Source: www.rubenvalero.com
PART 1 – WRITING AN ESSAY (also known as a discursive essay or composition)
The student must write 140-190 words.
There are basically 4 types of essay/composition.
- Advantages/Disadvantages (Pros and cons).
- Agree or disagree with the title (in a logical way!)
- Giving opinions or suggestions about the title.
- Writing about issues in modern society such as: health, pollution, internet, technology, ecology, men and women, economic crisis.
How to write a good discursive essay (composition)
Before you start
Read the question carefully. DO NOT write an irrelevant answer. ANSWER THE QUESTION!
- Plan your essay. Spend about 5 minutes on this. It will make your life easier
- Do not give your essay a title
- Control your time. Spend about 40 minutes
Remember this!
- You MUST write your essay in 140-190 words. Write 190 words, NOT 140!!
- A composition is usually more formal than an article, so present your work as a ‘scientific’, coherent argument
- Use formal language. DO NOT use contractions, colloquial expressions or a ‘chatty’ style
- Write at least 4 paragraphs with a clear introduction, contrast of arguments and a logical conclusion
- Make sure your argument is clear
- Use difficult grammar and more complex sentences
- Use conditional and passive sentences
- Don’t worry if you make small mistakes. You will get more points for using difficult grammar
- Give an opinion ONLY when appropriate
- Give your opinion at the end, NOT at the beginning
When you have finished
- Make sure you have expressed yourself clearly
- Check your writing for grammar mistakes
- Check your writing for spelling mistakes
Structuring your composition
Most people write about 10-12 words per line.
Mathematics! You have to write a total of 190 words, so you should write about 15 lines in total.
Here’s an example of how to set out your essay
| Introduction 3 lines
Contrasting arguments Paragraph 1 4 lines Paragraph 2 4 lines Conclusion 3 lines |
Here’s an example of some good expressions you could use in the 4 parts of the essay
| Introduction To begin with/ Firstly,
First of all I would like to consider… The first thing (I would like to consider) to be considered is… Nowadays, it seems that…/ In recent times…
Contrasting arguments Paragraph 1 On one hand, it could be said that… Despite the fact that …/ In spite of… Although it could be said that… It is often thought that… Paragraph 2 On the other hand, it could be argued that… Although it appears that… Apart from that… What is more, … It would seem, however, that…
Conclusion By and large,/ On balance,/ In conclusion, Because of / As a result of this / Owing to / As a consequence of Therefore, in my opinion, On this basis, I can conclude that |