Armin's blog

  CPE Essay: E-waste and global pollution Picture credit:  https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-war-on-e-waste-44-7-million-mt-e-waste-generated-in-2016-says-report-1200134/ Task: Summarise the key points of the two input texts and evaluate them adding your ideas. It has been estimated that global pollution is growing at an exponential speed as technological advancements yield more and more products to the market. While measures are being taken to alleviate the ecological impact of the pollution crisis, they seem to fail to cope with the rate at which garbage, including e-waste, is discarded, becoming an increasingly alarming issue. It is true that some authorities and citizens are doing their fair share to reduce pollution. By introducing effective recycling and garbage disposal schemes, they are repurpose or upcycle old stuff, making our world a cleaner place. But as more products are consumed, and more hazardous waste discarded, these efforts seem far not enou...

 CPE Essay: Social behaviour vs. individual expression Centuries ago humans lived in tribes, conforming to their group norms. Anyone not doing so was alienated by the crowd, being doomed to death. Times have changed, and people have evolved to express themselves in the most creative of ways. But how far is self-expression celebrated presently? It seems that individual behavior is not always welcomed by others. This is especially true for cross-generational misunderstandings in some cultures. For example, while young people consider it a norm to use mobile gadgets in transport, the elderly may not think that way. I believe the key to addressing generation gap issues is to acknowledge different conventions of behaviour. But misunderstandings can arise even among peers when teens, for example, adopt unconventional looks to stand out from the crowd. This can raise eyebrows among their friends, let alone those who are much older than them. On the other hand, if we do not express ourselv...

 CAE Report: Orientation week I know the pic is hideous. I just choose to create pics on free AI pic generators rather than steal them.:) The objective of this report is to outline some positive experiences and drawbacks of the freshman week of the faculty of linguistics in Dexter’s College in London and suggest improvements. Positive events During the week, the freshmen were given a campus tour to familiarize themselves with its precincts, which will help them easily navigate their surroundings and avoid being late for classes. Also, codes of behaviour were spelled out with their repercussions in cases of failure to conform to them. Finally, emergency action plans were discussed wherefore the freshmen signed contracts including insurance policy for health coverage. These measures will definitely help students better acclimatize to the campus environment and feel secure. Encountered issues A major omission was the absence of information about the course curriculum. Students...

 CPE Essay: Apprienticeship Programs Source: Upstream: C2 Student's Book by V. Evans and J. Dooley, 2nd edn., p. 163. Recent years have seen a rise in apprenticeship programs as modern challenges of economy require adaptation to employment demands. Both texts discuss the value of such programs for trainees. The first author outlines the benefits young people will gain in vocational training. Firstly, adolescents will gain deep theoretical knowledge of their trade in classroom instruction. Secondly, they will be awarded certificates as a proof of their abilities, which, I reckon, will deem them competitive candidates in the eyes of their future employers. Lastly, being paid for working while learning, young people will not have to look for a side job, but concentrate all their energy on training. I believe that by seeing the work from inside, young people will have a clear perspective of how well they are fitted for a trade, and companies will have an opportunity to train apprentic...

 CAE Report: Students' election habits Picture generated by  https://picsart.com/create/editor?category=miniapps&app=t2i&prompt=elections&projectId=65a291ef1046747e03588c42  . Source:  https://app.engxam.com/cae/writing/2/  . Introduction The principal aim of this report is to present survey results of political science class students regarding their voting practices. Voter involvement and reasons Ten out of the thirty students surveyed claimed to abstain from voting due to their personal beliefs about the local policy. The other twenty students actively participate in elections, for they trust in the ability to influence the outcome of elections. None of these students identified themselves as members of political parties. As regards the students’ preference for a certain policy, only five out of twenty claimed to cast their votes according to their support for single issues, with green policy being the primary issue of concern. The remainin...

 CAE Essay: Government programs to improve the health of population Source of the task:  https://app.engxam.com/cae/writing/1/   Following the discussion with a board of government representatives, it has become clear that the number of lifestyle-induced diseases has increased among the population in recent years. A question has been put forward about what the government can do to keep its citizens healthy. With the burgeoning food industry and the growing speed of life, people often resort to the first comfortable option, be that a wrong food choice or a physical inactivity. Educational institutions fail to stress the importance of nutrition and exercise, and marketing campaigns lure people into excessive self-indulgence with all the ensuing consequences.  Therefore, it is pertinent that the government educate the population about healthy living. By disseminating scientifically backed-up information on food and nutrition, authorities can help the population m...

 CAE Essay: Computer studies at school Source of the task: Succeed in Cambridge English Advanced: 10 CAE Practice Tests: New 2015 format   by Andrew Betsis and Lawrence Mamas That the secondary educational system needs overhauling has been obvious in the past five years. A recent radio program discussed the introduction of computer courses and Ancient Greek and Latin studies to the school curricula. The question is which course school children would benefit from most. With the accelerated speed of technological development and computer sciences, it goes without saying that the introduction of computer studies would open the doors to a myriad of educational and future career opportunities for schoolers. For one, they would be better able to write projects, do some research and produce texts, to name but a few. For another, schoolchildren would be interested in seeking a career in IT, one of the biggest growing fields in demand nowadays. Some might favour for the additi...