expressions to turn ideas into arguments

In my view, ...
Some people argue that ...
It is generally believed that ...
In my country most people have to ...
I would argue/say that ...
It seems (to me) that ...
I tend to think that ...
I feel that ...
s far as I am concerned ...
Some people argue/think/say that ...
It is understood that ...
It is generally accepted that ...
!here is a tendency to believe that ...
"ne of the main arguments in favour of/ against ...
#espite that fact that ...
It could be argued that ...

expressions to turn ideas into arguments

I am unconvinced that ...
I don$t believe that ...
Some people find it hard to accept that ...
It is doubtful whether ...
!here is a little evidence to support the view that ...
It is un%ustifiable to say that ...
I disagree with the view that ...
I am uncertain whether ...

&ssay' five steps

(' )ead the *uestion.
)ead the *uestion. #ecide what kind of essay it is ' opinion,
compare/contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect, or a
mixture. !he type of *uestion will decide the layout and your ideas.

&ssay' five steps

+' ,nderline key words.
,nderline key vocabulary in the *uestion and write words with the
same or related meaning. !his will really save you a lot of time later
on It will also help you to avoid repeating words and show that you
understand the *uestion.

&ssay' five steps

-' .et ideas.
#ecide if you are for or against the idea. ,sually it is best to give both
sides (for and against ' one paragraph each) and then to give your
opinion in the conclusion. /owever there are other ways of laying out
your essay.

&ssay' five steps

0' #ecide layout.
1ou should decide on a layout. !he easiest is -22-. !hat means four
paragraphs3 introduction (- sentences) one side (2 sentences), the
other side (2 sentences) and the conclusion (- sentences). !his will
give you +4 sentences. n average of about (+ words each, that is +04
words. 5erfect6

&ssay' five steps

7' 8rite.
fter you have written your plan, write your essay. 9ollow the steps in
this website for writing the introduction, body, and conclusion. :heck
for fragments, run'ons and comma splices.

&ssay' vocabulary
:reate a mind map out of the *uestion$s key words.

&ssay' Introduction
)efactor an introduction out of the *uestion. dd a thesis sentence to
the introduction.

&ssay' !hesis sentence

thesis statement is a sentence (or two) that states what you are
going to do in your essay.
signpost as a thesis sentence3
Sometimes the reader can tell how many parts or which paragraphs
will follow the thesis statement.
I am going to analyse the effects of drugs on the individual, the family,
and society.

&ssay' !hesis sentence vocabulary

analy;e, look at, examine, discuss, outline, consider, describe, focus
on, decide
&xamples3
!his essay will examine the reasons for the high divorce rate in our
society.
I will outline some of my ob%ections to arranged marriages.
In this essay I will focus on three problems caused by corruption.
I will discuss whether large families are better than smaller ones.
!his essay will consider the benefits of space exploration for the
economy, for scientific development, and for the future of humanity.

&ssay' .et ideas

<ainly against3
-22- layout' Introduction, - ideas for, - ideas against, conclusion.
<ainly for3
-22- layout' Introduction, - ideas against, - ideas for, conclusion.
(44= for3
-777- layout' Introduction, Idea for, Idea for, Idea for, conclusion.
(44= against3
-777- layout' Introduction, Idea against, Idea against, Idea against,
conclusion.

&ssay' layout
-22- ' a four'paragraph essay
-777- ' a five'paragraph essay

&ssay'-22-
Intro - sentences3
5resent situation and/or >oth sides of rgument (('+ sentences)
8hat you are going to do in this essay / 1our opinion (!hesis
sentence)
5ara +, -' 2 sentences3
!opic Sentence
rgument ( or )eason (
&xample, &xplanation, or supporting detail (+'0 sentences)
rgument + or )eason +
&xample, &xplanation, or supporting detail
rgument - or )eason -
&xample, &xplanation, or supporting detail
:onclusion - sentences3
Summary (both sides)
5resent situation and your opinion
9uture statement

&ssay' -777-
Intro - sentences3
5resent situation and/or >oth sides of rgument (('+ sentences)
8hat you are going to do in this essay / 1our opinion (!hesis
sentence)
5ara +, -, 0' 7 sentences3
!opic Sentence3 rgument ( or )eason (
&xample, &xplanation, or supporting detail (+'0 sentences)
:onclusion - sentences3
Summary
5resent situation and your opinion
9uture statement

rgument' two sides

.ive the other side3
Some people think that... (? sentence)
<any people feel that... (? sentence)
It is claimed that... (? sentence)
Some people feel that... (? sentence)

rgument' two sides

"ne sentence (8hile, although)
8hile it is true that... (? sentence), I believe... (? sentence)
#espite the fact that millions of people die every year from lung
cancer, many people think it is cool to smoke.
lthough many people think that... (? sentence), I feel that (?
sentence)
&ven though it is often said that... (? sentence), in fact the opposite is
true.
8hile this may be true to some extent, it also means that ...

