First of all, your English essay must cover ALL the aspects outlined in the assignment, and it must be written in an appropriate style (neutral). It should be logically divided into paragraphs and follow the outline suggested in the assignment.
Is grademiners legit? In order not to get confused in the process of writing your essay, you should spend 5-7 minutes thinking about the plan and preparing all the arguments. Traditionally, we will divide the essay into five paragraphs.
Introduction
Here should be the problem statement. Since the problem statement is already stated in the assignment, your task is to retell it competently. RETELL it, not paraphrase it.
WARNING: after you have done this, be sure to open the situation and make sure that your retelling is essentially the same as the situation you have been given. Now you can move on.
Instead of the banal "Some people think, . Others think, ..." you can use:
Some people claim that ..., while others argue that ....
After you have described the essence of the problem, you can ask directly the question, which you will answer in your essay. For example: "What is better: ... or ...?", "What should we do: ... or ...?" etc. In 2018, a clarification came out that classified rhetorical questions as stylistic errors. Therefore, we do not use them.
With the last sentence of the opening paragraph, you should set the purpose of your essay. This can be done, for example, like this:
In this essay I will try to look upon this issue.
In this essay I will try to express my opinion on this issue.
In this essay I would like to express my point of view on this issue.
In this essay I will try to answer this question. (This is the easiest option, if the previous two are difficult for you to remember, remember it)
Your opinion
It is most logical to begin this paragraph by stating your opinion of the question. Useful phrases (be sure to follow this punctuation!):
In my opinion, ...
From my point of view, ...
To my mind, ...
Personally, I think that ...
I am certain that ... (Note! We do not abbreviate: we write I am...)
As far as I am concerned, ...
Then you must give 2-3 arguments to support your point of view. Arguments may be any, if you interpret them correctly. That is such that they were difficult to argue with (within reasonable limits, of course).
Here you must not forget about the means of logical connection of sentences. The first argument is a good one to start with:
Firstly, ...
To start with, ...
To begin with, ...
First of all, ...
Once you've formulated the first argument, you need to back it up and/or give an example to support it. Here are the simplest models of how this can be done:
<argument>, because ...
<argument>. That is why ...
<argument>. For example, ...
If you started with "Firstly, ...", then the second argument should start with "Secondly, ...
If the first argument went with the phrases "To start with, ...", "To begin with, ...", then the second can start with the following words:
Moreover, ...
Furthermore, ...
Besides, ...
In addition, ...
The second argument should also be supported by an example or proof.
Opposing opinion
You will begin the paragraph by stating a contrary opinion on the proposed topic or question. You can do it this way:
Others believe that ...
Some people argue that ...
However, some people think that ...
This is followed by 1-2 arguments to support the opposing view. I advise you to think of two at first. As for how many you should end up writing: 1 or 2 - decide in the process, based on the resulting size of your essay.
Your counterarguments
The essence of this paragraph is to explain why you do not agree with the opposite opinion. You could start the paragraph with a sentence, for example:
I cannot agree with this opinion because ...
I am afraid I cannot agree with this idea because ...
It sounds a little strange to say "I am afraid" rather than "I'm afraid", but it is better not to abbreviate it, because it can cost you precious points.
WARNING: If you gave two arguments in the previous paragraph, you must refute both of them. You can separate them with the following phrases:
As for ...,
Speaking about ...,
As far as ... is concerned,
Conclusion
The most common mistake many students make is to simply state their opinion in the conclusion. This is not enough. After all, the conclusion applies to the entire essay, not just the second paragraph.
Thus, the conclusion should summarize everything that was said in the essay and express your point of view. You can also give your recommendations on an existing problem. Most importantly: the conclusion should not contain any new information.
I would recommend lexically designating that the conclusion will go next. You can begin the paragraph like this:
In conclusion, ...
To sum up, ...
To conclude, ...
Related resources:
How to write a great essay on the exam
What is an essay - its outline and structure
How to write a social studies essay
What mistakes to avoid when writing an essay
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