1. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN
Foundation in Natural and Built Environment (FNBE)
ENGLISH 1
Name: Tan Yincy
ID: 0318355
Module: ELG30505
Session: FNBE February 2014
Due Date: 24th March 2014
Lecturer: Ms. Thivilojana A/P Perinpasingam
Word count: 600-800 Words ( 651 Words )

2. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
1. In some countries young people have little leisure time and are under a lot of
pressure to work hard in their studies. What do you think are the causes and effects of
this condition? Plan your response, and then write a cause or effect essay.
Over the past few years, as the world’s technology is improving, there has been
a significant increase in the standard of education. Academic qualifications are more
important than a person’s capability or personality in the society. So basically, one’s
level of education would affect one’s entire life. Due to this, young people lead a very
stressful lifestyle. In some countries, they have little leisure time and are under a lot of
pressure to work hard in their studies. There are even cases where young people
committed suicide because they could not cope with the pressure and stress. What are
the reasons that actually caused this to happen? In my opinion, self-expectations,
pressure exerted by parents and the educational system are the three main causes.
In this fast-paced and competitive 21st century, reasonable self-expectations can
be a positive pressure. However, young people tend to have a really high expectation
for themselves. Often, these expectations they put on themselves are the most
unrealistic and the hardest to meet. Too much pressure can actually cause a person to
burn out. (Managing expectations, 2014) Furthermore, young people nowadays look at
their academic results too seriously to the point where they would commit suicide if they
could not reach the expectation that they have for themselves. According to Kate, a
child line counselor, some child feel that they will only be accepted as a valuable person

3. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
if they do well in exams. (Jackson, 2004) Self-expectation could also affect us
depending on how much pressure is placed and for how long.
Besides that, parental pressure would also cause young people to be more
stressful. Parents would usually exert pressure on their child to spend at least a few
hours each day studying at home. Some would even arrange extra tuition classes for
their child. As a consequence, young people’s leisure time is extremely limited.
Although every parent did this because they want to see his or her child does well in
school and to have a successful career in the future, but they must remember that there
is only a very thin line between encouragement and pressure. They should not create
unnecessary pressure on their child. (Itgd, 2013) Parents are often not aware of the
important drawbacks of studying hard on their child such as anxiety and depression.
(Smith, Segal, Segal, 2014)
Last but not least, the stressful educational system in our country. Young people
have very heavily packed syllabus of studies that require them to dedicate most of their
time to studying compared to the young people back in the days. (Rios, 2010) The
standard for high school students to graduate, let alone those that could get into a good
university, have raised in just about every aspect. Plus, if they succeeded in getting into
a college or university, they would be greeted with reading assignments, essays and the
expectation to show up in every single class, every day, well-prepared and ready to
jump at any opportunity to speak up and fulfill that 20 percent of their grades. (Rios,
2010) This would definitely contribute to the pressure on young people as they must

4. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
work for really long hours to have good grades. Those who could not cope with the
pressure would then abuse the uses of drugs, such as consuming Adderall.
In conclusion, factors such as high self-expectations among young people,
parental pressure and the stressful educational system is causing young people in
some countries to have little leisure time and are under a lot of pressure to work hard in
their studies. It is in my opinion that although academic achievements are of much
importance, it is also imperative that young people should be given more leisure time
and provide them with a less stressful environment to maintain both their mental and
physical health. It is only with a balanced mental and physical health, can only they
develop their cognitive abilities and creative potentials fully.

5. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
Pre writing: Causes of young people having little leisure time and are under a lot
of pressure to work hard in their studies
Supporting paragraph 1:
 High self-expectations among young people
- Unrealistic goals and hard to meet
- Look at their academic results too seriously
- Some might even think about commit suicide
 Parental pressure
- Parents exert pressure on young people to study few hours a day
- Arrange a lot of tuition classes
- Too much pressure than encouragement
- Not aware of the drawbacks on exerting too much pressure
 Stressful educational system
- Heavily packed syllabus of studies
- High standard for high school students to graduate
- Endless assignments
- Pressure to achieve good grades
- Could not cope with pressure results in drug abusing

6. FNBE Tan Yincy
English I [ENGL0105] ID: 0318355
References
1) Managing Expectations (2014). Reachout.com. Retrieved from
http://us.reachout.com/facts/factsheet/managing-expectations#comments-top
2) Jackson (2004). Exam Stress Can Lead To Suicide. BBC News. Retrieved
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3758359.stm
3) Itgd (2013). Why Students Commit Suicide?. Learn Today. In. Retrieved from
http://www.learntoday.in/blog/why-students-commit-suicide/
4) Smith, Segal, Segal. (2014). Stress Symptoms, Signs, & Causes.
HelpGuide.ORG. Retrieved from
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
5) Rios (2010). Students under pressure more than ever. Daily Titan. Retrieved
from http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/12/students-under-pressure-more-than-
ever/