Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)

PART B
Write about 400 words on the following question.

Learning English through Social Issues

Although studies shows electric vehicles (EVs) are more environmentally friendly than petrol cars, less than
3% of all vehicles sold in 2020 worldwide were electric. It has been proposed that the HKSAR Government
should replace all vehicles on roads in Hong Kong to the EVs by 2030. Write an one-sided argumentative
essay to discuss this issue. (Edit from HKDSE English 2021 Paper 2 Question 2)

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Content: /7
Language: /7
Organization: /7

Total: /21

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 Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)
Writing Plan:
List some pros and cons when HKSAR Government replace all vehicles on roads in Hong Kong to the EVs by
2030.
Pros/ Advantages/ Upsides/ Merits Cons/ Disadvantages /Downsides /Drawbacks
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

Choose one side and then fill in the follow table.

Main idea: Advantages/ Disadvantages of replacing
Explanations/ Examples/ Benefits
all vehicles on roads in Hong Kong to EVs by 2030

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 Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)
Layout of the essay:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
 State what is happening now (in HK/ in the world, etc.) / what has happened recently
 State your stance
 Write down what you are going to discuss in this essay
Paragraph 2: (Point 1) Topic sentence + Elaboration + Example + A short conclusion
Paragraph 3: (Point 2) Topic sentence + Elaboration + Example + A short conclusion
Paragraph 4: (Point 3) Topic sentence + Elaboration + Example + A short conclusion
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
 Restate your stance
 Summarize the reasons (using the topic sentences)

Sample task:
Your school is proposing to remove PE lessons from the curriculum so that students can focus more on
academic studies. Write a one-sided argumentative essay to express your views on this proposal.

Main idea: Advantages

Explanations/ Examples/ Benefits
of removing PE lessons from the curriculum
 Can maximize the teaching and learning
effectiveness.
1. Teacher can have more contact time with students
 Can have more time to clarify doubts and pass on
the exam skills and knowledge
 Difficult for students to pay attention in class after
tiresome PE lessons
2. Students can have stronger concentration and better
 Ball games and team sports in PE lessons are
performance in class
competitive and physically demanding.
 Can lessen the physical exhaustion
 Sprain their ankles in ball games
 Wrench the muscle
 Poked a finger in the eye of classmates
3. Students can avoid unnecessary injuries
 Fell in a coma or lost consciousness
 Because of dehydration, heat stroke or prolonged
exposure to the sun
 No longer need to purchase PE equipment
 Can save the maintenance cost
4. Schools can reduce the regular expenditure and
 The money saved can be used in other academic-
make better use of the facilities and financial
related purposes, for example:
resources
 Purchasing more e-learning devices
 Installing the Wi-Fi network

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 Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)
SAMPLE
The merits of eliminating PE lessons in school
Our school is now considering to drop the PE lessons from the curriculum so that students can focus more on
academic studies. I am in complete agreement with this proposal. In this essay, I would like to discuss the
advantages of eliminating PE lessons and highlight its benefits to students, teachers and the school.

A clear benefit of removing PE lessons from the curriculum is that teachers can have more contact time with
students so that they can maximize the teaching and learning effectiveness. Since the implementation of the New
Senior Secondary curriculum, there has been concern over the tight teaching schedule. It is a widespread
phenomenon for Hong Kong students to attend extra lessons during school holidays.

If PE lessons are removed, it is thought that teachers will have adequate time to clarify doubts and pass on the
exam skills and knowledge to students who will find their teaching more effective. Students will also find it less
difficult to catch up with their studies in the core and elective subjects if they have room to understand the concepts
of some new learning points.

Another outstanding merit of removing PE lessons is that students can have stronger concentration and better
performance in class. Some students are complaining that it is difficult for them to pay attention in class after
extremely grueling and tiresome PE lessons. Most of the time, balls games and team sports in PE lessons are very
competitive and physically demanding, and this can easily drain the energy and physical strength of students.
Therefore, it is common to see students fall asleep in the air-conditioned classroom after they have spent hours
playing basketball or practicing short put under the hot baking sun in summer.

