Essay writing exercises

Test Tip

Before you start writing, read the question very carefully and be sure to address all of the points raised. Use your
introduction to rephrase the question. Don't repeat words and phrases from the question.
Exercises
1.1 Look at this essay question and consider whether you agree or disagree with the statement.
A lot of students find it difficult to write good essays. There is little that you can do to mae your essays better or to
mae the !ob easier.
To what e"tent do you agree or disagree#
1.2 Replace the underlined words in the introductory sentences below with a suitable word from the box.
tas less difficult struggle produce high$quality many improve

%t is true that a lot of students find it difficult to write good essay. % don't agree that there is little you can do to mae
your essays better or& to mae the !ob easier

Linking words

2.1 These words and phrases can be used to link ideas together. ut the words and phrases into the correct
column according to their function. !se your notebook.

'imilarly that is now
as a result alternatively in other words
indeed and consequently
nonetheless while to illustrate this
finally whereas firstly
however in conclusion therefore
although but because
secondly because of or
despite not only ... but... also.. also
in addition furthermore on the other hand
such as to summarise for e"ample

"equencing #dding $ntroducing %i&ing %i&ing an %i&ing an 'rawing
ideas supporting a contrasting examples alternati&e explanation a conclusion
ideas idea
firstly furthermore however such as or in other words in conclusion
(ocabulary note
Because is a con!unction and is used to give a reason( The car crashed because the braes didn't wor. Because of is
a preposition and means as a result of( The hospital closed because of a lac of funds.
Test Tip
'upport your ideas with evidence and relevant e"amples. )ae sure that your ideas are well organised and easy to
follow by using the correct lining words.

2.2 !nderline the correct linking words in the following sentences.
*.%t can be difficult to write an essay, because/ although there are several things you can do to mae the !ob easier.
+. There are several things you can do to mae writing easier. For example / However, it can be helpful to mae a
rough plan of your ideas.
,. %t can be helpful to practise writing within the time limit. -ou can time yourself with a cloc and / or a stopwatch.
-ou will not be allowed to use equipment as a result/such as a dictionary during the test.
.. % thin % did well in the test although / in spite of % did run out of time at the end.
/. % thin that my vocabulary has improved because/as a result of reading this boo.
2.) $mpro&e the essay by inserting the correct linking words and phrases. There may be more than one
possible answer.
however firstly in other words furthermore also such as alternatively now nevertheless in addition
because similarly
%t is true that many students struggle to produce high$quality essays. 0%1 .However/Nevertheless % don't agree that
there is little you can do to improve your essays or to mae the tas less difficult.
0+12222 let us e"amine what an essay needs in order to be considered 'good'. To begin with, a good essay must
answer the question fully. 0,1222222..it must address each of the points raised in the essay title, 0.1
22222..it must present these points in an organised and logical way. A good writer will 0/1
222222.avoid using the same words and phrases. This can be easily achieved by using techniques 031
222222paraphrasing. 041222222,you can use synonyms of words rather than repeating the same ones.
05122222.,all of the ideas presented in your essay must be relevant and supported by e"amples.
612222..let us consider what students can do in order* to improve their essay$writing sills. 7learly, a good
nowledge of the language is required to be able to write an essay that has few errors and communicates well.
0*81222.., writing a good essay requires more than good language sills 0**1222..people
often find it difficult to write essays even in their own language. As with any sill, the best way to learn is from our
mistaes. To learn how to ride a bie you need to get on one and fall off a few times. *+12222..students can
improve their essay writing through maing and correcting mistaes and through constant practice.
(ocabulary note
The following lining words and phrases must be followed by a noun and cannot be followed by a clause( because
of, as a result of, in spite of, despite. % enjoyed my holiday in spite of the bad weather.
*pinion words
(ocabulary note
9e often use adverbs to show our opinion of an idea.

).1 +atch the ad&erbs in column # with the correct meaning in column ,. #
* personally A it is easy to understand
+ unfortunately B it is easy to understand
, clearly 7 it is well deserved
. obviously D this is my own opinion
/ !ustifiably : % believe this is a sad thing
3 thanfully ; % believe this is a good thing
4 fortunately < % believe this is a good thing
Error warning-
Be careful with punctuation. -ou must use a comma after the following words and phrases when they are used at the
start of a sentence. n addition, !lso, For example, n conclusion, Finally, However, Furthermore, "astly, n my
opinion, #imilarly, $o summarise, $herefore, %nfortunately, $o sum up, e.g. $o sum up, in my opinion ta&ing a gap
year is a very good idea.

).2 .omplete the sentences with ad&erbs from ).1. 'on/t forget the necessary punctuation.
* 2222., % thin learning vocabulary is a good idea.
+ 2222...% remembered how to spell the word correctly on the day of the e"am.
, 9hen % received my results % was2222..proud.
. 22222my friend didn't study for the test so he didn't do very well.
/ 22222if you wor hard then you will improve.
0inishing off and register

Test T$p
Use your conclusion to summarise your main points. 9hen you have finished, carefully edit your wor and chec
your spelling.
1.1 $t is easy to make careless spelling mistakes if you are writing quickly. Read the following paragraph and
correct the spelling mistakes.
=ecnet resaerch at an :nglish uinervtisy sugegsts taht it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the %tteers in a wrod are, the olny
impotarnt tihng is that the frist and %sat %tteers are in the rghit pclae. :evn thuogh the mddile ltteers mghit be m"ied
up, people dno't hvae a prolbem raeding the wrods. Tihs is becuase we raed the wrod as a wohle rahter tahn eevry
ltteer by iteslf.
Test Tip
#lang > very informal, taboo > this word will offend people. The %:?T' test is a formal situation, so you should
never use informal words, e.g. &ids, guys -ou should also avoid using abbreviations( number @AT no, for e"ample
@AT e,g. -ou and your not UBU=
1.2 .orrect the mistakes with register and spelling that ha&e been underlined in the conclusion. 2hich
words do you ha&e to change because of register3
To sum up, even through many &guys thin writing essays is a bit difficult, there is stuff they can do to imporve
there writing sills.( Cersonaly, % belive that if you wanna get a good score in an e"am situation then you need to
mae sure that you aproach the essay question in a logical and organised way. ;inally, you need too leave enough
time to chec over your wor throughly at the end.

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