ARTICLES

SUGGESTIONS
Here are a few tips about writing articles if you decide to choose this option for part 2 of the
Writing Test.
Ask yourself the following 5 questions when you write your answer:
1. Who will read my article?
Read the question! It might be:
Students in a school, the people who live in a town, teenagers interested in sports clubs,
etc
IMAGINE YOU ARE REALLY SPEAKING TO THE READER, SO
GET THEIR INTEREST!!!
2. Am I attracting the attention of this reader?
Imagine you are surfing the internet for a product.
What gets your attention?
SPECIAL OFFER!

SUPER DISCOUNTS!

DONT MISS THIS OFFER!

THE GREATEST SALE IN HISTORY! UNBELIEVABLE PRICES!

Use striking adjectives and provoke a reaction!!
3. Is my article interesting?
Boring is bad! Use real life situations, add a touch of humour, invent amusing ideas, speak
directly to the reader and ask rhetorical questions if the style is friendly and informal.
You can use one question per paragraph.
4. Is it easy to read?
Structure
Write an Introduction like an aperitif! Then your reader knows what the article is about.
Dont give too much information though because the reader will switch off and lose interest.
Divide your article into 3 or 4 paragraphs and give each paragraph a subheading (an
underlined title). For example:
Disadvantages of technology in sports clases
5. Has my article got a good conclusion?
This is NOT AN ESSAY!
It doesnt need a solid scientific conclusin to summarize the ponts you made.

Its more important to let the reader think about it and decide for himself/herself.
You can use a rhetorical question to finish such as:
How often will this situation continue until somebody.? or
Is this really the future we want for..?
PLAN
And of course,.make a plan for 5 or 10 minutes before you start writing!!! You have to
write about 190 words in 40 minutes.
PARAGRAPH PLAN (approx. number of words) CONTENT
INTRODUCTION (30-40)
PARAGRAPH 1 with subheading

(30-40)

PARAGRAPH 2 with subheading

(30-40)

PARAGRAPH 3 with subheading

(30-40)

CONCLUSION

(40-50)

INFORMAL EMAILS

WRITING AN INFORMAL EMAIL

You MUST write 140-190 words.
Write 190! This is your chance to show the examiner what you know.
In recent years, the Informal email is very common in the writing exam.
The Writing Exam is 20% of the total mark, so your email is worth 10% of the
total exam mark.
Remember to use very informal language in this answer. Usually you are
writing to a friend.
The examiners are very concerned about the style of writing (also known as the
register) and give marks for well-used informal language.

ESSAY
PART 1 WRITING AN ESSAY

(also known as a discursive essay or

composition)
The student must write 140-190 words.
There are basically 4 types of essay/composition.

1. Advantages/Disadvantages (Pros and cons).

2. Agree or disagree with the title (in a logical way!)
3. Giving opinions or suggestions about the title.
4. Writing about issues in modern society such as: health, pollution, internet,
technology, ecology, men and women, economic crisis.
How to write a good discursive essay (composition)
Before you start
Read the question carefully. DO NOT write an irrelevant answer. ANSWER THE
QUESTION!

Plan your essay. Spend about 5 minutes on this. It will make your life

easier

Give your essay a title

Control your time. Spend about 40 minutes

Remember this!

You MUST write your essay in 140-190 words. Write 190 words, NOT

140!!

A composition is usually more formal than an article, so present your

work as a scientific, coherent argument

Use formal language. DO NOT use contractions, colloquial expressions or

a chatty style

Write at least 3 paragraphs with a clear introduction, contrast of

arguments and a logical conclusion

Make sure your argument is clear

Use difficult grammar and more complex sentences

Use conditional and passive sentences

Dont worry if you make small mistakes. You will get more points for

using difficult grammar

Give an opinion ONLY when appropriate

Give your opinion at the end, NOT at the beginning

When you have finished

Make sure you have expressed yourself clearly

Check your writing for grammar mistakes

Check your writing for spelling mistakes

Structuring your composition

Most people write about 10-12 words per line.
Mathematics! You have to write a total of 190 words, so you should write about
15 lines in total.
Heres an example of how to set out your essay
Introduction 3 lines
Contrasting arguments
Paragraph 1

