Joy English · Level C2 · Esai argumentatifjoy-english.com
Esai diskursif tentang efisiensi dan kehidupan publik
Nama:Tanggal:
Susun argumen yang seimbang dan terukur dalam esai diskursif: akui, beri kualifikasi, dan simpulkan dengan penilaian yang terukur.
Efficiency and the quiet erosion of public life
It is a commonplace of contemporary life that time saved is time gained. Yet the relentless pursuit of efficiency, so often presented as an unqualified good, may be quietly eroding the unplanned encounters on which a healthy public life depends.
The case for efficiency is, admittedly, not easily dismissed. Automated ticket machines, self-service checkouts and online appointment systems spare us queues and paperwork, and the hours they release can be spent on pursuits we value more highly. Nor should we romanticise inefficiency: a slow bureaucracy has seldom enriched anyone's existence, least of all those with the least time to spare.
Nevertheless, what is gained in speed is frequently lost in incidental contact. The conversation with a pharmacist, the passing remark of a neighbour in a queue, the shared grumble about a delayed train: none of these appears on any balance sheet, yet together they weave the loose fabric of trust that binds strangers. Remove the occasions for such exchanges and one is left with a society that functions smoothly but knows itself less well.
It would be mistaken, however, to conclude that technology is the culprit. The fault lies less in the machines than in the assumption that every transaction is merely a means to an end, to be completed at the lowest possible cost in minutes. Where institutions deliberately preserve a human option, as some libraries and post offices have done, people appear to value the choice even when they seldom exercise it. That reluctance to see the option disappear suggests that we sense, if only dimly, what is at stake.
On balance, then, efficiency deserves to be treated as a servant rather than a master. Planners and employers would do well to ask not only how quickly a process can be completed but also what, if anything, will be lost along the way. A public life stripped of friction may prove, paradoxically, a good deal poorer for it.
Sikap, hedging, dan register
Pilih opsi yang terbaik dalam esai diskursif formal.
- Which sentence hedges most appropriately?
- ___ its undeniable convenience, the system carries costs that are easily overlooked.
- Which linker signals that the writer is about to qualify their own argument?
- Which is the most suitable way to open a final paragraph?
- Which sentence is the most appropriately impersonal and cautious?
- Efficiency, ___ valuable it may be, should not be pursued at any cost.
- Which sentence rejects an opposing view without overstating?
Lengkapi bahasa esai
Ketik satu kata, atau bentuk dalam tanda kurung, untuk melengkapi setiap kalimat.
- The case for efficiency is, ___, not easily dismissed. (a concession adverb)
- None of these appears on any balance sheet, ___ together they weave the loose fabric of trust.
- Planners would do well ___ ask what will be lost along the way.
- The fault lies less in the machines ___ in the assumption behind them.
- It would be mistaken, ___, to conclude that technology is the culprit. (a contrast word)
- Remove those occasions and one is left ___ a society that functions smoothly.
- A public life stripped ___ friction may prove a good deal poorer.
Tugas menulis
Sebagian orang berpendapat bahwa kota harus dirancang ulang sepenuhnya demi kenyamanan dan kecepatan. Tulis esai diskursif tentang sejauh mana kamu setuju. Akui minimal satu poin dari pandangan yang berlawanan, gunakan hedging, dan akhiri dengan penilaian yang terukur.
280–340 kata
Periksa tulisanmu
- Saya membuka dengan gagasan yang layak dipertanyakan, bukan pernyataan topik.
- Saya mengakui poin yang masuk akal sebelum memberinya kualifikasi.
- Saya menggunakan hedging (may, appears to, it could be argued), bukan klaim mutlak.
- Setiap paragraf memiliki satu gagasan utama dan terhubung secara logis dengan paragraf berikutnya.
- Register saya formal dan tidak personal, tanpa kontraksi.
- Kesimpulan saya menawarkan penilaian yang terukur dan tidak sekadar mengulang pengantar.
Kunci jawaban
Sikap, hedging, dan register
- b) Efficiency may well be eroding public life to some extent.May well dan to some extent menjaga klaim tetap proporsional. Yang lainnya mutlak dan melebih-lebihkan.
- a) NotwithstandingNotwithstanding berarti in spite of dan diikuti frasa nomina. Albeit membutuhkan kata sifat atau frasa, whereas membutuhkan klausa, dan lest memperkenalkan akibat yang ditakutkan.
- b) That said,That said memperkenalkan kualifikasi. Likewise menambahkan poin yang serupa, consequently memberikan hasil, dan incidentally adalah komentar sampingan.
- b) On balance, then,On balance, then, adalah cara formal untuk menimbang argumen. Yang lainnya informal atau terlalu santai.
- c) It could be argued that the benefits are overstated.It could be argued that bersifat tidak personal dan berhati-hati. Yang lainnya personal atau bersifat percakapan.
- a) howeverHowever + kata sifat + subjek + may be berarti sebagaimanapun berharganya. Although dan despite tidak memakai struktur ini, dan whatever tidak dapat mendahului kata sifat di sini.
- c) Such a view is hard to sustain.Hard to sustain tegas tetapi terukur. Yang lainnya menghina atau meremehkan.
Lengkapi bahasa esai
- admittedly / undeniably / undoubtedly / certainly / grantedAdmittedly (dan adverbia serupa) mengakui suatu poin sebelum penulis memberinya kualifikasi.
- yet / but / and yet / though / althoughYet (atau but, though) menandai kontras antara dua bagian kalimat.
- toWould do well diikuti to-infinitif.
- thanLess ... than adalah struktur komparatif untuk mengalihkan penekanan.
- however / nevertheless / nonetheless / thoughAdverbia kontras seperti however memperkenalkan kualifikasi.
- withTo be left with berarti tersisa dengan sesuatu setelah kehilangan yang lain.
- ofStrip something of something adalah pola tetapnya.
Contoh jawaban
Few would deny that a city in which every journey is swift and every service immediate has its attractions. Yet a city designed solely for convenience may turn out to be one that nobody much wants to linger in.
The argument in favour of speed is a serious one. Congestion costs time and health, and those who depend on public transport are the first to suffer when it fails. Wide, fast routes and well-timed connections can therefore be defended as a form of fairness as much as of comfort, and it would be perverse to romanticise the delays that the poorest commuters endure.
Even so, convenience is a narrow measure of what a city is for. Streets built to move people as quickly as possible tend to treat them as freight, to be delivered rather than to be met. The pavement café, the market stall and the bench beside a fountain all slow the pedestrian down, and it is precisely this slowness that gives a neighbourhood its character. Where such features have been removed in the name of flow, residents often report that the place has become easier to cross but harder to belong to.
There is, moreover, a practical objection. A city that is optimised for one purpose is seldom robust. Roads widened for peak traffic invite more vehicles; the extra capacity is absorbed within a few years, and the congestion returns, now accompanied by noise and pollution. Planners who pursue speed alone may thus end up with neither speed nor pleasure.
The sensible course lies between the extremes. Rapid, reliable transport for those who need it should coexist with streets that reward the unhurried, and decisions about each should be tested against a broader question: not merely how quickly can people move, but what kind of life does the movement serve? A city that can answer that question has little to fear from the stopwatch.