Several languages are in danger of extinction because they are spoken by very small numbers of people. Some people say that governments should spend public money on saving these languages, while others believe that would be a waste of money.
Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
在写作之前，先跟大家讲一下首尾段的写作技巧，以下是Simon的总结和范例：
Here is a review of my advice for task 2 introductions:(introdution段落写法总结)
· Make the introduction short and do it quickly. The main body paragraphs are more important.(首段要简短，快速完成，主体段才是最重要的)
· Two sentences are enough: 1) introduce the topic. 2) give a basic answer to the question.(两句话足够了：一句引入主题，一句对问题给出基本作答)
Example question:
All high school students should be encouraged to take part in community service programmes.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
My introduction:
Some people believe that high school students would benefit from doing unpaid work in their local communities. I completely agree that community service programmes for teenagers are a good idea.
总结：虽然只有两句话，Simon用了大量的同义替换，避免重复，短小精悍，值得借鉴。
Several people have asked me about conclusions for IELTS Writing Task 2. The main body paragraphs are much more important, so don't worry too much about the conclusion; make it short, simple and fast.(尾段同样不如主体段重要，也要做到简短，快速完成)
Here are some example conclusion phrases for different types of question(以下是四种不同类型大作文的尾段写法):
1. Opinion
For the reasons mentioned above, I believe that... (+ repeat your opinion).
2. Discussion (+ Opinion)
In conclusion, there are convincing arguments both for and against... (topic), but I believe that... (if the question asks for your opinion).
3. Advantages and Disadvantages
In conclusion, I would argue that the benefits of... (topic) outweigh the drawbacks.
4. Problem and Solution
In conclusion, it is clear that there are various reasons for... (topic), and steps need to be taken to tackle this problem.
总结：不同类型的大作文要用不同句型的结尾，这样才能确保总结到位。
接下来大家按照Simon的指示写一下今天的作文，写好对照范文。
完整范文：
It is true that some minority languages may disappear in the near future. Although it can be argued that governments could save money by allowing this to happen, I believe that these languages should be protected and preserved.
There are several reasons why saving minority languages could be seen as a waste of money. Firstly, if a language is only spoken by a small number of people, expensive education programmes will be needed to make sure that more people learn it, and the state will have to pay for facilities, teachers and marketing. This money might be better spent on other public services. Secondly, it would be much cheaper and more efficient for countries to have just one language. Governments could cut all kinds of costs related to communicating with each minority group.
Despite the above arguments, I believe that governments should try to preserve languages that are less widely spoken. A language is much more than simply a means of communication; it has a vital connection with the cultural identity of the people who speak it. If a language disappears, a whole way of life will disappear with it, and we will lose the rich cultural diversity that makes societies more interesting. By spending money to protect minority languages, governments can also preserve traditions, customs and behaviours that are part of a country’s history.
In conclusion, it may save money in the short term if we allow minority languages to disappear, but in the long term this would have an extremely negative impact on our cultural heritage.
· exhibition, exhibit (verb, like 'show'), an exhibit (noun, 'item'), artifact, object, collection, history, science, art, culture, visitors, members of the public, public viewing...
Entertain:
· entertainment, entertaining, enjoy, enjoyment, enjoyable, have fun, interesting, fascinating, spectacular, impressive, leisure time, free time, a day out, tourist attraction...
Educate:
· education, educational, teach, learn, explain, understand, know, gain/expand/pass on/transmit knowledge, skills, experience, open your mind, broaden your horizons...
Simon说，Making lists of related words is a good way to generate ideas. You might not have time to do this in the exam, but it's a useful study technique.列出相关词是一个培养思想的好办法，你可能在考试中没有时间做这件事，但是是一个有用的学习技巧。接下来大家写一下今天的作文，然后和范文对照。
完整范文：
People have different views about the role and function of museums. In my opinion, museums can and should be both entertaining and educational.
On the one hand, it can be argued that the main role of a museum is to entertain. Museums are tourist attractions, and their aim is to exhibit a collection of interesting objects that many people will want to see. The average visitor may become bored if he or she has to read or listen to too much educational content, so museums often put more of an emphasis on enjoyment rather than learning. This type of museum is designed to be visually spectacular, and may have interactive activities or even games as part of its exhibitions.
On the other hand, some people argue that museums should focus on education. The aim of any exhibition should be to teach visitors something that they did not previously know. Usually this means that the history behind the museum’s exhibits needs to be explained, and this can be done in various ways. Some museums employ professional guides to talk to their visitors, while other museums offer headsets so that visitors can listen to detailed commentary about the exhibition. In this way, museums can play an important role in teaching people about history, culture, science and many other aspects of life.
In conclusion, it seems to me that a good museum should be able to offer an interesting, enjoyable and educational experience so that people can have fun and learn something at the same time.
The two charts compare the populations of France and India in terms of age distribution by gender in the year 1984.(第一段不需要太长，简单明了，留下好印象，提起考官兴趣。)
It is clear that the population of India was younger than that of France in 1984, with a noticeably larger proportion of people aged under 20. France, on the other hand, had a significantly larger percentage of elderly inhabitants.(先介绍两个国家整体上最明显的对比)
In India, close to 14% of people were aged 5 or under, and each five-year age bracket above this contained an increasingly smaller proportion of the population. France’s population, by contrast, was more evenly distributed across the age ranges, with similar figures (around 7% to 8% of all people) for each five-year cohort between the ages of 0 and 40. Somewhere between 10% and 15% of all French people were aged 70 or older, but the equivalent figure for India was only 2%.(详细分析两个国家差别最明显的年龄群体并以详实的数据进行描述)
Looking more closely at gender, there was a noticeably higher proportion of French women than men in every cohort from age 50 upwards. For example, almost 3% of French 70- to 75-year-olds were women, while just under 2% were men. No significant gender differences can be seen on the Indian population chart.(最后不忘从性别的角度去分析人口比例的差距。图表中信息已经全部展现，无须结尾)
