Sample essay

The remainder of this essay writing tutorial is based on a short sample 'divorce essay' (about 1,000 words).



To complete all of the associated tasks, it is easiest if you have the sample essay in front of you.

A major change that has occurred in the Western family is an increased incidence in divorce. Whereas in the past, divorce was a relatively rare occurrence, in recent times it has become quite commonplace. This change is borne out clearly in census figures. For example thirty years ago in Australia, only one marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure is more than one in three (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996: p.45). A consequence of this change has been a substantial increase in the number of single parent families and the attendant problems that this brings (Kilmartin, 1997).



An important issue for sociologists, and indeed for all of society, is why these changes in marital patterns have occurred. In this essay I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the 'divorce phenomenon' and also consider the social policy implications that each explanation carries with it. It will be argued that the best explanations are to be found within a broad socio-economic framework.



One type of explanation for rising divorce has focused on changes in laws relating to marriage. For example, Bilton, Bonnett and Jones (1987) argue that increased rates of divorce do not necessarily indicate that families are now more unstable. It is possible, they claim, that there has always been a degree of marital instability. They suggest that changes in the law have been significant, because they have provided unhappily married couples with 'access to a legal solution to pre-existent marital problems' (p.301). Bilton et al. therefore believe that changes in divorce rates can be best explained in terms of changes in the legal system. The problem with this type of explanation however, is that it does not consider why these laws have changed in the first place. It could be argued that reforms to family law, as well as the increased rate of divorce that has accompanied them, are the product of more fundamental changes in society.



Another type of explanation is one that focuses precisely on these broad societal changes. For example, Nicky Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995) argues that increases in divorce and marital breakdown are the result of economic changes that have affected the family. One example of these changes is the raised material aspirations of families, which Hart suggests has put pressure on both spouses to become wage earners. Women as a result have been forced to become both homemakers and economic providers. According to Hart, the contradiction of these two roles has lead to conflict and this is the main cause of marital breakdown. It would appear that Hart's explanation cannot account for all cases of divorce - for example, marital breakdown is liable to occur in families where only the husband is working. Nevertheless, her approach, which is to relate changes in family relations to broader social forces, would seem to be more probing than one that looks only at legislative change.



The two explanations described above have very different implications for social policy, especially in relation to how the problem of increasing marital instability might be dealt with. Bilton et al. (1995) offer a legal explanation and hence would see the solutions also being determined in this domain. If rises in divorce are thought to be the consequence of liberal divorce laws, the obvious way to stem this rise is to make them less obtainable. This approach, one imagines, would lead to a reduction in divorce statistics; however, it cannot really be held up as a genuine solution to the problems of marital stress and breakdown in society. Indeed it would seem to be a solution directed more at symptoms than addressing fundamental causes. Furthermore, the experience of social workers, working in the area of family welfare suggests that restricting a couple's access to divorce would in some cases serve only to exacerbate existing marital problems (Johnson, 1981). In those cases where violence is involved, the consequences could be tragic. Apart from all this, returning to more restrictive divorce laws seems to be a solution little favoured by Australians. (Harrison, 1990).



Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995), writing from a Marxist-feminist position, traces marital conflict to changes in the capitalist economic system and their resultant effect on the roles of men and women. It is difficult to know however, how such an analysis might be translated into practical social policies. This is because the Hart program would appear to require in the first place a radical restructuring of the economic system. Whilst this may be desirable for some, it is not achievable in the present political climate. Hart is right however, to suggest that much marital conflict can be linked in some way to the economic circumstances of families. This is borne out in many statistical surveys which show consistently that rates of divorce are higher among socially disadvantaged families (McDonald, 1993). This situation suggests then that social policies need to be geared to providing support and security for these types of families. It is little cause for optimism however, that in recent years governments of all persuasions have shown an increasing reluctance to fund social welfare programs of this kind.



