· Write an essay
§ Remember to TONE is ACADEMIC and purposeful.
§ NO Rhetorical Questions!
§ Make the point of the essay clear in the first paragraphs!
§ Order your ideas
§ Use lots of connectives!
Useful structures
Introduction
•It is generally accepted nowadays that …
•A controversial issue/topic/problem which often divides opinion is …
•A crucial issue nowadays is the
•A challenging issue/problem …
•Nowadays, ______is becoming an increasing concern.
•Nowadays, there is widespread concern about …
•Over the last 20 years, ________ has been a
•The issue of _______ opens up a very interesting debate …
•It is a vital/ critical/ crucial/ fundamental/ essential/ key problem or issue in society.
•Originally / At first / Initially
•Currently / At the moment / Nowadays
•In recent history …
•Since the beginning of time …
•History has been littered with examples of …
•For many old/young people, this issue is crucial because it has a direct impact on their lives.
•Clearly, such a development can have both positive and negative implications
•Thus it is having a huge impact ON …
•In view of this/ in light of this …
Opinions and arguments for MAIN BODY
•Some argue that the problem began…
•Whereas others trace it back to ….
•Some sceptics claim that …
•While I understand this point …
•Taking this into consideration,
•Although I think… others believe that …
•While there is certainly … there is also …
•As well as …., there is also …
•To achieve this, society/the government should …
•The short/long term effects may be …
•However, a positive impact has been …
•Moreover, this may mean that …
•Without a shadow of a doubt/needless to say/clearly/in
fact
•Firstly/secondly/Thirdly
•In addition to + gerund (in addition to increasing ….), we
also need to …
•For this to be successful, there should be …
•In theory this seems like … however in practice …
Time phrases
• Shortly afterwards / shortly before
•In the short term… / In the long term
•Recently there has been an increase in …
Set structures
•Due to the fact that …
•Due to the lack of …
•Despite the fact that …
•As a direct consequence,
•This is in part due to …
Passive voice structures
•It is often suggested that …
•It has been suggested that …
•It is widely believed that …
•It is often said that …
•It has been suggested that…
Conclusion
• In conclusion,
•Hopefully / It is hoped that …
•The … is expected to …
•While I believe that we should … others strongly
believe that …
•Taking all this into account, it is clear that ...
•All in all, ...
•To sum, this crucial issue needs to be dealt with by
implementing ...
•In conclusion, the facts suggest that ..
CONNECTIVES
1) To add: and, furthermore, in addition, what is more, to add, moreover
2) To contrast: but, although, though, despite, in spite of, however, nevertheless, yet, whereas, while, conversely, alternatively
3) To give reason: because, since, due to, as, owing to,because of
4) To give a result: therefore, consequently, so
5)To show sequence: firstly, secondly, finally, lastly, last
but not least
6) To summarise/ conclude: to sum up, in conclusion, in brief, in summary, in short, to conclude
· Write a leaflet
DO NOT FOLD YOUR EXAM PAPER UP
Audience is very important – this will determine the type of language that you use.
Consider
the purpose of the leaflet – is it to persuade people to take part in
activities? is it to persuade people to join a club? IF SO – you need to
use persuasive devices, you need to make it sound very appealing, you
need to describe it well and make it very clear. Lots of personal
pronouns and finish with plenty of imperatives! Go and do it! You can
make the difference!
Consider
the purpose of the leaflet – is it to inform people about a health
issue? is it to inform people about an upcoming event or change in
school /university/ town centre?
This
will mean that persuasive devices are not needed – you will need to
give lots of clear information and give some background history.
Details! will be the key to this type of leaflet. Think: Does this
leaflet inform people of what to do?
Lots of sub- headings are needed. You can use bullet points but they need to make sense and help the purpose of your leaflet.
· Write a blog
Blog is the space for personal thoughts and personal opinions. You can be funny, creative and inventive.
But
remember - the order, and paragraphs of your blog post need to make
sense. Have in mind that the audience are one click away if they get
bored. So your task is to keep them entertained and make them feel like
they know what is going on.
It
would be a good idea to make reference to the fact that it is online so
“check the link out below” “click here to view more” etc.
But
the blog is personal – consider the purpose of the post. What is the
topic? Who will read the blog post? Change your language according to
this…
You can have a look at Mr Sellick’s blog from England to get a sense of what blog posts are and how varied they can be http://555words.com/topics/
– but remember, all posts have been planned in detail before being
written. This is not an easy task but it is, or rather, could be a very
enjoyable one.
· Write a transcript of an interview
Features of a Transcript Interview
Reads like a script – an accurate transcription of the words used, without commentary or description
* uses a register appropriate to the degree of formality implied by the task
* will have a Question & Response structure, showing the characters' 'alternating speeches'
* will express realistic oral speech, perhaps with complex interactions such as interruptions
* will make apparent an overall pattern of topics and ideas
What does your Transcript interview need?
· An introduction giving date of interview, who wrote transcript, who was interviewed
· Questions and answers
· STRUCTURE Questions which follow a logical order linking to what in said in the previous answer
· Relatively formal language – this is a professional interview
· Oral expressions – ‘you know’, ‘pretty much’, ‘sorry, no’, ‘I mean’, ‘like’, ‘anyway’, ‘kind of’,
‘for example’
· Write a talk or a speech to… class mates/ colleagues/ residents
Firstly, the audience is the key! You must write appropriate to age and relationship with the people in front of you.
Persuasive or informative – these speeches will be very differenct – consider what happens in a leaflet again.
But
the key to a good speech or talk is making the audience feel important.
So, inclusive pronouns “We, you, us”… Personal experience “I”,
Rhetorical questions and anecdotes to give your speech more validity.
Common ending is to go for imperatives with “now is the chance to make
the change – do it, go there, vote for this, vote for that”.
Rhetorical
devices – REPETITION REPETITION REPETITION… How many times did Martin
Luther King Jr say “I have a dream”? = learn from the best!
Detail and substance are vital and therefore, like all of the above:
PLANNING AND PARAGRAPHS!
