General: planning and style

School and university students of German are often required to write an essay (der Aufsatz) on
a topical or literary subject. This section offers some 'skeleton' structures for expressing a
cogent and well-expressed argument. .
It is worth remembering that your essay will be judged on three criteria: relevant and
well-informed content; incisive and well-organized argument; and idiomatic and correct use of
German. On the first two points, the most essential key to success is to read the question
closely, so that you answer it precisely, and then to prepare a balanced and well-constructed
plan. Obviously different types of essays require different approaches, but in all cases your plan
(and essay) should comprise the following stages:

1 Brief general introduction to the subject: die Einleitung.

2 The main part of the argument, subdivided as appropriate:
der Hauptteil.

3 Your general conclusions, related back to the question:

der Schluß.

For the style of an essay keep the following points in mind:

• Be short and precise.

• Use verbs rather than nominal constructions (e.g. use abliefern,
'to deliver', rather than zur Ablieferung bringen).
• Write short sentences and don't cram too much into them.
• Limit the number of daß clauses.
• Start new paragraphs for new thoughts.
• Avoid using pronouns at the beginning of a new paragraph.
• Choose the right register, i.e. use formal language.
• Avoid colloquialisms and fashionable words; instead use the more formal expression. For
example, use keine Lust auf Deutsch (haben) rather than Null Bock auf Deutsch (haben) if you
want to say that someone does not like German at all (see section 136 on slang).
• Avold large numbers of foreign words.
Use ich infrequently, e.g. only when asked to write an Erlebris. bericht (personal account), and
definitely don't start sentences
with ich.
• Connect your thoughts by using linking phrases, Überleitungen (see section 124b below).
123 Introduction
An interesting introduction captures your reader's attention. You could start with any of the
following:
• a definition of the important terms in the question
• an example
• a reference to a TV or radio broadcast
• a reference to a newspaper article
• a recent event
• a short historical survey or a reference to current affairs
• a quotation
The following expressions will be useful if you begin in any of the ways outlined above.
Definitions
Das Lexikon definiert 'Begabung' als 'Anlage zu bestimmten
Leistungen'.
The dictionary defines 'talent' as 'an aptitude for certain achievements'.
Der Ausdruck 'Anlage' besagt, daß hier Vererbung im Spiel ist.
The expression / term 'aptitude implies that heredity is involved here.
Examples
Unter den optischen Täuschungen ist besonders bekannt die sogenannte Müller - Lyersche
Täuschung, die als eines der zuerst entdeckten klassischen Beispiele gelten kann.
Among optical illusions / One of the best-known examples of optical illusions is the so-called
Müller-Lyer illusion, which can be regarded as one of the first classical examples to be
discovered.
In diesem Aufsatz soll erörtert werden, ob es einen angeborenen Unterschied zwischen
Männern und Frauen gibt. Dazu möchte ich ein Beispiel aus meinem persönlichen Leben / aus
der Zeitung geben.
This essay will debate whether there is an innate difference between men and women. With this
in mind I should like to give an example from my personal experience / from the newspaper.

References to broadcasts
Die Sendung QED über Vitamine im Ersten Fernsehprogramm warf die Frage auf, ob Intelligenz
durch die Ernährung beeinflußt wird.
The programme QED on Channel One / BBC 1 about vitamins raised the question whether
intelligence is influenced by what we eat / by our diet.
Ein Dokumentarfilm über die 'Befreiung' von Kuweit veranlaßte mich, über folgende Probleme
nachzudenken:
A documentary on the 'liberation' of Kuwait made me think about the following problems /
issues:
References to newspaper articles
In Der Zeit war vor kurzem zu lesen, daß...
Recently one could read in Die Zeit, that.
Neulich war mir in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen (FAZ) ein Artikel über ... aufgefallen.
Recently I noticed an article about ... in the FAZ.
Letzte Woche berichtete die Bildzeitung über einen Mordfall im Schloß.
Last week the Bildzeitung reported the case of a murder in the castle.
Descriptions of events
Bei einem Flugzeugabsturz über Schottland ware damals vile
Menschen ums Leben gekommen.
In a plane-crash over Scotland many people had died at the time.
Am Jahrestag des Mauerdurchbruchs kam es in den neuen
Bundesländern zu mehreren Demonstrationen. Dabei war auf einem
Spruchband zu lesen, .
On the anniversary of the breakthrough of the Wall several protest marches took place in the
new federal states. One banner read..
Historical surveys and references to current affairs
Die Industrielle Revolution began in England.
The Industrial Revolution started in England.
Wer die erste Nachkriegszeit erlebt hat, weiß noch, wie alles gekommen ist.
People who lived through the immediate post-war period remember how everything came about
/ events fell into place.
Traditionell für die alte vorindustrielle Welt war die ständische
Gliederung.
The social structure based on privilege was traditional in the old pre. industrial world.
Alexander von Humboldt legte die Grundlage der modernen
Geographie und gilt unter anderem als der Begründer der Klimalehre.
Alexander von Humboldt laid the foundations of modern geography and is regarded among
other things as the founder of climatology.
Immer dringlicher wird die Reform der beruflichen Bildung.
The reform of professional training is becoming more and more urgent.
Quotations
Nach Heraklit ist der Krieg der Vater aller Dinge, According to Heraclitus, war is the father of all
things.
Der Verfasser behauptet am Anfang des Artikels, daß die Studenten aus der 'armen Welt' unter
erheblichem Erfolgsdruck von daheim stünden.
The author claims at the beginning of the article that students from the Third World' are under
considerable pressure from home to succeed.
Dieses Zitat aus dem öffentlichen Brief der Freunde der Erde . ..
This quotation from the open / public letter by Friends of the Earth..

