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Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Ownership

The document provides a guide on writing advantages and disadvantages essays, using an interview with businessman Allan Gray as a case study. It includes exercises for matching questions to answers, determining the truth of statements, and discussing opinions on various topics. Additionally, it offers tips on expressing opinions and making predictions about future trends.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
28 views11 pages

Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Ownership

The document provides a guide on writing advantages and disadvantages essays, using an interview with businessman Allan Gray as a case study. It includes exercises for matching questions to answers, determining the truth of statements, and discussing opinions on various topics. Additionally, it offers tips on expressing opinions and making predictions about future trends.

Uploaded by

buithicamly2609
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Advantages and disadvantages essays 2

Running a business
This unit will look further at how to write advantages and disadvantages essays, focusing on this essay
question.

1
Introductory text
You’re going to read an interview with a self-made businessman, Allan Gray. He and his brother set up a
language school from scratch 25 years ago, and the school is now extremely successful, employing around
80 staff.
1 Read the article on the opposite page and match these questions (1-7) to Allan's answers (A-G).
1 Is it difficult to switch off at weekends? E
2 Would you recommend setting up a business to young people leaving university? G
3 Why did you want to work for yourself? Paragraph A
4 What are the difficult parts of running a business? D
5 What kind of person would be suited to running a business? F
6 How long did it take to be successful? C
7 Was it difficult to start the business? B
2 Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the interview.
1 Allan had to take out a loan to help start up the business. T
2 The first few years were fairly successful. F
3 None of the original staff members is still working for the company. F
4 When you start a business, it’s expensive to make people aware of your company. T
5 Allan says it’s possible to completely switch off at weekends. F
6 If your company has problems, you could lose your house. T
7 It’s better to work for a company for a while before you start your own business. T
3 Complete the collocations below from the article using the words in the box.
freedom get go go keep major set up room work work
1 set
………….aup business keep
6 ................ the profits
2 work
................ for myself go
7 ................ bankrupts
3 the freedom
..................to make my own decisions 8 ................
go out of business
room
4 ................ to be creative 9 a ..................responsibility
major
get
5 ..................the credit work
10 .................for someone else
4 Scan the article and find phrases with the same meaning as the expressions in italics.
1 If you make a bad decision, you have to take responsibility for it. (paragraph A) you carry the
can
2 The business is always somewhere in your thoughts, even at the weekend, (paragraph E) in the back of your
mind
3 If the business goes bankrupt, you can lose your house, (paragraph F) could be on the line
4 It’s a good idea to work in a company and learn how to do something from the beginning,
(paragraph G) learn the ropes
5 If you think you would be good at running a business, why not take a risk? (paragraph G) stick your neck
out
6 Set up a business and have a go. (paragraph G) have a crack at it
5 Do you agree with Allan's views about running a business?
2
3
Spotlight 1 Qualifying your opinion
In many cases, when you give your view in the introduction of an opinion essay, your ideas may be
more complicated than ‘I completely agree’ or ‘I completely disagree’. It’s a good idea to learn some
phrases to explain your opinion in a more sophisticated way.
1 Discuss your opinion on these questions with a partner.
• Are exams a good way to assess children?
• Should students or the government pay for university?
• Should all criminals be sent to prison?
2 Read these opinions and unjumble the phrases in italics.
1. I think most people should pay for university, but we should exception / an / make / for people
from poor backgrounds. make an exception for
2. I think criminals should be punished for their crimes, but we should into / take / account the
circumstances of the crime. take into account
3. I agree with capital punishment, but cases / only / some / in. only in some cases
4. I agree with testing children point / to / up / a, but there should be some limits. up to a point
5. Generally speaking, I agree with giving benefits to unemployed people, but I also think on /
depends / it whether they are looking for a job. it depends on
3 Match each of these qualifying phrases with a phrase from Exercise 2 that means the same.
1. consider take into account
2. in some circumstances, but not all only in some cases
3. not too much up to a point
4. do it differently for a small number of people make an exception for
5. on the condition that depends on
4 Complete these sentences using the phrases from Exercise 2.
1. I agree with sending serious criminals to prison, but we should................ the age of the offender.
Young offenders should receive a more lenient sentence. take into account
2. I agree with community service for criminals, but..................For serious crimes, prison is a more
suitable punishment only in some cases
3. I agree with making shops close early on Sundays, but I think we should............... chemists,
because people may need to go there in an emergency. make an exception for
4. I support paying money to people who can’t find a job, but............... how long they are
unemployed. After six months, I think they should have to do a training course to help them find a
job. depends on
5. I think it’s good that students work while they are at university, but only................ They also need
to have enough time to study. up to a point
5 Write down your opinions for the essay questions in Exercise 1.
6 Discuss these questions and write your opinions.
• Should the government support unemployed people financially?
• Should the government be able to control what can be shown on television?
4
Spotlight 2 Giving an opinion about future trends
Opinion essay titles often ask you to make predictions about the future. It’s also common to make
predictions in the conclusion of your essay.
Here’s an example of an opinion essay with a prediction:
People increasingly access the news online these days, rather than buying newspapers and
magazines to find out what is going on.
Some people predict that, because of the spread of Internet news, newspapers will disappear at
some point in the future. Do you agree that newspapers will die out in the future?
1 Write the phrases in bold in these sentences in the correct column of the table below.
1. I can’t imagine people will ever give up newspapers.
2. There’s a fair chance that people will stop reading newspapers.
3. It’s highly unlikely that newspapers will die out.
4. There’s a strong possibility that people will stop reading newspapers.
5. In all likelihood, all newspapers will become free papers in the future.
6. There’s only a slight chance that people will stop reading newspapers.
7. It’s extremely probable that Internet news will become more and more popular.
8. I would be surprised if people stopped buying newspapers in the future.
very likely likely unlikely very unlikely
I can’t imagine

