Introduction: (only 1-2 sentences)

Give a main idea of the essay. Reword the question and showing the topic clearly and state the opinions that
will be discussed. State your opinion clearly about it (if asked to).
Use the Following Expressions to Give Your Opinion:

As far as I am concerned,
I am (not) convinced that
In my opinion/view
My opinion is that
I (firmly)believe
I (definitely) feel/think that
I am inclined to believe that
However, I feel.

- It is my belief that and it is therefore justifiable.

- .. is an important topic that is discussed recently over and over again.
- While this may not seem fair to many, it is a matter of debate with several strong arguments for and against
- Many people believe.whilst others say.
- Some people feel . Others think.

BODY:
Argument-led approach: (Contrast, reason,examples, result) usually 3 paragraphs
Each paragraph should have one main argument (topic sentence) at the beginning which states the main point of your
paragraph. This will be followed by the evidence which supports the point of the paragraph. Provide an argument wherever
you refute the opposing opinion. The final sentence will typically lead into the point of the following paragraph. State the
contrary viewpoint and give reasons why you don't agree with it / state the consequences if the contrary happens.
CONTRAST:
- On the one hand.. On the other hand.
- Those who think that may argue that
- . Even so, one cannot deny the fact that
- According to some people, . Others are of the opinion that.
- Having said that, however, some people oppose the former argument. They claim that
- It is clamed that .. (for the contrary view). But
- This may be partly true, but the alternatives are equally problematic.
- Although this can be deemed (considered) controversial,
- The supporters of this opinion often bring out the fact, that.
- On the downside,
- .. makes this point even more starkly.
- Thus it is no longer the case of..; .
- Being aware of,. (Knowing the extent of)
- A good idea would be
- There will be considerable opposition to this idea. Nevertheless, it needs to be considered fully.
- The repercussions here are extremely serious.
- Although it is hard to agree to such sweeping changes, yet they have to be implemented.
- I can understand this point of view but I cannot agree with it.
- Another important advantage that needs to be taken to account is that
- The other equally important aspect is,.

Thesis-led approach:
Contain a main or topic statement (as the first sentence) with supporting points explaining them.
- Some people think/believe that That is why
- It is generally agreed
- According to most scientists
- It is said that
- Another way to solve the problem is to.instead of.
- Apart from this problem, however, there is a much deeper one, and that is..

S: Statement of what you are proofing

E: Explanation and reasoning that supports your statement (explanation has to be true + plausible + accepted)
E: Evidence to support your reasons
Reasoning: (reason can be an impact or response)
- Harms/ Benefits
- include stakeholders (+/- reasons)
- Timing: Now (problem) Action (Solution, Effect and side effect) Then (consequences)
Conclusion:
Restate final opinion without any new points or explanations. Summarizing the main points and stating your
own opinion. Good to include implication of the conclusion or possible future outcomes.
- On balance, having considered the point employed by both sides of the argument, I feel that .is proportional to ..
- In conclusion, it is debatable whether .. are justified.
- Both critics and advocates seem to have plenty of arguments in support of their views.
- However/Nevertheless/Personally, I (feel/think/believe)
- It can be concluded that.
- This indicates that
- Therefore it seems that.
Vocabulary:
- Evaluation: benefit, unsatisfactory
- Consequence, reason, cause: outcome, procedure, explanation, so as not to, in order to
- Modifiers: (show value of points)
Quantity (Frequency): few, sometimes, generally, many, often, common, most, frequently, widespread,majority,
INTENSITY: significant, rather, quite, considerable, very, dramatic
CERTAINTY: maybe, definitely, it is clear that, perhaps, undoubtedly, possible, generally speaking
MODEL VERBS: may, could, must, might, can, should, would, ought to
Variable Degree Of Certainty: people are/tend to be. , This suggests/indicates/proves (X) causes (Y) , (X) is a
contributing factor to (Y)
- Connectors:,
LISTERS: Firstly, secondly, the third feature, finally, in conclusion (ALL BORING TO USE)
After that time, Thereafter, Subsequently, Afterwards, Later on, Following that, Next
ADDITION: Additionally, both. and.. , not only . but also (put also in the second position in the sentence not at
the beginning), furthermore, moreover, in addition (Dont Use Them Too Much At The Beginning Of A Sentence),
CONSEQUENCES: therefore, consequently, for this reason, as a result, because of this, (all of them use after ; or and.
They cant use as a join clause), which was followed by , which led to, which preceded/produced, due mainly to the
fact that
CONTRAST: however, but , nevertheless, by/in contrast, on the other hand, in spite of this, while, whereas, although
EMPHESIS: in fact, what is more, in particular
EXAMPLES: Take for example, to illustrate this, . for instance., . such as (doesnt begin a clause)
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, Finally, Therefore, Consequently, Clearly, It is clear that, on the
whole, In other words, Generally speaking, , To sum up, To summarise, , To put things together,

