General Advice on Writing

 Make sure you understand the question you are asked to discuss and cover all points asked.

 Before you start writing, make a quick plan of your essay; it will keep you focused.

 Avoid using vocabulary that you are not very sure of; prefer to use simpler vocabulary and balance it off with
more complex structures.

 Avoid using contractions as an essay is a formal piece of writing.

 In the introduction, you present the idea to be analysed and set the purpose of the essay.

 Understand what the main question is and what the type of essay is.

 Decide on the major points to be discussed.

 Begin with information which explains the key question in the task in general terms, or rephrase the
background information given in the task.

 Use appropriate linking words and devices for a smooth development from one paragraph to another and from
one supportive point to another.

 Decide on the person you are going to use. You can either address the reader using the second person (you), or
the third person plural (they)

 Close your essay by either summarising the main points presented in the body paragraphs or by rephrasing
what has been said in the introduction.

Useful Phrases
Introduction
The trend nowadays is towards …………….
Over the past years the media have frequently carried reports of ……………
Recent research indicates that ……………
This raises the issue of whether ……………
Although most people would generally agree that …………… few would deny that …………….
It is generally agreed that ……………
It is a well-known / undeniable fact that ……………
It is common knowledge that ……………
There has been a great deal of heated debate about ……………
It could be argued that ……………
While it might be true that ……………

Expressing opinion
As I see it,
It seems to me that ………… I would also say that ……………
I am convinced that ……………
I am inclined to believe that ………………
There is no doubt in my mind that ………………
One of the drawbacks of ……. is ……….
However, one of the benefits is that …………
The way I see it, ………………
From my point of view, ………………
Although I am in two minds, ………………
Presenting arguments
One justification often given for ……………is that……………
Advocates/Proponents would claim that ………………
Those who object to ……………often argue that ……………….
Another objection is that ……
However, it should not be forgotten that ……………
…………… are opposed to ……………. on the grounds that ……………
From the point of view of ……………
According to ……………

Causes and Results

One factor which has led to ………… is ……………
One of the factors which has brought this about is ………
The problem often stems from ……………
The situation has been exacerbated by …………….
…………… has only made the situation worse.
One consequence of ……………. is …………….
As regards / Concerning the causes for this, ……………
As for the causes, ……………
Therefore / Thus / So / As a result, / As a consequence, / Consequently,
In this case
It is so ... that
It is such a ... that
For this reason

Adding similar points

To begin/to start with ……………
Firstly, / Secondly, ……………
Not only ... but also ……………
Another point worth mentioning is ……………
What is equally important is ……………
Apart from this, ……………
Furthermore, / In addition, / Moreover, /Besides that, / As well as ……………
Finally, / Ultimately, ……………
Last but not least, ……………

Giving the pros and the cons Emphasising a point

There are both advantages and disadvantages to … In fact, / As a matter of fact, ……………
Although there are serious drawbacks/disadvantages, … As regards ……………
On the one hand, /On the other hand, …………… It is necessary to point out that ……………
By contrast, /On the contrary, …………… The most crucial point is ……………
However, /Nevertheless, …………… What is significant is ……………
The other side of the coin, however, is that …………… The focus should be on ……………
Another way of looking at this question is to …………… The key aspect of this argument is ……………
Some may be in favour of …………… It is worth noting that ……………
Others, however, would argue that …………… Another important point/factor is that …
Opinions are sharply divided over this issue. We cannot ignore the fact ……………
There is no doubt that ……………
In spite of / Despite the fact that ……………

Giving examples Supporting a point

One example is …………… To some extent/degree ……………
Another one is …………… It is clear that ……………
 For one thing, /For a start, …………… There are various reasons to believe ……………
In addition, …………… In such cases, ……………
Finally, …………… Apparently, / Admittedly ……………
At the same time …………… Contrary to common belief ……………
This means …………… It is becoming increasingly important ……………
To illustrate this point, …………… Taking these facts into consideration, ……………
For example, / For instance, …………… Another important aspect is ……………
Take for example …………… Interestingly enough, ……………
such as …………… There are many advantages to ……………
Particularly, …………… It is claimed that ……………

Proposing steps and measures

As regards the most appropriate response to this situation, one suggestion would be to ……………
The first step to be taken would be to ……………
To alleviate the situation people should ……………
In addition, they ought to ……………
To begin to tackle this situation society/individuals/the government need(s) to ……………
………….. would certainly ameliorate the situation.
This can only be dealt with if ……………
To overcome this problem, ……………
Were the government to ……………, the situation would doubtless improve.
Individuals can do a great deal to …………
The burden of responsibility lies in the hands of ……………
It is vitally important that ……………
Legislation should be introduced to control ……………..
It would be a grave error if we ……………..

Concluding
All in all it seems to me that ……………
The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that …………………..
All things considered, ………….
On balance, I tend to believe that …………
The world would surely be a better place to live in if …………..
If people stopped ….ing, we would have / we could look forward to a ……………
The prospects for the future will be bleak /grim unless ……………….
To sum up, / In short, / In conclusion, / All in all, / On the whole, / In a nutshell, ……………
From what has been presented, one might conclude that ……………