Writing introductions for Advantage and Disadvantage Essays

Formula
1 Write a general statement about the topic
2 Add an extra sentence to support the first
3 Focus on the question in your own words
4 Tell the reader your plan
These days, more and more people are going to other countries for significant
periods of time, either to find a job or to study. There are clearly many benefits
to doing this, but people live abroad can also face some difficulties.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living and working in a foreign
country.
Nowadays, taking a year out to live or study abroad is becoming increasingly
popular. For many people, especially young adults, the chance to spend an
extended period of time overseas is an attractive one. However, there are both pros
and cons to deciding to do this. In this essay, I will discuss some of the reasons
why moving abroad is so popular and some of the challenges to be overcome.
Formula
1 Rephrase the question and introduce the topic
2 Describe the two different opinions about the topic
3 Say what the essay will do
In recent years, it has become much more common for people to live in another
country. Many people believe that there are significant benefits of doing this, while
others argue thar there are also drawbacks connected to living abroad. This essay
will look at both points of view, and then I will give my opinion.
Complete these introductory sentences with an appropriate tense of the verbs in
brackets
1 In recent years, it (become) more common for people to live abroad
2 Today, many people (want) to study English in another country.
3 In recent decades, the number of people who study English abroad (increase)
 Significantly.
4 These days, many people (choose) to live abroad for work or study
5 The number of people who decide to live abroad (increase) all the time.
6 The number of people who choose to work from home (rise) over the past
few years
5 Complete the table with the tenses in the box.
Present continuous – present perfect- present simple

Rules Tense
1 Facts about now
2 Recent changes
3 Things changing now

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a mobile phone?

The number of people who own a mobile phone is increasing daily, with some
people upgrading their mobile phones several times a year. While there are obvious
benefits to having a mobile phone, there are also some important drawbacks. I will
be looking at both points of views in this essay.
Write the introductions for the exam questions
What are the pros and cons for children of watching television?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using CCTV cameras to fight
crime?
These days, people work in more than one job, and often change their career
several times during their life. What are the advantages and disadvantages of
this?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?

Writing conclusions for Advantage and Disadvantage Essays

Formula
A good conclusion generally consists of
1 a general one sentence summary
2 a focused summary of the main points of- avoiding repetition of vocabulary
3 something new / your opinion.
All things considered, starting life in a foreign country is never easy. You need to
weigh up the pros of the better lifestyle, weather and so on and the cons of culture
shock and language barrier. Personally, I believe that the benefits in terms of
personal growth eventually outweigh any negatives.
In conclusion, there are clearly both positives and negatives to spending an
extended period of time overseas. While going abroad can be a great experience
and lead to a better lifestyle, for many people there are too many differences to
cope with. In my opinion, if you go with the right attitude, moving overseas should
be absolutely an unforgettable experience.
To sum up, living abroad is a challenging experience with ups and downs. In my
view, having the chance to see life in another country can open up lots of exciting
new experiences. However, it can also be difficult to cope with new culture and
language. It is important to be happy wherever you are, as the grass is not always
greener on the side.
Formula
1 Saying that you have examined both sides of the argument
2 Stating your opinion
3 Saying that the other side of the argument has some good points, and then giving
more detail about your opinion.
To sum up, having looked at this topic in detail, it is clear that there are both
advantages and disadvantages of living abroad for a while. In my opinion, the
benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Although, it is true that it can be difficult at first,
on balance, I think that if you live abroad, you will have new experiences, which
will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Write the conclusions for these topics.
1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?
2 What are these advantages and disadvantages of living in the country?
Dealing with discussion essays
Read this essay questions. What are the two opinions it contains?
Some people view that teenage conflict with their parents as a necessary part of
growing up, whilst others see it as something negative which should be avoided.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Read this introduction to the discuss essay. What is the formula for writing an
introduction for this type of essay?
1 A general sentence to introduce the topic in your own words
2 A sentence to support / add an example to the first
3 Identify and state in your own words the opinions given to you in the question
4 Outline your plan for your essay
There is no doubt that teenage years can be difficult for both the youngsters and
their parents. During this period, many young people argue with their parents about
education, relationships and control. Some say that this is an important part of
growing up, while others argue it causes more harm than good. In this essay, I will
look at both sides of the argument and give my opinion.
Use the formula as guide to write an introduction for these essay questions
1 Some people say all criminals should be locked up in prison, while others
argue
there are better ways of punishing people.
2 Some say giving charity to help reduce poverty, whereas others insist it makes
the problems worse.
3 Some people believe that governments should make laws about
environmental
Issues and then strictly enforce those laws. Others say that it is better for
governments to encourage and educate the population to make
environmental changes?
Discuss both views and then give your opinion.