It is difficult to offer a comprehensive explanation for the growing trend of marital breakdown; and it is even more difficult to find solutions that might ameliorate the problems created by it. Clearly though, as I have argued in this essay, the most useful answers are to be found not within a narrow legal framework, but within a broader socio-economic one.



Finally, it is worth pointing out that, whilst we may appear to be living in a time of increased family instability, research suggests that historically, instability may have been the norm rather than the exception. As Bell and Zajdow (1997) point out, in the past, single parent and step families were more common than is assumed - although the disruptive influence then was not divorce, but the premature death of one or both parents. This situation suggests that in studying the modern family, one needs to employ a historical perspective, including the possibility of looking to the past in searching for ways of dealing with problems in the present.

Grammar

When it comes to grammar, nobody are perf... whoops, I mean nobody is perfect. It doesn't matter whether you've always spoken English, or if you grew up speaking another language, English grammar often poses many difficulties for many people.The important thing to remember is that grammar isn't something to learn just for its own sake (because who really cares about the definition of a nondefining relative clause?). Rather, grammar is necessary because it allows us to communicate more clearly. If you can master just a little bit of English grammar, the people you are speaking to, or the people who are reading what you've written, will be able to understand you better.



In these tutorials, you can learn about and practice the use of the passive voice, different verb tenses, or articles like a, an, or the.



The Engineering grammar tutorials section includes additional exercises for Engineering students which may be useful for others.



You can navigate through the tutorials using the menu on the left, but we suggest you work through each of the sections in the given order, using the Next button on each page.

Kebersihan Diri

Menurut kamus dewan edisi ketiga, mukasurat 135, kebersihan bermaksud keadaan bersih(tidak kotor), prihal bersih(air,udara),prihal bersih(hati)kesucian, kemurnian.

Kita mestilah menjaga kebersihan walau dimana kita berada agar negara kita akan sentiasa bersih. Jika negara bersih pelancong asing akan datang ke negara kita secara tidak lansung ekonomi negara kita juga akan bertambah. Hal ini terjadi apabila pelancong menukar wang mereka kepada wang negara kita.

Selain itu, Islam menuntut kita menjaga kebersihan kerana kebersihan itu sebahagian daripada iman. Oleh itu, saya menyeru agar anda menjaga kebersihan diri anda.

Di samping itu, kita hendaklah menjaga kebersihan diri agar orang lain tidak membenci kepada kita. Kita mestilah menjaga kebersihan dari segi fizikal dengan cara memotong kuku, menyikat rambut, memakai baju yang diseterika dan menjaga kebersihan fizikal yang lain.

Selain menjaga kebersihan fizikal kita mestilah menjaga kebersihan mental juga.

Akhir sekali, amalkanlah sikap menjaga kebersihan diri. Semoga tip-tips yang saya berikan menjadi pedoman.......

Hari Pertama Di Tahun 6

213,Jalan Harmoni 6,
Taman Harmoni,Bentong
Pahang, Darul Makmur

5 Januari 2009

Ke hadapan sahabatku,Najihah yang kini berada di kediaman saudari semoga berada dalam keadaan sihat sejahtera di samping keluarga tercinta.

Saudari,

Tujuan saya mengirim surat ini kepada saudari adalah untuk berkongsi pengalaman hari pertama persekolahan saya pada tahun 2009 ini.

Saudari,

Sebaik sahaja saya tiba di sekolah,Atirah, iaitu rakan sekelas saya terkejut kerana saya kelihatan memakai baju sekolah berwarna biru.Maklumlah,pada tahun lepas saya tidak dilantik sebagai pengawas perpustakaan.Selain Atirah,rakan-rakan sekelas saya yang lain juga berasa teruja ke atas diri saya.

Saudari,

Sewaktu perhimpunan rasmi sekolah,Cikgu Zabidi menjadi guru yang pertama sebagai guru bertugas.Beliau juga telah mengumumkan ada beberapa orang guru baru yang akan bertugas di sekolah saya.Untuk pengetahuan saudari, Husna,anak kepada Ustazah Jamila juga bersekolah di sini.