By removing the PE lessons, students can avoid too much sweating and better concentrate on their study instead
of being tempted to sleep in class. It is believed that this proposal can mitigate the physical exhaustion as a result
of vigorous exercise in PE lessons and arouse their motivation in learning.

Another significant benefit of removing the PE lessons is that we can avoid unnecessary injuries. Every year,
scores of students in our school are injured and absent from school after attending PE lessons. They may either
sprain their ankles in ball games or wrench the muscle in relay practice due to insufficient warm-up or ill techniques.
These incidents can be very minor, but in some cases, they can be serious and deadly. It is not uncommon on the
news that students poked a finger in the eye of their classmates in ball games. And some even fell in a coma or lost
consciousness because of dehydration, heat stroke or prolonged exposure to the scorching sun in summer. For the
sake of students’ safety and well-being, it is suggested that PE lessons be removed from the curriculum.

The last advantage of lifting the PE lessons is that the school can reduce the regular expenditure and make better
use of the facilities and financial resources. If the school eliminates the PE lessons from the curriculum, there is no
need for the school to purchase equipment such as dumbbells, footballs and basketballs. The school can also save
the maintenance cost of equipment and the salary grant in hiring an extra teaching staff in physical education. This
sum of reserve can be wisely used in other academic-related purposes such as purchasing more portable electronic
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 Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)
learning devices and installing the Wi-Fi network on school campus. Beyond the doubt, these new initiatives can
improve the learning and teaching effectiveness in our school.

To summarize, there are a list of advantages of lifting the PE lessons from the curriculum, including the increase
in student-teacher contact time and teaching time, the alleviation of students’ exhaustion, the avoidance of
unnecessary injuries and the reduction of financial expense. As a result, I am strongly in favour of the elimination
of PE lessons from the curriculum.
(652 words)
Useful expressions that may help you write better:
Introduction
Talking about what is happening:
 Recently / Nowadays, …  Many people said / claim that …
 It is suggested/ recommend/ believed/ proposed that
Stating your Stance:
 I completely agree that…. Should …. / … should be + P.P. (passive voice)
E.g. I completely agree that the school should remove PE lessons from curriculum.
 I am in total agreement with the idea that …
E.g. I am in total agreement with the idea that PE lessons should be removed from the curriculum.
 I am in complete agreement with the idea that …
 I strongly disagree/ oppose that  I am not in favour of the idea that …
Talking about what you are going to write in the essay:
 In this essay, I will look at some of the arguments for/ against + verb-ing…
E.g. In this essay, I will look at some of the arguments against removing PE lessons from the curriculum.
 In this essay, I would like to discuss the advantages/ disadvantages of + verb-ing …
 This essay will put forward a number of reasons why … should be + P.P. …
Main body
Topic sentences:
 One advantage of + verb-ing … is that …
E.g. One advantage of removing PE lessons from the curriculum is that …
 A clear advantage/ disadvantage of + verb-ing … is that …
 Another argument in favour of + verb-ing … is that …
 A serious of disadvantage of + verb-ing … is that …
Adverb for linking your ideas:
 First of all, / To begin with, one advantage of …
 Secondly, / Thirdly, another argument in favour of …
 Furthermore, / Moreover, / In addition, / What is more, / On the other hand, a serious advantage/
disadvantage is that …
 Another important argument is that…

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 Writing Practice (Supplementary material 3)
Giving example:
 For example, …  For instance, …
 Take … as an example.  … such as + noun phrase / gerund
A short conclusion:
 As …, it is absolutely + adjective that / to …
 Therefore, / As a result, / It short it is (not) + adjective + that / to
Conclusion
 To sum up, / To summarize, there are a number of advantages / disadvantages to + verb-ing … They
include … Therefore, I strongly agree / disagree that …
 All in all, in brief, …
 To conclude, / in conclusion, …
Giving a counter argument
*Raise an argument that oppose your stance and ATTACK!
 Although some people think that …, there are still a lot of arguments suggesting that…
 Some people might think that … However,/ Nevertheless, it is not reasonable/ sensible to say no because ...

How to express your ideas well? Learn from the following picture and the example.

Always remember the following components for writing ONE paragraph. (SEE skill)
(1) Topic sentence + (2) Explanation + (3) Example + (4) a short conclusion