favor of …. is …

(Topic)Traffic problems in many cities around the world are becoming more and more serious. (Background Information) One possible solution to this problem is to impose heavy taxes on car drivers and use this money to make public transport better. (Mentioning the areas covered in the body) Such a measure has its own advantages and disadvantages.
(Topic sentence 1)It is clear that imposing heavy taxes on car drivers has some noteworthy positive effects. (Supporting idea 1) One of the first benefits of such a measure is that the heavy taxes would discourage car owners from using their cars because it would become very expensive to drive. This would mean that they would begin to make use of public transport instead, thus reducing traffic problems and pollution as well. (Supporting idea 2)Another benefit would be that much more use would be made of public transport if it were improved. It is often the case that public transport in cities is very poor. For example, we often see old buses and trains that people would rather not use. High taxes could generate enough money to make the necessary changes.
(Topic sentence 2)Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to such a solution. (Supporting idea 1)First and foremost, this might be a heavy burden on the car drivers. At present, taxes are already high for a lot of people, and so further taxes would only mean less money at the end of the month for most people who may have no choice but to drive every day. (Supporting idea 2) In addition, this type of tax would likely to be set at a fixed amount. This would mean that it would hit those with less money harder, whilst the rich could likely afford it. It is therefore not a fair tax.
To conclude, this solution is worth considering to improve the current situation, but there are advantages and disadvantages of introducing such a policy.
- See more at: http://hocielts.vn/ielts-writing-task-2-part-9-advantages-and-disadvantages/#sthash.vMMHkjpD.dpuf

5. Vị trí của trạng từ.

5.1. Trước động từ thường (nhất là các trạng từ chỉ tần suất: often, always, usually, seldom....) • VD: They often get up at 6am.
5.2. Giữa trợ động từ và động từ thường • VD: I have recently finished my homework. • TĐT adv V 5.3. Sau động từ "to be/seem/look"...và trước tính từ: "tobe/feel/look"... + adv + adj • Ex: She is very nice. • Adv adj 5.4. Sau “too”: V(thường) + too + adv • VD: The teacher speaks too quickly.
5.5. Trước “enough” : V + adv + enough • VD: The teacher speaks slowly enough for us to understand.
5.6. Trong cấu trúc so....that: V + so + adv + that • VD: Jack drove so fast that he caused an accident.
5.7. Đứng cuối câu • VD: The doctor told me to breathe in slowly.
5.8. Trạng từ cũng thường đứng một mình ở đầu câu,hoặc giữa câu và cách các thành phần khác của câu bằng dấu phẩy(,) • VD: Last summer, I came back my home country • My parents had gone to bed when I got home.
Trạng từ bổ nghĩa cho từ loại nào thì phải đứng gần từ loại ấy. Quy tắc này thường được gọi là Quy tắc "cận kề".
VD: She often says she visits her grandmother. (Often bổ nghĩa cho "says"). She says he often visits her grandmother. (Often bổ nghĩa cho "visits")
Trạng từ chỉ thời gian trong tình huống bình thường nên đặt nó ở cuối câu (như vậy rất khác với tiếng Việt).
VD: We visited our grandmother yesterday. I took the exams last week.
Trạng từ không được đặt/dùng giữa Động từ và Tân ngữ.
VD: He speaks English slowly. He speaks English very fluently.

1. Generally, everyone has his own way of how to do assignments and projects. Some of them prefer to work in groups and some others prefer to work independently. (In my opinion,) I prefer to work in a group of intelligent developed people since I believe (in)that they are able to help me if I had some problems with my either assignments or projects. I will describe several reasons and examples so as to explain my opinion by the following paragraphs. First and foremost, I want to explain all advantages of group working. In my opinion, the collective of smart people is very good for everyone who wants to get something. For example, if I (am) work in a group of smart people I feel more comfortable (myself) and I believe (in) that, if I need some help (they), I can ask them for (help). It is very good to know that someone can help and support you. Also, I can ask their opinion. It is good to know opinions of the others since, we always can learn something from people surrounding us. Moreover, I think that working in a group is more interesting and allow us to work harder.(Since,) When I am alone I am (can) getting tired faster, but when I (am) work in some group I feel like someone is giving me energy. Reason for that is my personality. I am a person who never liked to be alone since I like to be in collective with other people and having some fan with them or discuss something. That's why, I prefer to work in a group. In my opinion, the best way of doing assignments or projects is to create some collective with smart guys. On the other hand, I think that I can do some assignments or projects even if I work by myself. Of course, it would be pretty much harder than working in a group, but it is good to be always ready for working alone. Also, sometimes I prefer to work alone since it is good to be conscious of my own abilities. So, in my opinion, I think that sometimes we need to work by ourselves, just for understanding our own aptitudes. Finally, I would like to stress that it does not matter which way you prefer for doing your assignments or projects, important thing is that we have to work hard on that. The best way for reaching your goals is to work hard for that. If we want to achieve great accomplishments, we have to work hard for that.

2. 3. Increased productivity and performance: groups that work well together can achieve much more than individuals working on their own. A broader range of skills can be applied to practical activities and sharing and discussing ideas can play a pivotal role in deepening your understanding of a particular subject area. 4. Skills development: being part of a team will help you develop your interpersonal skills such as speaking and listening as well as team working skills such as leadership, and working with and motivating others. Some of these skills will be useful throughout your academic career and all are valued by employers. 5. Knowing more about yourself: collaborating with others will help identify your own strengths and weaknesses (for example, you may be a better leader than listener, or you might be good at coming up with the 'big ideas' but not so good at putting them into action). Enhanced self-awareness will both help your approach to learning and will be invaluable when you come to write your CV or complete job application forms.
In order to maximise these benefits, you will need to manage your group work effectively.