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Wednesday, September 18, 2013



Hi Simon, I should write " in school" at school, in schools,or at schools ? I see you write " in schools", but in oxford dictionary " in school"
Can you explain to me?
Thank you

What a good question!

hi simon
which of the two sentences is correct?

1.There are several advantages to using computers in education.
2.There are several advantages of
using computers in education.

Although in many countries it is the sole responsibility of governments to decide what should be learnt by students at schools, some believe that it must have been teachers' duty to offer different subjects to learners. I am convinced that curriculum is of such an important matter that should be planned based on some experts. (55 words)
Since school curricula should be more concerned with the needs of society, it has to be developed by authorities having a wide scope of the future job opportunities. Each person spends almost 12 years of the best part of their life at schools and most of them do not have inclination to pursue higher education. Therefore if subject matters were planned by teachers, the unemployment rate would increase owning to unrealistic planning. Also, it is expected that teachers can convey their knowledge and experience to the learners. They should equip themselves with modern teaching methods rather than getting involved in something which are not in their job description. (108 words)
Moreover, in most countries schools are appraised to compare and ranked based on some specific indicators at the end of each academic year. Having the same criteria to evaluate educational systems all over a country paves the way to judge in a not only standard but also fair situation. Based on solid evidence most schools ranking suffer from lack of objectivity because of vague standards based on different qualities. (69 words)
In conclusion, in my perspective planning core curriculum at schools should be considered as a duty of politicians instead of teachers. (21 words)

261 words

The relevance of people who select the topic for syllabus is a matter of concern. Some people argue that it should be done by the teachers, while other believe that politicians are responsible for selection of topic. In my opinion the selection should be done by the participation of both government people and experienced teachers

On the one side, people believe that if a teacher is allowed to select the topic the students will be more benefited. For example, a teacher will have a clearer idea than a politician about the interest of student and the need of student as she experience a close contact with student in daily life. Moreover, knowledge of a teacher will be relevant as compared to that of politicians.

On the other side, the people think that if a politician is setting the syllabus it will be general for all student. For instance, a teacher will be specific in certain topics so it will lead to a lack of clarity in other subjects which he/she is of less interest. Further more, the decision of politician will be approved mostly by the people. How ever the knowledge of political person is questionable in terms of student topic. So the suggestions of a person from educational background is necessary to avoid any mistakes.

In conclusion, considering the both sides the need for a relevant governing body is obvious. It will be better for the students future if the suggestion of a teacher is considered before finalizing the topic.


It is true that the government is in the authority to choose what subjects should be included in schools. While I agree to this statement, I also believe that teachers must have equal share in the decision-making.

On the one hand, the government has the right to intervene on this academic matter. This is because the need of the overall population must be catered equally. Being the representative of the public, they have the obligation to uphold the welfare of society and secure its future. For instance, in the Philippines, the government has now implemented subjects that teach practical skills in the secondary level such as food trades, basic electronics and tailoring. Through this program, unemployment of those unable to go to universities could be addressed. As a result, these students are more likely to contribute to society in their adulthood.

On the other hand, I also believe that the teachers should be given opportunity to take part on the subject they are going to teach since they are basically the front lines of education. In other words, teachers are directly involved in mentoring and molding students, which means they receive first-hand the overall standing of these children. If they believe that a certain subject is too hard for a students or inappropriate for their level, they may change the curriculum or even replace it with a more suitable subject. This is because it would be a waste of time if teachers deliver lessons that children could not even grasp.

In conclusion, I believe that the government and teachers play different but important roles in educating the youth. Therefore, I suggest that they must work together in not only deciding the subject but improving the educational system as a whole. By doing so, the overall welfare of the students and society can be ensured.

p.s. i'll be taking my exam on the 21 september. this saturday! i hope you can comment on this and give me tips! thanks for everything simon, i learned a lot from your website. =)

Hi! Simon,

I was wandering if your ebook simply contain the vocabulary list with examples or does it contain more than that? Like for example, structure for writing task-2 essay and etc.

Hope for your prompt answer.


Hi My introduction regarding this topic is AS below;please please comment,indicate the mistakes as well.

