For Question 8 in the Writing Test, you will be asked to write an essay in which

you explain your opinion about an issue. You will have to state your opinion and then
support it with specific reasons and examples. You will have 30 minutes to plan and write
your essay. Your essay should be about 300 words long. You will be scored on your ability
to organize and support your ideas and to use appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

You may be asked to express your opinion on such topics as:

» Work issues » Shopping practices
» Travel and transportation choices » Leisure time activities
» Friendships and family

QUICK GUIDE: Write an Opinion Essay

Definition Question 8 tests your ability to develop an opinion essay with a clear thesis
statement and supporting ideas.

Targeted Skills In order to correctly respond to Question 8, you should be able to:
• express your opinion in a thesis statement.
• develop paragraphs that support your thesis statement.
• connect your ideas with transition words.
• write grammatically correct sentences.
• use appropriate and varied vocabulary.

Question Types A good response has a clear thesis statement, two

or three supporting ideas that are developed in
separate paragraphs, and a strong conclusion.
Grammar and vocabulary errors are minimal and
don’t interfere with understanding the ideas.

1. First, write a thesis statement that clearly and

simply states the opinion that your essay will
A Good support.
Response 2. Think of two or three ideas to support your
opinion. Use these ideas to develop your essay,
Things to Remember writing one paragraph about each idea.
In Question 8, you will be asked to write an essay 3. Restate your opinion in the conclusion.
in which you do one of the following:
• Express a general opinion
• Agree or disagree with a statement
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a
situation
• Explain your preference for something
• Explain the importance of something
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 WALK THROUGH: Write an Opinion Essay
A What You’ll See
For Question 8, you will see and hear the directions, and then you will see an opinion
question. The question will remain on the screen while you write. Read the question below.
Think about how you could state your opinion about this issue.

Writing Test HELP \ BACK ^ NEXT ^

©o©

Question 8: Write an opinion essay

Directions: You will write an essay that responds to an opinion question. You will need to
state your opinion, explain it, and support it. Your essay should have at least 300 words.

Your response will be scored on

• how well your opinion is supported by reasons and examples.
• the quality of the grammar used.
• the variety and accuracy of vocabulary.
• the organization.

You must plan, write, and revise your essay in 30 minutes.

Writing Test HELP ^ c

Directions: Read the question. Then plan, write,

and revise your essay in 30 minutes or less. A
good response will have at least 300 words.
Many people enjoy spending time playing and
watching sports. Why do you think sports are
d POWERED BY COBUHD
For Question 8, you will write a complete essay. Now, try to
spending time: using your time
write an essay about the question in Part A in 30 minutes or
or effort to do
something less. Then read the sample response. Note how the
paragraphs that follow the introduction develop the
specific: a particular fixed area, problem or subject supporting ideas and give a conclusion.
important to people? Give specific reasons and
examples to support your opinion.

B What You’ll Do

SAMPLE RESPONSE ► Sports are popular all around the world. People enjoy sports because sports bring several
advantages to peoples lives. Sports encourage people to get exercise, they provide opportunities for interacting with
others, and they give a sense of belonging to a group.
An interest in sports encourages people to get exercise. People who play sports get a lot of
exercise. People who are serious about their sport spend a lot of effort getting in good physical
shape so that they can play their sport well. Other people play sports just for fun, but they still
get good exercise wThen they play. O f course, some people just watch sports on

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 WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY

TV, and that isn’t very good exercise. But sometimes fans become motivated to
imitate their favorite athletes, and they try playing the sport themselves.
An interest in sports provides opportunities for interacting with others. When you
play on a team, you have to work with your teammates to play the game as well as
you can. Or you may just interact with a single opponent when you play a sport
such as tennis. Even if you
just watch sports, you have opportunities to interact with other fans of your
favorite teams. An interest in sports gives a sense of belonging to a group. If you
play on a team, then the
team is your group. You are also part of the larger group of people who enjoy
playing that sport. If you enjoy watching sports, you can feel that you are part of the
group of fans who support your teams. You can also feel pride in being a resident of
the city that your favorite team represents.
Sports bring a lot of positive things to peoples lives. Sports encourage people to
exercise, to spend time with others, and to belong to groups. These are the reasons
why sports are important to people everywhere.

