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Advantages and Disadvantages Essays - TOEFL Task 2
In this section you will be presented useful hints and tips on how to construct and write a high scoring TOEFL Advantages and disadvantages essay. These tips will guide you through the process so you can write a masterpiece. You will get a detailed plan/structure on different topics, helpful phrases and TOEFL essay writing models.
Types of advantages and disadvantages essay
There are 3 different types of advantages and disadvantages essay and they each require a different approach.
Question 1
In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decided to do this.
Question 1 simply asks us to discuss the advantages and disadvantages. It does not ask for our opinion or say which side is better or worse, so we should not include this information in our answer.This requires a simple structure:
Structure for Essay 1
Introduction
- Sentence 1- Paraphrase question
- Sentence 2- Outline sentence
Supporting Paragraph 1 (Advantages)
- Sentence 3- Topic sentence (Advantage 1)
- Sentence 4- Explain how this is an advantage
- Sentence 5- Example
Supporting Paragraph 2 (Disadvantages)
- Sentence 6- Topic sentence (Disadvantage 1)
- Sentence 7- Explain how this is a disadvantage
- Sentence 8- Example
Conclusion Sentence 9- Summary of main points
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Question 2
Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary schools rather than secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
In this example we will have to decide which side (advantages or disadvantages) is stronger and this will affect our structure.
Structure for Essay 2
Introduction
- Sentence 1- Paraphrase question
- Sentence 2- Thesis statement (state which one outweighs the other)
- Sentence 3- Outline sentence
Main Body Paragraph 1 (Stronger Side)
- Sentence 4- Topic Sentence
- Sentence 5- Explain why it is strong
- Sentence 6- Example
- Sentence 7- Topic Sentence
- Sentence 8- Explain why it is strong
- Sentence 9- Example
Main Body Paragraph 2 (Weaker Side)
- Sentence 10- Topic Sentence
- Sentence 11- Explain why it is not strong
- Sentence 12- Example
Conclusion
- Sentence 13- Summary of main points and restate position.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Question 3
Computers are becoming an essential part of school lessons. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.
Structure for Essay 3
Introduction
- Sentence 1- Paraphrase question
- Sentence 2- Thesis statement (your opinion)
- Sentence 3- Outline sentence
Main Body Paragraph 1 (Advantages)
- Sentence 4- Topic Sentence
- Sentence 5- Explain
- Sentence 6- Example
Main Body Paragraph 2 (Disadvantages)
- Sentence 7- Topic Sentence
- Sentence 8- Explain
- Sentence 9- Example
Main Body Paragraph 3 (Opinion)
- Sentence 10- Explain opinion
- Sentence 11- Explain or give example
Conclusion
- Sentence 12 – Summary of main points
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Question 1 Template Answer
In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decided to do this.
Plan
Advantages
- · Opportunity to find a job and save money - Expensive education
- · Get some experience – solidify your goals to get a more realistic idea of your future career.
Disadvantages:
- You might find your break too interesting/distracting and end up not wanting to go back into formal education.
- Your study skills may have diminished, making it harder for you to adjust to life in schooling
Introduction.
Sentence 1 - paraphrase the question (restate the problem)
Over the last few decades, as educational awareness has increased, schooling has become a very controversial topic. Some students are suggested to take a break before entering college, but the issue also has some negative effect. This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of the problem and provide a logical conclusion
Body paragraph 1 - advantages
- Sentence 1 - state 1st main advantage:
One main advantages of taking a gap year is an opportunity to find a temporary job and save some finances to complete education.
Sentences 2-4 - explain the first advantage + give an example (if possible):
Firstly, nowadays education is expected to be very expensive and not everybody could afford that. This way, by earning money students would get a chance to cover some costs for a degree without getting in debts while studying. The Times recently reported that the average student at a UK university requires over $12,000 per annum just to survive and many drop out because they do not manage to pay.
Sentences 5-7 - explain the second advantage + give an example (if possible) or supported detail:
Secondly, being involved in work activities is a good possibility to gain valuable skills and experience in certain fields. This chance would be significantly reasonable for solidifying one’s goals to get a more realistic idea of the future career. Moreover, new practice and knowledge would help identify a student’s major while schooling.
Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages
- Sentence 1 - state 1st main disadvantage + give an example (if possible) or supported detail:
However, taking a break from schooling has some major disadvantages. Firstly, one might find the break too interesting/distracting, and end up not wanting to go back into formal education. Many students appreciate their independent lifetime full of travelling and new experiences so much that often have a hard time to resume schooling. In this case, one would lose a chance to get a degree and build a career.
