Families who send their children to private schools should not be required to pay taxes that support the state education system.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
对于这种问你同意与否的作文，Simon做出如下指示：
If the question asks whether you agree or disagree, you need to make your opinion very clear. You can either have a strong opinion or a balanced opinion.
今天我们先来说一下如何写一篇Strong Opinion的作文。Simon说，When you have a strong opinion, you don't need to mention the opposite view. 是的，你没有看错，Simon说你若表达Strong Opinion，则无需提反方观点！现在开始写作文，按照前几期讲过的写作的顺序，第一步，Plan structure:
1. Introduction: 1 sentence to introduce the topic, 1 sentence to make your opinion clear (e.g. I completely disagree...)
2. Main paragraph: support your opinion with a reason
3. Main paragraph: support your opinion with another reason
4. Conclusion: repeat/summarise your opinion
第二步: brainstorm then organise
大家一起来头脑风暴the ideas for a “completely disagree” answer. 以下是Simon想到的Ideas:
difficult to calculate the tax reduction
more government staff would be required for this process
we all pay for public services that we may not need e.g. police
poorer people would pay more tax than wealthy people
state schools benefit the whole of society
high quality state education leads to equal opportunities for all
a well-educated workforce is the key to a prosperous nation
companies need educated staff
we should all be happy to contribute to public services
Some people believe that parents of children who attend private schools should not need to contribute to state schools through taxes. Personally, I completely disagree with this view.
For a variety of reasons, it would be wrong to reduce taxes for families who pay for private education. Firstly, it would be difficult to calculate the correct amount of tax reduction for these families, and staff would be required to manage this complex process. Secondly, we all pay a certain amount of tax for public services that we may not use. For example, most people are fortunate enough not to have to call the police or fire brigade at any time in their lives, but they would not expect a tax reduction for this. Finally, if wealthy families were given a tax discount for sending their children to private schools, we might have a situation where poorer people pay higher taxes than the rich.
In my opinion, we should all be happy to pay our share of the money that supports public schools. It is beneficial for all members of society to have a high quality education system with equal opportunities for all young people. This will result in a well-educated workforce, and in turn a more productive and prosperous nation. Parents of children in private schools may also see the advantages of this in their own lives. For example, a company owner will need well qualified and competent staff, and a well-funded education system can provide such employees.
In conclusion, I do not believe that any financial concessions should be made for people who choose private education.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between equality and personal achievement. Some people believe that individuals can achieve more in egalitarian societies. Others believe that high levels of personal achievement are possible only if individuals are free to succeed or fail according to their individual merits.
What is your view of the relationship between equality and personal success?
从题目来看，篇幅长于普通大作文，内容上信息量大，关键词多，更难于理解。Simon说，这是一个学生发给他的问题，他也表示很难。还帮大家解释了题目中这个单词的释意: 'egalitarian' refers to the principle that people are equal, and deserve equal rights and opportunities. 可理解为平等主义。所以这属于关于平等话题的作文。对于这种超难的问题，Simon给了大家三个建议：
1. Have a strong opinion (e.g. I completely agree that people can achieve more in egalitarian societies.) You can ignore the other view.(你可以采取强硬的立场，如完全支持其中一方，然后可以忽略过反方观点)
2. Focus on the last line of the question (What is your view of...?). This line sums up the whole question very clearly. Just answer this question.(重点关注问题的最后一句，只要将问句回答出来就好了)
3. Use examples as the basis of your argument e.g. free university education ensures equality of opportunity, and therefore allows individuals to achieve more.(用实例作为论据，如免费高等教育保证了机会的平等，因为使得个人取得更大成就)
In my opinion, an egalitarian society is one in which everyone has the same rights and the same opportunities. I completely agree that people can achieve more in this kind of society.
Education is an important factor with regard to personal success in life. I believe that all children should have access to free schooling, and higher education should be either free or affordable for all those who chose to pursue a university degree. In a society without free schooling or affordable higher education, only children and young adults from wealthier families would have access to the best learning opportunities, and they would therefore be better prepared for the job market. This kind of inequality would ensure the success of some but harm the prospects of others.