GET IT RIGHT: Tips and Tasks for

Answering Correctly UNDERSTANDING THE
TOPIC AND THE QUESTION
» TIP 1 Familiarize yourself with the types of questions you may see. For Question
8, you may encounter a number of different questions or prompts. By familiarizing
yourself with the different types of prompts you may see, you will understand what type
of information to include in your response and how to create a complete and successful
response. This chart gives an explanation of the most common types of prompts and
examples of each.

Prompt Types Descriptions Example Prompts

Advantage / disadvantages of a topic and to
Disadvantage support that position
What are the advantages or
Asks you to
disadvantages o f living near
choose the
work? Give reasons or examples to
advantages or
support your opinion.
Remember that the prompt will remain on the screen
while you are writing, so you will be able to refer to it
while you write.

Preference Presents you with a number

of options and asks
you to choose which of
those options you prefer
General Opinion Asks for your opinion
on a topic

QUICK TIP
 reasons or examples to support your opinion.
Do you agree or disagree with the following
Importance Asks you to explain why statement: Learning an additional language
something is important to is a good way to improve one’s job prospects
some people in any field. Use specific reasons and
Some people prefer to work fo r a large examples to support your answer.
company, while others prefer to work in a References from previous employers are
Agree / Disagree Asks if you agree or small office. Which size company do you important for some employers when making
disagree with a statement prefer to work in? Use specific examples to hiring decisions. Why do you think that
or idea support your choice. At some jobs, employees references are important to employers? Use
are allowed to listen to music while they specific reasons and examples to explain your
work. What is your opinion o f this? Give answer.

TASK Read the example prompts above and underline key words and information that help you
recognize the prompt type.
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» TIP 2 Read the question carefully. Once you understand the type of question you have been given, read the
question carefully and decide what information you must include in your response. This chart gives you tips for
quickly finding important information in the prompts.

Prompt Types What to Look For

Advantage / Disadvantage Be careful. Does the prompt ask you to discuss both the
advantages and disadvantages of a topic, only the advantages,
or only the disadvantages?
Preference Read the options carefully. Make sure you understand what options you are supposed to
choose among. For example, are you
choosing the best option, the most useful, or something else?
Opinion, Agree / Disagree, and Importance
Carefully read the given statement or opinion and the context given to be sure you understand how they
relate to each other.
QUICK TIP
Don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what your opinion on the question is. If you don’t have strong feelings about it, just make up an
opinion and write about that. The scorers grade on how well the essay is written, not on what the opinion is.

130
TASK Read the sample prompts from the chart in TIP 1 on page 129. Choose the answers that best describe
the information you need to give for each prompt.
1. What are the advantages or disadvantages of living near work? Give reasons or examples to support your
opinion.
a. The advantages and disadvantages of owning a home
b. The pros or cons of living near one’s place of employment
2. Some people prefer to work for a large company, while others prefer to work in a small office. Which size
company do you prefer to work in? Use specific examples to support your choice. a. My opinion on work
environments
b. My work environment preference
3. At some jobs, employees are allowed to listen to music while they work. What is your opinion of this? Give
reasons or examples to support your opinion.
a. My music preferences
b. My thoughts on a specific company policy
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Learning an additional language is a good way to
improve one’s job prospects in any field. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. a. My
beliefs about learning new languages
b. My position on corporate language requirements
5. References from previous employers are important for some employers when making hiring decisions. Why
do you think that references are important to employers? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your
answer.
a. My explanation of why something is important to some people
b. My opinion of how managers make hiring decisions
STRUCTURING YOUR RESPONSE
» TIP 1 First, brainstorm ideas for your essay. When you brainstorm, you think about a lot of possible ideas
in a short time. Before you start typing your response, you should take 2-3 minutes to brainstorm. Think about
the following questions.
• What is my position? The prompt for Question 8 will always require you to take a position about the topic.
For example, you might have to choose whether you agree or disagree with a given statement, but you may not
have strong feelings about the prompt. In such cases, take a minute to write down all the points you can think
of that you may be able to use either for or against the prompt. Based on the number of

QUICK TIP
While you write, be sure to check the clock on your screen from time to time and make sure you allow enough time to complete the task.
WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY

points you come up with for each viewpoint, you can then choose the position that will be easiest for you to
support.
• What is my thesis? The thesis is the main idea that you will support throughout your essay. Your thesis
should express your position on the topic in one sentence. By starting with a strong thesis statement, you will
be able to easily organize the rest of your essay. One strategy for creating a strong thesis statement is to
restate the information from the prompt. The relevant information from the prompt may be in question form, so
you will have to change it to a statement. When you restate the prompt, you should add your opinion about the
topic.
• What do I want to say? Return to the list of points you made when you were trying to decide on your
position. Choose the three strongest points and quickly write down some details or examples that you can use
to support those points.