Nowadays parents seems to be more concerned about the curricula and skills taught to their children in schools.Although some parents think that teachers can take a better decision regarding this debated issue,I personally believe that it should be regulated by central authorities.

Hi Dung,

You can use all of them! Try Googling each one to see examples of their use.


Hi Arush,

Both are correct. Try Googling "advantages to doing" and "advantages of doing". You'll see that both are normal.



I'm afraid I don't check essays or paragraphs. If I offered this, everyone would send me their work. It wouldn't be fair if I helped one person and not the others.


Hi Johnny,

My ebook contains good vocabulary ideas, but the ideas are written as full sentences (not just lists of words).

The ebook doesn't contain advice about essay structure, but I do send some extra documents that help with that.

Hi Simon sir..thanx a lot

I went this week to a Ielts Masterclass with some Ielts guru here in Sydney, He actually explained the measure what the examiner looking for in Ielts writing. Its was quit clear in terms of which criteria they wanna see in your essay, and which mistakes might give you a lower mark. For example, the question in task 1 and 2 must be answered completely to achieve mark 6. Some questions require 3 or even 4 different paragraphs this will help to answer the questions in the right way.
In summary its was a good experience and I have a changed my view about Ielts right now

Dear Niquee
Watch out using right prepositions

Hi Simon,
which are the differences between using "should" or "ought to"? They are both ok, can I use them as synonyms?

Hi, Simon
I often see in Cambridge IELTS books writing model answer the writer use Pronouns we, you.
I wonder whether it is correct ?

Hi This is the topic Writing task for today

"Every body should stay at school till the age of eighteen".

Agree / Disagree

Hi Simon,

I'm sometimes confused if I have to write 2 aspects in one essay for the agree or disagree questions. I mean, for the questions "to what extent do you agree or disagree", I feel I have to argue agree and disagree reasons although I agree.

Could you kindly advise me how can I write better essay?

I'm confused by the description "The subjects that children". We should talk about the subjects for children, right? Usually for students not in colleague. In most countries a colleague student is regarded as an adult because he/she is already older than 18 years old. Since we are talking about the subjects for those students in high/middle/primary schools, do you think it's not off the topic if we talk about the job opportunities related with what they learn?

Dear Simon,

I have bought your ebook recently, I would like to ask about something on advertising topic which confused me. Should we write "We were persuaded to follow the latest trends." and "We were encouraged to...." as we are using passive voice in both sentence. Or it is because we are telling the truth, so we should use present tense "We are persuaded to follow...". I am not sure which one is right, please help!

Thank you very much and I found your ebook contains a lot of great materials.


I completely understand that u don't offer checking essays here . i appreciate if could give me an advice if i am going in the right direction or not for below essay i wrote today. kindly suggest ...

People have different views about the authority to decide about the subjects that is being taught to children at schools. While some people argue that the teachers should be responsible for this task. But I disagree with the above view .In my opinion Government authorities should be responsible for deciding the actual syllabus for schools.
It is the responsibility of the teachers to deliver a good teaching to students not to make a decision and it is the responsibility of the Government Authority to provide a standardize education which should cater the needs of all the people and to the society. Hence the Government takes this decision by appointing a special committee which consists of experts from education level. This committee decides the Main subjects and the optional subjects that should be taught to children at different ages. It is also responsibility of this committee to add new syllabus as per changing trends and introduce new courses as per the need of the society. This committee reviews the syllabus each year comparing the education standards from developed countries and make amendment’s in the syllabus each year .For example, in India new courses like tailor and mechanical courses have been introduced for the people who could not able to continue their higher studies due to financial issues.
There is no doubt that teachers are the integral part of education .They are the one who teach these subjects to students .There will be too much of variation in the education standard as the knowledge level varies from each individual. The decision taken by the Government authority is less like to go wrong as it involves a group of members who are expertise and the final decision will be only taken after considering all the pros and cons of the implementing.
To sum up, Government Authorities should continue to make the decision on the syllabus that should be taught to children as the decision is taken by considering the needs of the society where as the teachers should be responsible for teaching good education to the children.

