1. Circle the topic and write the topic question as a “wh” or yes/no question.
Public libraries are becoming less popular and they will soon disappear.
Introduction
2. Start your introduction with a general statement about libraries. Useful phrases to start with:
Nowadays, …Today,…Generally,…In many places…It is a well-known fact that…There is no doubt that…There is a trend that… It is obvious that…
It is obvious that reading has always been among the human most favourite pastimes and libraries were an integral part of any city or rural landscape.
Nowadays, in the age of modern technology there are a lot of arguments about public libraries.
3. In the introduction, you should restate the essay question in your own words, that is, paraphrase it. Remember: you will lose marks if you copy the whole question or too many words from the task.
4. You can use the following paraphrasing techniques:
- replace a word with a close synonym, e.g. disappear(vanish, stop existing, die out, cease to exist, cease to be), public library(city library, bibliotheca ,book repository)
- replace a word with its definition, e.g. library( a place where literary materials, such as books, periodicals, newspapers, prints, records are kept for reading, reference or lending)
- replace a phrase with a phrase of the same meaning ,e.g. become less popular ( be not necessary, be less essential, be less useful)
- You can use Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries to find definitions or synonyms, and Free Online Dictionaries, Cambridge Dictionaries Online (www.dictionary.cambridge,org), Thesaurus.com.
5. Rewrite the sentence to say the same thing in another way.
Public libraries are becoming less popular and they will soon disappear.
State libraries are not necessary any more and they will soon stop existing.
6. The last sentence in the introduction may give your opinion on the topic; it can be a topic question or a sentence which lead to discussion.
e.g. I know that they will be essential in the future.
Do they really vanish?
Let us discuss this problem. Let us see who is right. Let us settle a dispute.
7. Read these introductions and write yours.
- It is obvious that reading has always been among the human most favourite pastimes and libraries were an integral part of any city or rural landscape. But will the technical progress make amendments in the destiny of libraries? Will our children go to the library to borrow a book or we will have to explain the meaning of this archaic word to them? Let us discuss this question.
- Nowadays in the age of modern technology there are a lot of arguments about public libraries. Some people believe that they will soon stop existing. But there are others who are sure that libraries will be still necessary. Let us discuss this problem.
Body Paragraphs
Express your personal opinion and give two or three reasons for your opinion
8. Rewrite these sentences so that they sound like your opinion. You can use the following expressions in your essay to express your attitude towards the topic:
In my opinion/view,
I think/believe that
To my mind,
It seems to me that
I am sure that
I personally think
Libraries will be always in demand.
It is surprising that public libraries have survived for so long.
9. Try to find 2-3 supporting arguments for your opinion.
| For libraries | Against libraries |
| They keep not only books but also ancient historical documents, rare editions of newspapers and magazines. | People today read less, so they need fewer books. |
| Librarians have special knowledge and can help to find reliable information | Today all the information is available on the Internet. Online libraries offer a wide variety of books, while public libraries have poor stocks. |
| Libraries are places with a special atmosphere where you can concentrate on your work. | Libraries have bad working hours which make impossible immediate access to the information you need urgently. |
These constructions can be used to link your ideas:
To begin with,
It is also
In addition
What’s more,
Moreover,
As well as this,
Apart from
Apart from the fact that
As well as
Besides,
Firstly,
Secondly,
Thirdly
10. Express your personal opinion.
Express an opposing opinion and give 1-2 reasons for this opinion
11. Look at some ways of starting a fact or idea which is not yours.
However, some people say/believe that…
There is a different point of view that…
There are people who think that…
It is said/believed that…
It can/could be argued that…
Some people would say/argue that…
A different opinion holds that…
An argument against this is that…
Nevertheless,
But there are people who think differently. They claim that…
12. Add linking and sequencing words from the box below.
a) …, there are people who suppose that all the information is widely available on the Internet and libraries will vanish in the future. There some reasons for it. …, it takes a lot of time to go to the library; there is usually poor service there. …, they are expensive to maintain, to pay salaries to the staff.
b) … there are people who think differently. They claim that public libraries will stay our main source of information. Mainly because not all the people can both afford the Internet … use it. …, there are people who enjoy reading paper books and say that eBooks are harmful to their eyesight.
| However | Moreover |
| Moreover | and |
| For example | But |
13. Express an opposing opinion and give your reasons.
Explain why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion
14. Expressions that show that you don’t agree with the opposing opinion:
I am not on this side, since…
I am afraid I cannot agree with this argument/point because…
I disagree with this argument/point because…
This argument/point is not valid because…
This is a weak argument because…
My response to this argument/point is…
As for me, I cannot totally agree with …
In my opinion, it is unlikely that…
I don’t share their opinion, though.