Tentu saudari ingin tahu siapakah yang mengajar saya pada Tahun 6 ini.Untuk pengetahuan saudari,Cikgu Zaidah ialah guru kelas saya juga mengajar kami dalam matapelajaran Matematik.Sains pula di ajar oleh Cikgu Rohani dan Puan Mazra sebagai guru Bahasa Malaysia.Matapelajaran yang paling saya gemari iaitu Bahasa Inggeris akan di bimbing oleh Puan Zalwah.Saya amat gembira kerana dapat di ajar oleh guru-guru yang baik hati.

Saudari,

Sampai di sini sahaja dapat saya menceritakan pengalaman saya di sekolah pada tahun baru.Jangan lupa membalas surat ini dengan pengalaman di sekolah saudari pula.Kirimkan salam saya kepada kedua ibu bapa saudari.

Sahabat saudari,

............................

Surat Kiriman Rasmi - Persatuan Bahasa Melayu sekolah kamu akan mengadakan pertandingan mendeklamasikan puisi peringkat sekolah. Sebagai setiausaha pe

Persatuan Bahasa Melayu,
Sekolah Kebangsaan Ara Rendang,
13220 Kepala Batas,
Seberang Perai Utara.
___________________________________________________________

Guru besar,
Sekolah Kebangsaan Ara Rendang,
13220 Kepala Batas,
Seberang Perai Utara. 16 MEI 2009.

Tuan,

MEMOHON KEBENARAN MENGGUNAKAN DEWAN

Dengan segala hormatnya perkara di atas adalah dirujuk.

2. Persatuan Bahasa Melayu sekolah ini akan mengadakan pertandingan mendeklamasikan puisi 2009 pada hujung bulan hadapan. Sehubungan itu, saya selaku setiausaha persatuan memohon kebenaran pihak tuan untuk menggunakan dewan bagi tujuan tersebut.

3. Tujuan pertandingan ini diadakan adalah untuk mencungkil bakat mendeklamasi puisi dalam kalangan murid-murid sekolah ini. Selain itu, aktiviti bertujuan mencari peserta terbaik bagi mewakilisekolah ke pertandingan mendeklamasi puisi [peringkat daerah.

4. Sehubungan itu, di sini disertakan butiran pertandingan seperti berikut:

a) Tarikh : 29 Mei 2009
b) Hari : Sabtu
c) Masa : 8.30 pagi
d) Tempat : Dewan Terbuka Sekolah

Besarlah harapan saya sekiranya pihak tuan dapat mempertimbangan permohonan ini. Kerjasama dan keprihatinan pihak tuan dalam hal ini didahului dengan ucapan terima kasih.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Yang benar,

Kelvin

(OOI CHONG GHEE)
Setiausaha,
Persatuan Bahasa Melayu,
Sekolah Kebangsaan Ara Rendang.

SURAT KIRIMAN RASMI [PLZZ BACA DAN COMMENT]

PENDUDUK KG AMAN
13200 KEPALA BATAS,
SEBERANG PERAI UTARA,
PULAU PINANG.
...........................................................
PERBADANAN PERBEKALAN AIR PULAU PINANG,
CAWANGAN SUNGAI DUA,
JALAN HAJI TUAN SAID,
13200 KEPALA BATAS,
PULAU PINANG. 30 JUN 2009

TUAN,

ADUAN GANGUAN BEKALAN AIR BERSIH.
-----------------------------------
SAYA MEWAKILI PENDUDUK KG.AMAN INGIN MEMBUAT ADUAN BEKALAN AIR BERSIH BAGI PENDUDUK YANG TINGGAL DI HUJUNG KAMPUNG SERTA BAGI RUMAH-RUMAH SERTA SEKOLAH AGAMA DI SINI.


2.SELAIN ITU,KAMI MENDAPATI BEKALAN AIR YANG DISALURKAN AMAT PERLAHAN SEHINGGA PENDUDUK TERPAKSA MENADAH AIR UNTUK KEPERLUAN ESOKNYA PADA WAKTU MALAM.MASALAH INI AMAT MEMBEBANKAN.