rgument' two sides

!wo sentences
It is undoubtedly true that...(? sentence). /owever, (? sentence)
It is often argued that... (? sentence). /owever, it is clear that (?
sentence)
Some people say that... (? sentence). !hey claim... (? sentence).
/owever, I feel (? sentence).
Supporters of this viewpoint say that... (? sentence). /owever, more
educated people know that (? sentence).

&ssay' parts
!he introduction,
!he body,
!he conclusion.
Some people think of the essay as a sandwich. !he Introduction and
:onclusion are the bread, and the >ody is the filling in the center. If
the introduction looks good, people will carry on to the body.
/opefully, the conclusion will leave them with a nice taste in their
mouth...

&ssay' !he intro

1ou can write either Situation or "pinion introductions.
Situation Introductions
8rite two sentences to describe the two sides of the present situation.
Sentence (3 "ne side of the present situation
Sentence +3 !he other side of the present situation
Sentence -3 !hesis3 8hat you are going to do in your essay
"pinion Introductions
In this kind you give two opposite opinions in the first two sentences.
!he third sentence says what you are going to do.

&ssay' :onclusion
rephrase the *uestion
summari;e the main ideas
give your opinion, if you haven$t given it already
look to the future (say what will happen if the situation continues or
changes)
but will @&A&) add new information.

ssessment criteria
8riting(3
B !ask chievement
B :oherence/:ohesion
B Cexical )esource
B .rammatical )ange/ccuracy
8riting+3
B !ask )esponse
B :oherence/:ohesion
B Cexical )esource
B .rammatical )ange/ccuracy
Speaking3
B 9luency/:oherence
B Aocabulary
B .rammatical )ange/ccuracy
B 5ronunciation

>eginning a letter
I am writing to ask/ tell//inform you that...
I am writing to ask/in*uire...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing with reference to...
I am writing in connection with...
I am writing in response to...

Cogical linking
Se*uence ideas3
!o begin with, 9irstly, In the first place, 9irst of all, Castly, 9inally.
dd points3
In addition, dditionally, 9urthermore, nother point, choice is,
moreover.
&xpress reason3
>ecause, since, as, due to.
&xpress result3
s a result, conse*uently, !herefore, !hus, !his means that.
&xpress contrast3
>ut, although, &ven though, #espite, @evertheless, /owever.
.ive an example3
9or example, 9or instance, !o be specific, In particular.

Cetter' complaint
5ara(3
DI am writing to complain about...D
DI am writing in regard to...D
D!he reason I am writing to you is (a problem with...)D
DI am writing to express my concern about/dissatisfaction with...D
DI would like to bring the matter of ... to your attention.D
DI would like to draw your attention to ...D

Cetter' complaint
5ara+3
I was supposed to receive ... unfortunately, that never happened.
1ou can imagine how unhappy I was to discover ...
I regret to inform you that your service was below my expectations.
8hen I tried to contact you by phone, no one could offer me any
sensible answer.
I contacted your representative in ... unfortunately, he denied me the
service that I re*uested.

Cetter' complaint
para-3
!he idea solution would be
I hope you can settle this matter by
I insist on getting a refund of ...
5lease look into this matter as soon as possible
I believe this matter deserves your urgent attention

Cetter' ask for information

I am writing to you to ask for information about ....
I am writing to ask for complete travel plan of a trip to frica that I
booked with your company...
1ou could send the above'mentioned information to my e'mail or a
fax.

Cetter' %ob application

para( , +
I would like to apply for the position of secretary advertised in ... of
pril +447.
I am a software engineer with more than ten years of experience in.
I graduated in Some Study :ourse from 9amous ,niversity, (EEF.
t present I am employed as a ... at ... Inc.
I am familiar with ...
<y skills include working with ..., performing ..., managing ...,
In course of my present %ob I am responsible for the planning and
organi;ation of ....
I am used to working at a fast pace to meet deadlines.

