PARTS OF A FOR AND AGAINST COMPOSITION

1. INTRODUCTION

 It is a short paragraph whose purpose is to give the reader a general idea of the subject of the composition.
 It should attract the reader's attention so that he/she wants to continue reading.
 You present the topic in a neutral way without giving your opinion

2. THE MAIN BODY

 Present the points for and the points against the topic objectively in two separate paragraphs, supporting
your arguments with justifications or examples.

 (Idea + Reason, Consequence, Example)

 Do not give your personal opinion or experience in this section.

3. THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH OR CONCLUSION

 Final paragraph in which you can summarize the main idea of the subject, giving your opinion, experience or a
balanced consideration of the topic.

 Opinion words (I think, I believe, In my opinion, etc) are used only in this part.
THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OR INTRODUCTION: Appealing the Reader.
a) Make reference to a strange scene, situation or fact:
Some scientists believe that men could live until the age of 140
Today, more and more people are overweight, and an increasing percentage is obese. What are the reasons
for this, and how can this problem be solved?
b) Address the reader directly or ask a rhetorical question
When should people be made to retire? 55? 65? Should there be a compulsory age limit?
Small children seem to learn very quickly, while adults sometimes appear to lose the ability to learn new
subjects. However, how much of this is social pressure and how much is genetic?
c) Include a quotation, mentioning the name of the person who said it or wrote it. (Exam?)
At this time of the year, many children ask Santa for a pet. Unfortunately, many of them are left shortly after in
a dog pound, as Odgen Nash said “The trouble with a kitten is that eventually becomes a cat”

THE MAIN BODY (2 Paragraphs)

 Write 2 well-developed paragraphs in which your points are supported with justification.
o (Idea + Reason, Consequence, Example)
 Make sure to write more than one justification.
 Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence which summarizes what the paragraph is about.
 Making your own clothes have some definite advantages. Firstly, it is often the only way to get what you
want as it is difficult to find clothes which are not only the right size, but which also fit in the right places.
Another advantage is that you can be sure your outfit is original. As a result, when you go out on that
special occasion you are much less likely to meet someone wearing the same coat as you.

REGISTER:

 A “for and against essay” is a formal writing; you should use a formal register.
 Use grammar structures and specific topic vocabulary appropriate to the level
 Choose carefully the connecting devices to provide coherence and cohesion to the transition between ideas
and paragraphs.

USEFUL CONNECTORS & EXPRESSIONS

TO MAKE GENERAL STATEMENTS:

As a general rule,
Generally
TO LIST POINTS
In general,
Firstly,
On the whole,
First of all,
It is popularly believed that
In the first place,
Most people argue that
To start with,
People claim that
Secondly,
It is alleged that
Thirdly,
Finally,

TO INTRODUCE POINTS TO LIST POINTS IN A SEQUENCE

One major advantage / disadvantage of BEGINNING
The main advantage / disadvantage of First,
The greatest advantage / disadvantage of To start with,
A further advantage / disadvantage of To begin with,
Another advantage / disadvantage of First of all,
One point of view in favour/against
 CONTINUING Thus,
Secondly, So,
After this/ that, Consequently,
Afterwards, As a result,
Then, As a consequence,
Next, For this reason,

CONCLUDING
To sum up,
CONCLUDING
In conclusion,
Finally,
On the whole,
Lastly,
Taking everything into account,
Last but not least,
As was previously stated,
All things considered,

TO ADD POINTS ON THE SAME TOPIC

What is more,
Furthermore,
Apart from this/that,
In addition (to this),
Moreover,
Besides (this),
Also,
Not to mention the fact that

TO MAKE CONTRASTING POINTS

Yet,
However,
Nevertheless,
But
At the same time,
Even so,
Although,
Even though,
In spite of (the fact that)
Despite (the fact that)
On the other hand,
It can be argued that

TO GIVE EXAMPLES
For instance,
For example,
Like
Especially
Such as
In particular

TO EXPRESS CAUSE
Because
Since
As
Owing to (the fact that)
Due to (the fact that)

TO EXPRESS RESULT
Therefore,