Essay questions for high school entrance exams

1. Opinion question
a. Reading can broaden our minds. Do you agree?
b. Traveling can broaden our minds. Do you agree?
c. Watching TV can broaden our minds. Do you agree?
d. Should students have a part-time job?
e. Should students be encouraged to join voluntary activities?
f. Should students be allowed to use social networking sites such as Facebook?
g. Should children be allowed to use mobile phone at school?
h. Should students be allowed to play video games?
i. Post Offices should be closed. In the age of the Internet, they are no longer
necessary
j. Online games should be banned. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
k. Should teachers give students much homework?
l. People think that secondary school students should only learn such subjects as
literature, mathematics, and English. Write a paragraph of about 120 – 150
words to let people know your point of view your paragraph should include
words should include at least 3 arguments
m. It is said that family and friend are important parts of our life. Do you agree or
disagree? Give some explanation
n. Some research findings on how people live today state that life is much better
today than in the past. Write an essay to express your opinion
o. Grades encourage students to learn. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
p. Should parents have a say in the choice of subjects that children study at
school?
q. Some people believe that school children should be allowed to school to study
the subjects they prefer. Do you agree or disagree?
r. Children of mixed abilities should study together or gifted students should be
allowed to study in a separate school?
s. Some people prefer to study in a boarding school others would like to study in a
day school. What do you prefer and why?
t. Some people think it is better for school children to start learning computers
from an early age. Do you agree or disagree?
u. Some people believe that it is better for school children to start learning a
foreign language since an early age. Do you agree or disagree?
v. It is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in the city. Do you
agree or disagree?
w. It is better for children to grow up in a large family than in a small family? Do
you agree or disagree?
x. Write an essay (at least 200 words) on the following topic: (10 points)
There have been many technological developments in the 20th century, for
example in transport, telecommunications and health.
What technological development do you think has been the most important?
How has it changed people's lives? Have all the changes been positive?
Give reasons for your answer.
y. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Technology has made
the world a better place to live. Use specific reasons and examples to support
your statement.
Write an essay or a composition from 200 to 250 words to state your opinion on
the subject
z. Some people believe that students should be allowed to evaluate their teachers.
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
aa. Children should obey rules and do what their parents and teachers want them
to do? Others believe that parents and teachers should give children freedom to
do what they like. Which view do you agree with?
bb. Some people believe that parents should control the behavior of their children
from a very young age. Do you agree or disagree?
cc. Parents whose children break law should be punished. Do you agree or
disagree?
dd. Some people think that if children are afraid of teachers, it is better. Others
think that having a friendly relation is better. Which view do you support?
ee. Money management should be taught at school? Do you agree or disagree?
ff. Teachers should teach their students to judge right from wrong? Do you agree
or disagree?
gg. Mobile phones should be banned from school. Do you agree or disagree?
hh. Not everything learnt is contained in books. Do you agree or disagree?
ii. Some people think we should raise the age at which children start schooling. Do
you agree or disagree?
jj. Some people say that the only reason for learning a foreign language is in order
to travel to or work in a foreign country. Others say that these are not the only
reasons why someone should learn a foreign language. Discuss both these views
and give your won opinion
kk. Some people say that young people today do not make good use of their leisure
time and that they spend too much time inside watching television and playing
video games and that they should rather spend more time outside engaging in
physical activities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
ll. Some people claim that not enough of the waste from homes is recycled. They
say that the only way to increase recycling is for governments to make it a legal
requirement. To what extent do you think laws are needed to make people
recycle more of their waste?
mm. The education a child receives at home from having parents who are
positive role models is more important than the academic education a child
receives at school.
nn. Some people think that younger generations are becoming less and less polite
oo. People find it very difficult to speak in public or to give a presentation before an
audience. Do you think public speaking skill is really important? Give reasons.
Some people say public speaking should be taught at school. Do you agree or
disagree?
pp. Students at schools and universities learn far more from lessons with teachers
than from other sources (such as the Internet and television). To what extent do
you agree or disagree?
qq. Recent research shows that the consumption of junk food is a major factor in
poor diet and this is detrimental to health. Some people believe that better
health education is the answer to this problem but others disagree. What is your
opinion?
rr. Some people say that young people today do not make good use of their leisure
time and that they spend too much time inside watching television and playing
video games and that they should rather spend more time outside engaging in
physical activities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
ss.
2. Advantage and disadvantage essays
a. What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching TV for children?
b. What are the pros and cons of using social networking?
c. What are the pros and cons of playing computer games
d. What are the pros and cons of wearing school uniform?
e. Sometimes, there are exchange programs for students to go abroad. Would you
like to enroll for one of programs? Give reason for your answer? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of such programs?
f. It is better for children to start using computer from an early age and spend long
hours on it. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
g. Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. Discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of this.
h.

3. Problem-solution essays
a. What should be done to help students do well in exams?
b. What should be done to help children become more responsible?
c. What should be done to help children play more sports?
d. Today school children seem to lack in social knowledge. What should be done to
increase student understanding of social issues?
e. What is a very important skill that a person should learn in order to be
successful in the world today?
f. What should people do to reduce the environmental pollution?
g. Write an essay of at least 200 words on the following topic. The difficulties of
learning English and how to overcome them.
h. Write an essay of about 120 – 150 words making suggestions to bring about
equality between men and women. (gender equality)
i. These days many big cities are facing the problem of serious traffic congestion.
What should the government do to solve this problem?
j. Today, school children often lack in the knowledge of social issues. What can be
done to help them improve their social knowledge?
k. Today, many school children hate to study history. What can be done to
encourage the learning of history at school
l. Today, many school children have poor understanding of the traditional culture
of their community and their country. What can be done to change this
situation?
m. Tourists often choose to visit big cities such as Hanoi or Hochiminh. What can be
done to attract tourists to smaller cities such as Vinh?
n. What are the negative effects of the internet on the lives of students can how
can such impacts be reduced?
o. Violence is increasing at alarming rates at many schools. What can be done to
solve this problem?
p. An increasing number of people decide to learn a foreign language. What is the
most difficult part when learning a foreign language? How can the learner
overcome these difficulties?
q. Many children today find it difficult to concentrate or pay attention at school.
What could you think are the main causes? What are the possible solutions?
r. The amount of household waste is increasing rapidly, particularly in cities. This
has posed a great threat to both the environment and humans. What are the
causes of this and how can this problem be solved?
s. The problem of climate change is seriously affecting the lives of human beings,
especially those who live in developing countries. What can be done to reduce
this problem?
t. The level of noise around us is constantly increasing, and is affecting the quality
of our lives. What cause the noise? What should be done about it?
u.