2 What do you think is the likelihood of these predictions coming true? Write sentences using the
phrases in Exercise 1.
1. Mandarin Chinese will become the world’s most important language.
2. People will stop using cars in the future, because of the environment.
3. In the future, most people will work from home.
4. Smoking will be completely banned in the future.
5. Passports will be unnecessary in the future.
6. Oil will run out in the next 20 years.
7. There will be more and more water shortages
Example: 1 I think there’s a fair chance that Mandarin Chinese will be the most important
language, because China is likely to become the most powerful country in the world.

3 Discuss these questions with a partner.


1. Do you think more people will work abroad in the future?
2. Do you think electric cars will replace cars which run on petrol?
3. Do you think people will get married at a later age than they do now?
4. Do you think bookshops and music shops will disappear because of Internet shopping?
4 Make some predictions about your future. Discuss with a partner if, in the near future, you think you
will ...
• change jobs. • buy a house. • get married. • have children.
5
Model essay Opinions
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
It is a common aspiration among many young people to run their own business, rather than work for
an employer.
Do you think the advantages of working for yourself outweigh the drawbacks?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Write at least 250 words.

1 Do you agree with the ideas in the model essay?


2 Read through the model essay and find chunks of language with a similar meaning to these
expressions.
1. Many people have this goal, if is a common aim of many people
2. We need to remember that...
3. Not everyone has the personality to run a business.
4. rather than doing what your boss says
5. in addition
6. on the other hand
7. No one can disagree.
8. There are more advantages than disadvantages.
3 Look at the essay you wrote at the start of this unit. See if you can add some of the chunks in Exercise
2 to your essay.
6
Structure and linking instead (of)

instead of sending letters


instead of having one career for whole life

start their our business


move from one to another instead

locking up teenage criminals in prison, we try to find out the reasons they commit crime and help them

spending a lot of money on defence, its a good idea to invest more money in education

work a maximum of eight hours a day instead of working ten hours a day

7
Relative clause

work at home often miss discussing ideas with colleagues

some countries which spend a lot of money on public transport often have less pollution
in the cites

some people who live in the cities normally have to spend a lot of time getting to work

3 ppl who are single have more personal ppl who live in a big city have more job opportunities
space while ppl who aree married w kids while ppl who live in a small village hve a peaceful
have s.o they care for. life.

which makes it difficult for citizens to find a


suitable accommodations
which means that many ppl
would use public transports.
which enables them to make a
lot of money
which make it easy for them to go out.

which prevents them from being closed.

8
Exam skills 1 Checking and editing your essays

9
Exam skills 2 Using noun phrases

tradition

success rise

globalization frequency

necessity security

availability decline

increase industry

development awareness

technology expense

access improvement

a dramatic cline in job security in recent years.

the increasing access to the Internet.

a considerable improvement in diets in the last few years.