I would argue that equal rights and opportunities are not in conflict with people’s freedom to succeed or fail. In other words, equality does not mean that people lose their motivation to succeed, or that they are not allowed to fail. On the contrary, I believe that most people would feel more motivated to work hard and reach their potential if they thought that they lived in a fair society. Those who did not make the same effort would know that they had wasted their opportunity. Inequality, on the other hand, would be more likely to demotivate people because they would know that the odds of success were stacked in favour of those from privileged backgrounds.
In conclusion, it seems to me that there is a positive relationship between equality and personal success.
Some people think that governments should give financial support to creative artists such as painters and musicians. Others believe that creative artists should be funded by alternative sources. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
A student asked me for some tips about how to write task 2 essays faster. Here's my advice:
1. The first step is to write better, not faster. If you can't get the score you need when it takes you 2 hours to write an essay, you won't be able to write a good essay in 40 minutes.(写作文首先要好，而不是快。如果给你两个小时也写不出高分作文的话，那你也不可能在40分钟内写出来)
2. One of my students was worried that it took her 4 hours to write a band 7 essay for homework. In my opinion, spending 4 hours to write an essay is a good idea. This kind of hard work leads to great results! The important thing is to be able to write your first band 7 essay. At first it might take you 4 hours, but you will get faster with practice.(一个学生很担心因为她花4个小时才能写出一个7分作文。在Simon看来，花4个小时写作文是个好主意，而且会有很好的效果。要想写得快，首先你要能写出7分作文。尽管一开始耗时较长，但会越练越快。)
3. The next step is to break the 40 minutes into smaller parts. For example, you could practise writing introductions in only 5 minutes. Don't work on full essays yet(下一步就是把40分钟分成小部分。先不急于写满分作文，比如你可以练习用5分钟来写introduction等等，具体时间规划参考Simon大作文9的讲解)
4. Separate the 'thinking' from the 'writing'. I do all my thinking (planning or brainstorming) in the first 10 minutes. When I'm happy with my essay plan, I start writing. I try to stick to my plan so that I can focus on writing rather than more thinking.(将“思考”从“写作”中分离出来。我先用十分钟思考内容要怎么写，当我满意了我再动笔。这样我写得时候更专注。)
5. Finally, remember that improvements happen gradually. You have to be prepared to do the hard work: practising lots of essays and parts of essays, preparing ideas and opinions for topics, building your vocabulary repertoire, and learning from mistakes. Do the work and you'll get better and faster!(最后，记住进步是逐渐发生的。你必须做些辛苦的工作：练习大量的作文和作文的一部分，构建中心思想和意见，建立自己的词汇库，吸取教训，这样你一定会越写越好、越写越快的！)
接下来，大家就按照Simon的指示来写今天的作文吧!写好和范文对照。
完整范文：
People have different views about the funding of creative artists. While some people disagree with the idea of government support for artists, I believe that money for art projects should come from both governments and other sources.
Some art projects definitely require help from the state. In the UK, there are many works of art in public spaces, such as streets or squares in city centres. In Liverpool, for example, there are several new statues and sculptures in the docks area of the city, which has been redeveloped recently. These artworks represent culture, heritage and history. They serve to educate people about the city, and act as landmarks or talking points for visitors and tourists. Governments and local councils should pay creative artists to produce this kind of art, because without their funding our cities would be much less interesting and attractive.
On the other hand, I can understand the arguments against government funding for art. The main reason for this view is that governments have more important concerns. For example, state budgets need to be spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure and security, among other areas. These public services are vital for a country to function properly, whereas the work of creative artists, even in public places, is a luxury. Another reason for this opinion is that artists do a job like any other professional, and they should therefore earn their own money by selling their work.
In conclusion, there are good reasons why artists should rely on alternative sources of financial support, but in my opinion government help is sometimes necessary.