TASK Match the prompts (1-5) from the TIP 2 TASK on page 130 to the correct restatements (a-e). Notice how
each of the restatements is changed from the original question to create a strong thesis statement. ___ a.
Personally, I prefer to work in a small office rather than at a large company for several reasons. ___b. It is my
belief that learning an additional language is a great way to improve one’s chances of getting a job.
___c. There are several advantages of living near the office.
___ d. My opinion is that it is a bad idea for employers to allow workers to listen to music at the office. ___e. I
think that references from previous employers are important to some bosses for a number of reasons.
» TIP 2 Second, create a basic outline of what you want to write. An outline is the first step in developing
your ideas and organizing your essay. This chart is a guide for creating your outline.

Parts of the Essay What to Include

Thesis Statement Use the one-sentence thesis that you wrote while you were brainstorming. Remember,
this sentence should state your position on the given topic.
Main Point 1
Write what the main point of each paragraph in the body will be. You
Main Point 2 Main Point 3
should also write down any examples and details you might use to support the main points of the body
paragraphs.
 QUICK TIP
Your outline can be in note form. You don’t need to write complete sentences or worry about capital letters and punctuation in your outline.
You can adjust those things later when you draft your work.

Concluding Statement Restate your position on the given topic.

After you have written a basic outline, check the organization of your response. Make sure that the response is
logical and that the ideas flow naturally from one paragraph to the next. Also, make sure that your outline
contains all of the information you want to include in your essay.
TASK Match these model outlines (A-E) to the writing prompts (1-5) from the TIP 2 TASK on page 130.

Sample Outline A ____

[Thesis statement] It is my belief that learning an additional language is a great way to improve one’s chances
of getting a job.
[Main point 1] Access to more jobs
[Examples / Details] many jobs require more than one language
[Main point 2] Create new opportunities
[Examples / Details] friend who speaks German was able to bring in new contracts with German companies
[Main point 3] Become indispensable to your employer
[Examples / Details]
-friend is the only one who speaks German in his office
-h e ’s a necessary part of communicating with important clients
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Sample Outline B ____

[Thesis statement] I think that references from previous employers are important to some bosses for
a number of reasons.
[Main point 1] Helps employers understand the applicant’s personality
[Examples / Details] I’m very helpful and friendly, but there’s no place on an application for that.
[Main point 2] Tests honesty
[Examples / Details] When my boss was hiring a new employee, she called the references
for one application. Boss found out that the applicant had lied on the application.
[Main point 3] Explains why person left former job
[Examples / Details] Someone might not want to hire someone who was fired from the last
job, but someone who was laid off might work out well.

Sample Outline C ____

[Thesis statement] Personally, I prefer to work in a small office rather than at a large company for
several reasons.
[Main point 1] More interaction with managers
[Examples / Details] better training
[Main point 2] Better relationships with co-workers
[Examples / Details] friend worked for big company, never had any friends there because
 their offices were so far away
QUICK TIP
Take no more than three minutes to create your outline. To make sure you don’t
spend too much time on any part of the writing process, check the on screen
clock from time to time.

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[Main point 3] Faster promotions

[Examples / Details] not as much competition

Sample Outline D ____

[Thesis statement] There are several advantages of living
near the office. [Main point 1] Less time commuting
[examples/details] I spend over an hour driving to and from
work every day. Cutting down on that would mean less stress
and more time for family.
[Main point 2] Cheaper
[examples/details] An apartment near my office might be a
little more expensive, but I’d save on transportation costs.
[Main point 3] Convenient
[examples/details] would be nice to go home for lunch and get
back to the office quickly

Sample Outline E ____

[Thesis statement] My opinion is that it is a bad idea for
employers to allow workers to listen to music at the office.
[Main point 1] Too distracting
[Examples / Details] each other [Main point 3] Not everyone has the same musical
-clerks at store listening to music, not paying attention to taste
customers [Examples / Details]
-w ill not return to that store now -what some people like, others may find annoying
[Main point 2] Hurts teamwork -m y friend has to listen to country music at work, it makes her
[Examples / Details] everyone is listening to music, not helping unproductive
WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY

» TIP 3 Third, write a rough draft of your essay. When you write your rough draft, you expand on the ideas
that you wrote in your outline. Don’t worry if your writing isn’t perfect in the rough draft. You should just focus on
writing your ideas down and thinking of ways to strongly support your thesis.
Remember that you will be writing on computer, and you will be able to move and change what you write easily.
The information below shows how to structure each part of your response.

