Discussion Text About Good and Bad Effects of Television

Discussion text is a text that has social function to present (at least) two points of view about an
issue. The text consists of 4 parts i.e. issue, arguement for, arguement againts, and
recommendation.
Here is an example of discussion text for you. The text is discussing about television. The bad
and good effect of television for us.
Television
Television becomes part of our life. Everyday we watch television. We usually watch television
after working, getting together with our family, even when we are working. As the part of our life,
television has bad and good effects. People have different opinion about the negative and
positive impacts of watching TV. The bad effects most people say are TV makes us lack of
movement. We stay for a long time in our TV. It's not healthy life. They also say that TV influence
our daily life. Sometimes we don't realize that we become more consuming after watching
various ads. Some TV shows influence the way children act. The rudeness and violence come to
our house without permission through television. But, the other people say that television has a
good impact. We can get much information from TV. When there is something happened in
another city, we know directly, fastly through the news on TV. TV also makes us relax. After
working all day, we come home and turn on TV to watch funny and comedy videos. We can
conclude that TV has a good and bad effects to our life. Our task is how to choose the good
things and try to take away the bad one. Written by Fadli Eha ~ Sekolahoke.com
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Wahhh berasa Capek setelah menyelesaikan ujian ini,,, Hemm,,, tugas-tugas selai sudah...
waktunya menarik nafas lega barang untuk sejenak, besok tanggal 30 Juni (Cyeee.. berasa
tanggal special banget) sudah penerjunan KKN.. Emmm.. Tita tetep semangat kok.. yuckk..
Mulai Bahas Apa ya topik segar-segar agar otak kita tak terlalu lama melamun.. (ih... yang
melamun mah qt nya, otak tetap berfikir lain ya... hehehhe)
Jujur masih bingung mau review apa kalau habis ujian ini, yahh sedikit-sedikit mengulang
materi saja dweh...
Materi yang aku suka dari kecil memang text. Ya.. Genre of the Text tepatnya..
Pada kali ini, tita lagi seneng nulis discussion Text. Yuck... Let's Check it together... !
1. Apa Sih Discussion Text itu??
Tita gak kaget kalau ditanya pengertian Disccuson text itu apa? Kenyit dahi pastilah
jawabannya.

Sulit ku jabarkan, pokoknya mbahas tentang permasalahan yang di debatkan kak, jawab
salah satu murid lesku.
Hemm...
Pengertian Discussion text yakni sebuah text di mana memberikan informasi, ide, opini, dan
lain-lain tentang suatu hal yang di permasalahkan baik secara lisan atau pun tulisam.
2. Social Function
The Discussion Text present (at least) two points of view of abbout issue.
3. Schematic Structure
Untuk memerjelas, discussion text memiliki structure sebagai berikut:
1. Issue
2. Arguments for and Against statements of differing points of view
3. Conclusion or recommendation
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Language Features
Focus on generic human and non-human participants.
Use of modality and modulation
Use of logical conjunctive relations
Reasoning expressed as verbs and nouns.
Use of material, relational and mental process.

5. Example of Discussion Text

The Ban on Bringing Handphone in School

There are a lot of discussion as to whether students should bring handphone in the
school or not. Is it important for students on bringing handphone when they study
in the school or disturbing students in learning activities.
Some people claim that bringing handphone is important for students. It is one of
communication tools. They also argue that the students need handphone for
making communication such as when they have important information, they can
give the information to their parent directly. For example, If they do not bring the
money or the money is not enough to buy school goods, they are late for go home
because the task must be done with their friends, they need to be pick up, etc.
However, there are also strong arguments against this point of view. Teachers
argue that It is important to ban students bring handphone in school. There are
many disadvantages for students. There are rules in the school, that students do
not bring precious goods. Handphone is one of precious good. Beside that, It
makes social gap, and also It is possible that students can lose their handphone.
Furthermore, they claim that bringing handphone is too disturb in the learning
process. Students will not pay attention to their teachers when they are learning in
the class. They will play It and they think that handphone is more interesting than
teachers explanation.
I think, on balance that bringing handphone in the school is bad idea. There are
many disadvantages. Students should think that it is important to study without
bring the handphone.

