WRITING SKILLS 2011

GUIDE TO WRITING SKILLS FOR INTERMEDIATE 3 -4

The type of writing skill required for Intermediate 3 is For and

Against Essay of 200/250 words . When writing this type of essay
you need to consider the following points:

1 For and Against essay structure

2 Organization of ideas
3 Use of connectors
4 Language
5 Grammar

1 FOR AND AGAINST ESSAY STRUCTURE

What is a For and Agaisnt essay?

It is a type of argumentative essay which presents advantages and
disadvantages on a certain issue. It is a formal piece of writing in which
a topic is considered from objective opposing points of views. We often
give our personal opinion on the issue in the conclusion. A good essay of
this type should consist of three parts: introduction, body, and
conclusion.

2 ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS

Organization is a key ingredient to a good essay. A well structured paper

will be much more logical to the reader, as well as more effective. An
organized paper makes sure that ideas are linked together with smooth
transitions. Your For and Agaisnt essay should be organized in the
following way:

Introduction: it is the firts paragraph where you present the main idea
or topic of the essay. In thsi paragrapph the reader will find what the
essay is about.

Body: it is the second paragraph which contains the arguments for

and the arguments against the topic by giving examples. It is
important to use as many connectors as possible in order to link your
ideas.

Conclusion: this is the last paragraph which sum up the topic. You
repeat the main idea using other words, and you can give your personal
opinion.

3 Use of Connectors

One of the best ways to improve your writing style is to use sentence
connectors. These are used to express relationships between ideas and
to combine sentences. The use of these connectors will add
sophistication to your writing style.

The connectors you will need to link your ideas in a For and Against
essay are :

Connectors of contrast:
On the one hand, ...... . On the other hand, ...
However, ...
Nevertheless, ...
In contrast, ...

Connectors to indicate addition:

Moreover, ...
Besides, ...
First, .... . Second,... Finally,...

Connectors used in the conclusion:

To sum up, ...
In conclusion, ...
To summarize, ...
In brief, ...

4 Relevant Vocabulary
-These are useful phrases for writing a For and Agaisnt essay:

First of all,
To begin with,
 The fact is that
The point is ..
It is often believed that...
According to...
At first sight it appears that....
I want to emphasize the fact that....

-You also need to make use of relevant vocabulary related to the

topic.

5 Grammar

Make good use of grammar: use proper verb tenses, word order,
sentence structure, etc.

Sample essay

Who doesnt have a mobile phone these days? The fact is they seem to
be everywhere. While mobile phones certainly have many supporters,
there are also people who have reservations about them.

Those who are in favour of mobile phones claim they make

communication an immediate process and people no longer need to wait
until they find an ordinary phone when they need to make an urgent
phone call. Moreover, they also point out that a mobile phone can be a
life-saver in the case of an emergency. Finally, parents feel much more
secure when they know that, thanks to mobile phones, they can contact
their children whenever they want.
On the other hand, those who are against mobile phones state the fact
that much research must still be carried out in order to prove decisively
that mobile phones do not damage your health. Another disadvantage is
the way that mobile phones are destroying our social life. How many
times have you had to stop a conversation so that your partner can
answer his or her mobile phone? Not to mention the disturbances they
cause at concerts and theatre performances.

In conclusion, although there are two sides to a coin, I believe that

mobile phones generally do improve the quality of our life. In my
opinion, even if only one life has been saved thanks to a mobile phone,
they have justified their existence.