Cetter' %ob application

para-
I would like to apply my skills in your company
I believe the position you offer will give me opportunity to ...
If you find my skills and experience suitable, please contact me to
schedule an interview.
I am looking forward to discussing my credentials with you
personally.

Cetter' %ob application

!hank the person,
!hank for your time and consideration

Cetter' personal
Start with #ear ...
then apologi;e that you forgot to write.
I am sorry I haven$t written for so long.
I am writing to thank/tell/ask/apologi;e/wish

&ssay' rg
DSome people prefer .... !hose who disagree point out that...D
D8e must acknowledge ... @evertheless, ...D
D@o one can deny ... /owever, ...D
D<any people hold the opinion... "thers, however, disagree...D
Dlthough it is hard to compete with ..., some people still prefer ...D

&ssay' dd
D@ot only..., but...D
Dlso
D9urthermore,D
DIn addition,D
D<oreover,D

&ssay' #eny
Dlthough...D
D/owever,D
D@evertheless,D
D&ven if...D
DIn spite ofD
D"n the other handD

&ssay' &xample
D9or example,D
D9or instance,D
DIn particular,D
D..., such asD
D!o illustrate ...D

Star this term

You can study starred terms together

&ssay' )esult
Ds a resultD
D!hereforeD
D!husD
DSoD
D&ventuallyD

&ssay' :onclusion
DCastly,D
D9inally,D
D!o conclude with,D
DIn short,D
DIn conclusion,D

my problems3
will hurt the society ''G will harm the society
pros and cons ''G listing some strong and positive evidence
leaves not much space for ''G does not leave much space for
have normally lack of time ''G normally have lack of time
no more energy to put to their children ''G no more energy to devote
to their children
remind sb of sth, remind sb to do sth, place of residence,

passive
to avoid repeating words ' especially nouns/pronouns.
!he government should introduce measures to
so that you don$t repeat the word DgovernmentD.

relatives
<ore than that, if the authorities plan carefully, they can use the
occasion of the sporting event to help finance public works which
benefit the whole population in the long term.

conditional
If a company was forced to employ more workers to produce the same
amount of goods, then its wage bill would rise and its products might
become more expensive and less competitive compared to companies
with longer working weeks.
use conditional for expressing supporting sentences of example.

paired con%unctions
both ... and
neither ... nor
either ... or
not only ... but also

verbs tenses and modals

!here are several reasons why
It can also be argued that

9@>"1S
use fanboys in one sentence to showoff.
>e respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers, and
sometimes to others.

9@>"1S in conditional
use 9@>"1S in conditional to make it lengthy.
If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was
intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measuresH

propositions
use one work, two words, three words propositions,

-w propositions
as far as
as well as
by means of
in accordance with
in addition to
in case of
in front of
in place of
in spite of
on account of
on behalf of
on top of
with regard to
no matter how

+w propositions
according to
ahead of
aside from
because of
close to
due to
except for
far from
inside of
instead of
near to
next to
out from
out of
outside of
regardless of

dverbial clause
time3 >y the time, s soon as,
opposition3 &ven though, though, although, 8hereas, while
condition3 &ven if, if, 8hether or not, ,nless, In case (that), in the
event (that), "nly if,
cause I effect3 because, since, as long as, as, as much as, due to the
fact that,

emphasis by do and did

@o that$s not true. John did speak to <ary.
I do believe that you should think twice about this situation.

showoff punctuations H
a semicolon may be used instead of a period to separate two main
clauses that are closely connected in meaning or that express a clear
contrast.
DI never vote for anyoneH I always vote against.D
(8. :. 9ields)
DCife is a foreign languageH all men mispronounce it.D
(:hristopher <orley)

showoff punctuation 3
mark of punctuation ( 3 ) used after a statement (usually an
independent clause) that introduces a *uotation, an explanation, an
example, or a series.
liberal arts education creates citi;ens3 people who can think broadly
and critically about themselves and the world.

collocation
use collocations...

relative clause
9irst use that then express following clauses with3
where, when, who, while, which, whereupon etc

vocabs
address, present, throughout, extend, support, tendency, lack, focus,
progress, appropriately, although, sufficient, flexible, precision, less,
common, aware, occasional, choice, variety, complex, produce,
accurate, well'developed, relevant, se*uence, manage, aspect, wide,
convey, precise, uncommon, inaccurate, inaccuracies,
inappropriacies,sophisticate, occur, slip, minor, ade*uate, attempt,
impede, reduce, rare, implication, evolvetackle, perceive,
unforgettable