Main part
(a) Structure (der Aufbau)
In the main part the important points of the argument are elaborated. The structure has to be
logical. Put the most weighty points at the end.
Before you start, make a list of all the points for and against the argument. For their discussion
you have the choice of two basic structures:
(0) Arguments in favour followed by arguments against (antithetischer
Aufsatz)
List all the positive points first and then all the negative points (or vice versa), i.e.:

Positive point

1.
2.
3.
4.
Negative points
 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Obviously, the links between the opposing points are crucial and considerably more are required
for the second model than for the first.

Linking phrases (Überleitungen)

(i) Linking similar thoughts
For the antithetischer Aufsatz you can link similar thoughts, i.e. all those that are on one side of
the argument, by using the following phrases:
Außerdem ist . . . zu beachten.
In addition one has to keep ... in mind / remember ... / consider ..
Weiterhin gilt.
Furthermore / in addition, ... applies / is generally accepted / it is essential.
Darüber hinaus wurde die Erfahrung gemacht, daB..
In addition . .. was experienced / found.
Nicht zu vergessen ist.
... must not be forgotten . .. (literally: not to be forgotten is ...)
Von besonderer Bedeutung für Y ist Z.
Z is of special importance for Y.
In diesem Zusammenhang sollte man noch erwähnen, daß.
In this connection / context one should also mention / point out that..
Dafür gibt es Grûnde:
There are (good) reasons for this:
Daran knüpfen sich Fragen:
There are questions connected with this / Questions arise from this:
Unabhängig davon:
Independent of this:
Dazu kommt noch folgende Tatsache:
In addition there is the following (fact):
Im Übrigen muß man sich damit abfinden, daß.
Besides, one has to come to terms with the fact that.
Man muß sich darüber im Klaren sein, ..
One has to be quite clear about.
Darüber hinaus sollte ein Wissenschaftler.
In addition to that / Furthermore, a scientist should.
(ii) Linking opposites
Use the phrases listed below to link opposing arguments.
For the antithetischer Aufsatz you could simply sum up your list of points on one side and then
introduce the points on the other side:
Das waren die Vorteile, jetzt kommen wir zu den Nachteilen:
These were the advantages, now the disadvantages:
Diese Argumente sprechen für die These / Aussage und die folgenden dagegen:
These points speak for the thesis / statement and the following against:
For the dialektischer Aufsatz you need to link the individual alternate points:
Anders verhält es sich bei ... It is different with.

im Gegensatz dazu steht (+ nom.).