3.MASALAH KETIADAAN AIR BERTAMBAH BURUK APABILA SEORANG BUDAK LELAKI MASUK KE HOSPITAL KERANA MINUM AIR TIDAK BERSIH YANG DIALIRKAN.

4.JESTERU ITU KAMI HARAP PIHAK TUAN AKAN MEYELESAIKAN MASALAH INI SECEPAT MUNGKIN.


KERJASAMA TUAN AMAT KAMI HARAPKAN SEKIAN DARI SAYA.


SAYA YANG BENAR
@#$%AIN & BEN
----------------
[NUR 'AIN SYAHIRAH AZIZAN &BEN 10]
PENDUDUK KAMPUNG AMAN.

小狗的自述

我是一只高贵的小狗，雪白雪白的毛覆盖着全身，有一双水汪汪的大眼睛，又黑又小的鼻子总是湿湿的，嘴巴有毛掩盖着几乎看不清楚，但仔细看还是能看见的。我脸上的毛较短，尾巴上的毛较长，尾巴一竖起来时卷毛便四散开来，美丽极了...... 　

　　我的母亲是纯种德国犬，父亲是马戏团的主角，因此，我即勇猛又温顺，即美丽又健壮，不但像母亲般忠诚，而且像父亲一样常常给人们带来欢笑...... 　

　　我的主人是亿万富翁的独子,所以只要早上舔舔小主人，他就会给我好吃的，蛋糕、罐头、火腿，还有牛奶。他还经常带我去散步，快活极了...... 　
可最近，小主人竟突然不愿理我了，我问了邻居家的阿黄，它说:“最近人类染上了一种流行病，据说是我们动物传染的，而犬类的疑点最多，你要小心。” 　

我原本不信，可就在当天下下午，佣人带来了一个穿白衣服的人，他看见了我，向我扑来，我想不了那么多，连忙奔跑起来......
　
我趁他们不注意，从窗口跳了出去。大不了摔死了算了！何必这样生不如死！我想。 　
可我没死，我跌在了草坪上...... 　

但我并不快乐，我整天过着逃命的生活，走了很远很远......
　
后来,人们又说传染病是由鸡传染的......
　
　　我开始思念我的小主人...... 　
　
　　终于，我来到了主人家门前，可那里人山人海...... 　
　　原来，小主人非常想我，富翁在电视台发了一则启事：有小狗丢失，归还者酬金两万元。并且还附有我和小主人散步的照片...... 　

　　于是,送狗者络绎不绝，小主人却哭着摇头...... 　
　　我正准备叫,一只黑手捂住了我的嘴,我被装进一只黑箱子,我在那呆了一夜.....
　
　　早晨，我才明白，我被一个乞丐绑架了，乞丐准备去领那两万元 酬金，当他路过百货商场时，从 商场的大电视屏幕上又看到那则启事，不过，酬金变成3万元。乞丐阴笑着改变了主意...... 　
　　在接下来的几天，乞丐没有离开过电视屏幕，酬金一天天地涨...... 　

　　我受不了了，终于在一天夜里，我咬断绳子逃回主人的大门前...... 　
天亮了，小主人去上学，他发现了我，他又惊讶又高兴，一下子抱起我...... 　
从此，我又过上了幸福的生活，那个乞丐却永远也得不到酬金了...... 　
　

