Writing an essay

Tips for Max:

1. Make it real (think of a similar experience you have had)
2. Always check the questions while writing
3. Use compound nouns
4. Check  Verb tenses
5. Synonyms
6. Paraphrasing
7. Use less to
8. Use gerunds
9. Use fancy vocabulary

Writing an essay

Immigration has a major impact on the society. What are the main reasons of immigration?

To what consequences can it lead?

Max

In this essay you're asked about:

1. Reasons why people immigrate
2. Results of immigration

Some of the possible arguments:

1. Reasons of immigration:
• People want to live in a safe country
• People search better jobs with higher salaries
• People escape from wars/disasters


2. Results of immigration:
• People’s expectations come true / don’t come true
• Immigrants face other difficulties
• Countries of destination have to give money to support refugees
• Overpopulation

Sample:

Immigration has a significant impact on the contemporary society. Each year, more and more people from all over the world decide to leave their home countries and move to another place. This essay will examine the reasons and the consequences of immigration.

In my view, the main reason of immigration is a strong desire of better life quality and safe future. A lot of people from so-called Third World move to developed countries in search of better employment opportunities, and therefore, higher incomes. Moreover, living in a wealthy country implies living in a country with stable economy, so risks of losing their savings also lessen. For example, labour migration from Mexico to the USA is caused by these facts. Other reasons that force whole families to cross borders are wars and various cultural conflicts in their homeland. Many people migrate, seeking security and safe future for their children. For instance, most of the refugees who arrived in the European Union were escaping from wars.

However, sometimes immigration causes more problems than it solves, resulting in negative consequences for both immigrants and their countries of destination. First of all, most of the refugees can’t find jobs because of the lack of language skills and difficulties in adaptation. That’s why the countries have to run various refugee assistance programs to help those people. But disproportionate burden of maintaining the immigrants leads to tension in the society. Secondly, not all of the refugees receive proper asylum, food and medical care. So they are at risk even after crossing the border. Finally, even highly qualified specialists, who seek better employment, often don’t get what they are looking for.

In conclusion, I think that people immigrate to have better life prospects. However, life after immigration may not always meet people’s expectations. So it’s very important to consider all the possible outcomes and decide whether leaving your homeland is worth it.

(315 words)

Vocabulary

better employment opportunities – opportunity to find a better job

burden of maintaining immigrants – difficulties in helping immigrants faced by the governments

country with stable economy – rich and safe country

to cross the border – immigrate

labour migration – when people migrate to find better jobs

refugee – person who is forced to leave his birth place because of war

refugee assistance programs – when the government gives to the refugees asylum and food

to seek better employment – look for better job

Third World – developing countries

to meet expectations – if something doesn’t meet your expectations, it’s not as good as you have thought

___________________________________

Task

Social media is becoming increasingly popular among all age groups. However, sharing personal information on social media websites does have risks. Do you think that the advantages of social media outweigh the disadvantages?


Max















Sample

There is no doubt that many people rely more on the Internet for the latest news or trends. Although its utilization has disadvantages such as the threat to privacy, I believe they are outweighed by its advantages and I will support this argument with valid examples.

To begin with, some opine that posting private information on the Internet websites may bring security problems. This is because once the individual shares their current location online, their enemies / opponents can plan strategies to hurt/harm them. To illustrate, in recent times the number of attacks on women have increased because their movements can be easily monitored through social media. If an individual is not posting any secure information online, such attacks can be lowered. Thus, many people oppose the extensive use of social networks to protect their privacy and security.

On the other hand, I agree with the argument that many people nowadays are utilizing social media as a common platform to connect with each other. The reason for this is that with the help of renowned websites like Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in, people can connect to friends and family living in different parts of the world and also make new connections. For example, multiple job requirements are posted online; people who are subscribed to such information can utilize this information. There are also many newspapers that post the same information but print media takes more time than online media to reach the public. Hence, new generation is making an advantage of fast and reliable media.

To conclude, there are both advantages and disadvantages associated with Internet usage. In my view the benefits such as faster connectivity and access to information outweigh the demerits.

New Task:

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Tip !

In many cases, when you give your view in the introduction of an opinion essay, your ideas may be more complicated than ‘I completely agree’ or ‘I completely disagree’. It's a good idea to learn some phrases to explain your opinion in a more sophisticated way.

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION

In my opinion, ...                                    In my eyes, ...

To my mind, ...                                      As far as I am concerned, ...                   Speaking personally, ...

From my point of view, ...                        As for me / As to me, ...

My view / opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that ...                                   I hold the view that ...

I would say that ...                                 It seems to me that ...                            I am of the opinion that ...

My impression is that ...                         I am under the impression that ...            It is my impression that ...

I have the feeling that ...                          My own feeling on the subject is that ...

I have no doubt that ...                            I am sure / I am certain that ...                

I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume that ...

I hold the opinion that ...                         (I form / adopt an opinion.)                      I dare say that ...

I guess that ...                                       I bet that ....                                          I gather that ...

It goes without saying that ...                 

USEFUL WORDS TO EXPRESS YOUR AGREEMENT

I agree with you / him ...                         I share your view.                                   I think so.                                     

I really think so.
(The author / the narrator / the protagonist / etc.) is  right
He is quite right / absolutely right            He may be right.
I have no objection.                                I approve of it.                                        I have come to the same conclusion               I hold the same opinion.              We are of one mind / of the same mind on that question.
I am at one with him on that point.           It is true.                                               That is right.

That's just it !                                         Fair enough !                                         Quite so !
Just so !                                                Yes of  course !

1. Introduction - Paraphrasing with examples 

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food.

2.  Keywords

- peoples income
- high class
- lower class
-

Possible answer

The growth of the fast food industry has, without doubt, impacted on the eating habits and the health of many societies around the world. Diabetes, high cholesterol, heart and respiratory problems are all on the rise due to fatty and sugar-rich food. However, the question is whether higher tax would improve this situation or not.

From an economic point of view, higher tax might seem sensible. In countries such as the USA, Australia and Britain, the healthcare system spends a large part of its budget on people with diet-related health problems. It could be argued that these people have caused their own illnesses because of their choice of food. In this case, why should they expect the state to pay for their treatment? The tax could help fund the healthcare system.

However, we also need to consider which socio-economic group consumes fast food as the main part of their diet. Statistics indicate that lower income groups eat more of this food than wealthier people. One possible reason for this is that fast food is far cheaper than fresh produce. This is because many governments offer large subsidies to farmers who provide products for the fast food industry, such as corn, wheat and beef. Fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, are not subsidised. Research suggests that many families simply cannot afford to buy healthy food or pay higher taxes on fast food. For them, fast food is not a choice but a necessity.

In conclusion, imposing a higher tax on fast food does not seem to be the answer. If the government chose to do this, it would only lead to greater poverty and families facing further hardship.

(278 words)