| Question Types | Thesis Statement | Body Paragraphs | BP Ex | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agree or Disagree | ( Directly make the statement with two reasons from 2 topic sentences ) Education of all kinds should be free of charge because it aids employment and decreases criminal activities. | Give 2 reasons why you agree or disagree BP1 – reason 1 BP2 – reason 2 | BP1.An important benefit of education is that it can boost the rate of employment. BP2: One should also consider a possible decrease in criminal activities due to an increase in the percentage of literacy. | E.g 1 |
| Advantages & Disadvantages | ( State that there are more advantages than disadvantages with reasons for each ) 1. In this essay, I will discuss that bringing family includes more positives such as eliminating homesickness and providing opportunities and but some negatives exist such as expense and distraction. In this essay, I will take a closer look at the aforementioned key advantage and key disadvantages. 2. …. has both advantages such as …. and disadvantages like …. | BP1 – advantages BP2 – disadvantages | ||
| Two part ( e,g. 1. reason 2. good or bad ) | BP1 – address first part BP2 – address the second part | Eg.1 | ||
| Good or bad? | ( State your position good or bad and the reason ) While this phenomenon has some downsides, I think it is ultimately a good thing, because it allows us to experience new food cultures and improve our diets. | Give 2 reasons why it’s good BP1 – reason 1 BP2 – reason 2 | Eg.1 | |
| Cause and Solution to a Problem | ( State one cause and one solution ) I believe that the biggest, most important problem caused by high housing prices is homelessness, which can be addressed through rent control and welfare payments to low-income people. | BP1 – cause BP2 – solution | Eg.1 | |
| Discuss both sides & Give your opinion ( 5% ) | ( State both sides and your opinion ) Some astronomers believe we need to know whether extraterrestrial beings are benign or hostile before we alert them to our presence. I believe that since any extraterrestrial being able to communicate with Earth can already hear us, there is little danger in reaching out. | explores each side in-depth and presents/supports your opinion BP1 – side one BP2 – side two | Eg.1 Eg.2 | |
Steps
- Check the question type: Agree or disagree, opinion, advantages or disadvantages.
- Write an outline
- Write Introduction – General, Specific and Thesis.
Outlining
Intro:
General Idea ( Hook )
Specific( Paraphrasing the question, with What and Why )
Thesis ( Main Controlling idea )
Agree? :
CI1:
D1:
D2:
CI2:
D1:
D2:
Conclusion
Full Essay
Types of Sentences
Compound Sentences = Simple independent sentence + coordinating conjunction + Simple independent sentence.
Two independent simple sentences joined together with a co-ordinating conjunction.
Complex Sentences = Dependent Sentence + 2 or more independent sentence
Coherence & Cohesion
Coherence is how well your essay is organised and how easily it can be understood by the reader
Cohesion is how well your ideas are connected
Essay tips
- Always START your paragraph with the topic sentence.
The way to signal to the examiner what the main idea in your paragraph is to start with a sentence that clearly states what you are going to discuss i.e. the topic sentence. - Avoid Poor use of transition signals – don’t use them between every sentence in a paragraph
- Avoid No progression – every sentence in your essay should add something more to your argument
- Avoid Poor referencing – it is great to reference, but it should always be clear what a pronoun refers to
- Avoid Parts of the essay cannot be understood – don’t let bad paraphrasing destroy your C&C score!
Coherence sentences.
Coherence is the quality of being logical and consistent.
Connecting sentences.
Cohesive Devices – Connecting Ideas
| Listing | Giving examples | Generalizing |
| firstly, secondly, thirdly | for example | in general |
| first, furthermore, finally | for instance To illustrate this | generally arguably – their arguably luxurious conditions |
| to begin, to conclude | as follows: | on the whole |
| next | that is | as a rule |
| Reinforcement | in this case | for the most part |
| also | namely | in most cases |
| furthermore (besides/in addition) | in other words | usually |
| moreover ( besides ) | Result/consequence | Highlighting |
| what is more | so | in particular |
| in addition | therefore | particularly |
| besides | as a result/consequence ( usually used for negative results ) | especially |
| above all | accordingly | mainly |
| as well (as) | consequently | Reformulation |
| in the same way | because of this/that | in other words |
| not only … but also | thus | rather |
| Similarity | hence | to put it more simply |
| equally | for this/that reason | Expressing an alternative |
| likewise | so that | alternatively |
| similarly | in that case | rather |
| correspondingly | under these circumstances | on the other hand |
| in the same way | Deduction | the alternative is |
| Transition to new point | then | another possibility would be |
| now, | in other words | Contrast |
| as far as x is concerned | in that case | instead |
| with regard/reference to | otherwise | conversely |
| as for … | this implies that … | on the contrary |
| it follows that | if so/not | in contrast |
| turning to | Stating the obvious | in comparison |
| Summary | obviously | Concession (smth unexpected) |
| in conclusion | clearly | even though |
| to conclude | naturally | however |
| in brief | of course | however much |
| to summarise | as can be expected | nevertheless |
| overall | Certainly | still |
| therefore | after all | yet |
Examples of Cohesive Devices
Question:
Examples of chunks of sentences that can be used.
| This does nothing to deter ( discourage/prevent ) the criminals from committing crimes. | |
| However, I believe the arts should only be funded up to a point because there needs to be enough money to support public services | |
| While it is crucial for university students to receive financial assistance, I believe their family background should be taken into account. This is because… | |
| Although I am mostly against taxing unhealthy foods, I believe an exception should be made for foods that contain harmful chemicals. The reason for this… | |
| I believe the government should offer financial incentives to the public for recycling, but it depends on what is being recycled. For instance,… | |
| The argument for requiring all criminals to undergo community service is one l am in favor of, but only to an extent. To clarify,… | |
| I believe that under no circumstances should minority languages be allowed to perish ( die ) | |
Change word form
Using a word in one form in the first sentence, e.g. health and then change the form of the same word in the next sentence e.g. unhealthy
Parallelism
Developing your ideas for body paragraphs
Example of Complex Sentence
1. This sentence is slightly more complex than the previous one.
comparison
2. This sentence is complex, whereas the first one was simple.
contrast
3. The previous sentences were more complex because they compared two things.
reason
4. We need to use complex sentences in order to make our writing sound more academic.
purpose
5. Although these sentences are more complex, they are still easy to understand.
concession
6. If you use complex sentences, you will get a higher score.
conditionals
7. Whenever examiners see complex sentences, they jump for joy.
time phrases
8. Starting your sentence with an ‘-ing’ form is another way of making your writing more formal.
‘ing’ nouns
9. What you really need to do is ensure that you use a variety of complex sentences.
emphasis
10. You could try extending your points with a relative clause, which will certainly make your sentences longer.