Actually, I cannot agree with this opinion…
Nevertheless, I believe that…
Actually, this opinion is unfair. I believe that…
15. Unscramble the following sentences:
- I/ to /not /on/ give/ people/ since/ libraries/ with/ this/ us/ a/ possibility /am /communicate /can /other /side/ face-to-face. /
- ability/ can /reading/ improve/ children’s /also/ They.
- But/ with / them/ I/ disagree.
- I/ fingers/ that/, their/ instead/ are/ attempts/ to/ resist /to/ using /calculator/words/of/ think.
Make a conclusion restating your position
The conclusion should restate your opinion and summarise your arguments as well as showing why the opposing opinion is wrong.
16. Use these expressions to write the conclusion:
To finish off the essay, I would argue that…
To conclude, I want to say that…
To sum up, I agree that…
In conclusion, I strongly believe that…
In conclusion, I want to stress that …
17. Read these conclusions and find the appropriate ones for essays 1 and 2.One conclusion is odd.
- In conclusion, I would like to say that modern libraries are essential things in our life and will be always required. But it cannot be denied that there are other points of view. Let us live and see who is right.
- To summarize, I should say that I strongly believe that in a couple of years most of the libraries will inevitably disappear or will be transformed into modern media centres.
- To sum up, I think computers and printed books will peacefully coexist for years to come, but in the future technological progress will make it possible for pupils to carry laptops or even palmtops instead of traditional bags with lots of heavy books.
| Essay 1 | Essay 2 |
| Nowadays in the age of modern technology there are a lot of
arguments about public libraries. Some people believe that they will soon stop existing.
But there are others who are sure that libraries will be still necessary. Let us discuss
this problem. I personally think that libraries will be always in demand. First of all, they keep not only books but also ancient historical documents, rare editions of newspapers and magazines. Secondly, librarians have special knowledge and can help to find reliable information. Thirdly, libraries are places with a special atmosphere where you can concentrate on your work. However, there are people who suppose that all the information is widely available on the Internet and libraries will vanish in the future. There some reasons for it. For example, it takes a lot of time to go to the library; there is usually poor service there. Moreover, they are expensive to maintain, to pay salaries to the staff. I am not on this side since libraries can give us a possibility to communicate with other people face-to-face. They can also improve children’s reading ability |
It is obvious that reading has always been among the human
most favourite pastimes and libraries were an integral part of any city or rural
landscape. But will the technical progress make amendments in the destiny of libraries?
Will our children go to the library to borrow a book or we will have to explain the
meaning of this archaic word to them? Let us discuss this question. In my opinion, it is surprising that public libraries have survived for so long. Firstly, people today read less, so they need fewer books. For instance, most my friends can hardly remember the title of the last book they have read. Secondly, today all the information is available on the Internet. Online libraries offer a wide variety of books, while public libraries have poor stocks. Thirdly, libraries have bad working hours which make impossible immediate access to the information you need urgently. But there are people who think differently. They claim that public libraries will stay our main source of information. Mainly because not all the people can both afford the Internet and use it. Moreover, there are people who enjoy reading paper books and say that eBooks are harmful to their eyesight. But I disagree with them. I think that, their words are attempts to resist to using calculator instead of fingers. |
18. Comment on the following statement.
Public libraries are becoming less popular and they will soon disappear
Write 200-250 words. (Make sure you do not exceed the word limit of 250 words. Your essay can be a little bit longer than that, but if it has more than 275 words, the part above 250 words won’t be assessed. If your essay is shorter than 180 words, it will not be assessed and you will get 0.)
Use the following plan:
- make an introduction (state the problem),
- express your personal opinion and give 2-3 reasons for your opinion,
- express an opposing opinion and give 1-2 reasons for this opposing opinion,
- explain why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion,
- make a conclusion restating your position.
Литература
1. 202 Useful Exercises IELTS International edition by Garry Adams and Terry Peck, Sydney, Australia 2001.
2. Wayne Rimmer and Olga Vinogradova with Ludmila Kozhevnikova, Course Consultant: Maria Verbitskaya “Exam Success”. Cambridge University Press 2013.
3. Е.С.Музланова “Английский язык ЕГЭ -2013 30 типовых вариантов заданий для подготовки к единому государственному экзамену”.