- Sentence 2 - state 2nd main disadvantage + give an example (if possible) or supported detail
Secondly, study skills may have diminished, making it harder for young people to adjust to life in education. According to research/statistics, students who took a year off after high school get lower marks than the ones who embarked on college after finishing school.
Conclusion
- Sentences 1-2 - briefly restate the advantages and disadvantages.
To conclude, even though a year’s break is a good possibility to save finances and gain experience, it still can negatively impact on education by weakening students’ learning skills and their yearning to complete a degree.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Question 2 Sample Answer
A lot of places in the world rely on tourism as a main source of income. Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems if it is not managed correctly.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of tourism in the modern world. Do you think that benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks?
Producing ideas for your answer
Advantages of tourism:
- boost in country’s economy due to increased spending
- new job opening for local people
- opportunities to discover new places for individual travelers
Disadvantages of tourism:
- destruction of popular tourist destinations by large numbers of tourists
- development of illegal economic activities
- local people can experience loss of privacy
Structure for causes & solutions essay
- Introduction
- Body paragraph 1 – advantages
- Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages
- Conclusion
Tip: before starting to write your essay, decide what you think: does tourism have more advantages or disadvantages? You’ll need to make accent on your opinion in one of the body paragraphs.
· We’ll use the opinion that tourism has more advantages.
Introduction Write the introduction in 2 sentences:
- Sentence 1 - paraphrase the question (restate the problem):
Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too.
- Sentence 2 - tell the examiner what you’re going to describe in your essay:
This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of tourism and provide a logical conclusion.
Body paragraph 1 - advantages
- Sentence 1 - state 2 main advantages:
The two main advantages of developed tourism industry are boost in country’s economy and a large number of new job openings for the local people.
- Sentences 2-4 - explain the first advantage + give an example (if possible):
Firstly, tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including hotels, amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way, tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the countries’ economies.
- Sentences 5-7 - explain the second advantage + give an example (if possible):
Secondly, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing new jobs. For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail services, exhorting business owners to hire more people for these positions.
Body paragraph 2 - disadvantages
- Sentence 1 - state 2 main disadvantages:
However, tourism also has some major disadvantages like destruction of popular tourist destinations and development of illegal economic activities.
- Sentences 2-4 - explain the first disadvantage + give an example (if possible):
Ancient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast amount of visitor’s traffic and get damaged. Also, the large number of tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited.
- Sentences 5-7 - explain the second disadvantage + give an example (if possible):
What’s more, tourism can create more serious situations where criminal issues are involved. The presence of a considerable number of tourists with a lot of money to spend, and often carrying valuables such as cameras and jewelry, increases the attraction for criminals and brings with it activities like robbery and drug dealing.
- Sentences 8 - make an accent on your opinion (we’ll use the opinion that tourism has more advantages):
However, proper hospitality management and correct usage of tourism revenue by the local government can eliminate these disadvantages.
Conclusion
- Sentences 1-2 - briefly restate the advantages and disadvantages
To conclude, although tourism has certain disadvantages like destructive effects and growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive impact on country’s economy and provides a large number of new jobs for the local people.
- Sentence 2 - give your final opinion
I believe that these benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Useful Phrases
Phrases for introduction:
- · Currently/ These days
- · …. has emerged as one of the most discussed issues of the modern era.
- · Over the few past decades….
- · Issues related to …are frequently discussed these days.
- · This essay will discuss/ will examine the arguments for and against / will consider the positive and negative impacts of this and discuss ways to
- · In this essay I will explore the advantages and disadvantages of _____ before giving my opinion on the issue.
Phrases for 1 paragraph ( body).
- On the one hand, there are several benefits of ……
- One of the most cited advantages of _______. …….
- One good illustration of this…… ( Present a reason). It is also possible to say that ….( advantage 2).
- For instance, (give an example).
- This way//This can be contributed to the fact that/This can be explained by/This should also be stated by (Present supporting detail).
Phrases for 2 paragraph ( body).
- On the other hand, there are some disadvantages/drawbacks of ……
- One problem is ……(disadvantage 1).
- The reason is…. ( supporting detail).
- Another issue is/The second point is….. ( Disadvantage 2).
- A particularly good example here is…… (give an example).
Phrases for conclusion
- In conclusion the advantages (benefits)of … outweigh the disadvantages (drawbacks).
- Even though……(advantages) I strongly believe that…./
- On balance, however, I tend to believe that …..( your opinion if it is required).
LINKING PHRASES
Nevertheless, however, although, in addition, therefore, furthermore, moreover, also, despite this, finally, in fact, indeed, consequently, eventually, thereafter.
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Полезный материал на все разделы TOEFL
В данном разделе представлен полезный материал по всем разделам экзамена TOEFL: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing,