To begin with let's define what is meant by "essay". The word derives from the French "essai" which means "attempt". It is a short literary piece expressing the author's point of view. There are two types of essay: a) argumentative essay expressing opinion; b) argumentative discursive essay (for and against).
Before we start discussing writing strategies one more thing is worth mentioning. When the word "essay" is a noun it is pronounced ['esei] whereas it is pronounced [e'sei] being a verb.
At our lesson today we will discuss the rules of writing argumentative essays expressing opinion.
An essay expressing opinion is a formal piece of writing in which your own opinion is clearly stated and supported by reasons.
Structure:
INTRODUCTION
Paragraph 1.
The subject or topic. A statement of your opinion.
MAIN BODY
Paragraph 2.
Viewpoint 1 supported by a logical reason.
Paragraph 3.
Viewpoint 2 supported by a logical reason.
Paragraph 4.
The opposing viewpoints and reasons.
You might include a lead-in opinion to your conclusion.
CONCLUSION
A summary of your viewpoints. When you restate your opinion use different words!
NOTE: Each viewpoint should be presented in a separate paragraph, so you may include more paragraphs in the main body if you have more viewpoints.
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES (linkers):
1. To express opinion: I believe , In my opinion, I think, In my view, I strongly believe, I feel that, It seems to me that, etc.
2. To present the other side of the argument: Contrary to what most people believe, As opposed to the above ideas, Some people argue that:
3. To join each viewpoint with the others: In the first place, To start with, What is more, Furthermore, Besides, Apart from this, It is argued that, etc.
At the end of our lesson you will be given a list of some other linking words (linkers).
And now let's have some practice. Read the text below and circle the alternative which is not possible in each case.
| 1 A On the other hand | B Furthermore | C However |
| 2 A therefore | B however | C as well as these |
| 3 A Furthermore | B However | C In addition |
| 4 A Despite | B However | C Nevertheless |
| 5 A So | B Although | C Therefore |
| 6 A on the other hand | B as well as this | C however |
| 7 A Although | B Despite | C In spite of |
| 8 A In addition to this | B Furthermore | C Although |
| 9 A because | B because of | C as |
| 10 A Because | B Therefore | C So |
A lot of people think that television in my country has improved over the last few years. (1):.. , there are people who think it has got worse.
Only ten years ago the only television channels were the two state-owned stations. Nowadays,
(2) ::, in almost every part of the country you can receive as many as four more channels with your normal TV set. (3) :: you can buy a satellite dish or pay to receive cable television.
(4) ::, does this mean the quality of what is shown has improved? There are a lot more movies, game shows, sports programmes and the so-called reality shows in which real people talk about dramatic things that have happened to them. (5) :: if you like a lot of choice and want to be entertained more than anything else, you would probably say that television has improved.
If, (6) ::, you thought of television as an educational aid, you are probably very disappointed with what is on offer. (7) :: the large number of channels, there are definitely fewer documentary programmes. (8) ::, the documentaries that are shown are of poorer quality than they were a few years ago. There are also fewer programmes about art and music (9):: advertisers have found that these programmes attract only a small audience.
(10) :: television has improved in terms of the number of channels and the choice of programmes, but, in my opinion, it does not provide as much information as it used to, which is its main purpose.
And now let's try to develop our own paragraph on learning a dead language into an essay expressing opinion.
Choose the best beginning and ending from the list below. Give your reasons.
Beginnings:
When I tell people that I studied Latin until I was 16 they look at me as if I had a banana sticking out of my ear.
Latin used to be an integral part of classical education. Every public school had it on its curriculum. For the past decades public school have become less classical and Latin is no longer compulsory.
Do you think that learning Latin is a waste of time, and only someone weird can take it up seriously.
Endings:
Brilliant minds used Latin in the millennium before last. It would be criminal to ignore their heritage just because people consider the language elitist.
Learning Latin is enjoyable and highly satisfying. It gives you an insight into things you may have never discovered.
On balance, the main advantage of learning Latin is that it puts our own society, literature and language into perspective.
What should be added to the first and final paragraphs you have chosen to make it an essay expressing opinion?
Look though the endings B and C and work out the possible viewpoints to be dealt with in the paragraph giving the opposing opinion:
It is a waste of time learning a language nobody speaks today.
Latin is a dead language that could only be part of elitist education.
Latin can be of interest to the few studying ancient history, philosophy and theology.
Write the paragraph expressing opposing viewpoints and reasons.
Write the essay "Why I would like to study Latin".
While writing your essays you may use linking words (linkers) of different types.
Linking words show the logical relationship between sentences or parts of sentences.
Linkers of positive addition: and, both : and, not only: but (also/as well), too, moreover, in addition to, furthermore, further, also, not to mention the fact that, besides
Linkers of negative addition: neither : nor, nor, neither, either
Linkers of contrast: but, not: but, although, while, whereas, despite, even if, even though, on the other hand, in contrast, however, (and) yet, at the same time
Linkers of similarity: similarly, likewise, in the same way, equally
Linkers of concession: but, even so, however, (and) still, (and) yet, nevertheless, on the other hand, although, even though, despite/in spite of, regardless of, admittedly, considering, whereas, while, nonetheless
Linkers of alternative: or, on the other hand, either :or, alternatively
Linkers of exemplification: as, such as, like, for example, for instance, particularly, especially, in particular
Linkers of emphasis: besides, not only this but : also, as well, what is more, in fact, as a matter of fact, to tell you the truth, actually, indeed, let alone
Linkers of clarification: that is to say, specifically, in other words, to put it another way, I mean
Linkers of cause/reason : as, because, because of, since, on the grounds that, seeing that, due to, in view of, owing to, for, now that, so
Linkers of manner: as, (in) the way, the way in which, (in) the same way (as), as if, as though
Linkers of condition: if, in case, assuming (that), on condition (that), provided (that), providing (that), unless, in the event that, in the event of, as/so long as, granted/granting (that), whether, whether : or, only if, even if, otherwise, or (else), in case of
Linkers of consequence of a condition: consequently, then, under those circumstances, if so, if not, so, therefore, in that case, otherwise, thus
Linkers of purpose: so that, so as (not), in order (not) to, in order that, for fear that, in case, lest
Linkers of effect/result: such/so: that, consequently, for this reason, as a consequence, thus, therefore, so
Linkers of comparison: as:as, than, half as:as, nothing like, the:the, twice as:as, less than
Linkers of time: when, whenever, as, while, now (that), before, until, till, after, since
Linkers of place: where, wherever
Linkers of exception: but (for), except (for), apart from
Relative linkers: who, whom, whose, which, what, that
Chronological linkers:
- beginning: initially, first:, at first, to start/begin with, first of all
- continuing: secondly, after this/that, second:, afterwards, then, next,
- before this
- concluding: finally, at last, in the end, eventually, lastly, last but not least
Reference linkers: considering, concerning, regarding, with respect/regard/reference to this/to the fact that
Summarising linkers: in conclusion, in summary, to sum up, as I have said, as (it) was previously stated, on the whole, in all, all in all, altogether, in short, briefly, to put it briefly.