4 lines

Paragraph 2

4 lines

Conclusion
3 lines

Heres an example of some good expressions you could use in the 4 parts of the
essay
Introduction

To begin with/ Firstly,

First of all I would like to consider

The first thing (I would like to consider) to be considered is
Nowadays, it seems that/ In recent times
Contrasting arguments Paragraph 1
On one hand, it could be said that
Despite the fact that / In spite of
Although it could be said that
It is often thought that
Paragraph 2
On the other hand, it could be argued that

Although it appears that

Apart from that
What is more,
It would seem, however, that
Conclusion
To sum up,/ In conclusion,
Because of / As a result of this / Owing to / As a consequence
of
Therefore, in my opinion,
On this basis, I can conclude that

REPORTS
SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING REPORTS

Decide on your target reader it will help you to choose the appropriate

register (formal or informal).

Use formal language usually.

The main characteristic of a report is its layout.

Divide your report clearly into sections:

Introduction: Make your introduction brief but clear.

State the reason for your report.

Answer the question without repeating language from the question

whenever possible. Explain things in your own words,

Try to imagine that you are the only one who knows about the subject, so

transmit your message clearly.

Your report could begin like this:
1. To:
2. From:
3. Date:
4. Subject:
The aim/purpose of this report is to show/exemplify/illustrate/depict

This report is concerned with../ is intended to/is written to analyse/ deals

with
relates to/is about
Presenting your opinion
You can use separate headings for advantages and disadvantages and describe
them in two paragraphs or just present them in a list of points.
The advantages/disadvantages are
The benefits/drawbacks of are
The most convincing arguments in favour of are
Evaluation/recommendation (if required in the question)
I would recommendbecause
I would not hesitate to recommend
I would suggest
In my opinion, it would be worth +ing
Conclusion/summary
It is a good idea to repeat why you are writing in the conclusion just to show you
are focused on the purpose of this report.
In conclusion I would like to stress that
In my opinion
It is a fact that
It appears to/ seems to/ tends to
There is no doubt that

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING REVIEWS

ANSWER THE QUESTION!!
PLAN your review.
Give your review a heading (an underlined title).
Make sure you have at least 3 paragraphs.
Ask rhetorical questions to get your readers attention. Eg. What would the
world be like without oil? What will life be like in 20 years time?
Speak directly to your readers. Eg. Lets just imagine some of the
possibilities.
Give examples where appropriate.
Use humour where appropriate.
Give a conclusion and summary in the last paragraph.

Finally, give your opinion where appropriate.

CHECK your review for mistakes.
INTRODUCTIONS
Introducing your first point:
Firstly / First of all
In the first place
The first thing to consider is
One thing to consider is
To begin with
Introducing more points:
Secondly
Another consideration
Another thing to consider is
Added to that
Apart from that
In addition to this
Introducing your final points:
In conclusion
To conclude
To sum up

EXPRESSING OPINIONS
I think
In my opinion
Personally I believe that
In my view
If you ask me
My personal opinion is
I agree/ disagree with
In my opinion
I believe that
I am in favour of
I am against the idea of
It seems to me that

Useful phrases

I sympathize with
PRESENTING

AND CONTRASTING ARGUMENTS

The main argument in favour/ against is

First of all I should like to consider
The first thing (I would like to consider) to be considered is
In order to make the problem clear, I would like to present some examples of
Apart from that
Despite the fact that / In spite of
On the other hand
What is more
What matters most in this case is
There is no doubt that
REASONING
because of
as a result of
on account of
owing to
due to
as a consequence
CONCLUDING
To sum up, it could be said that.
On this basis, I can conclude that
Given this, it can be concluded that
Having proved this, I would like to
In conclusion, I would like to stress that..
Rhetorical questions to

use for more style

Have you ever ..?

What do you think about ..?
Are you one of those people who think that ?
Are you one of those people who .?
What would life be like if ?