Theme 3: Health

Section A

Directed Writing
[35 marks]
[Time suggested: 45 minutes]
Question:

Many students in your school are overweight. They want to lose weight but they do not know
how to diet properly. Write an article for your school magazine on the effective ways to lose
weight as a teenager. Use the points listed below:

 make a realistic goal

- write it down to remind you of your goal
- add an exercise routine to fill goal plan

 practice a healthy diet

- when you snack, choose healthy fruits and vegetables
- drink 8 glasses of water a day

 be active every day

- need 60 minutes of physical activity every day
- help you control your weight and improve your overall health

 record your progress.

- can notice any major changes
- download some great applications (apps) on your smartphone

When writing your article, you must:

• give your article a title
• use all the points given
• write in paragraphs

Note:
For your article, you will receive up to 15 marks for the format and content points, and up to
20 marks for the quality of your writing.

Effective Ways to Lose Weight

 Written by Audrey Sharon
Are you tired of feeling down about your weight? Or perhaps your parents and peers
are bugging you about your double chin? It may be harder to lose weight as a teen because
of all the goodies you see in the canteen, or when you see your friends eating burger.
However, if you are really determined and motivated, then you can do it. Follow these simple
ways and you will be there in no time at all!
The first way you can lose weight is making a realistic goal, and not one that
jeopardizes your health. Write it down to remind you of your goal, and you will be more likely
to stick to it. Start with something simple, do not start off with a ridiculous goal that you will
never achieve, as you will just feel bad when you do not get there. Find some spare time
after school or at sports practice, and add an exercise routine to fill your goal plan.
Next, practice a healthy diet. Note what kinds of foods you are eating. Follow the
patterns of a balanced diet. When you snack, choose healthy fruits and vegetables rather
than candy or chips. You also must drink 8 glasses of water a day. You do not have to drink
them down all at once, but keep sipping all day. It curbs hunger, makes you feel better and
makes your skin glow. If you are craving flavour, drink a low calorie, natural fruit juice.
Other than that, be active every day. Teenagers need 60 minutes of physical activity
every day. You can get this by taking Physical Education or participating in a sport. You can
also do things like walking or riding your bicycle. Being active will help you control your
weight and improve your overall health. The expert says that you will lose weight, as long as
you exercise three to four days a week, and burn more than your calorie intake.
Finally, you could record your progress. This way you can notice any major changes.
Keep a log of everything you eat, every exercise you do, and how many inches your waist is
or whatever kind of body part that needs weight loss. If your diet or exercise changed, you
can see what plan worked best for you. You can also download some great applications
(apps) on your smartphone. They can help you track your progress. Some famous apps are
MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness.
These are some of the ways you can lose weight. As a teenager, you should not take
diet pills or starve yourself. Dieting the healthy way can be difficult, but can definitely be
done. It is important to create a plan around nutritional eating and physical exercise. Diet is
always most effective when combined with other healthy lifestyle choices and a good
attitude.
 Section B

Continuous Writing
[50 marks]
[Time suggested: One hour)

Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.

