ZOOS
Many people think that zoos are cruel. Others think they are helpful in protecting rare
animals.
Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.
ESSAY 1
Zoos remain popular places for people to visit for entertainment and to learn about wild
animals. Although some people are of the opinion that zoos can provide a sanctuary for
endangered animals and so should be kept open, I believe that the cruelty that animals suffer
outweighs this benefit, and that they should be shut down.
It is undeniably true that zoos can protect some animals that are under threat from human
activities, such as poaching and the cutting down of rain forests destroying their natural
habitats. This is done by trained staff in the zoo who can ensure the animals are looked after
and can produce offspring. There are several examples of successes like this, including
Pandas, which have been endangered for many years but have recently been taken off the
endangered list.
Nevertheless, there are more convincing arguments for why zoos should be shut down.
Firstly, even though some species are under threat, there are lots of animals which do not fall
into this category and who are there just for the entertainment of visitors. While it may be fun
and educational to see them, animals are not meant to be caged, and their distress can often be
seen in the way many of them pace back and forth all day. Moreover, if the primary reason of
zoos is to protect animals, this could be done in other environments such as wild life parks
where the animals have more freedom.
Taking everything into consideration, animals should be protected but it is not in zoos
where this has to take place. Zoos are cruel to animals, and poles apart from their natural
habitat, thus they should be closed down.
Phrases for:
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expressing your / others’ opinion:
contrast:
listing up:
effect:
giving examples:
referring back (relative pronouns):
concluding:
ESSAY 2
Some concerned groups feel that zoos are cruelly exploitative whereas its proponents argue
they serve the vital function of protecting endangered animals. In my opinion, though zoos
are inherently unnatural, their efforts are laudable overall.
Those activists who decry the existence of zoos often point out how animals live in the wild,
which is in sharp contrast with their living conditions in zoos. A lion in the African Serengeti,
one of the few remaining preserves for lions in their natural habitat, roams over miles of
grassland, hunts for meals and competes with rival prides. This is how lions have lived for
thousands of years and is the natural byproduct of a generational process of evolution. The
same lion placed in a zoo paces a small cage, is tossed already dead meat to eat, and rarely has
other lions to interact or mate with. Therefore it is easy to see why zoos can be considered
cruel institutions, where proud beasts are turned into miserable scavengers.
In spite of this, we have to admit that zoos are essential for the preservation and cultivation
of endangered species. There are countless animals ranging from various big cats (lions,
tigers, leopards, and other sub-species), to pandas, rhinoceros, gorillas, pangolins and many
more that depend on zoos for protection and safe breeding grounds. These animals have been
driven to the brink of extinction either by loss of habitat due to rampant development and
climate change or by being hunted for their fur or alleged medicinal properties. Responsible
zoos are tasked with breeding them in order to stabilise falling populations and then reintroducing them into the wild. It is not hard to see that without these zoos, many species
would likely already have gone extinct.
On balance, it would seem that zoos are fundamentally artificial but also a net positive
because of their conservation efforts. In order to ensure this remains the case, these refuges
must be well-regulated and governments should enact complementary solutions such as antipoaching laws.
Phrases for:
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giving reasons:
expressing opinion:
examples:
contrast:
exmphasis:
effect:
concluding:
linking / referring back:
expressing purpose:
The unrderlined words are C1 level words.
Linking words
RELATING,
COMBINING
ADDITION
CONTRAST
EXPLAINING
which, who, that, where
etc.
In addition,
as well as
not only .... but
Besides,
Moreover,
Furthermore,
Finally,
First and foremost,
Although
However
On the other hand,
yet,
In spite of /
Despite
By contrast,
While / Whereas
Unlike
Conversely,
as / since / because
thanks to / because of /
due to
The main reason why ...
This is why ...
SIMILARITY
EFFECT
Similarly,
By the same token, ...
Therefore,
As a result,
As a consequence,
Thanks to this,
This can lead to ...
GIVING
EMPHASIS
Apparently, regrettably,
surprisingly, clearly,
evidently, fortunately,
unfortunately, hopefully,
interestingly, ironically,
naturally, strangely,
oddly enough,
thankfully, obviously,
understandably
GIVING
EXAMPLES
For instance,
To take another example,
such as
including