ESB C2

Extra Writing Practice (emails) –

Suggested Answers Section
Extra Writing Practice (emails) – Suggested Answers Section
Topic 1
Dear Sir,
I am writing this email in response to comments that
have been left on the school website by parents
concerned about the use of mobile phones in class and its
detrimental effect. I agree that this is a valid concern, to
some extent, but it seems to me that the solution to the
problem is simple.
When phones are misused in class it is certainly very
distracting for students. It's not so much the noise the
phones make, because most students are savvy enough to
put their phones on silent mode. Instead, it's the behaviour
of the students themselves: laughing, whispering, and
sometimes passing the phone around. This bad behaviour
affects everyone, not just the minority who choose to
disregard the rules.
However, some parents might argue that phones aren’t
always misused. In fact, in some cases that might be
essential, for example if parents needed to send their child
a message. Personally, this isn’t a view that I share. If an
emergency occurs or something urgent, I believe the most
appropriate way for a parent to contact their child is to do
so via the school. After all, that is why we have a school
secretary.
To my mind, overall, that this is a problem that can be
easily eliminated. For example, teachers could confiscate
any phone that they notice being used inappropriately. By
doing so any student who creates a disruption or even
stops paying attention will lose their phone privileges for
the duration of the day. If every teacher was vigilant and
applied the same rules, the problems would quickly
disappear.
While mobile phone use in certain classes is out of
hand at the moment, with firm and sensible action I believe
that we can tackle the issue. If every teacher set out clear
rules and enforced them, misuse would cease.
Yours Faithfully,
Topic 2
Dear Sir or Madam,
Following on from your article last Friday on the
growing popularity of vegan foods, I wish to express my
opinion on why so many people are making the choice to
give up eating animal products, and what implications this
might have for society.
There are numerous reasons why a plant based diet
seems to be the way of the future. The most powerful
driving factor is that a growing number of people feel
compelled to act responsibly to protect the planet. There's
no doubt any more about the extent of the impact
livestock have on Co2 production and climate change.
Livestock also use up a huge amount of land and water, so
it's a poor use of resources.
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Naturally, if enough people change their habits and turn
vegan, this will affect the society we live in in various ways.
Most people will find that they save money. But more
significantly, they will be healthier so there will be less
pressure on hospitals and doctors. There will also be less
pressure on the environment and a better quality of life.
Some implications can be worrying, however. As demand
for meat, dairy and eggs falls, some farmers, factories and
food processing companies will find themselves struggling
to make ends meet. Probably some will go out of business.
While every lost job is a tragedy for someone, we must
remember that new jobs will also be created as demand
grows for plant based foods. In other words, People who
work in the food supply chain will just have to adapt.
It seems to me that the changes being brought about
by more people switching to a vegan diet are incredibly
positive. If we can support farmers and industries to adapt
to these changes it could make life better for all of Earth's
inhabitants.
Yours Faithfully,
Topic 3
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in response to the informative piece you
published recently which discussed the problems caused
by fast fashion and proposed that buying second-hand
clothes could offer a way out. In my view, buying second-
hand clothes is an attractive option, but unfortunately it
has disadvantages as well.
To begin with, choosing to buy second-hand has a lot
of benefits. The most important of these are for the
environment. Every article of clothing that ends up in a
charity shop is an article of clothing that isn't in a landfill,
and hasn't contributed to the pollution and energy
consumption that comes with the production of new
clothing. There are personal benefits too, because these
clothes are considerably cheaper than buying new, and
what's more, some might be higher quality items than the
ones someone could afford otherwise. Some second-hand
clothes, particularly vintage items, might be from a time
when they were made to last, so they will last longer than
today's throw-away items. It can also be exciting shopping
second-hand as you can never be sure what you will find;
it is a bit like a treasure hunt.
On the other hand, trying to shop second-hand is not
without its challenges. People who follow the latest
fashions might be dissatisfied with the colours and cuts of
the clothing available. It goes without saying that these will
be following the styles and trends of the past, and not
necessarily ones that might be popular today. It could also
be difficult to purchase exactly what is needed, as
availability is limited. What's more, there isn’t a wide range
of sizes available and this might be particularly challenging
for people who are not standard sizes.
 Extra Writing Practice (emails) – Suggested Answers Section
While I think buying second-hand clothing is a fantastic
idea, it is unlikely to mitigate the environmental damage
done by the fashion industry. Few people will be able to
get everything they need or want second-hand so they will
continue to buy new clothes. It's not enough to simply
encourage people to reuse old clothes. We must also
pressure the fashion industry to be more responsible in
their practices.
Yours Faithfully,
Topic 4
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a long-time reader of your blog, and today I felt
compelled to reach out in response to your claim that a
positive attitude is all that's require to accomplish anything
you want. While I do agree that a positive attitude can go
a long way towards making life easier and better, I do not
agree that it is enough on its own to guarantee success.
Lots of other variables are involved too.
Skill, and even talent are not insignificant. And while
skills can definitely be learned and improved over times,
some say talent is something you either have or you don't.
Not everyone can become a concert violinist, for example,
however much they might want it and however good their
attitude is.
Also, lots of hard work goes into accomplishing
anything. It's rare for any endeavour to work out perfectly
at the first attempt, but rather it's necessary to try and try
again. Putting in the effort is important and usually pays
off. Admittedly, a good attitude is a great help when
someone needs to pick themselves up after a setback and
keep trying, but it could be argued that the work involved
is what makes the most difference.
Finally, don't forget about luck. Luck is important in
many aspects of life, including where a person is born,
who they meet, what they look like. We need a lot of
resources and the support of a lot of people to accomplish
anything, and the way resources and attention are
distributed can sometimes seem very random. An example
of luck playing a role is when one of hundreds of hopeful
bands is heard by an influential music producer - the other
bands might have been just as talented, and had just as
positive attitudes, but the influential individual simply had
no idea they existed.
So, however helpful a good attitude might be, I think
it's clear that hard work, skill, and a bit of luck are all
required to succeed in life. In fact, telling impressionable
people that they only need to be positive and they should
be able to do anything can set them up for
disappointment.
Yours Faithfully,
Topic 5
Dear Sir/Madam,
There has been recent discussion about implementing
a new tax on purchases made online. While I agree that it
is essential to support local businesses, I do no believe
taxes for online shopping are the best way to go about it,
and cannot support this proposal.
The main drawback is that many small online business
would be negatively impacted by this new tax as they also
use online shopping options. For example, self-employed
artists or craftspeople who sell their work all over the
country through their website would have a harder time
earning a living if new taxes discouraged people from
purchasing from them. Most of these individuals do not
earn large amounts of money, and instead barely make
ends meet, so this added tax could make the difference
between survival or failure for some. What's more,
specialised items might not even be available locally,
meaning people would have no choice but to buy them
online. I firmly believe that if there is no way to purchase
something locally, there should not be a penalty for buying
it online.
The enterprises that pose the most threat to local
businesses are the large profitable retail sites that sell all
sorts of mass produced items online, and these are what
should be targeted specifically to protect our local
businesses. It is these widely available, cheap items that
can be purchased with the click of the mouse which tempt
people away from their local shops. Since these online
retailers usually make huge amounts of money, I believe a
simple solution to the problem would be to raise taxes for
the companies making the greatest profits, and particularly
large, multinational corporations which frequently escape
being taxed. The money that would be raised doing this
could then be used to support local business in various
ways, for example by improving public transport or
providing grants for small local entrepreneurs to get
started or expand.
In conclusion, while I can't support raising taxes on
online sellers across the board, a more targeted tax, which
would impact the companies that are actually creating the
problem, is a very important step to take. Please keep this
in mind.
Yours Faithfully,
Topic 6
Dear Sir/Madam,
In response to your article on changes in the way we
work, I would like to share my views about how working
remotely is going to transform lives in our country and
around the world. To my mind it's not a straightforward
issue and there is certainly more than one side to it.
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Extra Writing Practice (emails) – Suggested Answers Section

