How to write an introduction to the essay in FCE exam

Writing an introduction to the essay in your FCE exam might be quite complicated, especially if
you have no clue how to start, what to write, what words to use. On top of that you’re even
more puzzled when you see the prompts/notes, as you’re probably not sure if you should
write about them in the introduction or main body. So, I’m going to make it simple for you.
Your introduction should consist of 3 sentences:
1st sentence– introduce the theme or give some background information about it. It’s a
sentence showing a bigger picture of a problem
2nd sentence– restate your topic questions using synonyms
3rd sentence– rhetorical question, will give you a great link between introduction and main
body

Let’s practice it with this topic question:

Do you think teachers should allow their students to use tablets instead of textbooks in the class?
Notes:
– focus
– price
– efficiency
1st sentence of the introduction
First thing you need to do is to read the topic question to understand
the theme/ bigger picture of the issue, which in our case is TECHNOLOGY. At this stage don’t
worry about the notes.
So the 1st sentence of the introduction could be:
Technological advances have influenced everyday life even the education sector.
or
Since the development of the internet technology has taken over main areas of our life including education
or
The internet and technology are crucial aspects of many fields of life including education.
As you can see TECHNOLOGY is the theme of each example of the sentence. Try to
use present perfect tense when writing your 1st sentence.

2nd sentence of the introduction

2nd sentence of the introduction paraphrases the topic. What I mean by paraphrase, you
need to rewrite the question using synonyms of the key words used in the topic.
In a way your 2nd sentence is already given in the topic question, your task is to
paraphrase it- use different words or grammar structures. If the topic asks your opinion
make sure you include it in the introduction.
Our topic question again: Do you think teachers should allow their students to use tablets instead of
textbooks in the class?

Key words:
think – consider, believe
teachers – educators
allow – let, should, ought to
students – pupils, learners
use – deploy, utilize, make use of
tablet – electronic device
instead of- as an alternative, alternatively, in lieu
textbook – hardcopy of a book, coursebook
class – classroom
Once you came up with few synonyms you can rewrite the topic question , in which you also
include your opinion.
Some educators believe, myself included, that electronic devices ought to be used
by learners during lessons.
or
Letting learners replace coursebooks with electronic devices is, in my opinion, a clever idea introduced by
some educators.
or
Some believe, myself included, that educators ought to let their learners replace
electronic books with coursebook.

3rd sentence of the introduction

The 3rd and final part of the introduction is a rhetorical question, which gives you a great
link with the rest of the essay, I mean the main body.
Examples of rhetorical questions you can use in our essay:
So, what are the benefits of using tablets during a lesson?
or
So, why is a tablet considered a better learning tool?
or
So, is a hardcopy of a coursebook no longer useful?

All introductions:
Our topic question again: Do you think teachers should allow their students to use tablets instead of
textbooks in the class?
Introduction 1
Technological advances have influenced everyday life even the education
sector. Some educators believe, myself included, that electronic devices ought to
be used by learners during lessons. So, why is a tablet considered a better
learning tool?
Introduction 2
Since the development of the internet technology has taken over main areas of our
life including education. Some believe, myself included, that educators ought to let
their learners replace electronic books with coursebook. So, what are the benefits
of using tablets during a lesson?
Introduction 3
The internet and technology are crucial aspects of many fields of life including
education. Letting learners replace coursebooks with electronic devices is, in my
opinion, a clever idea introduced by some educators. So, is a hardcopy of a
coursebook no longer useful?

Practice makes perfect. So write your own introductions to these topic questions:
Topic question 1– Is it true that we help the environment when we plant a tree?
Topic question 2– Keeping animals in captivity is cruel for many reasons. Do you agree?