Introduction
Your first paragraph should introduce the main topic and clearly state your position. In general, it will follow the
structure shown below.

[Topic Sentence] Introduce the main topic of the essay.

[Thesis Statement] Restate the prompt using your opinion. You may also briefly mention the three main points
you will use to support your thesis.

Body Paragraphs
Paragraphs 2,3, and 4 will be the body of your essay. In the body, you will present three main points to support
your thesis. See below for the typical structure of each of the body paragraphs.

[Topic Sentence] Express the major point that supports the main thesis. [Details / Examples] Mention the
details / examples that you will use to support your opinion.
[Transition Statement] Signal to the reader that you have finished talking about the point and will move on to
the next point.

Conclusion
Paragraph 5 will conclude your essay. The conclusion is usually structured as shown below.

[Restate Thesis] Express the main supporting detail that supports the main thesis.
[Review of Major Points] Briefly mention the three major points used to support the thesis, and be sure to
mention how these points support your opinion.
[Concluding Sentence] Wrap up the content of the paragraph.
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 TASK Put the paragraphs in this sample essay in the correct order (1-5). Make sure to notice the
structure of each of the paragraphs.

Sample Draft Essay

___To start with, I think that listening to music at work is distracting for employees. This is bad
because distracted employees can lead to bad customer service. Many times I’ve gone to a store,
and the clerks are too busy listening to music on personal music players to even help me.
Experiences like this have made me stop shopping at certain stores. So I think that if companies
want to avoid losing customers, they should not allow behaviors like listening to music that lead to
bad customer service.
___Some offices allow employees to listen to music, while others do not. In my opinion, I think
that employers should not allow workers to listen to music at the office because it is distracting, it
hurts teamwork, and it can lead to disagreements.
___Second of all, listening to music hurts teamwork. I’ve worked at places where employees are
allowed to listen to music while they work. People listened to music all day long and never even
spoke to each other. We never worked together or tried to solve problems together, which, again,
could hurt the quality of the work.
___To summarize, I think that it is a bad idea to allow employees to listen to music at work. I
think this because allowing music in the workplace distracts employees, hurts teamwork, and
leads to disagreements. In the end, it is important to remember that work is for work, and people
should listen to music at home.
___Finally, I think listening to music at work can lead to disagreements. The fact is, not everybody
has the same musical taste. In cases where music is played over a loudspeaker, this could lead
to arguments. That is what happened to my friend. At her job, they play country music over the
loudspeaker all day. My friend hates country music, and she is really annoyed about having to
listen to it all day. It makes her less productive and, thus, her work suffers.

» TIP 4 Learn useful language to use in writing your essay. For several parts of the essay, you will find
that you will be able to use similar language. This chart presents useful language to include in different
parts of your essay. (See also Speaking Question 11 for more language for giving opinions.)

Useful Language for Question 8 Essays

Functions
Examples of Language to Use
Stating an opinion
• In my opinion . . .
• I feel that. . .
• Personally, I feel / believe / prefer.. .
• It is my opinion that. . .
Showing sequence
• First, / First o f all,. . . ; Second,. . . ; Third,. . .
• Next,. . .
• Then,. . .
• After that,. . .
• Finally,. . .
• To summarize,. . .
• In conclusion,. . . Transitioning into a new paragraph Introducing an
• In general,. . .
• Generally,. . .
• Overall,. . . example
• For exam ple,. . .
• For instance,. . .
• In my experience,. . .
• . . . such as
134
 Contrasting • On the other hand,. . .

• In contrast,. . .
• On the contrary,. . .
Adding information • Furthermore,. . .

• Additionally,. . .
• Also,. . .

TASK Choose the correct word or phrase from the box to

complete the sample essay. In some cases, more than one
answer is possible.

