LK Abitur Composition Topics
2005-I Voting’s too good for ’em
1. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” (John F.
Kennedy) Discuss.
2. “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” (George
Bernhard Shaw) Discuss.
3. Europe – a promising concept? Discuss.
4. Write a letter to your representative in the European Parliament telling him/her about the issue(s)
worrying you and your generation. Suggest possible solutions.
2005-II From: Redmond, The Wishing Game
1. “I would rather be a coward than brave because people hurt you when you are brave.” (E.M.
Forster) Discuss
2. “Without friends no one would choose to live though he had all other goods.” (Aristotle) What do
you think?
3. Violence at schools has increased over the last few years. Write an article for a quality newspaper in
which you analyse the causes and effects of this development.
4. You have been chosen as a spokesperson of a team which has prepared an interview with the
Minister of Education. Your topic is: “To what extent does school prepare us for life?” Your
questions can be direct questions of suggestions. Write up the interview.
2004-I The right to be beautiful
1. "Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new" (Henry David
Thoreau, 1817-1862). Comment on this statement.
2. The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike
than those who think differently" (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900). Comment on this statement.
3. Your school magazine is doing an English-language dossier on tattoos. You contribute by writing
an article.
4. A reporter talks to an athlete who has tested positive for illegal substances. Write up the interview
published in a sports magazine.
2004-II Timothy Findley, “Dinner Along the Amazon”
1. Has society beome too tolerant of drinking?
2. “Today you need a licence for almost everything but not for having children" was the topic of a
magazine article. Write a letter to the editor outlining the qualifications you think necessary for a
'parenting licence’.
3. "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit famiiy in another city" (George Burns,
1896-1996). Comment on this statement.
4. "The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship" (Sir Francis Bacon, 1561-1626).
Comment on this statement.
2003-I: Plato, Parliament, and the British fox
1. “Democracy is the worst form of government except all the other forms that have been tried from
time to time.” (Winston Churchill) Do you agree with this statement?
2. “The credibility of any political system depends on how it deals with minorities.” Discuss.
3. Is the liberty of the hunter a higher value than the right to life of the hunted?
4. At a fashion show an animal-rights activist has thrown bags of paint at a model presenting a fur
coat.
You have interviewed this activist. Write up the interview for publication in your magazine.
2003-II Boyle, “The Tortilla Curtain”
1. Earlier immigrants to the US usually tried to learn English as quickly as possible; today Hispanics
insist on using their mother tongue. Discuss the consequences this new phenomenon might have.
2. Tourists and immigrants – can their experiences in a foreign country be compared?
3. Does literature have the power to change society?
4. More and more exclusive residential areas in the US are becoming gated communities, walled and
guarded to keep out “undesirable elements of society”. Exville, California, is considering such a
change and has invited all the property owners to an important meeting. You are one of these
property owners and feel you have to convince a majority of your position. Write down your
speech.
2002-I WOOLLY THINKING
1. “Progress is the mother of problems” (Chesterton). Discuss.
2. Should animal rights be protected by the constitution?
3. The European Union is in the process of increasing the number of its member states. Do you
welcome this enlargement?
2002-II From: James Joyce, “The Boarding House”
1. Social background determines a person’s future. Discuss.
2. “Once you are married you are done for.” Would you subscribe to this view?
3. A sense of honour – necessary value or anachronism?
2001-I “A TARGET TOO GOOD TO RESIST”
1. Is America still “the land of opportunity” for young Europeans?
2. In an age of globalization, are Europeans in danger of losing their cultural identity?
3. How has the relationship between the USA and Europe developed since the outbreak of the First
World War? How, in your opinion, is it likely to develop in the future?
2001-II From: Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of growing up in two cultures?
2. What, in your opinion, makes a young man or woman attractive as a permanent partner?
3. Comment on the following statement by the American historian Oscar Handlin: “Once I thought to
write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American
history.
2000-I It’s England’s turn next
1. How can school and university prepare young people for a united Europe?
2. Is government “a necessary evil”?
3. How has Britain’s role in the world changed since the end of the 19th century?
2000-II From: Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”
1. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Discuss.
2. Do women today enjoy equal status and equal opportunities?
3. The relationship between man and woman has often been dealt with in literature. Choose one work
by an English-speaking author and show how this topic is treated.
1999-I Black Brit across the Atlantic
1. In an age of globalization, the concept of national identity has become obsolete. Discuss.
2. Can Britain or the USA serve as an example of a multi-cultural society? Discuss with reference to
the historical development of race relations in the respective country.
