9. British Universities and Colleges

The British academic year starts in late September and lasts till June, usually with a month’s break at Christmas and the Easter.

The oldest and best-known universities are located in Oxford, Cambridge, London, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, and Birmingham.

The two intellectual eyes of Britain – Oxford and Cambridge Universities called “Oxbridge” - date from the thirteenth centuries.

English universities greatly differ from each other. They differ in date of foundation, size, history, tradition, general organization, methods of instruction, and way of student life.

In the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the so-called Redbrick universities were founded. These include London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, and Birmingham. During the late sixties and early seventies some 20 “new” universities were set up. Sometimes they are called “concrete and glass” universities. Among them are the universities of Sussex, York, East Anglia, and some others.

After three years of study a university graduate will leave with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc. Later he may continue to take a Master’s Degree and then a Doctor’s degree. Research is an important feature of university work.

10. A student’s life

Let me introduce myself. My name is Tatiana. My surname is Smirnova. I am 18 years old. I am from Vorkuta. I am a first-year student of the Komi Teachers’ Training Institute. I am a future psychologist. So my specialty is psychology. I have a lot of work to do but I try to do my best to master my specialty and work hard. To my mind all things are difficult before they are easy. People say, “No sweet without some sweat”.

I always come in time and never miss classes without a good reason. There are 25 students in our group. All of them are hard-working, kind and jolly. We are always ready to help each other because “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.

I live in a hostel. It is not a long way from the Institute. In fact, it takes me 5 minutes to get to the Institute. I come to the Institute five minutes before the bell rings. So I can have a chat with my friends. We usually have a lot of things to talk about.

I like to study, because knowledge is useful. We study a lot of subjects. My favorites are psychology and methods of teaching. At the Institute I study English but I can’t speak English well yet.

As I am going to work with children I must study hard to be a good specialist.

Примеры эссе

16. Some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age and should spend most of their time on school studies. Others believe that young children should spend most of their time playing. Compare these two views. Which view do you agree with? Why?

People learn through their entire lives. Curiosity was always the basic characteristic of a human being. We always want to break limits and learn more. At this point some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age and spend most of their time on school studies. This will help them to succeed in the future. However, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I think that children should not study at a very early age.

Of cоurse, children who begin to study at a very early age have more chances to succeed in the future. They gain more knowledge and experience which are priceless and valuable. In addition, studying more now they will give them the opportunity to perfect their knowledge in the future and become better professionals.

However, I think that every child must have his or her childhood. Children should learn through playing and communication with their friends and parents. I think that such basic qualities as kindness, self-confidence and just a good sense of humor can not be gained from studying. Children should more time spend with their family, playing and learning with their parents. Imagine that a child instead of playing with his friends does his homework and feel exhausted and tired. Another important aspect of this is that children at their early ages need more exercise because at this age the development of their body is a very essential aspect. Children first of all must be healthy.

To sum up, I think that children should have their careless childhood with no responsibilities. Moreover, I am sure that playing helps them develop not only their bones and muscles but their ability to make decisions, analyze things, make conclusions, which is very good for their future.