Best things in life are (not) for free

SUMMER EXAMS PAPER 1 PART 2

PERSUASIVE WRITING TASK: Write a speech agreeing or disagreeing why the best things in life are for free

I believe that the best things in life are not for free. Today, I will be explaining why I think this. To inform you, points that I will be making in this speech are about: exams, jobs, and childcare. Hopefully this will make you understand, if not convinced, why I think that good things in life are not for free.

To start with: exams. Exam results are one of the most satisfying things that you can get: but you have to work for it for it to be good. Exam weeks are troublemaking, terrifying times and you do not just get good results handed to you for doing nothing. You have to learn and revise if you want to have a good score; even if you want to do something else that seems more appealing instead. This is called ‘delayed gratification’ (when you sacrifice doing something more interesting for something dull). Later on, after exams, you will have a chance to enjoy doing so well and the outcome will be better than doing amusing things instead beforehand. 

The second point I want to make is that even your parents don’t get things given for free: they have to work hard and long to get things. Adults have to get jobs to make money: they work a lot, sometimes even days on end just to get a few pounds. Going to different places can be exhilarating but do you think that your parents go there for free? No, you need to earn money to go to places because it is one of the most necessary things we need in life. Basically, what I am saying is this: if things in life were for free then why do adults have to have a job and work to get money?

Still need more evidence that things in life are not for free? Well then, what if I told you that when you were babies and little kids then your parents (probably) looked after you for days on end! Them looking after you was not easy, and did certainly not come for free. When you got sick, they had to take you to the doctors to help you; they worried for you. Having a child is one of the best things that can ever happen but they also have to take care of you because when you are a baby you cannot do anything for yourself. Having children is a priceless thing and your parents knew that they had to look after you when they had you. They knew that you did not come for free and that they had to care for you in order for you to thrive.

To conclude, I would like to say this: good things in life are not for free. From exams to childcare, you or somebody else has to put in work to get a satisfying result. So I want you to remember: why should everybody else put in hard work if you think everything good in life is for free and without doing work? I hope this speech made you, at least, understand why the good things in life are not for free. Goodbye!

June 2022