http://easylearningenglishforus.blogspot.com/2013/07/discussion-text.html

A discussion text can be very interesting as it present two different views on certain issues, for
example, a discussion text on the topic of working while studying for students. It means the text
presents pro arguments as well as con reasons on certain problem. How does it look like? Read
the following 3 examples of discussion text.
Discussion Tex 1: Students and Part Time Jobs

Working while in the same time going to school is greatly challenging. Both activities can give
you a rewarding experience. However, If you are a student and want to take a part time job,
youd better think carefully before you decide to take it.

A lot of things should be considered before making decision to take a part time job. On the bad
side, working while keeping having a good grade at school is not really easy. It is very hard task.
Taking a part time job reduces your time for doing schoolwork. This less time is the main
negative effect. Because of that limited time, many students who work part time tend to fail to
keep their best both on schoolwork and on examinations.
On the good side, Taking a part time job can helps students to get good financial condition for
living
expenses. Working a part time is a valuable part of a students life. If the students take on
responsibly, they can deserve a valuable thing from working. It is not only about money. In most
cases, they can learn discipline and applicable skills. Taking a part time job also help students to
expand their resume for future career.
Studying and working in the same time consume much time and energy. However if the students
can manage their time and energy wisely, going to school and taking a part time job are possible
to do. So contact your school counselor to discuss further.
Discussion text 2: Becoming Blue Collar Students

For some students, getting a job while they are still in high school is not an option. Working
seems to be a necessity for them, as they might not get any help from their parents to pay for
tuition or for living expenses. Therefore, they may not have any other choices but to accept a
part- time job. However, working is not the only option if there are some better alternatives to
help them.
There are several ways that students can attempt to get the necessary funds that they need, to
pay for tuition, and living expenses. Student loans, grants, and scholarships are the best
alternatives that students should turn to. Instead of working part time while going to school,
attempting to win scholarships will not take much effort. They had better take the challenge to
compete for scholarships than working. Moreover, it motivates students to keep striving to
perform their best at schoolwork.

On the other hand, not many students have the opportunity to compete winning the scholarships.
Taking the same efforts, students with average grade might have less opportunity to win.
Therefore, working through school is a valid option. Finding a way to budget your time between
school and work can take some effort, but its much easier than most students think.
All the students need is discipline. With minimal effort, students should have no trouble striking
a balance between work and school. Working part-time while going to school can easily be done,
if students are disciplined and budget their time accordingly. However, there are actually some
better ways to overcome students financial problems.
Discussion Text 3: Advantage and Disadvantage of Students Taking a Part Time Job

Nowadays, many people think that college students should take a part-time job for several
advantages.
For one thing, it gives the students a chance to know the society to learn to be independent. For
another, they can also get financial reward and working experiences as well, such as teaching or
selling practice, which is helpful to their growth. Whats more, they can put what they have
earned into practice, and know their strong and weak points so that they can improve their
studies and personalities, which are beneficial in their later lives.
However, still many people think taking part-time job may have some negative effects on
students. In their opinions, it will take them much time and energy, and will affect their studies as
a result. Whats worse, some students may be so keen on making money that they may neglect
their studies in the end.
That's all 3 discussion texts. If you need more example on the same genres, see my collection
of discussion text. For who need some explanation on discussion text, see my previous
post what is discussion text?.
Note:
These 3 examples of discussion text is taken and adapted from Priyana, Joko.
Interlanguage : English for Senior High School Student. Jakarta : Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen
Pendidikan Nasional, 2008.
The images illustrating this discussion text is taken from pixabay.com

http://www.englishdirection.com/2013/10/3-discussion-texts-on-topic-ofworking.html

Hacking: Pro and Contra?

