DRILLING TEST 1

QUESTION 2
ESSAY WRITING
2019
 KEYWORDS
Question 2
You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on
this task.

We can’t live without friends. What do

you think? Support your answer with
relevant examples. You should write at
least 350 words. [60 marks]
 MIND MAP

Agree Disagree Partially agree

-Help us in times of -Parents are more (Agree)Friends are

difficulties important important
-Need -Can’t live However,
companionship without money (Disagree)Can’t live
-Can confide and -Depend on without money
share emotions technology (Disagree)Parents
are equally close to
us
SAMPEL ESSAY – AGREE
 . SAMPLE ESSAY - AGREE
Introduction Friends are the spice of life. True companions
are there to share our ups and downs. They
-Define
‘friends’ feel our joy when we are happy, and they
provide support in difficult times. Without
companionship we feel lonely. We need
someone close to us whom we can share our
Stand
emotions with. Therefore, I feel that friends
Add Thesis are indispensable and we can't live without
statement them. They help us in difficult times, they
(state 3 keep us company and we can confide and
benefits) share our emotions with them.
1st Point We all have moments when we find
Help us in
difficult
ourselves ensnared in life's predicaments.
times In moments of darkness, it is easy to get
overwhelmed and give up hope. Who is
Elaborate/ there to help us? Only a true friend will
explain
stand by us and help us to shoulder our
burdens. For instance, when we have
Examples financial problem, our friends are there to
help us out. When we fail our exams, our
friends will cheer us up and motivate us
to do better. Therefore, the friends who
Mini
give us support and encouragement in
conclusion
difficult times merit our appreciation.
2nd Without friends, life would be intolerably
Point
lonely. The friends we make when we are
Need
companion young often become our lifelong
ship companions. When we are bored and need
someone to interact with, these friends
Elaborate
can be relied on to give their time and
Examples
energy. We make invaluable memories
with these friends. Whether going on an
adventure or simply catching up over
coffee, the time spent with our close
friends is to be cherished. Without these
Mini friends, life would be dull. Hence, how
conclusion could we possibly live without friends?
3rd Point How much better is enjoying a sunset, watching
Can confide a movie or savouring a delicious meal when the
and share experience can be shared? Having a friend to
emotions share our delight magnifies the emotion. Even if
the friend is not there when we experience
Explanation something wonderful, we make sure to tell our
friend about the experience as soon as the
Example opportunity arises. Confiding our emotions to a
friend is psychologically uplifting. Fun moments
can be relived through the telling. For
experiences that trouble us, talking about them
to a friend can often lighten the burden. Thus,
Add mini having a friend in our life is very essentially for
conclusion our happiness as they can foster positive
feelings when we confide and share our
emotions with them.
Conclusion In short, our friends are there for
Summarise us at every stage of life. They see
points us through dark times by
providing emotional support
when we need it. They offer us
companionship and give us
unforgettable memories. They
make life more enjoyable by
Repeat stand sharing our emotions. I am
grateful for my friends and I
cannot live without them.
SAMPEL ESSAY – DISAGREE
 SAMPLE ESSAY - DISAGREE
Introduction Youths nowadays place great importance in
having friends. With the influence of social
-current
situation: media, friends seem to take centre stage in
people's lives. It is trendy to compare the
Stand number of friends one has on social
networking sites. This sends a strong
Thesis
message that we can't live without friends. I
statement
(state 3 beg to differ. In my opinion, we can live
other things without friends as friends come and go.
that are very Parents are more important and we can't live
important in without money. Also, technology is now
life besides
friends)
integral in our life and we certainly can't live
a day without technology.
1st Point Firstly, parents are absolutely more important
Parents than friends. We can live without friends but
are more
we definitely can't live without parents. They
important
give us life and make our life worth living.
Elaborate/ They care for us and nurture us. When we are
explain faced with great difficulties, friends can desert
us, but we can always rely on our parents to
Example be there for us. They make great sacrifices for
us. Do friends show such commitment?
Parents are the very first people whom we
bond with. They are indispensable. They are
our pillar of strength, emotionally, mentally
Mini and financially. Therefore, we definitely can't
conclusion live without our parents.
2nd In addition, we can't live without money,
Point
either. Money makes the world go round.
Can’t live
without Money gives us food and shelter. People
money often say that rich men have more friends
than poor men. This clearly shows that we
Elaborate
can't live without money. If we do not have
Example money, we have nothing, not even friends.
If we do not have friends but we have
money, we can still lead a good and happy
life as we could still enjoy the comfort of
our homes with our families. Simply put,
money ensures our livelihood, not friends.
Mini Hence, we can live without friends but not
conclusion money.
3rd Point Finally, we are so dependent on technology
Depend on in our modern world that I would strongly
technology contend that we could no longer survive
without technology. Everything in the world
Explanation runs on technology nowadays. Without
& technology, the world would be chaotic.
Example Transport would grind to a halt.
Communication would be hampered
without the aid of technology. Imagine
resorting to snail mail and the abacus, with
no microchips around! In short, we can
Mini make do without friends, but I doubt we
conclusion could live without technology.
Conclusion In conclusion, we can't live
without our beloved
Summarise/
restate thesis parents, money and
statement technology. It is good to
have friends but they are
Repeat stand
not a necessity in our
Final Comment lives. We can definitely
survive without friends.
SAMPEL ESSAY – PARTIALLY AGREE
 . SAMPLE ESSAY – PARTIALLY AGREE
Introduction No man is an island. We make friends
wherever we go, and some stay friends
for life. We rejoice in having lots of
friends. I believe we can't live without
friends, but we also can't live without
Stand our parents or money. This is because
Thesis parents and money also play important
statement roles in our lives as our friends.
Without friends, parents and money,
we are seriously hampered in life.
1st Point Friends are crucial in our life, as a true friend
Friends are will stand by us and help us to shoulder our
important
burdens. They give us support and
Elaborate/ex encouragement in difficult times. Without
plain friends, life would be intolerably lonely.
Some friends are lifelong companions. When
Example we are bored and need someone to interact
with, these friends can be relied upon to give
Mini
their time and energy. We make invaluable
conclusion
Task: memories with these friends and we cherish
Add the time spent together. Hence, without
sentence friends, life would be dull, lonely,
connectors meaningless and, surely then, not worth
where living.
appropriate
3rd Parents are just as important as friends, and
Point
we can't live without them, either. They
Parents
are give us life and make our life worth living.
important They care for us and nurture us. We cannot
too live without our parents because when we
are faced with great difficulties we can
Elaborate
always rely on our parents to be there for
Example us. They make great sacrifices for us.
Parents are the very first people whom we
bond with. They are indispensable. They
our pillar of strength, emotionally, mentally
Mini and financially. In short, we definitely can't
conclusion live without our parents.
2nd Besides parents, we also cannot live without
Point money. Money makes the world go round.
Benefit -An
Money gives us food and shelter. People often
excellent
learning say that rich men have more friends than
tool poor men. This clearly shows that we can't
live without money. If we do not have money,
Elaborate we have nothing, not even friends. Money
Examples allows us to enjoy the comfort of our homes
with our families. Simply put, money ensures
our livelihoods and makes life easier and
more comfortable. Therefore, money plays
Mini such an important role in all aspects of our
conclusion life that it is impossible to live without it.
Conclusion In conclusion, we can't live
Summarise/ without friends, but neither can
restate thesiswe live without our parents or
statement/rep money. We need all three of
eat stand these important elements in our
life to survive. Even if just one of
these three things were to be
Final Comment taken away, life would become a
real challenge. A good life is a life
with parents, friends and money.