Exercise 6:
 To sum up, having looked at the topic in detail, in my opinion, it is clear that there
are both advantages and disadvantages of working from home. In my view, the
drawbacks outweigh the benefits. Although it is true that some people would enjoy
teleworking, on balance, I think that for me it would be isolating, and I would miss
my colleagues.
To sum up, having looked at the topic in detail, in my opinion there are both
advantages and disadvantages of living in the country. In my view, the drawbacks
outweigh the benefits. Although it is true that it is less stressful to live in the
country, on balance, I think that there are greater job and entertainment
opportunities in a city, and I would prefer to live in this kind of environment.

These days, there are more and more threats to security in many countries, and the
world is becoming more dangerous. Some people put forward the opinion that all
men should have to join the army for a period of time. However, my view is that it
should be optional for people to join the army. This essay will explain my opinion
in detail.
These days, shops tend to open longer and longer, and many retail workers have to
work on Sundays. It is thought by some people that shops should not be allowed to
open on Sundays so that workers can take a break. However, I hold the view that
shops should open on Sundays. This essay will explain my opinion in more detail.

Many people feel that modern life is faster, busier and more stressful than in the
past. More and more people are suffering from stress in their daily life, and the
rates of stress-related illness are increasing.
What are the main causes of stress in modern life? How can these problems be
tackled?
There has been a sharp increase in recent times in the number of people who are
suffering from illnesses connected to stress. There are several reasons why stress is
increasing in modern life, including job insecurity, technology and long working
hours. This essay will examine these issues in more detail and propose some ways
to tackle them.
 One factor behind stress in modern life is job insecurity. These days, many people
are employed on zero-hours contracts, and as a result, they tend to worry about
how much work they will get each week, and how much they will be paid. To deal
with this problem, governments could bring in a law to ban this type of contract. If
they did this, people would have more job security and they would feel less
stressed.
Another cause of stress is technology. Although technology brings many benefits
to people, it also can have a negative effect on working patterns. For example,
many employees have to answer work emails in their free time, and this can make
it difficult to make a good work – life balance. The way forward might be for
companies to make it clear to their staff that they should not continue working
outside their normal hours.
A further contributing factor to stress is long working hours. In many cases,
people are working longer and longer, and many people would feel they should
stay in the workplace late in the evening in order to prove that they are good
employees. The answer could be for governments to enforce laws on maximum
working time more strictly. This would make sure that people do not work too
much.
In conclusion, it is clear that stress in modern life has a range of causes, often
connected to work and technology. Unless these issues are addressed, rates of
stress-related illness will continue to increase. I believe that both governments and
employers have a duty to take better care of people’s physical and mental well-
being. (329 words)

The graph shows information about the percentage of people who were employed
in three different areas of the economy in the UK, over a ten-year period between
2000 and 2010.
Overall, what stands out from the graph is that there was a significant upward
trend in the percentage of people employed in the private sector, while the figures
for the public sector and self-employed went up. Another interesting point is that
the private sector took up almost half the economy at the beginning of the period,
but in 2010 the public sector had easily the highest employment rate.
 In detail, as regards the private sector, the percentage started at just under 50% in
2000, and then there was a steady fall to 28 % in 2008. Having fallen sharply to
21% in the following year, the percentage then levelled off.
If we look at the percentage of self-employed people, it began at around 18 % in
2000, which was the lowest rate of the three sectors. There was a slight dip
between 2002 and 2005, after which the percentage rose steadily year on year,
finishing at 30 %. Finally, regarding the public sector, the figure remained stable at
38% in the first three years of the decade, but there was a significant rise to 48 in
2004. Despite going down slightly in 2006, there was then gradual increase in
public-sector employment rates, with the figure peaking at over 50 % in 2010. (234
words)