Do you know what a hacker is? Well, a hacker is a person who enjoys exploring the details of
programmable systems on computers and they like to stretch the capability of the systems. And you
know what, the activities they do in the computers are called hacking.
So, whats the problem with hacking and its hackers? Well, the problem is whether hacking and its
hackers is legal or illegal? What I mean is that people in the world have many different views about
hacking and the hackers. Some of them take sides, but many object.
To get back to what I was saying previously, let us see the positive points of a hacker, shall we? Although
in most places breaking into computer systems is considered illegal, I believe that hackers dont do
anything illegal because they only want to know and try the systems. I dare to say that a hacker likes
finding the strengths and the weaknesses of a computer system. They feel proud if they can find the
weaknesses. So I dont really see the crimes in this case. In addition, these hackers sometimes help the
police catch the white collar criminals, such as bank robbers, money launderers, credit card forgers. For
example, in 2000, the U.S. hackers caught some Singaporean hackers who made Virus Love to break up
the programs of the U.S. National Security system.
Nevertheless, those who object to the good points of a hacker say that hacking is a crime. The reason is
that some hackers use their brilliant skills to break into banks and other vital institutions where they can
get money, destroy information, and the worst thing is they can get secret information and sell it to
another country. This is a treachery.
Take for example, in 1994, The U.S. government broke a conspiracy of computer hackers out of Majorca,
Spain. These hackers were responsible for accessing and eliminating 190,000 telephone credit card
numbers over computer bulletin boards in America and Europe. Seeing this fact, I dont blame those who
think negatively about hackers.
To put the whole thing in a nut shell, I personally think that hackers are not bad people with their brilliant
skills. However, they could be bad because of money orientation to get the wealth. Thats just the point.

http://bos-sulap.blogspot.com/2010/10/contoh-discussion-text-hacking.html

DISCUSSION TEXT
Hacking: Pro and Contra?
Do you know what a hacker is? Well, a hacker is a person who enjoys exploring
the details of programmable systems on computers and they like to stretch the
capability of the systems. And you know what, the activities they do in the computers
are called hacking.
So, whats the problem with hacking and its hackers? Well, the problem is
whether hacking and its hackers is legal or illegal? What I mean is that people in the
world have many different views about hacking and the hackers. Some of them take
sides, but many object.
To get back to what I was saying previously, let us see the positive points of a
hacker, shall we? Although in most places breaking into computer systems is considered
illegal, I believe that hackers dont do anything illegal because they only want to know
and try the systems. I dare to say that a hacker likes finding the strengths and the
weaknesses of a computer system. They feel proud if they can find the weaknesses. So I
dont really see the crimes in this case. In addition, these hackers sometimes help the
police catch the white collar criminals, such as bank robbers, money launderers, credit
card forgers. For example, in 2000, the U.S. hackers caught some Singaporean hackers
who made Virus Love to break up the programs of the U.S. National Security system.
Nevertheless, those who object to the good points of a hacker say that hacking is
a crime. The reason is that some hackers use their brilliant skills to break into banks
and other vital institutions where they can get money, destroy information, and the
worst thing is they can get secret information and sell it to another country. This is a
treachery.
To put the whole thing in a nut shell, I personally think that hackers are not bad
people with their brilliant skills. However, they could be bad because of money
orientation to get the wealth. Thats just the point.
1. What do you know about discussion text?
2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!