1. Describe your first visit to the dentist.

2. Healthy Mind, Healthy Body. What can you do to achieve a healthier state of
mind?
3. Passive smoking is worse than active smoking. Do you agree?
4. Prevention is better than cure.
5. Write a story about the days in sick bed. Start your essay with: “I sneezed
continuously and …”
Describe your first visit to the dentist.
Introduction
Begin your essay by saying that visiting a dentist is always the scariest moment in your life.
You recall your first visit to the dentist. You had a toothache. You did not get a wink of sleep
the whole night. You told your mother and she gave a painkiller to lessen the pain.
1st paragraph
Tell when you see the dentist. The pain is getting worst the next day. You could not go to
school. So, your mother forced you to see the dentist. You were horrified, but you had no
choice. On the way to the dentist, your stomach grumbled. Half an hour later, you arrived at
the dentist clinic.
2nd paragraph
Describe what you see at the clinic. As you entered the waiting room, you saw many
patients. They were all awaiting their turn to go in. Most of them seemed to be in great pain.
Some even had swollen cheeks. You sat on a chair and looked through some magazines as
you waited to be called in. Suddenly you heard a scream from the next room. You became
very frightened.
3rd paragraph
Describe about your turn. The receptionist called out your name to go in. The dentist was
really ancient with a mop of snow white hair. She smiled at you with a soft grin that gave you
the chills. At that precise moment, you freaked out. You screamed and quickly ran out of the
room. Your mom and the dental nurse chased after you. You could not escape. You were
taken back to the room and was scolded by your mom.
4th paragraph
Describe the procedure. You sat down on the reclining chair .The dentist asked you to open
your mouth and after careful examination she said that there was a cavity in your tooth. It
would have to be filled. As you closed your eyes, you can hear the machinery going off. It
was loud and was even louder as it approached your mouth. You clinched your eyes as she
began to drill. From time to time she made you gargled your mouth with water. Finally, she
filled your tooth with white cement. The dentist also put a wad of cotton over the area and
she told you to keep your mouth shut for a while.
Conclusion
Going to the dentist was a memory that is always fresh in your mind and every time you go,
you always reflect on that first time you went there 10 years ago. You smile and realize that
the visit to the dentist is not too bad after all. You are thankful to the dentist for having taken
away the pain.
Healthy Mind, Healthy Body. What can you do to achieve a healthier state of mind?
Introduction
Most people understand the importance of having a healthy body. Many people, though,
overlook the value of mental health. Having good mental health can make life more
enjoyable. It can also promote better physical health and endurance. You must take care of
both your body and mind to be truly healthy.
1st paragraph
Explain the first step. When experiencing stress, your brain produces hormones that tell the
body to prepare to respond to a threat. Serious stress can compromise your mental health
and may cause physical symptoms too. One good way to manage stress is through
exercise. Exercise causes the body to release endorphins. Endorphins are neurotransmitters
that make you feel good and inhibit your body’s stress response. They also help to improve
your mood and help you feel calmer.
2nd paragraph
Explain the second step which is get enough sleep. Sleep is a time for your body to repair
and process the stress from the day. It is the time your brain has to unwind. It also allows
your body to relax after using tense muscles throughout the day. Sleep also acts as the reset
button for your stress level. It helps you to avoid serious stress responses such as anxiety.
3rd paragraph
Explain the third step which is build your self-esteem. You should focus on your strengths or
qualities that can help you get through life's challenges. Acknowledging what you value
about yourself will remind you of your worth, which is essential to mental wellness. Valuing
your strengths can remind you of how capable and competent you are. It is also helpful to
write down your thoughts about your strengths, or even start a journal.
4th paragraph
The last step is engage in healthy relationships. Social support is important during difficult
times. Friends and family can offer emotional support and help with stressful life events.
Social support also offers you a place to feel accepted and secure. You should maintain
positive relationship with people around you.
Conclusion
A healthy mind can lead you to a healthy body and a much happier life. As human, we have
the power to change negative thoughts and feelings into positive, rational, motivating
thoughts, and in doing so, help create a healthy mind in a healthy body. We could seek
outside help if we cannot endure our problems.
Passive smoking is worse than active smoking. Do you agree?

Introduction

 Define passive smoking. Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called second-
hand smoke by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when
tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within
that environment. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke causes disease,
disability, and death. Few know how dangerous even passive smoking can be.
Therefore, you agree that passive smoking is worse than active smoking.

1st paragraph
 Tell the statistic you found. The World Health Organisation (WHO) posted alarming
data on their website which stated that "The global tobacco epidemic kills nearly six
million people each year, of which more than 6, 00,000 are non-smokers dying from
breathing second-hand smoke". This means that non-smokers constitute one out of
every 10 tobacco-related deaths.

2nd paragraph
 Second-hand smoke contain more dangerous chemicals. At the burning end of the
cigarette, the combustion takes place at a much lower temperature; hence, the half
burnt chemicals that are released into the atmosphere are much more carcinogenic
in nature. The particles are also smaller, which allows them to stay longer in the air
and go deeper into your lungs. Passive smoking is also responsible for a variety of
disorders such as lung cancer, cardiac ailments and chronic respiratory illnesses like
bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

3rd paragraph
 Exposure to passive smoking is very harmful for children. Children's bodies are in the
developing stage, so exposure to the poisons from second-hand smoke puts them at
risk of severe respiratory diseases and can affect the growth of their lungs. Some
experts say that inhaling smoke is a known cause for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia
and ear infections.