记叙文 [乞丐给我带来的启迪]

还记得那是个晴朗的下午，妈妈去邮局办点儿事，我和爸爸坐在邮局外的自家车里等妈妈。我打开窗户，任凭凉爽的秋风向我的脸上扑来，感受着秋天的气息。 　

　 　突然，我闻到了一股恶臭，随之而来的是一位看似年过古稀的老人，真是“未见其人，先闻其味”呀！他漆黑“发亮”的脸被乱发遮着，身上的破布袋很沉，压得 背都驼了。他一步一跛，来回的巡视着路面，寻找可用的东西。走到邮局前面，他不再低头寻找，而是打开了手中那破烂不堪的袋子，用那布满了像河沟一样皱纹的 黑手在里面翻找着，从里面翻出一个透明袋，然后，一只手颤颤巍巍地伸进袋里，我看见那袋里是一个个吸过的烟头，短的有一到两厘米，长的也不过是五六厘米。 他挑了一根短的出来，点燃并吸了起来。可能是站累了，他蹲了下来，可一只手却还紧紧地抓住身边的破布袋，怕它“不翼而飞”。他望着穿梭在自己面前的行人与 车辆，眼里满是孤独与羡慕。 　

　 　看着他，我不由得联想到了他平时的生活：一早醒来，他来到了地下通道，开始乞讨，他就那么坐着，眼巴巴地望着来往的行人，只要给他钱，他就乐得开了花。 待到中午时分，他站了起来，走出地下通道，继续向前漫无目标的走着。路上，他不停的往布袋里塞拾来的东西，易拉罐，破布条，报纸……在我们眼里觉得没用的 东西，在他那里却可以派上用场。他就那么不知疲倦的走着，很仔细的找着。忽然，发现了一个剩下的烟头，他捡起来放进嘴里，吸了起来，脸上显出满足的样子。 烟头几口就抽完了，他还是舍不得扔，把它装进布袋里，然后又向前搜索着路面上的东西…… 　

　 　我感到，他们真得很可怜。有时在路上碰到他们，我在心中都会为他们感叹：向他们这般年龄，都可以做爷爷奶奶了，可此刻他们却不能安享晚年，仍旧在为自己 的温饱“奋斗”着。每每经过他们身旁，只要他们在乞讨，我都会忍不住在那小碗中放下自己的一点心意，但妈妈说，我们不该在马路边施舍，那样不是仁慈，而是 愚蠢。你给了一点钱，他就叩头，他靠出卖尊严得到金钱，你的那几个小钱，是不配得到这样的回报的。人应有志，他轻易地以头触地，因为他已没有理想，没有抱 负，不能为祖国奉献，这样的人还有什么价值呢？俗话说：“可怜之人必有可恨之处”，人生的结果，都是自己争取来的，他没有“志”，没有奋斗，理应受到这样 的惩罚！也许他很后悔，后悔年壮时的行为，但此刻已不能再挽回，一切都已经晚了。这样说也许有些残忍，但现实社会就是如此，没有人能改变。 　
　 　这使我想到了我所看到过的一篇文章，这是一位乞丐的自述：“脸贴在冰冷的破草席上，散乱的头发，搭在脸上，遮着眼睛。我闻到臭哄哄的味道，是我的味道， 我已习惯了这种味道。来世上走这一遭，没为任何人、任何事而活。我像一具空壳的游魂，没有魂魄，没有生机，没有思想。我余度的生命，也许就这样了此残生 了。如果时光可以倒流，我想我可以从新做人，可是，这可能吗？我只求如果还可以有来生，有幸再世为人，我一定要好好的生活，让自己拥有人能拥有的一切。如 果有一天我的生命走到了尽头，不会有任何人为我的死亡而落泪，而伤痛。会被社会的公民们埋到乱坟岗中。睡吧，也许只有睡眠才能充实我的思绪，才不会让自己 觉得是个乞丐而内疚，才不会让自己胡思乱想。漫长的冬季，还在继续，地道外的风，还在咆哮，我的明天，也会依然存在。愿上天眷顾我，让我能够再有来生！” 　
　　这是给我感触最深的一段，这样的结果没有人会希望，得到这样的结果没有人会好受。为了我们以后的生活，我们 应从现在开始努力，努力丰富自己，增长知识，探索科学，探索一切自己不知道的东西。想到这儿，我笑了，我想：其实我们每个人都是乞丐，以自己不同的方式乞 讨自己所追求的东西。而乞丐只不过是更直接一点而已，这也是他人生的一种选择。我的心里突然明亮起来。