1. What are the advantages or disadvantages of living near work?

Give reasons or examples

to support your opinion.
a. The advantages and disadvantages of owning a home
b. The pros or cons of living near one’s place of employment
2. Some people prefer to work for a large company, while others prefer to work in a small
office. Which size company do you prefer to work in? Use specific examples to support your
choice.
a. My opinion on work environments
b. My work environment preference
3. At some jobs, employees are allowed to listen to music while they work. What is your
opinion of this? Give reasons or examples to support your opinion.
a. My music preferences
b. My thoughts on a specific company policy
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Learning an additional language is
a good way to improve one’s job prospects in any field. Use specific reasons and examples to
support your answer.
a. My beliefs about learning new languages
b. My position on corporate language requirements
5. References from previous employers are important for some employers when making
hiring decisions. Why do you think that references are important to employers? Use specific
reasons and examples to explain your answer.
a. My explanation of why something is important to some people
b. My opinion of how managers make hiring decisions

TASK 1 Match the prompts (1-5) to the correct restatements (a-e). Notice
how each of the restatements is changed from the original question to create a strong thesis
statement.
___ a. Personally, I prefer to work in a small office rather than at a large company for several
reasons.
__1_b. It is my belief that learning an additional language is a great way to improve one’s
chances of getting a job.
___c. There are several advantages of living near the office.
___ d. My opinion is that it is a bad idea for employers to allow workers to listen to music at
the office.
___e. I think that references from previous employers are important to some bosses for a
number of reasons.

TASK 2 Match these model outlines (A-E) to the writing prompts (1-5).