4th paragraph
 Smoke exposure during pregnancy also puts the mother and the fetus at risk. It can
cause a baby to be born too early or to have low birth weight, making it more likely
the baby will be sick and have to stay in the hospital longer. A few babies may even
die. For the pregnant mother, passive smoking increases the risk for placenta previa
(low lying placenta), placental abruption, as well as miscarriage, stillbirth and ectopic
pregnancy.

Conclusion
 You completely agree to the fact that passive smoking is worse than active smoking
and smoking should be overall banned. Increasing awareness will also help to
address the issue. Non-smokers should be made aware about the harmful effects of
 passive smoking so that they can take precautions from their end like standing away
from smokers in public spaces, or reminding the smoker not to smoke in public
.These little steps can also make a huge difference.

Prevention is better than cure.

Introduction

 The proverb ‘prevention is better than cure’ means, it is better to stop something bad
from happening than it is to deal with it after it has happened. If we follow the
prevention measures in all the sphere of life, it will keep us healthy and happy in all
means. This proverb generally relates to our physical and mental health.
1st paragraph

 How this proverb is applicable in our life? Prevention is always better and wiser
technique to avoid diseases and other problems of health which require proper cure.
Cure is a costly regimen which may or may not treat us completely to the normal
level. So, prevention should be the priority instead of seeking remedies.

2nd paragraph
 Give example of a situation. Most of the people suffer from various fatal diseases
which have almost no cure or impossible to cure. Some of the diseases such as
cancers have very expensive treatment. People suffering from cancers are cured by
using very hard medicines having lots of side effects in present or in near future. In
order to remain away from such diseases, prevention is a great key we can be safe
from deadly diseases.

3rd paragraph
 What are the preventive measures? Some preventive measures are drinking clean
water, eating healthy diet at right time, washing hands with soap before and after
taking food and every use of toilet, follow good habits of hygiene, taking enough
sleep, avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs.

4th paragraph
 What benefit can we get? If prevention methods are followed by the people, they
remain safe and happy forever. We should take care of ourselves through proper
prevention methods so that we can be away from cure. We have only one life which
is very important to all of us. We should live it, not destroy by inviting various
problems and difficulties.

Conclusion
 Life can be more happy and peaceful if we become disciplined and follow principles
of this proverb. Prevention is a big tool which benefits a lot than it means. We can
learn how to save ourselves from deadly and fatal diseases.
Write a story about the days in sick bed. Start your essay with: “I sneezed
continuously and …”

Introduction

 Begin your essay with the phrase: I sneezed continuously and shivered with cold.
That night, I felt weak and feverish. The headache became severe until I could not
open my eyes. It was real troublesome. I tried to shout for my mother but no sound
came out.
1st paragraph

 Describe your feverish condition. After struggling for a while, I managed to call for my
mother and she came to my bed. When she hugged me, she found out that my body
was hot and she took my temperature with a thermometer. "What!" she exclaimed. I
was running a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
2nd paragraph

 Describe more about the illness. Soon, I was shivering with cold. My mother covered
me with two blankets but even then my chattering or shivering could not be stopped.
The whole of my body was aching. Mom then realised that I had some red spots with
blisters on my face. Mom began to feel more worried, she called father to come back
home.
3rd paragraph

 What the doctor has said? My parents drove me to the Emergency department at
Columbia Hospital near our house. A doctor examined me and concluded that I had
chicken pox. The doctor gave me an antiviral medicine, two tablets, and a calamine
lotion. The medicine was to be given at an interval of six to eight hours. He also
gave me two weeks of medical leave.

4th paragraph
 What you did at home? I had to stay away from school for at least two weeks as the
disease was highly contagious. I missed my friends so much but no one was allowed
to visit me. I rested in bed and read my story books. It was so boring. My family
members felt sorry for me.
Conclusion

 End the essay with your happy feeling. I followed a strict diet and took medicine
regularly during my illness because I hoped to get well soon. Two weeks later, all the
red spots and blisters were gone. I could finally go out to meet my friends again. I
was overjoyed. It is wonderful to get back to school!