Conversely Personally Next Generally

To summarize Lastly For example First of all

Sample Draft Essay

Today, people have many choices about where they work.
People can work for large companies with equally large
offices or at smaller offices.
(1)________________________ , I prefer to work in a
QUICK TIP small office rather than at a large company because
working in a small office means more interaction with
Stay focused! It can be easy to get away from the main purpose of the task
managers, better relationships with co-workers, and faster
or focus of the question. Be sure not to move away from your opinion or
promotions.
include information that is not relevant to the question. This can use up
time and also lower your score. Refer to your question and thesis (2) , I think that by working in a small office, I can spend
statement again and again if you need to.
more time with managers. This is a good thing because
managers have a lot to teach, and interacting with them
WRITING
QUESTION 8: often means that I can get better training and improve my
WRITE AN skills. (3)________________________ , I don’t think that
OPINION
ESSAY people at bigger companies have that kind of opportunity.
(4 )________________________, working at a small office
Useful
Language
usually leads to strong, close relationships with co-workers.
for I had a friend who worked for a company with over 100
Question employees. She told me that she never had any friends
8 Essays there because there were simply too many people. (5
(continued)
)________________________ , she said that they were
Functions really far away from each other because the building was
Examples so big. I like having friends where I work, so this would be a
of
Language bad thing for me. Clearly, working at a small office is much
to Use better.
(6) -------------------------- ________ , I’ve found that it’s
possible to earn promotions faster at smaller companies
than at huge companies. The reason for this is that there
isn’t as much competition. I had worked at my job at a
small office for only six months before I got my first
promotion. (7 )________________________ , I know
people who have worked at big companies for more than
three years and have never gotten a promotion.
(8) ---------------------------- _________ , my preference is to
work in a small office rather than at a big one. By working
at a small office, I think employees have more time with
managers, have better relationships with their co-workers,
and get promoted faster. For me, these three things are
really important, and that’s why I’ll always choose a small
office over a big one.

» TIP 5 Revise your essay. When you complete your first

draft, take about five minutes to carefully read and revise
your essay. The purpose of revising is to perfect your essay
by:
• rearranging words, sentences, or sections to improve
organization and make the essay clear and easy to follow.
• taking out or adding parts to make your meaning clearer.
• replacing words or expressions that are overused or don’t
make sense.
• adding words or expressions that you are comfortable
using to add variety.

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TASK Read the sample essay. Then choose the best way to improve the underlined parts of the essay.
You may notice some other errors that you will fix later in the TIP 6 TASK.

Sample Draft Essay

One thing that many people don’t consider when they’re choosing where to live is distance
from the office. There are several advantages to living near the office, including saving time and
money, and it is very convenient?
To start with, living near the Office can help save time because employees spend less time driving
back and forth from work every day. For example, I spend more than an hour 1. driving to and from
work every day. All of that time in traffic can be really stressful. Cutting down on that travel time by
moving closer to work would 2. not only mean less stress and more time with my family.
Second, I think that living near the office can be cheaper in some ways. 3. My office is
located downtown, the apartments there are a little more expensive than the ones farther away.
However, I have to spend just as much money on gas so that I can drive to work downtown.
In fact, it would be cheaper for me to live close to my office and just walk to work. That way, I
could save the money I am now paying for gas and car maintenance.
Third, live near work is more convenient than living far away. This is because if you live close
by, you can always run home and back to work in a short time. Nice to go home for lunch. It is
also much less expensive eating at home than eating out for lunch every day.
In conclusion, I know that there are probably some disadvantages to living close to work, but
the way I see it, there are far more advntges. Not only does it save time and money, but it is also
very convenient.

1. a. no change needed
b. driving to work all the time
c. not traveling to and from work
2. a. delete underlined part
b. not only mean less stress, but also more time with my family.
c. only mean less time with my family and more stress.
3. a. Because my office is located downtown, the apartments there are a little more expensive than
the ones that are farther away.
b. My office is located downtown. On the other hand, the apartments there are a little more
expensive than the ones farther away.
c. Unlike the apartments located faraway, the apartments near the office are located downtown.
» TIP 6 Finally, correct your essay. The final step before you submit your essay is making final
corrections. This involves reading and paying special attention to the format, style, and correctness of
your essay. Allow at least five minutes for this important last step.
• Check that all sentences are complete and make sense.
• Check that all sentences are grammatically correct (e.g., check subject-verb agreement, pronoun
use, etc.).
• Check for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
TASK Read the sample essay from the TIP 5 TASK again. Not including the underlined portions from the
previous task, find and underline these things. Make a check mark [ / ] when you have found the item. □ 1
incomplete sentence □ 1 capitalization error
□ 1 grammar error □ 1 punctuation error
□ 1 spelling error
WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY
PROGRESSIVE PRACTICE: Get Ready
A Read the sample question. Then answer the questions that follow.