3. What makes an international exchange programme successful and rewarding for young people?
1999-II Dad (Frank McCourt)
1. As long as education is served up on a silver platter, it will not be appreciated. Discuss.
2. Parents – still role models for young people?
3. The concept of the American Dream has often been dealt with in literature. Choose one work by an
English-speaking author and show how this topic is treated.
1998-I Cloning
1. “Science is an edged tool, with which men play like children, and cut their own fingers.” (Sir Arthur
Eddington, British astronomer, 1882-1944): Do you agree?
2. Industrial mass production – a blessing or a curse?
3. Manipulation of human life or nature has often provided material for literature. Choose one work by
an English-speaking author and show how this topic is treated.
1998-II David Lodge, “Therapy”
1. Parents should not interfere in their children’s choice of a partner. Discuss.
2. Does marriage still have a chance today?
3. Literature has often been dealt with love in the face of obstacles. Choose one work by an Englishspeaking author and show how this topic is treated.
1997-I Hooray for hypocrisy
1. “We still live in a civilization in which image is more important than substance.” Do you agree?
2. Today politicians deplore the fact that people insist too much on their rights and think too little of
their duties. Is this complaint justified?
3. “Books are for intellectuals – films are for the rest of us.” Discuss.
1997-II The rector’s wife (Trollope)
1. Does non-conformity lead to social isolation? Give reasons for your answer.
2. “What matters above all is the stability of family life.” Discuss.
3. “Children today grow up far too quickly.” Discuss.
1996-I The British monarchy is in a state of second-best equilibrium
1. "I have been quite a provider for the media.” (Princess Diana) What makes the private lives of
celebrities so interesting for so many people?
2. "All men are equal.” Discuss.
3. The pursuit of power has often provided material for works of literature. Choose one example by an
English-speaking author and show how this topic is treated.
1996-II Village School (Laurie Lee)
1. Ambition -- a dubious character trait?
2. "Medicine, law, banking - these are necessary to sustain life. But poetry, romance, love, beauty?
These are what we stay alive for!" (Dead Poets Society) Discuss.
3. School makes the child fit for life. Discuss.
1995-I Is the Going Still Good?
1. Is staying at home an attractive alternative to travelling? Discuss.
2. "I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad." (G. B. Shaw) Discuss.
3. Tourism contributes absolutely nothing to an increasing understanding between nations. Do you
agree?
1995-II Noel (Michael Plemmons)
1. "Christmas isn't Christmas without presents." Discuss the role of material values in our affluent
society.
2. Childhood -- the happiest time of life?
3. The topic of loneliness has often been dealt with in literature. Choose one such work written by an
English-speaking author and explain what effects being lonely has on the protagonist(s).
1994-I What's so heroic about climbing Everest?
1. Mountain bikers – heroes or villains?
2. The ambivalence of being famous.
3. The winning of the American West: gain or loss?
1994-II Sister Carrie (Theodore Dreiser)
1. Living in big cities – heaven or hell?
2. What role should the family have for young people who have left school?
3. The topic of growing up has often been dealt with in literature. Choose one such work written by an
English-speaking author and explain the effects it may have on adolescent readers.
1993-I The Birth of the Global Nation
1. Separatism versus world government. How do you explain these opposing trends?
2. "Nature knows no frontiers." Explain the topicality of this sentence with reference to environmental
problems.
3. Education for peace. What could be done in schools to further this idea?
1993-II The School for Scandal (Sheridan)
1. Do you think the themes in this scene are still of interest today?
2. "The duty of the theatre is to educate." Discuss with reference to at least one play by an Englishspeaking dramatist.
3. Consider the ambivalence inherent in the principle of freedom of speech.
1992-I Science and technology unleashed
1. Is mankind “blundering headlong towards multiple calamity”?
2.What reason do you see for the fact that, even today, mores boys than girls choose a career related to
science and technology?
3. What is your opinion of science fiction as a form of literature? Explain your reasons, referring to at
least one such work written in English.
1992-II The Sensible Thing (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
1. “When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window.” Discuss this saying.
2. Has the telephone destroyed the art of letter writing?
3. Youthful aspirations play an important role in many works of literature. Choose one work by an
English-speaking author and explain why it has impressed you.
1991-I What is the Point of Working?
1. A happy private life and a successful business career -- are they compatible?
2. Would you rather choose a career that provides security or one that tempts you with challenge and
adventure? Explain your choice.
3. Outline the essence and the role of the American Dream in American society.
1991-II Graham Greene “A Drive in the Country”
1. Family outings -- a pleasure or a duty?
2. A regular routine is a necessity. Discuss.
3. Which literary work written by an English-speaking author on the subject of the generation conflict
has made an impression on you? Explain why.