Style

Format

Features

Descriptive Essay

Discursive Essay

Argumentative Essay

You would have to provide factual unbiased information. No opinion or debatable arguments are exposed.

Once you have evaluated the different stances (viewpoints) on the main topic, you should reach a conclusion where you give a solution and a short personal opinion. The opinion should not prevail throughout the whole writing.

Examples of statements

Examples of Reading into Writing Essay statements (ejemplos de enunciados con los que puedes identificar el tipo de ensayo que se te pide hacer en el Reading into Writing)

Examples of Long Writing Essay statements (ejemplos de enunciados con los que puedes identificar el tipo de ensayo que se te pide hacer en el Long Writing)

‘The evolution of modern jobs’.

‘How not to get hooked on your phone?’

‘When studying the past, it’s more important to know about ordinary people than famous people.

Do you agree?’

Style elements

Use:

·         Statistics, figures and data

·         Adverbs –ly

·         Passive voices and plurals as subjects (we believe, etc.)

·         Linkers that provide coherence

·         Evidence-based arguments: having analysed the data it cannot be disputed that, the claim is supported by the lengthy analysis conducted, there is sufficient evidence to make robust claim about.., such claims are reinforced by… etc.

·         Unbiased vocabulary

Use:

·         Statistics and data

·         Evidence-based arguments: having analysed the data it cannot be disputed that, the claim is supported by the lengthy analysis conducted, there is sufficient evidence to make robust claim about.., such claims are reinforced by… etc.

·         Appealing to authorities: experts claim that, advocates claim that, first-hand testimonies report that, he most reputable science points in that direction, etc.

·         Passives: it is often believed, it has been argued, etc.

·         Rhetoric questions usually asked at the end of the 1st paragraph

·         Random idioms

Use:

·         Linkers that provide coherence

·         Inversiones

·         Rhetoric questions usually asked at the end of the 1st paragraph

·         Opinionated introduction and conclusion

·         Evidence-based argument to support your arguments

·         Adverbs –ly

·         Use of English structures to decorate the composition (no matter, surprising as it seems, etc.)

·         Short and direct arguments

How to start your essays: examples given by Salón de Idiomas

(The neutral introduction finishes with a statement that introduces the thread of the arguments to come)

(The introduction ends by raising a rhetorical question which is going to be answered along the following paragraphs from different standpoints. The conclusion will answer the main contention of the arguments coming back to this question)

(The subjective introduction directly contents your standpoint which will be reasoned)

How to start the 1^st paragraph

(The body starts with a fact and description using passive voices and data. In the exam you can come up with your own data)

(The body starts with a specific standpoint; of the experts, in this case)

(The body starts with an opinionated statement by judging other point of view)

Examples of conclusions

Food waste is indeed an environmental, economic, and ethical conundrum, but this issue is nevertheless reversible and steps toward a more sustainable food system can be undertaken locally.

In the cycle of waste, hungry citizens hold the greatest power for they can change not only their own household waste dynamic, but also that of the supermarkets and in turn, their suppliers. Change must come through the voices of the consumers because the squandered food, as I see it, is wasted in their name.

(Unbiased conclusion that sums up the arguments and gives an alternative. It does not necessarily start with a conjunction like “in conclusion”)

(The conclusion answers the question posed in the introduction and has a short personal conclusion. Throuhout the text the writer refers more to «the people», «citizens», etc.)

(The conclusion shows more subjective statements written in 1^st voice and many references to the narrator/writer «I», «myself», etc.)

Example of statements and essays from Trinity ISE III teacher’s book

Descriptive Essay

Discursive Essay

Argumentative Essay

Example of essays from Trinity ISE III teacher’s book

Job candidates often ignore the importance of body language at their peril. Little do most would-be employees realize that their interviewer has often already decided to hire them or not before they’ve even spoken a word! Employers frequently size up candidates within 30 seconds of meeting, based on a candidate’s body language alone.

Whilst this might sound alarming, all is not lost. Organizations now exist that can teach candidates how to use body language to positive effect in business situations, especially when dealing with foreign clientele. Cross-culturally, body language can differ substantially, so learning of these differences is vital to succeed in business as indeed in our social lives, too.

Becoming more aware of our body language is advisable. To ignore the role played by jesters and our intonation is pure ignorance if we want to get on not just in business but in our social lives, too.

Taking a look at surveys conducted with adults, it seems that course subjects such as the Three R’s are indispensable for later life. Whether we need simple geometry skills to work out how much wallpaper we need to cover our room or basic maths to add up a grocery bill, the skills we learned at school are invaluable.

It is a fact, however, that few of us actually use such skills when we grow up. We resort to calculators to perform basic calculations or call in a professional to carry out DIY tasks that involve numerical skills.

Furthermore, as adults, we discovered to our dismay that schools neglected to teach us the very things that we need to know, such as how loans work and basic electrics.

In some ways, therefore, the schools leave us woefully equipped for adult life. Perhaps schools would do better to take a leaf out of the books of alternative schools such as Summerhill and teach real life skills such as communication, empathy and teamwork. Better steel, teach students about work by placing them in work placements where they can learn about real life.

Certainly, the Advent of advanced technologies has led to more stressful lifestyles today. Technology has increased the pace of Life both in the workplace and in our everyday lives. The invention of faster transport allows us to reach our destination faster, causing us to schedule in more appointments, to fill time freed up by traveling less hours.

Similarly, in the workplace, modern technologies, such as computers, allow us to work faster, leading to increased expectations of what workload can be accomplished in any given time, again leading to stressed out employees. In addition, mobiles and the internet are another source of stress, allowing us to theoretically be on call 24/7 to the outside world.

However it would be folly to dismiss modern technologies on the grounds that they induce stress. The benefit of technology such as improved transport has made our lives easier and richer in many ways. Worldwide destinations, exotic or otherwise can now be reached fairly easily. With regard to scientific technology, many inventions have increased our longevity and quality of life, by effectively tackling previously life threatening illnesses and medical disorders.

It can be seen therefore, that the advantages of technology far outweigh the disadvantages. Technology is also now part and parcel of modern society and has become indispensable to our way of living.