Writing an Essay

1. Writing an Essay

2. Introduction

o An introduction should:
o Capture the reader’s attention and keep it
through the use of interesting, unique, or
creative words and ideas.
o Set a tone and communicate information that will
help the reader understand the purpose.
o Provide general background information.
o Indicate what is to follow in the body of the
essay.

3. Body

o Express your personal opinion and give 2–3
reasons for your opinion.
o Express an opposing opinion and give 1–2
reasons for this opposing opinion.
o Explain why you do not agree with the
opposing opinion.

4. Conclusion

o The conclusion of an essay should bring
the writer and readers back into accord
about what the essay set out to prove and
reemphasize the value of the argument.

5. Useful Phrases

6. Introduction

o Nowadays people are getting more and more concerned about…
o According to …
o Some people think that…
o Although most people would generally agree that … few would deny
that …
o It is often said/argued that …
o There are those who say that…
o Some people are convinced that…
o These days, it seems that ….
o Nowadays some people may hold the opinion that …

7. Giving opinion

o It seems to me that …
o To tell you the truth
o There is no doubt that …
o I am convinced that
o In my opinion / in my own view /
o I firmly believe that
to my mind …
o From my personal point of view,
o This is a matter of opinion
o It seems to me that
o In my experience
o I personally believe that
o As far as I know
o It appears to me that
o As far as I am concerned

8. Giving opposite opinion

o Some may argue that …
o Although …
o Even though …
o In contrast …
o On the other hand …
o However …
o Some people believe …
o However, it should not be forgotten that …
o From the point of view of …
o Those who object to … often argue that …

9. Disagreement

o However, I cannot agree with this opinion completely because…
o Let us consider this problem from another angle…
o It is true that …
o I do not support the idea of …
o I can not completely agree with this
o My personal view is that …
o Even though
o Personally

10. Conclusion

o All in all, …
o In conclusion, I would like to stress that…
o To sum up…
o As a result
o In other words
o On the whole
o All things considered, …