Adoption

Adoption is the process by which people take a child who was not born to them
and raise him or her as a member of their family. By law, adopted children differ from
foster children. An adopted child has all the legal rights of a member of the family that
raises him or her. A foster child does not.
Parents place their children up for adoptions for many reasons. Some parents feel they
cannot adequately care for their off springs because of health or economic conditions.
Some others, especially unwed parent, may not want to raise a child.
But there are couples who cannot have children of their own. Adoption gives
them opportunity to raise a family. They can get one from an adoption agency if they
have all the requirements asked.
State laws prohibited adoption agencies from revealing the identity of the natural
parents to the adoptive parents. These laws also forbid agencies from disclosing the
identity of the adoptive parents to the natural parents. In some states, the law permits
adopted persons who are at least 18 years old to see their birth certificates including the
natural parents names.
On the contrary, many adopted people worked to change the laws. They argued
that people have a right to know their identity. They said that keeping secret their
adoptions records violate their right.
On the other hand, many people feel adoption records should be kept secret. If
not, natural parents might change their minds years later and take the child away from
the parents who raised him or her.
Some experts advise that a child should know of the adoptions by the age of 6 or
7. Surveys have shown that most adopted children develop normally.
1. What do you know about discussion text?
2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!

The advantages and Disadvantages of Distance Learning

A few years ago, distance learning was seen as an inferior way but nowadays
even famous and established traditional colleges and universities are providing distance
learning courses and it is generally considered a way to improve one's life.
However, people still argue whether distance learning give more advantage or
disadvantage. Some of them who see the benefit of distance learning will say that
distance learning needs no commuting. Of course it saves money and time that students
would take. Furthermore, distance learning can be done at any students convenience.
Mostly of the classes of distance learning are asynchronous. It means that students do
not have to attend a lecture at a fixed particular time and place. Students can review the
assignments and do their homework during off-hours or from home. Additionally,
distance learning gives more accessibility. No one can deny it. People with limited
mobility may encounter the problem when they take traditional class. With the online
class system, the problem is absent.
Despite the many advantages, the other people will see that distance learning is
costly and needs complex technology. To attend online learning, student must have a

computer with possibly access to the internet. Admitted or not, such technology devices
are not always available for common students. Another disadvantage of distance
learning is that it does not provide immediate feedback. Unlikely traditional classroom,
students have to wait for the feedback and comment until the instructor has review the
works and sent response to them. Most of the time students will study alone. Distance
learners may feel isolated or miss that social physical interaction that comes with
attending a traditional classroom
Regarding the individuals learning style, some students are able to learn when
there is a live interaction between them and the available of accompanying teacher
while others dont really need it. So before deciding a choice of attending distance
learning or not, each student needs to do a fair analysis regarding the kind of person
he/she is.
1. What do you know about discussion text?
2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!

Living in the big city

Living in a big city has both advantages and disadvantages
On the plus side, it is often easier to find work, and there is usually a choice of
public transport, so you dont need to own a car. Also, there are a lot of interesting to do
and places to see.
For example, you can eat in good restaurants, visit the museums, and go to the
theater and to concerts. What is more, when you want to relax, you can usually find a
park where you can feed the ducks or just sit on a park bench and read a book. All in
all, city life is full of bustle and variety and you need never feel bored.
However, for every plus there is a minus. For one thing, you might have a job, but unless
it is very well paid, you will not be able to afford many of the things that there are to do,
because living in a big city is often very expensive.
It is particularly difficult to find good, cheap accommodation. What is more,
public transport is sometimes crowded and dirty, particularly in the rush hour, and
even the parks can become very crowded, especially on Sundays when it seems that
every city dweller is looking for some open space and green grass. Last of all, despite all
the crowds, it is still possible to feel very lonely in a city.
In conclusion, I think that city life can be particularly appealing to young people,
who like the excitement of the city and dont mind the noise and pollution. However,
many people, when they get older, and particularly when they have young children,
often prefer the peace and fresh air of the countryside.
1. What do you know about discussion text?
2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!