Firstly, the ability to choose to work remotely seems I want to point out that the changes don't need to be
likely to improve many peoples' lives a great deal. For drastic. Like many of my peers, I personally don't have any
many, it's more comfortable to be in their home health concerns and I enjoy eating pizza and burgers. So,
environment and time will be saved by avoiding long many of us would be unhappy if these were no longer
commutes. It's not uncommon for people to spend even available. I am not by any means suggesting these foods
two hours a day commuting, so this is not insignificant. should be eliminated, because they are tasty and popular.
This is time that can be dedicated to things that matter to You only need to add a few different alternatives for those
people such as spending time with friends and family. who feel differently. And as much as I like pizza, if
Many ways of commuting burn fossil fuels, too, so air appetising-looking vegetable dishes were available I'm
quality in cities could improve. sure I'd try them from time to time because I'm a curious
On the other hand, some problems may arise due to person. Who knows, I might find I like some of them as
changing work patterns. For example, it must be an much as or more than pizza.
anxious time for owners and staff of restaurants located in I hope you will take my suggestions into consideration.
city-centre business districts because if people don't go I look forward to seeing our canteen menu improve soon.
into the office, they won't be buying lunch nearby. There
Yours Faithfully,
could also be a problem of what to do with many empty
office buildings. People who are used to interacting face to
face with co-workers could find working remotely isolating
and lonely. Finally, if large numbers of digital nomads
descend on areas of natural beauty to work in beautiful
environments, the ecological well-being of these places
could be threatened.
It seems to me that in spite of some potential
disadvantages the many advantages working remotely
offers outweighs these. besides, the optimal arrangements
will be different for every individual and surely having more
freedom to choose is only a positive thing.

Yours Faithfully,

Topic 7
Dear Madam,
I am emailing you in response to recent discussions
surrounding the options available in our school canteen.
While I like the food and have no complaints myself, I do
agree that a wider variety of foods should be made
available for students with different preferences and
needs.
The limited selection of foods is certainly a problem for
a number of reasons. For one thing, some students may
have health concerns and they have very few alternatives.
Most of the foods offered are fattening or full of sugar, and
when there are salads available they are often unattractive
and unpalatable. It's not so uncommon, even, for young
people to have problems with their blood pressure and
cholesterol these days and the foods offered in our canteen
are sure to contribute to this. Other students have allergies
and there is nothing at all someone who must follow a
gluten free diet could eat, for example. Variety is important
not only for health reasons though; students have a wide
range of tastes, values and ideologies when it comes to
food and these should all be accommodated as much as
possible. What is more, children are still developing their
taste, so the more diverse types of foods they're exposed
to, especially when it comes to vegetables, the better.