Describing Graphs:
Introduction:
The first sentence should define what the graph is about. (date, location, what is being described)
* use present tense (describing graph now)
- The graph shows/compares the number/rate of (describe) in (place) between the years (date) and
- The graph provides, information about
- According to
- The chart show the average . per (decade, annum, [period]) for [#] different types of [*] over a period of [*] years.
* shows: for single line graph /compares: for two line graph
The second sentence might sum up the overall trend.
* use past tense (describing events in the past)
- As an overall trend, it is clear that the number of
- It can be clearly seen that the trends for. are updward/downward with the most striking feature being
BODY:
The body describes the graph in detail. Describe most clear and logical order (different ways for different
graphs):
- pie charts: shows relative quantity (report structure, talks about percentages and proportions)
- line graphs: how something changes over time (present data from earliest to latest)
- bar graphs: how something changes over time, comparing values
- tables: illustrate a set of facts and the relationship among them
- diagram, flow chart: describe a process. Try to work out what the important stages are, the order they occur and any
obvious reasons for the order. Your report must include every stage shown in the diagram or flow chart.
- If the flow chart is simple and linear then you may be able to link the stages together by simply using some of the following
transition signals.
To begin with, First of all, First, Secondly, thirdly, etc (Then Next After that Finally)
- If the process is more complex, as in the example above, then you may need to also use these words
Alternatively, Otherwise, In addition, At the same time, Concurrently

* (use simple past to compare two dates in past)

- use the technique of comparing (show similarities) and contrast (show differences)
- description of data includes: statement-trend ( increased dramatically), data-evidence (from 2 to 3 million),
period (between 2000 and 2004), comment (This is a significant growth, rise of 50%)
- write percent instead of %.
- According to the figures, experienced an increase
- increased fairly rapidly until., remained constant for.. before dropping to zero in.
- the number of stood at approximately
- this situation had changed radically by .
- over the course of a year
- outnumbered by ten to one, (approximately 100 per cent against 10 per cent)
summarize the graph by dividing it into main parts (describing trends)
- describe a trend by:
1) difference between to levels (how much it increased from x to y)
2) the end point trend (there has been a rise to x at the end point y)
- Among the . , . was the most common.
- The (parameter) is the percentage (the number of ) comprises of (the population).

CONCLUSION:
Two sentences summarize the report and draw a relevant conclusion.
- In conclusion we can see that the rate of. dropped/increased throughout the whole period but was always at a
higher/lower level that the . figures.
- The rate of . increased until. but then decreased for the rest of the period.

Vocabulary

UP - Verbs went up, took off, shot up, soared, rocketed, jumped, (has) increased by, rose to, grew, rocketed,
improved, climbed, escalated, boomed, exploded (Learn the past tenses!)

UP - Nouns expansion, (there has been) an increase of, a rise to, a growth, an improvement, an upturn, a surge,
an upsurge, an upward trend, a boom ,explosion

DOWN - Verbs went/came down, fell, fell off, dipped, dropped, slumped, plunged, slid, dipped, declined,
dwindle, decrease, plummeted, slipped, shrank, reduced, collapse (use to after each word)

DOWN - Nouns contraction, a fall, a decrease, a decline, a drop, a downturn, a downturn trend, a reduction, a
slump (dramatic fall), dive, nose dive

NO CHANGE - Verbs remained stable/steady, leveled off/out at, stood at the same level, flattened off,
remained constant, stagnated, stabilized, held steady, did not change, maintained same level (use at after
each word)
Nouns: levelling out, no change

PARTICULAR POINT- Verbs: fluctuated around, peaked at, plateaued at, stood at, stayed at
- Nouns: A fluctuation, Reached a peak of, Reached plateau at

AT THE TOP - Verbs reached a peak of (number), peaked at (number), top out

AT THE BOTTOM - Verbs reach a low point, bottom out

RECOVER pick up, bounce back, rally

APROXIMATION: well/just under/over , roughly, approximately, about, nearly, around, almost equal numbers,
accounts for, make up, The table provides, is rated, include, As seen from the table, (tiny- vast) majority,

DEGREES OF CHANGE
Adjectives:

dramatic, considerable, sharp, significant, substantial, steep, huge, major, enormous, marked, large moderate,
gradual,
small, minimal, fair, slight, insignificant, minor

Adverbs:

dramatically, considerably, sharply, significantly, substantially, moderately, slightly, fairly, enormously,

steadily, minimally

SPEED OF CHANGE (over time)