Muslims Headscarf

The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the UN charter and considered

by many to be a basic human right. Some religions require special diet, others prayer at
specific times. Why should a religious mode of dress receive as much protection as these
other aspects of religious freedom?
Many Muslim women view the veil as a means to protect their modesty and
privacy. Just as we would not force any women to be seen in public in her underwear if
she did not feel comfortable doing so, why should a woman be forced to show her hair if
she does not want to? Modesty is a personal judgment call; some are comfortable in the
smallest bikini while others prefer a lot more clothing. No one but the woman herself
should make that decision.
Muslim women are not the only ones to feel coerced over their mode of dress.
Most people are affected by the societal norms surrounding them. Fashion trends could
be seen in exactly the same light as religious traditions.
Banning head coverings is only likely to provoke a more extreme reaction among
highly religious communities. Framing laws to ban only Islamic forms of dress could be
considered an attack on one religion. Feeling under attack could cause the Islamic
community to close off into itself. They could set up religious schools where their
children can dress as they want them to and not mix with children from other faiths.
These effects could never be good for the integration of society and would further the
influence of extremists. Internationally, the perceived attack on Islamic values would
inflame wider Muslim opinion, feed conspiracy theories and add to the dangerous
feeling that there is a clash of civilizations.
Intolerant schools make up problems as an excuse for not allowing Muslims
freedom of religious expression. In a multicultural society, students should be aware of
the different religious practise and cultural traditions of their classmates, and be taught
to understand and respect these. Without such respect, Muslims and other groups with
distinctive dress, such as Orthodox Jews and Sikhs, will be driven out of mainstream
education and forced to educate their children separately, which will really create
divisions and alienation.
Based on the above discussion, the government should not banned Muslims
headscarf as a part of school or office uniforms.
1. What do you know about discussion text?
2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!

Bus Way
Governor Sutiyoso has launched his mass rapid transportation plan. This includes monorail,
subway, water transportation, and Busway. Among the public transportation plan, Busway has been
put into effect. The air conditioned bus fleet with their special roads have been operated since last
year. Now, more routes are being constructed to cover the five mayoralties. In fact, the existence of
Busway makes pros and cons.
Some people consider Busway can solve a traffic problem faced by the metropolitan city.
Everyday millions of people commute from their houses to their respective work places. This badly
needs adequate public transportation. If fifty persons go to their offices by cars, they need fifty cars
roaming on the street. This number of cars can be replaced by only one Busway. Consequently, with
reduced vehicles the streets are less congested. Therefore, it can decline traffic jams. Apart from
reducing traffic jams, Busway easies Jakarta inhabitants to go to their workplace or other
destination. For this reason more access on Busway is being accomplished. Other Busway roads have
been constructed, such as, Kota-Kalideres and Kota-Pulogadung. This definitely make easier for
people who go for recreation to the zoo.

Besides reducing traffic jam and comforting passengers, Busway can minimize air pollution.
As stated, Busway can replace other vehicles in a great number. It apparently declines the danger of
pollution. Less vehicles means less carbon monoxide coming out from the exhausted fumes. As a
result, the residents of Jakarta are less threatened with sickness caused by air pollution. And if
Busway administration can manage the public transport well, Busway can create a new icon of
Jakarta.
Those who resist the exsistence of Busway argue that instead of solving problem, Busway
create a new problem. Busway even makes traffic worse. The Busway line makes the roads narrower.
Narrow roads cause passing vehicles to get stuck especially during rush hours. Furthermore, Busway
adds up corruption that has become a vicious circle in this country. As reported in a newspaper the
purchase of Busway fleet is under corruption suspect. Billions of rupiah are believed to have been
put into the city administrators pocket. In terms of the expense, Busway fare is also much expensive
than an ordinary bus. It costs Rp 3.500,. for one ride, while the common bus only costs Rp 2.000,.
With the difference in bus fare, it is likely that passengers prefer to ride ordinary buses.
Apparently, Busway still creates different outlooks among the residents of Jakarta. In spite
of all the critics, the governor of Jakarta firmly continues to extend its routes.

1. What do you know about discussion text?

2. What is the suitable title of the text above!
3. Determine the generic structure of the text above!
4. Translate the text above into Indonesian!
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