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# A Letter to the Editor

# Writing Topic - Keeping animals in captivity in zoos

Writing Topic

Recently, there have been discussions about keeping animals in captivity in zoos. Some people think that zoos can educate the general public and are beneficial to scientific research or conservation projects. However, some people think that zoos do not provide natural habitats and that zoos put unnecessary stress on animals. You want to write a letter to the editor to express your view.

Start your letter Dear Editor, and sign it Chris Wong. Write about 220 words.

# Content: A Clear Stance

In reality, we should never completely agree or completely disagree with anything. The merits😇 and shortcomings👿 of a particular policy, plan or a practice usually co-exist.

However, we are no politicians🎭, we are just students 💩. At this stage, you want to be one-sided.

Remember

DO NOT be a fence-sitter🌿.

# Content: Multiple Dimensional Thinking

Can the arguments below convince you?

Issue: Universal retirement protection system (URPS) should be established in Hong Kong

  1. URPS enables the elderly to truly retire instead of having to work until the age of 80
  2. URPS allows the elderly to have a higher quality of life
  3. URPS can protect the elderly from poverty

As a civilised🔆 and educated📖 individual, before we make judgements, we always want to consider the viewpoints from different dimensions.

One of the ways to "dimensionalise" an issue is to think about the stakeholders, in other words, the people who are interested in the issue.

Who may be interested in the issue of keeping animals in captivity in zoos?
  • the visitors
  • students/teachers
  • travel industry (tour guides, travel agencies, zookeepers)
  • biologists
  • animal rights advocates
  • the animals🐻🐯🐨🐼
  • the government

Think about it

Why is each of them interested in the issue?

We can also organize the viewpoints by different perspectives. For instance,

  • Economic perspective
  • Social perspective
  • Educational perspective
  • Ethical/moral perspective
  • The alternatives

Think about it

Educationally, how does the practice of "keeping animals in captivity in zoos" benefit/harm the society?

# Content: Multiple Types of Evidence

Remember that whatever you write has to be somewhat evidence-based or fact-based. Or else, your arguments will be worse than a piece of fake news.

An image Even fake news is evidence-based, though the evidence is fake

An example of an evidence-less argumment

Ecotourism would help develop Hong Kong people’s awareness towards environmental protection. If ecotourism is promoted, people will have more chance to reflect on the effect they have on the environment. This can encourage them to use fewer resources like water and electricity out of respect for nature and wildlife so that Hong Kong would become less polluted.

Possible Attack: How do you know that "if ecotourism is promoted, people will have more chance to reflect on the effect they have on the environment."?

Possible add-on: A number of studies have concluded that ecotourism is significantly more effective in educating people than that of zoos.

# Sometimes we simply don't have any evidence

I know it is not practical make every sentence evidence-based🙊. In this case, we can make use of some language skills to sort things out😏, such as

- A number of studies have concluded ...
- Scientists have found that ...
- Scholars discovered that ...
- A nation-wide survey reflected that ...

However, if possible, try to include some evidence in your essay. It will be best if you can include multiple types of evidence, such as

  • First hand
    • Questionnaire
    • Observation/Site Visit/Personal Experience
    • Big data
  • Second hand
    • News Reports
    • Websites/Magazines
  • Imaginary (though experiment)
    • If I were..., I would be...

# Language: Apply grammar items to present arguments

When teachers mark your essay, they want to see you apply the grammar items that you have recently learnt. Being able to use a wide range of grammar items to express can effectively demonstrate your language competence. Examples include...

What grammar item do we use when we quote others?

Reported Speech

E.g. The director of the Galápagos National Park said the breeding program of Diego the Tortoise had saved the entire species. source

What grammar item do we use when we ask readers to imagine something?

Type 2 conditional

E.g. If you were one of those animals locked up in a cage, would you feel happy?

What grammar item do we use when we want to show something is likely to happen?

Type 1 conditional

E.g. If animals are kept in a zoo, children will be able to have a close contact with the animals in a relatively safe settings.

What grammar item do we use when we want to link up two sentences by a common subject/object?

Relative clauses

Endangered animals can live in a protected area, where they do not have to worry about the threat of their predators or hunters.

# Language: Use a wide range of expressions

Good writers never repeat their words. They try to vary the ways to talk about the same idea.

Variations for "keep animals in captivity in zoos"

  • lock animals up in cages
  • imprison animals
  • put animals behind the bars

Variations for "It is cruel"

  • It is inhumane
  • It is brutal
  • It is a vicious practice