IELTS Writing Task 2 – Advantages & Disadvantages Essays

Như tên gọi của loại bài viết này thể hiện, bạn cần viết về những mặt lợi ích và bất lợi, hoặc những điểm tốt và xấu của một tình huống / chủ đề.

Một dàn bài hiệu quả cho loại bài viết này như sau:

GHI CHÚ:

Nếu quan điểm của bạn nghiêng về những thuận lợi nhiều hơn bất lợi, hãy viết bất lợi trước, sau đó tới thuận lợi và ngược lại. Theo cách này, quan điểm của bạn sẽ được thể hiện rõ rang hơn mà không bị ngược với những ý đã nói trước đó.

Bài mẫu:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year before you go to university?

Nowadays, taking a year out before starting university is becoming an increasingly popular choice among school-leavers. Most students embarking on a gap year look to travel overseas, getting part-time work in the places they visit. However, there are both pros and cons to taking a year’s break from your study. In this essay, I will examine some of the reasons why taking a gap year has become so popular, as well as some of the downsides of doing so.

Let us begin by looking at the disadvantages of taking a year out. One of the most obvious ones is the expense involved. These days, graduates are more often than not saddled with debt when they leave university. The cost of education is very high, as is the cost of university life (accommodation, food and so on). Perhaps, therefore, from a financial perspective, it is not very wise to go spending a lot of money on a year out because students will find they have even more of a debt problem than before. Of course, they may make some money from a part- time job while away, but this is unlikely to cover all their expenses.

Another consideration is safety. School-leavers are on average about 18 years old. They are still very young and have a lot of growing up to do, and those that travel may find that their naivety lands them in trouble. They may, for example, be victims of crime, or even be led astray by their peers, becoming alcohol- or drug-dependent. Their lives could be ruined or, worse still, ended.
Turning now to the other side of the argument, perhaps the biggest advantage of all is that, by travelling, students often have the opportunity to learn a foreign language. This will be a huge asset to them when they start to look for jobs – proficiency in a foreign language makes one much more employable. What is more, research has shown that there is no better way to learn a second language than by living in a country where that language is the mother tongue.

Then there is the valuable life and work experience they will gain on their adventures. This will make them more mature. It could be argued that school-leavers are too young to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives, so having a year out may help them to get to know themselves better and give them the maturity to make better choices when it comes to deciding what to study at university. Choosing more wisely in this respect could transform the rest of their lives.

This much is clear: the decision to have a year out should not be taken lightly. You need to weigh up the pros of the opportunity to mature and gain valuable life experiences and so on, and the cons of the safety and financial concerns. Personally, I believe that the upsides of taking a year out to get to know yourself better as a person and acquire new skills outweigh the downsides considerably.

• Chú ý cách các ý tưởng được sắp xếp theo cách chúng ta vừa mới học. Chủ đề được paraphrase trong đoạn 1. Tiếp theo là đoạn nói về mỗi ý chính. Mỗi điểm thuận lợi / bất lợi được phát triển và được chúng minh bằng những dẫn chứng cụ thể để tang tính thuyết phục. Sau đó, đoạn kết bài để tóm tắt ý tưởng chung và khái quát lại những ý chính đã nêu trong bài.