Hi everyone,
We use:
Personally, I think the central governments should continue to make these decisions OR Personally, the central governments should.....
Can anyone tell me which one is correct?

Hello Every one ,,
Below is my modified version of the earlier one.
Please feel free to comment..

People have different views about the Authority to decide about the subjects that is being taught to children in schools. While some people argue that teachers should be responsible for this task. I disagree with the above view . I believe the Central Authorities should continue to make decisions.

The job of Central Authority (Government) is to provide an education which should satisfy the needs of the individual and to the entire society. And it is the teacher’s job to deliver good teaching to children. The Government takes the decision by keeping everyone in view. It has a clear understanding of the required skills that is needed currently and in future for the society. So the Government has Authority to take decision about the Main subjects and optional subjects that should be taught in school . For example, Government of india has recently introduced a vocational courses like Tailoring and Mechanical courses for people who couldn’t able to continue the Graduation due to financial crisis. These courses will help them get the jobs through self-employment scheme.

On the other hand , if we allow the teacher’s to take the decision there will be too much of variation in the education standards as the knowledge may vary from each individual. But if the same decision is done by Government there will be less chances of going wrong as the decision taken by Government is done after considering all the pros and cons of implementing and furthermore the Government reviews the syllabus each year comparing to the educational standard of the developed countries and makes changes in the syllabus every year. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide a standardize education throughout the country.

It is needless to discuss the importance of teaching necessary subjects to children, since they are the next generation workforce. Some people believe that teachers should design school curriculums, while others argue that we should leave this responsibility to the politicians. I would say that I partly agree with both ideas.

To a certain extent I agree that asking teachers to determine the subjects taught in schools has several benefits. Firstly, teachers can choose subjects according to interests and abilities of their students and this can promote the process of learning. Secondly, teachers are able to provide students with more up-to-date knowledge and information. They can even use online resources as educational materials. Thirdly, this approach enables teachers to engage students in class discussions. For example, after occurrence of a natural disaster like a massive flood, for instance, the teacher can suggest the class to discuss about environmental issues. It is clear that talking about tangible subjects and hot news encourage children to participate in class discussions.

However, choosing the subjects by the state authorities has also some advantages. In fact, standardizing the previous approach throughout a country seems to be impossible and this can result in too much variation in qualifications of graduates. In contrast, state authorities often invite many professionals with different expertise to discuss, compromise, and finally design a standard curriculum for the students of all over the country. Furthermore, politicians are more aware of the needs of the society and they can think more practically about the required qualifications of undergraduates. So, if they choose the subjects, the students would be trained in a way that can contribute more positively in their society.

In conclusion, I believe that a close interaction between mentioned approaches can make the most useful curriculum for school students. This means that central authorities have to consider the opinions, comments, and feedback of teachers while choosing school subjects.

316 words

Hi Simon,
Are the two paragraphs there supporting the idea that goverment should decides about schools subjects ?

Many thanks

here is mine work based on the outline simon has planned.

Many people hold the view that teachers should determine the courses for children rather than central authorities. Personally, I disagree this opinion and believe that relevant authorities should continue to make these decisions.

The first explanation is that central authorities hold an overall view on education for the benefit of the whole society. As part of government, they know better than teachers what knowledge and skills are most needed in society. For example, authorities decide mathematic as one of main subjects for students and music or second language as an optional course because they believed that mathematic could be an essential skill in economy on the whole. If the subjects are made by some teachers’ preference, the society may end up lacking some sorts of important skills and expertise. After all, teachers’ job is to deliver quality teaching to students so that students can contribute something to the society in the future.

The second reason lies on the standardization of education system. Authorities’ role is to ensure the quality of schooling throughout the country. Setting the same subjects to every school, authorities are able to measure the schooling quality by comparing the achievements of students from each school. If teachers start to decide the subjects, there would be too much variation in standards and qualifications in different schools. Under such circumstance, the quality of education cannot be guaranteed to every child and authorities could hardly find the shortcomings to improve if there was one.

In conclusion, I support that the central authorities should be the one to decide what subjects is suitable for children in school.

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