PART 1 WRITING AN ESSAY (also known as a discursive essay or composition)

The student must write 140-190 words.

There are basically 4 types of essay/composition.
1. Advantages/Disadvantages (Pros and cons).
2. Agree or disagree with the title (in a logical way!)
3. Giving opinions or suggestions about the title.
4. Writing about issues in modern society such as: health, pollution, internet, technology,
ecology, men and women, economic crisis.

How to write a good discursive essay (composition)

Before you start
Read the question carefully. DO NOT write an irrelevant answer. ANSWER THE QUESTION!

Plan your essay. Spend about 5 minutes on this. It will make your life easier
Give your essay a title
Control your time. Spend about 40 minutes

Remember this!

You MUST write your essay in 140-190 words. Write 190 words, NOT 140!!
A composition is usually more formal than an article, so present your work as a
scientific, coherent argument
Use formal language. DO NOT use contractions, colloquial expressions or a chatty
style
Write at least 3 paragraphs with a clear introduction, contrast of arguments and a
logical conclusion
Make sure your argument is clear
Use difficult grammar and more complex sentences
Use conditional and passive sentences
Dont worry if you make small mistakes. You will get more points for using difficult
grammar
Give an opinion ONLY when appropriate
Give your opinion at the end, NOT at the beginning

When you have finished

Make sure you have expressed yourself clearly

Check your writing for grammar mistakes
Check your writing for spelling mistakes

Structuring your composition

Most people write about 10-12 words per line.
Mathematics! You have to write a total of 190 words, so you should write about 15 lines in total.

Heres an example of how to set out your essay

Introduction 3 lines
Contrasting arguments
Paragraph 1 4 lines
Paragraph 2 4 lines
Conclusion
3 lines

Heres an example of some good expressions you could use in the 4 parts of the essay

Introduction To begin with/ Firstly,

First of all I would like to consider
The first thing (I would like to consider) to be considered
is
Nowadays, it seems that/ In recent times

Contrasting arguments Paragraph 1

On one hand, it could be said that
Despite the fact that / In spite of
Although it could be said that
It is often thought that
Paragraph 2
On the other hand, it could be argued that
Although it appears that
Apart from that
What is more,
It would seem, however, that

Conclusion
To sum up,/ In conclusion,
Because of / As a result of this / Owing to / As
a consequence of
Therefore, in my opinion,
On this basis, I can conclude that