School Year: 2011-2012

It is common in Hong Kong secondary schools for older students to tutor younger students in schemes organized by the schools. Your school has such a scheme, but there is a shortage of tutors. You are the Head Boy/Girl of your school. Your principal has asked you to write a letter to all fifth former.........

There is a well-known Chinese saying which translates into English as “Strict teachers produce outstanding students”. What is your opinion? Write an essay giving three reasons to support your views on the saying. Provide a suitable title for your essay.

Strict teachers are the nightmare of student

T.........

The letter

Puzzled by opposition to Englis

As a non-native English speaker I am often baffled by the anti-English sentiments in some quarters of Asia’s world city.

Furthermore it is fascinating to see that while English has an aura of ‘cool’ to youngsters all over the world (including mainland China).........

Recruiting doctors from oversea

There has been much controversy over the issue of recruiting doctors from overseas. It is apparent that there is a serious shortage of medical professionals in public hospitals which seriously affects the quality of service.

Different parties including patients, the go.........

Nuclear Technolog

There has always been controversy of the issue of nuclear energy. Advocates claim that it is the best way to generate electricity while the opposition side stresses the potential hazards of nuclear crisis. The incident of radiation leakage at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, J.........

Recent articles in the media have reported terrible cases of cruelty to animals. One case involved a dog that died because it was kept locked in a cage, without exercise, food, or water. Another involved a man who beat a small dog to death to stop it from barking while he was watching TV. Write a le.........

Recent articles in the media have reported terrible cases of cruelty to animals. One case involved a dog that died because it was kept locked in a cage, without exercise, food, or water. Another involved a man who beat a small dog to death to stop it from barking while he was watching TV. Write a le.........

You are taking part in an essay competition organized by the SCMP and the Education Bureau. The title of the essay is "Hong Kong's new problems".

Write the essay. State what you think are the three most serious social problems in Hong Kong at present and discuss the effects, Then make suggestions on .........

"Helicopter parent" is a colloquial, early 21 st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. The phenomenon of helicopter parents has become more prevalent in Hong Kong and they are blamed f.........

Even though women’s status has been raised over the past few decades, some people still question or complain that gender equality has not been actualized in Hong Kong.  Write an article giving comments on the local situation of gender equality, how far do you agree that there is serious gender inequ.........

Even though women’s status has been raised over the past few decades, some people still question or complain that gender equality has not been actualized in Hong Kong.  Write an article giving comments on the local situation of gender equality, how far do you agree that there is serious gender inequ.........

A recent survey has indicated that more and more people use credit cards nowadays and that the number of tragedies arising from bad debts has been surging over the past few years. Write an essay outlying the advantages and disadvantages of using credit cards, and at the end state your personal view..........

Most people feel that competition is an important part of adult life and that children should be exposed to competitive activities at an early age. Write an essay arguing either for or against the statement, “Children should be involved in competition”.

Children should be involved in competition. Thi.........

Most people feel that competition is an important part of adult life and that children should be exposed to competitive activities at an early age. Write an essay arguing either for or against the statement, “Children should be involved in competition”.

Competition is an essential part of modern soci.........

“Big business is not only about making money.” With reference to the context of Hong Kong, write an article for your school magazine using this comment as a title.  Give three reasons to support your views on the comment.

“Big business is not only about making money”

In China, ever since ancient times.........

Despite the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, many people are still biased against people who are physically handicapped. You feel that more should be done to educate the public against it. Write a letter to the press discussing the kinds of prejudices the physically handicapped face. Sugg.........

Despite the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, many people are still biased against people who are physically handicapped. You feel that more should be done to educate the public against it. Write a letter to the press discussing the kinds of prejudices the physically handicapped face. Sugg.........

Recent articles in the media have reported terrible cases of cruelty to animals. One case involved a dog that died because it was kept locked in a cage, without exercise, food, or water. Another involved a man who beat a small dog to death to stop it from barking while he was watching TV. Write a le.........

Dear Edito

I am writing to express my opinion about the poor work-life balance in Hong Kong and also give suggestions about what people should do to improve their work-life balance.

Hong Kong is a magnet for workaholics.  The average weekly working hours of Hong Kong people is 48.4, which far exceeds.........

The Hong Kong Book Fair is famous for its great diversity and stunning transaction value of book-related goods and services.  Although it is quite business-oriented, it manifests the intellectual and literary sides well.  This year, a talk about short story writing and appreciation, “Guide to Hidden.........

Mary, 29, has been working at her home as a freelancer for five years.  Every morning, she would wake up at 7 a.m., typing fiercely in front of her computer until 3 p.m., and she would then head to a nearby orphanage to be a volunteer for a few hours.

“Working at home gives me much more freedom to my.........

Recently, research found that most Hongkongers work for 44.3 hours per week, which is higher than the standard of healthy working hours.  The poor work-life balance of Hongkongers starts to spark a lot of discussion.  There are a lot of suggested ways to halt the unhealthy trend, including having a .........

SOHO (small office home office) and telecommuting are getting more common in Hong Kong.  With the advanced development of telecommunications, staying at home to work becomes possible.  However, there are various pros and cons regarding having a home office.

One advantage of having a home office is th.........

Good morning everyone

I‘m Chris Wong and I‘m a Form Six student from Happy Secondary School.

Today, I’m glad to be here to talk to you about the joys of being a teenager in Hong Kong.  Let me kick off with a question: Does anyone sitting here not feel happy being a teenager in Hong Kong?  Well, I bel.........

Born and raised by two parents, I could never imagine life without either one of them.  Every time a friend of mine tried to tell me how life sucks after the death of his father, I failed to put myself into his shoes.  Thus, I chose to join the programme ‘Swapping Roles’ to experience and explore a .........

Last month, I took part in a programme called ‘Swapping Roles’.  I had to stay with a single parent family in Sham Shui Po for three days.  Before the stay, I had only heard the word ‘poverty’ in the news, but now, I have had a taste of poverty for real.  I am glad that I grabbed this golden opportu.........

Which sports do you like to participate in? Volleyball? Basketball? Badminton? Snooker? How about squash, bowling or hockey? The sports club is now proposing that all of us should be required to join a sports team, I would like to support this constructive suggestion.

Being a sports team member, our .........

A recent proposal submitted by our school sport club suggests that all students should be required to join a sports team. It sounds nice and beneficial to students’ physical health. But is our school really able to implement such a suggestion? Is it a blessing of just a curse? I have a doubt about .........

Introductio

Hong Kong students are becoming less interested in reading English story books as there are more and more advanced technological products such as the Internet and electric devices diverting students’ attention from the invaluable cultural assets.  There are also students who think that s.........

Poetry is a beautiful language art that we should learn, appreciate and write.  However, it isn’t popular among us Hong Kong students.

There’re a few reasons, namely 3, why we don’t like to learn poetry.

First of all, it requires a wide range of vocabulary for us to write a good poem or song.  For exa.........