Sample Question 8
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A small town is a better place than a big
city to raise children. Support your answer with specific reasons and examples.
1. This question asks about
a. preference. c. agreement.
b. advantages and disadvantages. d. importance.
2. The topic is about
a. the best place to live. c. the best place to take a vacation.
b. the best place to work.
B Complete the brainstorming notes for the question in Part A by answering the
questions. Use the sentences given to respond.

Brainstorming Notes
1. What is the question asking for?__________________________________________________

2. What is my viewpoint?

3. What is my thesis?

4. Why do I feel this way?

Sentences for Notes

I agree with the statement.
Small towns are safer, people in small towns are nicer, and life in small towns is less expensive. I
agree that a small town is a better place to raise children.
Do I agree or disagree that a small town is better than a city for raising children?

C Read the sample response to the question in Part A. Then choose the correct number from
the box to label each part of the response.

1. Body paragraph 5. Second supporting idea

2. Concluding paragraph 6. Third supporting idea
3. Introductory paragraph 7. Thesis statement
4. First supporting idea

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Sample Response
___While many families live in cities, many other people believe that a small town is better for
children.__I agree that a small town is a better place to raise a family than a big city. I think that
small towns are safer than cities, the people there are nicer, and life is less expensive.
___Everybody knows that small towns are safer than cities. There is a lot less crime, so parents
know that their children aren’t in danger.__In addition, people in small towns are usually nicer than
people in big cities. It is much better for children to grow up in the friendly atmosphere of a small
town.__Finally, life in a small town is much less expensive than life in a big city. It is easier for parents
to provide their children with everything they need.
___Life in a small town is better than life in a big city in several ways. A small town is a safer, nicer,
and cheaper place to raise children. When I have children, I will certainly move to a small town.

D Write your own response to the question in Part A by completing the template.

While many families live in cities, many other people believe that a small town is better for children. I
agree / disagree that a big city is a better place to raise a family than a small town. I think this is
because in a big city there are more sociable people.

For example in the extracurriculars things (basketball, baseball, etc.) you can meet people, and it is
essential for children. Also, the studies, at the high-school or at the university you meet magnificent
people.

In the secondly place, I think about communication. Such as, the public transport. With the public
transport you don’t need a car, and you have more freedom. Furthermore, there are job
opportunities in big city, and this is indispensable.

Finally, the proximity, all you need is near home. For example the cinema, the museums, the restaurants, etc. Additionally, the proximity
to the health service is important. In my experience, I think that being near to the hospital is grateful.

Life in a big city is better than life in a small town.

________________________________ in several ways. A

_______________________________is

and___________________________________________________________________ Therefore,

E Now, evaluate your response in Part D using the checklist below. How well did your
response meet the scoring criteria? Check ( /) Yes or No. Keep practicing until all of your
answers are Yes.

Response Checklist: Question 8

Yes No

1 .1 wrote a thesis statement that stated my opinion clearly.

2 .1 gave reasons for my opinion.

3 .1 supported my reasons with details.

 4 .1 included a conclusion.

5 .1 used correct grammar and vocabulary.

6. My essay was well organized and flowed easily from each paragraph to
the next.
WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY

PROGRESSIVE PRACTICE: | Get Set

A Read the sample question. Then complete the brainstorming notes in
your own words.

Sample Question 8
Some people use public transportation (buses and subways) to get around a
city. Others use
private cars. Which do you prefer? Support your answer with specific reasons
and examples.

Brainstorming Notes
1. What is the question asking

for?_________________________________________________ 2. What is my

viewpoint?

3. What is my thesis?

4. Why do I feel this way?

B Number the sentences in each paragraph to put them in the correct

order to create a response to the question in Part A.

Introduction (number 1-3)

_____ My preference is definitely for public transportation.
_____ I believe that it is cheaper, more convenient, and better for the environment
than private cars are. _____ In order to get around a city, you can use public
transportation or private cars.