Abrupt, sudden, rapid, fast, quick, steady, gradual, slow

Abruptly, suddenly, rapidly, quickly, steadily, gradually, slowly

PREPOSITIONS

a rise from $10 to $12

to increase by 50%
to fall by 30%
an increase of 7.5 per cent over last year

ESSENTIAL VERBS
Make sure that you understand the meaning of these verbs:
slump, rise, recover, plunge, pick up, plummet, drop, soar, bounce back, take off, climb, rally, fluctuate, fall, stabilize,
slide, flatten out, crash, hold steady, escalate, decline, rocket, dip
Graph: CHART, diagram; histogram, bar chart, pie chart, scatter diagram.
show: DEMONSTRATE, explain, describe, illustrate; teach, instruct
changed: ALTER, make/become different, adjust, adapt, amend, modify, reshape, refashion, redesign, restyle, remodel,
reorganize, reorder; vary, transform, transfigure,
correlate: CONNECT, establish a relationship/connection between, associate, relate.
contrast: DIFFERENCE, dissimilarity, disparity, distinction, contradistinction, variance, variation, differentiation; contradiction,
opposition
contrasts: DIFFER FROM, be at variance with, be contrary to, conflict with, go against, be at odds with, be in opposition to,
disagree with, clash with.
percentage: proportion, PART, portion, amount, quantity, fraction, section, segment, share.
percent: in every hundred, out of every hundred
Prevalent: WIDESPREAD, frequent, usual, common, current, popular
Different: DISSIMILAR, unalike, unlike, contrasting, contrastive, divergent, differing, varying
differs: CONTRAST WITH, be different/dissimilar to, be unlike, vary from, diverge from, deviate from
lack: ABSENCE, want, need, deficiency, dearth, insufficiency, shortage,
account for: CONSTITUTE, make up, comprise, form, compose, represent.
global: WORLDWIDE, international, world, intercontinental.
local: domestic, national, regional
general: WIDESPREAD, common, extensive, universal, wide, popular, COMPREHENSIVE, overall, across the board, mass, broadranging, universal, global
Parameter: variable, criterion
investigate: study, analyze, research, study, look into
figures: STATISTIC, number, quantity, amount, level, total, sum; (figures) data, information.
consider those issues: TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION, take account of, take into account, make allowances for, bear in mind,
be mindful of, remember, mind, mark, respect, heed, note,
factor: ELEMENT, part, component, point, detail, item, feature, aspect, characteristic, consideration, influence, circumstance
trend: TENDENCY, movement, drift, swing, shift, course, current, direction,
Process: PROCEDURE, operation, action, activity, exercise, affair, business, task
according to: IN PROPORTION TO, proportional to, commensurate with, in relation to, relative to, in line with, corresponding to
People: Those who, A person in x group, persons, men and women,
Age groups: Teenager, Young, Working age,
Elderly: (AGED, old, advanced in years, ageing, greying population, Retired people)
According to time periods: per decade, per annum, yearly, diurnal (daily)

- Grouping: factors, features, aspect

- Implication: under these circumstances , in this case, otherwise (FOLLOWED BY FUTURE TENSE)
- Speculation: (prediction) it is likely that, in all probability, it can be expected that in future..
- Explaining: By this I mean, In other words, that is, because
- ALTERNATIVE: alternatively, similarly
- Demand: need, requirement, desire
- fulfill: meet, satisfy, comply with, answer
- REJECT: TURN DOWN, refuse, decline, say no to

- JOB: position, profession, post, career, business

- Education: TEACHING, schooling, tuition, training, Knowledge, Learning
-

Important: crucial, vital, necessary, critical, PARAMOUNT

Obvious: NOTICEABLE, striking, clear, unmistakable, distinct, prominent
At the same time: SIMULTANEOUSLY, concurrently
Varied: DIVERSE, assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, sundry, heterogeneous, wide-ranging
Disadvantage: drawback, downside, limitation, weakness
Advantages: benefit, value, good point
Expected: predicted, forecasted, imminent, anticipated

Comparing numbers:
- quite as, just as, almost as, nearly as
- As many. Two times/ Twice as many/ double. Three times as many. (Trebled/tripled, quadruple, fivefold) (increased threefold,
fourfold,.)
- By far the highest, Far more, Substantially more, Considerably more, Slightly more, Fractionally more.
- most/least, more/less
- Compared to the number of, the number of is relatively low/high.
- Comparing the figures for 1999 and 2000, we can see an increase of. Percent.

NOTES:
- If you never have been faced by the question before think of WHAT IF NOT? way to find arguments for
something.
- Counter arguments must directly oppose the arguments given and not introduce different arguments
- Evaluate and define the key terms in the question to decide which idea is good or bad (real vs ideal) put standard criteria for
something to be good then categorize them upon that and after that compare ranking them (importance, common, general,
chronically)
- think of consequences problems may have.
- speculate about an alternative that doesnt excist
- in the body either talk about all positive arguments together then the negative ones, or compare one positive with one
negative within each.
- during the proof reading focus on:
final letter S (plural and third person singular, present tense)