10
2-G
3-B
4-A
5-F
6-H
7-D
8-C

the need to speak

rising cost

rapid development

globalization of business

lower start-up cost

owing to as a consequence of because of thanks to

thanks to the development of Internet, ppl


are able to keep in touch w others from a
long distance.

11

Common questions

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Qualifying opinions allows writers to express their views in a nuanced manner rather than in black-and-white terms. This approach enables them to recognize exceptions, conditions, and varying circumstances, thus delivering a more balanced argument. For example, the use of phrases such as 'make an exception for' or 'take into account' allows the writer to consider different facets of an issue, thereby improving the sophistication and depth of the essay's arguments .

Making predictions about future trends is essential in opinion essays because it demonstrates the writer's ability to think ahead and assess potential outcomes of current issues. This forward-thinking aspect can strengthen the argument by providing evidence of potential consequences and planning for change. For instance, discussing the likelihood that newspapers may disappear due to the rise of Internet news encourages consideration of technological impacts on media industry futures .

Allan Gray suggests that young people should first work for a company to 'learn the ropes' before starting their own business. This approach provides valuable experience and understanding of industry operations. He also advises young entrepreneurs to be prepared for the risk and responsibility that comes with running a business, such as financial uncertainty and the need to remain involved even on weekends. Additionally, taking the time to develop a business plan and secure the necessary resources and funding is essential for success .

The model essay suggests that while personal aspirations to run a business are significant, it's crucial to weigh them against practical considerations such as personal risk tolerance, market conditions, and financial stability. The essay emphasizes the need for honest self-assessment regarding one's ability to handle the responsibilities and potential downsides of entrepreneurship. Additionally, it encourages learning from existing job roles to develop skills and industry knowledge, which could later be applied to personal business ventures, thereby blending dreams with pragmatism .

Acknowledging diverse perspectives in opinion essays is crucial for constructing a balanced and well-rounded argument that resonates with a broad audience. It allows the writer to address potential counterarguments and demonstrate an understanding of the multifaceted nature of social issues. For example, when discussing whether criminals should be incarcerated, considering factors such as the circumstances surrounding crimes and differentiating punishment based on age helps build a more comprehensive and empathetic narrative that reflects societal complexities .

Career decisions are significantly influenced by working conditions. Flexibility, such as the ability to work from home, can improve personal life balance and job satisfaction, making self-employment attractive. Conversely, individuals who value teamwork and interaction with colleagues may prefer traditional employment. The choice between pursuing a peaceful life with personal space in a small village or the increased job opportunities in a city also impacts career paths. The relative importance of these conditions varies depending on personal priorities and lifestyle preferences .

'Learning the ropes' refers to gaining essential skills and insights into business operations and industry dynamics before venturing into one's entrepreneurial journey. Allan Gray recommends that potential entrepreneurs should spend time working within established companies to acquire practical experience and an understanding of industry challenges. This foundational knowledge can be crucial when transitioning to manage one's own business, as it equips aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools and insights necessary for navigating the complexities of running a business .

Using noun phrases in essay writing can significantly improve clarity and conciseness, strengthening the argument. They allow the integration of complex ideas into concise expressions, which can efficiently convey a message to the reader. Techniques such as describing trends ('a dramatic decline in job security') or attributing causation ('owing to the rise in global Internet access') can enrich the content. These structures help organize thoughts and present complex relationships in an accessible format, enhancing the overall readability of the essay .

Allan Gray highlights that a major advantage of running your own business is the freedom to make your own decisions and the ability to work for yourself. This independence allows for personal creativity and the opportunity to keep the profits. However, he acknowledges the disadvantages, such as the difficulty in switching off from the business during weekends and the risk of personal financial loss, including losing your house if the business fails. He also stresses the extensive responsibility involved and the challenges faced in the first few years of starting a business .

The document suggests possible future trends such as the decline of car usage due to environmental concerns. The gradual adoption of electric cars could reduce emissions and pollution, contributing to a more sustainable environment. This shift might be driven by advancements in technology, governmental support for green transportation, and a societal shift towards environmental consciousness. However, it would require significant infrastructure changes, investment, and public acceptance to implement successfully on a large scale .

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