40. Comment on the following statement.
Pollution is the greatest problem created by people.
What is your opinion? Do you agree with this statement?
Write 200-250 words.
Use the following plan:
- Make an introduction (state the problem)
- Express your personal opinion and give 2-3 reasons for your opinion
- Express an opposing opinion and give 1-2 reasons for this opposing opinion
- Explain why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion
- Make a conclusion restating your position
Exam Tip
1. In the essay each paragraph begins with a topic sentence which expresses its general idea.
E.g.:
Para 1. Nowadays there are a lot of arguments about global issues.
Para 2. In my opinion, pollution is the most significant problem which people should pay attention to.
Para 3. However, some people claim that…
Para 4. Personally I cannot fully agree with these people…
Para 5. To sum up, I would like to underline that pollution is the most important problem created by people.
2. In the essay your argument must be followed by a justification. It can be an example or a supporting statement.
E.g.:
Lots of us suppose that it is not essential to pay much attention to the problem of pollution as nowadays we face up to dozens of even more serious issues. For example, thousands of people suffer from poverty and famine.
1. Before you start writing read the task very attentively and underline the key words.
Pollution is the greatest problem created by people.
2. Try to paraphrase this sentence.
Pollution is the most terrible thing made by human beings.
The underlined words give us important information about writing an essay.
- This topic is connected with problems created by people.
- Two points of view are opposed: Is pollution or other terrible thing the greatest problem created by people?
- Some people suppose that there is nothing more terrible in the world than pollution created by the humanity
- Others think that there are a lot more urgent global issues.
3. What global issues created by people do you know? (the arms trade, diseases, famine, endangered species, global warming, war, homelessness, poverty, racism, terrorism, pollution)
4. What is the most urgent global issue and why?
5. Read this text and prove that pollution is the most dangerous thing:
Environmental pollution is one of the largest problems in our today’s world. It can be defined as a contamination of air, water and land from man-made waste. Nowadays there aren’t any cities and hardly any rural areas that remain clean and unpolluted.
There are a lot of different types of pollution among which the most recognized are air and water pollution, soil and radioactive contamination, littering, noise, light and thermal pollution. Unfortunately, most of the problems are the result of human activities. Indeed, the contradictions between man and nature are on a high level.
People cut down forests and thus damage thousands of acres of land. First of all, the soil can be easily blown away and secondly, even if new trees are planted, they can’t bring back the old forests that were a part of a complex ecosystem that cleaned the air and made home for wildlife.
Big industrial cities produce a lot of waste every day. It’s either thrown away or dug up which leads to the releasing of dangerous chemicals into the soil. Very often toxic or poisonous liquid chemicals are poured into the water therefore people’s health is put at risk. However, they are themselves responsible for this.
Water and air pollution are also a serious threat to our environment. The main factors contributing to them are car fumes, oil spills, throwing litter and many others. Polluted air and water affect people’s health to such an extent that millions of them have got no access to safe drinking water.
In conclusion, it must be said that if we want to live in a better and healthier world we should take great care of our mother nature and learn to protect it.
6. Read the essay and divide it into paragraphs.
Essay 1.
A lot of people believe that there is nothing more terrible in the world than pollution created by the humanity. While others are sure that pollution is not the greatest problem of the up-to-date world. Personally, I reckon that humans are responsible for awful pollution of our planet and actually it is the biggest issue nowadays. First of all, people build factories which emit poisonous wastes into the air and water. Furthermore, big cities are full of automobiles which produce chemicals and poison the environment. Last but not the least; oceans are poisoned with toxic wastes. As a result, a lot of species of fish and animals become extinct. However, lots of us suppose that it is not essential to pay much attention to the problem of pollution as nowadays we face up to dozens of even more serious issues. For a start, thousands of people suffer from poverty and starvation. Moreover, global problems as greenhouse effect or climatic changes are not considered to have anything in common with pollution. Despite other people’s opinions, I still suppose that the main cause of all global disasters is pollution created by humans. Even problems of poverty or starvation are caused by a lack of fresh water as it is polluted in many places all over the world. What is more, other global issues are connected with poisonous chemicals which destroy our planet. To conclude, I am sure that the Earth is our home which should be loved and valued, I strongly feel it is necessary to solve the problem of pollution because humans are to blame for our planet’s destruction.
7. Read this essay and say if:
- all the information is relevant?