Main part
In contrast to that is..
Ganz anders stellt sich ... dar.
is very different. (iterally: present tselfdifferenty)
Dies ist jedoch bei... nicht so.
This however is not the case with...
Andererseits muß .. betont werden.
On the other hand ... has to be stressed. ...soll jedoch nicht außer acht gelassen werden.
...should not however be overlooked.
Dabei entstehen Gefahren.
With this dangers arise. / There are difficulties involved here.
Dadurch ergeben sich Nachteile.
Through this / Thus disadvantages result. / Problems arise from this
Allerdings muß man folgendes bedenken:
However, one has to consider the following:
Man darf aber das Ausmaß an Zustimmung nicht unterschätzen.
One mustn't however underestimate the extent of agreement.
Das stimmt natürlich in gewisser Hinsicht, jedoch ...
That is of course true in certain respects, however..
Dagegen läßt sich manches einwenden:
There are a number of things to be said against that:
Damit ist allerdings nicht gemeint...
That, however, does not imply / mean ...
Man darf jedoch nicht vergessen, daß ...
One must not forget, however, that ...
Einmal davon abgesehen, daß nach Lage der Dinge.
Quite apart from the fact that, as matters stand, ...
Im Übrigen aber war die Aufgabe ganz anders gestellt.
Besides, the task / question was set quite differently.
(i) Stressing a point already made
Wie schon gesagt, ... As was said before / already, ...
Wie bereits erwähnt, ... As was mentioned already/ before,..
Um nochmal; auf... zurückzukommen, ...
To come back to ... (again).
Man kann es nicht oft genug wiederholen, One cannot repeat often enough,
Conclusion
The conclusion of an essay is a summary of the most important Dole se. It could stress the
importance of a particular point, point to the future, and / or state the writer's position.
First, decide how you would like to conclude. There are several options:
• Compromise (der KompromiB): Take up the pros and cons and show possible solutions that
could satisfy both.
• Incompatibility (die Unvereinbarkeit): Point out that both sides have to be taken seriously, but
that no rapprochement is possible between thesis and antithesis.
• Personal agreement / disagreement (die persönliche Übereinstim. mung/Ablehnung): Having
considered both sides, show that you agree / disagree with the thesis given in the question.
• Synthesis (die Synthese): This is the most difficult option since it is supposed to lift the
argument to a higher plane, adding an extra dimension to the discussion.
Here are examples to illustrate the different options for the following question:
Nützt die Technik dem Menschen?
Does technology serve mankind?
Compromise
Die Technik kann dem Menschen einerseits nützen, man denke an Nachrichtentechnik,
medizinische Versorgung, Haushaltsgeräte us., andererseits hat sie durchaus negative Folgen:
Verkehrstote, Waffen und Automationsprozesse am Arbeitsplatz, die zu Arbeitslosigkeit führen.
On the one hand, technology can help people: one thinks of telecommunications, medical care,
domestic appliances etc. On the other hand, it has negative consequences: deaths in road
accidents, weapons, and automation leading to unemployment.
Incompatibility
Wenn die Technik so gefährlich ist, müssen wir zurück in die Steinzeit.
Dies ist unmöglich. Wir brauchen die Technik.
If technology is so dangerous then we must retur to the Stone Age, which is impossible, for we
need technology.
Personal agreement / disagreement
Obwohl ich die Gefahren der Technik sehe, kann ich für meine Person nur sagen, daß ich den
technischen Fortschritt bejahe, da er für das
Überleben auf einer übervölkerten Erde unumgänglich ist.
Although I do see the dangers of technology, I am in favour of technological progress, because
it is absolutely necessary for survival on an overpopulated planet.
Unsere sogenannten technischen Errungenschaften haben sehr vile negative Folgen
hervorgebracht. Man sollte sich deshalb fragen, ob man nicht auf einer Weiterentwicklung der
Technik verzichten muß.
Our so-called technical achievements have brought about many negative results. One should
ask therefore if one ought not to refrain from further technical developments.
Synthesis
Der Mensch kann die Verantwortung übernehmen und auch lernen, die Technik nutzbringend
unter weitgehender Ausschaltung von
Gefahren zu verwenden.
Men and women can take on the responsibility and learn to use technology profitably while at
the same time largely eliminating dangers.
Remember that your conclusion must follow from the discussion in the main part.
Summary or précis writing
To avoid making any errors in writing a precis, follow a set of rules as mentioned below:
Read the comprehension carefully.
Note down the important points.
Make a rough draft of the precis.
Make use of simple and precise language, as much as possible.
Draft the final precis once all the points have been included.
General guidelines

• Concentrate on facts: Who? Where? When? How?

• Do not use ich.
If the original is fiction, refer to the first person narrator as der Erzähler (der Geschichte) or by
his/her fictitious name (do not use the author's name).
If the original is a factual text, refer to the author by name or use der Autor / der Verfasser (des
Artikels / des Aufsatzes).
• Use the present tense throughout for events that took place in the past, but use the pluperfect
to refer to any situation or other events prior to those events.
• Use indirect speech, not direct speech.
• Do not express your own feelings: be remote and clinical.
• Use your own words as far as possible (when writing a German précis from an English text, do
not translate the original first).
• Remember to stay within the required word limit. You might find it helpful to restrict yourself to
a certain number of words per line (say 5), and, having beforehand marked on your page
multiples of 20 lines, you know automatically when you have written 100 words. This saves
frequent recounting.
Structure
A précis consists of an introduction and a main part.
The introduction is a vital part of the précis: describe the source of the information and what it
refers to. Here are some possible beginnings:
Der Artikel aus Der Zeit vom 26. März handelt von einer
Kindesentführung in Bayern.
The article from-Die Zeit of 26 March is about the kidnapping of a child in Bavaria.
Der Zeitungsbericht handelt von einer achtzehnjährigen Schülerin in Bamberg.
The newspaper article is about an eighteen-year-old schoolgirl in Bamberg.
Die Kurzgeschichte beschreibt die Gedanken und Gefühle eines
Autofahrers nach einem Autounfall.
The short story describes the thoughts and feelings of a driver after a car accident.