Body Paragraph 1 (number 1-4)

_____ On the other hand, you also have to pay money to buy a car, to maintain
it, and to park it. _____ It is much cheaper to use public transportation than it is
to drive a private car.
_____ I believe that the costs of driving a car add up to a lot more than the costs
of paying bus and subway fares.
_____ Of course, you have to pay a fare every time you ride a bus or subway.
Body Paragraph 2 (number 1-4)
_____ In addition to being cheaper, public transportation is also more convenient than
private cars. _____ To use a car, however, you have to pay attention while you drive it, and you have to
worry about finding a parking place at your destination.
_____ In addition, you have to spend time and money keeping your car maintained.
_____ To use public transportation, you just get on, pay your fare, and ride to your destination.
Body Paragraph 3 (number 1-4)
_____ Buses may cause air pollution, but they also carry a lot of passengers.
_____ Overall, public transportation is cleaner than private cars.
_____ If you look at the amount of pollution per passenger, I am sure that cars dirty the air more than
buses do.
_____ Finally, public transportation is better for the environment than private cars are.

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SKILLS
FOR THE
TOEIC®
TEST:
SPEAKING
AND
WRITING
 Conclusion (number 1-3)
_____ It is cheap, convenient, and clean.
_____ I think public transportation is the best way to get around a city.
_____ I take buses and subways whenever I can.

C Use the template to write your own response to the question in Part A. Draft
Essay Template

Introduction Paragraph
[Introductory sentence]_____________________________________________
[Thesis statement]_________________________________________________
[Supporting ideas that will be in essay]__________________________________

Body Paragraph 1

[Topic sentence]_____
[Supporting sentence 1]
[Details and examples 1]

[Supporting sentence 2]
[Details and examples 2]

[Supporting sentence 3]
[Details and examples 3]

[Concluding/transition sentence]
Body Paragraph 2

[Topic sentence]___________
[Supporting sentence 1]_____
[Details and examples 1]_____

[Supporting sentence 2]
[Details and examples 2]

[Supporting sentence 3]
[Details and examples 3]

[Concluding/transition sentence]

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 [Details and examples 3]

Body Paragraph 3
[Concluding/transition sentence]
[Topic sentence]_____
Conclusion
[Supporting sentence 1]
[Topic sentence]___________ [Restate
[Details and examples 1]
thesis]____________ [Restate supporting
ideas]____ [Concluding sentence]_______
[Supporting sentence 2]
WRITING QUESTION 8: WRITE AN OPINION ESSAY ____
[Details and examples 2]
_________ (continued)

[Supporting sentence 3]

D Now,
evaluate
your
response
in Part C
using the checklist below. How well did your response meet the scoring criteria? Check (
/) Yes or No. Keep practicing until all of your answers are Yes.

Response Checklist: Question 8

Yes No

1 .1 wrote a thesis statement that stated my opinion clearly.

2 .1 gave reasons for my opinion.

3 .1 supported my reasons with details.

4 . 1 included a conclusion.
5 .1 used correct grammar and vocabulary.

6. My essay was well organized and flowed easily from each paragraph to
the next.

141

SKILLS
FOR THE
TOEIC®
TEST:
SPEAKING
AND
WRITING
 PROGRESSIVE PRACTICE: Go for the TOEIC® Test Read the
question and write an essay in response. If possible, write on a computer. Give yourself E

I
no more than 30 minutes to complete your essay.
T

E
Question 8: Write an opinion essay
T

®
Directions: You will write an essay that responds to an opinion question. You will need to state your

C
opinion, explain it, and support it. Your essay should have at least 300 words.
I

T
Your response will be scored on

• how well your opinion is supported by reasons and examples.

• the quality of the grammar used.
• the variety and accuracy of vocabulary.
• the organization.

You must plan, write, and revise your essay in 30 minutes.

Writing Test HELP \ 0

Directions: Read the question. Then plan, write,

and revise your essay in 30 minutes or less. A
good response will have at least 300 words.
Question 8: Write an opinion essay

Modern technology has made it possible for

many people to work at home most of the
time rather than going to an office every day.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of
working at home? Support your answer with
specific reasons and examples.

Time Used:_______minutes

TO READ SAMPLE RESPONSES, SEE PAGE 1 6 1 .

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