- all the arguments are presented in a logical way?
- the student used linking words where necessary?
- he or she used the required number of words (200-250)
Essay 2.
Some people think that pollution is the greatest problem for the world. At the same time, others consider that there are a lot of more urgent problems.
I agree with the point of view that pollution is the most important problem nowadays. First of all, various kinds of fish disappeared because of waste dumping in rivers and oceans. Towns which are connected with fishing have some economic problems. Secondly, water is rather dirty in such rivers or oceans, so people cannot drink it. Thirdly, many people, who live in big cities, have serious problems with their health because of air pollution.
Nevertheless, we can find a contrary opinion. A lot of people are sure that there are other important issues to solve. For example, global terrorism. They think that terrorists can kill all people in the world. It is an expanding problem for all nations.
I cannot agree with this opinion completely, because water is the first biological need for a man. Terrorists can kill people for decades but a person cannot live without fresh air or clean water even a day. And terrorists will also die if they do not drink water.
In conclusion, I can note, that pollution is the most important problem for the world. It is created by people but only people can solve it now.
8. Complete this essay, using the ideas from the table below.
Essay 3.
Nowadays there are a lot of arguments about global issues. Some people believe that _____________________________, while others _______________________. Let us discuss this problem.
To my mind, ______________________________. Firstly, ___________________________________________. Secondly, ______________________________________________. Finally, ____________________________________. That is why so many animals can become extinct soon.
There is another point of view. _________________________________. Moreover, mankind cannot find a new planet for living and it is the greatest problem for now.
I cannot agree with this opinion. _____________________________. Besides, everyone should pay attention to pollution, so we can save the Earth and do not look for a new planet.
In conclusion, ______________________________. This is the fact and it is impossible to argue against it.
| a) | pollution caused by humanity is the most serious thing which we have ever made |
b) |
Pollution is a huge issue because it is a reason of more illnesses than technologies |
c) |
I would like to underline that pollution is the most important problem because it affects not only people but all living beings and our environment as well |
d) |
disagree with them |
e) |
Scientists have created a huge variety of technologies, starting from computers and ending with mobile phones but the number of people with bad vision is increasing because of this |
f) |
there are no more as sufficient issues as pollution |
g) |
a lot of factories use chemicals and they pollute nature |
h) |
the huge number of fish dies every hour because people spoil oceans with trash and oil |
i) |
cars throw harmful gases into the atmosphere and it has a bad influence on our health. |
9. Complete the essays.
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Essay 4 |
Essay 5 |
Paragraph 1 |
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Paragraph 2 |
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Paragraph 3 |
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Paragraph 4 |
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Paragraph 5 |
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a) Some people believe that humans create many problems but the most dangerous of them is pollution whereas others do not agree with them. Now, I would like to express my personal opinion about this topic.
b) To my mind, people have always polluted the environment and now it is the most serious problem in the world. To start with, people use many cars, build a lot of new factories which pollute our environment and bring enormous damage to our health. Moreover, when people walk in the park or in the forest they throw out a lot of rubbish which pollute our world too.
c) However, there is an opposite point of view that pollution is not the greatest problem of the world which is caused by people because there are many different problems such as animals’ death and development of technical progress and they are more important for our world.
d) I cannot agree with this point of view because in spite of many other problems, the most enormous damage to us brings pollution because of its harmful influence on our health.
e)To sum up, I strongly believe that pollution is the problem created by people and they should not make the environment dirty because their future lives depend on it.
i) Nevertheless, I cannot fully agree with this opinion as I believe that pollution destroys our ecology. Not only animals and trees suffer from it but also people who breathe air and drink water.
f) It is a well known fact that our mankind has an enormous amount of global problems created by people. Some of us claim that pollution is the greatest one. However, not everybody shares this point of view. Let us see who is right.
h) However, others believe that there are much more important problems which should be taken into account. They say, it is better to think of such problems as cutting forests and killing wild animals. As we know, they are also created by people.
g) In my opinion, pollution is the most significant problem which people should pay attention to. First of all, various factories and plants throw their wastes into rivers and lakes, killing fish and other animals. Secondly, exhaust fumes which are produced by cars and public transport pollute the air.
j) To sum up, I would like to mention that as pollution is created by people and it is the greatest problem nowadays we should solve it together to save our nature and our lives.
10. Write your own essay.