ESSAY

An essay is a piece of writing on a particular subject and in which an opinion is given.

There are two options when writing an essay:

 Argue only one point of view.

 Have a balanced discussion comparing advantages and disadvantages/for and
against ideas.

WHEN WRITING AN ESSAY…

 Read the essay questions carefully.

 It is important to keep the focus of the topic question and that all your ideas
and opinions are relevant to the question.

 Support your opinions with reasons and examples. Moreover, ideas need to
be expressed in a clear a logical way, and should be well organised and
coherent.

 Think of a third idea of your own in addition to the two given prompts. If any
of the three essay prompts is missed out the candidate will be penalised.

 The correct use of linking words and phrases (e.g. but, so, however, on the
other hand, etc.) and the appropriate use of cohesive devices (e.g. using
pronouns for referencing) is especially important in essays.
 Use a formal register.

STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN WRITING AN ESSAY

STEP 1 – Read the essay questions and prompts very carefully in order to
understand what you are expected to do.

STEP 2 – Plan what you are going to write and the ideas that you are going to include.
Here you will have to use the task input to help you plan, but try to avoid copying
phrases from the input in Part 1 and use your own words. Nevertheless, it will be here
where you will have to think a third idea of your own.

STEP 3 – Start writing and developing your ideas following this structure:

1. Introduction

2. Prompt 1 development + reason(s)/example(s)

3. Prompt 2 development + reason(s)/example(s)

4. Prompt 3 development + reason(s)/example(s)

5. Conclusion (you may include your opinion here)

STRUCTURE

State the topic clearly, give a brief outline of the issue, saying
why it is important or why people have different opinions about
INTRODUCTION it.
*** Do not express your opinion at the beginning of your
essay.
PARAGRAPH 1 Structure your arguments in each paragraph. Each new
PARAGRAPH 2 paragraph has one main idea, stated in a topic sentence.
Include relevant details to support the main idea: these might
include examples, rhetorical questions (do no overdo it),
PARAGRAPH 3
controversial or surprising statements, etc. If you include a
drawback, give a possible solution, too.
You can recap what you have previously said and then give
CONCLUSION
your opinion on the topic, positioning for or against.

LINKING WORDS AND PHRASES

 To express personal opinions: In my opinion, I believe (that) / I feel (that) / it
seems to me / in my view /as I see it / I think / personally
 To show purpose: to / in order to / so as to / so that
 To list ideas: Firstly / secondly / finally / In the first place / Lastly
 To contrast ideas: However / although / in contrast / whereas / but /
nevertheless / in spite of / despite
 To describe a cause: Because / since / as / due to
 To show a sequence: First of all / then / after that / eventually / in the end /
finally
 To add information: In addition / moreover / what is more / besides / too /
furthermore / and
 To describe a consequence: Consequently / as a result / therefore / so / thus /
for this reason / that is why
 To conclude the topic: In conclusion / to sum up / in short / all in all
MODEL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

MODEL QUESTION 1
In your English class, you have been talking about the subject of cultural heritage. Now your
English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

Is is a good thing that countries spend a lot of money on their heritage?

Notes

Write about:
1. preserving the past
2. investing in the future
3. ________ (your own idea)

Write your essay in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.

MODEL ANSWER 1

Most countries spend large sums of money protecting their national heritage. However,
there is strong argument that we should look forwards and not backwards, spending
less money on preserving the past and more on securing our future.

On the one hand, it is important that we remember our heritage. Once it is lost, it is lost
forever. Caring for important monuments helps with this. It also attracts tourists, which
has an economic benefit for everyone.

On the other hand, governments spend a lot of money on museums and keeping
historic sites in good condition when poor people need houses to live in and
businesses need better roads for transporting their goods.

Another argument is that by making heritage sites attractive for tourists -for example,
by putting on entertainment - we give a very untrue picture of the past and sometimes
damage the local environment.

To conclude, while there are strong arguments for not spending too much on
preserving the past, I believe it is important to protect the most famous sites for the
future generations but it is not realistic to try and save everything. We need to invest in
the future too.

MODEL QUESTION 2
In your English class, you have recently had a discussion about science and young people.
Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

Science is very important in the 21st century. How do you think it could be made more
appealing to young people?
Notes

Write about:
1. television programmes
2. interactive museums
3. ________ (your own idea)

Write your essay in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.

MODEL ANSWER 2

Although young people love gadgets and technology, some see science as
uninteresting and 'uncool'. Over time, the number of young people, particularly girls,
pursuing science and technology studies and careers has dropped.

One way in which science could be made more attractive would be to have lively
television programmes presented by celebrities, with subjects which were relevant to
the experience of the young. We live in a celebrity culture and children identify with
well-known young people.

Another idea would be to set up interactive science museums in every town, where
parents could take their children. It is much better to teach children the principles of
science through hands-on experiments than to lecture them in a classroom.

Of course, there would be more incentives if the average scientit were better paid and
young people were made aware of the range of jobs available. A lot of people are put
off a scientific career because they think it means working in a badly paid job in a
boring laboratory.

Whichever way we choose, it is vital that more young people are attracted to science,
since society's prosperity depends largely on continuous scientific progress.