Now read the complete essay and answer the questions

overleaf.

Write at least 300 words to answer the question. Give reasons for your answer
and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
It is often the case that valuable natural resources are found in protected areas
such as natural parks. Some believe that it is necessary to exploit these
resources, while others maintain that the preservation of the environment
takes priority. Discuss both these views and give your own point of view.

When you open a newspaper or turn on a TV nowadays, its common to see a

story about environmental protests. It is clear that many people are passionate
about this topic, and its important to understand why. While our industries
claim that the exploitation of natural resources is vital for our progress,
environmentalists say that we need to look after what we have.
Many people believe that nature must be exploited in order for our world to
advance. Firstly, we all benefit from the products that are created with the
materials that we gain in this way and if we were to suddenly not have this
possibility, our world as a whole would suffer. In addition, people from the
industries involved say that nature is resilient, and can handle us taking a few
things from it. For these reasons, they say that taking from planet Earth is
completely acceptable.
On the other hand, there are also many people who believe that protecting our
environment must be our priority. One reason for this is because we are
damaging the world for future generations. Its possible that we are moving
towards a world where people buy oxygen in cans, and children ask their
parents what did trees used to look like? Environmentalists also state that
while industries are damaging the plant life of an area, native animal life is also
being destroyed, and our world will be a sadder place when so many species
are extinct. Consequently, there are a number of reasons why looking after our
natural areas is important.
To sum up, there are clear reasons why environmental exploitation is an
important part of modern life, and also why protecting nature should not be
forgotten. In my opinion, there is no reason why these two things cannot be
combined because although it would clearly be a tragedy if our flora and fauna
were to be consumed by our greed, with care we should be able to take what
we need from nature without doing any permanent damage. In this way, nature
wins, we win as humans, and the world can continue to become a better place.

(Created by Phil Stoneman, 22/8/16)

(357 words)

1. How does this essay represent direct writing in English?

2. How is unity achieved in the essay?

3. What synonyms can you find in the essay? E.g. nature = environment

4. What linking words can you find in the essay?

5. What aspect of essay writing do you think is the easiest? Which is the
most difficult?

6. What doubts do you have?

(Created by Phil Stoneman, 22/8/16)