WRITING AN ARGUMENT ESSAY”

Present a writing argument or case on an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic: “University education should be restricted to the very best academic student

“WRITING AN ARGUMENT ESSAY”

TASK APPROACH

1 Analyzing the approach

An argument essay is usually a discussion of a topic, giving reasons why the writer holds a particular point of view Argument essays include 2 types: agree or disagree and 2 sides of an argument

Study the task below:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task

Present a writing argument or case on an educated reader with no specialist

knowledge of the following topic:

“University education should be restricted to the very best academic students, rather than being available to a large proportion of young people

To what extent do you agree or disagree?”

You should use your own ideal, knowledge and experience and support your

arguments with examples and relevant evidence

Write at least 250 words

Step 1: read the question

Read the task carefully and decide what kind of essay it is because the type of

question will decide the layout and your idea The above task is an argument essay: agree or disagree

Step 2: underline key words

Key word in the question should be underlined

(University education /tertiary education /higher education /college education) should

be (restricted /controlled /limitted) to the very (best academic student), rather than being available to a (large proportion/ most /majority) of (young people)

To (what extent) do you (agree) or (disagree)?

2 Brainstorming

There are two ways of brainstorming to generate ideas

a) using spider diagrams

- write key topic word(s)

- note down any related ideas or examples that come from to mind

- do the same for other important words from the task

- Group the ideas to become your paragraph topics

b) using questions

- start with key topic words

- think about the task and ask relevant questions

- group the answer to become your paragraph topics

Study the following questions and suggest ideas for the task above

Questions Suggested ideas

What is the main topic? University education

What is your opinion on

this topic?

Agree or disagree?

Agree or disagree

what are the reasons to

justify your opinion?

Access should be restricted because:

- not appropriate for economic- technicians needed more than graduates

- graduate unemployment will rise and create dissatisfaction

- better to create vocational further education programmes

access should be widen because:

- individual need technological skills and knowledge

- societies need educated citizens in order to develop

- everyone should have a chance to fulfill their

potential, and university is a part of that

3 Writing an outline

There are various methods of planning, and you should use the method that you are already familiar with The most common method of writing an outline is called the standard outline Study the following pattern:

- Introduction

- Paragraph 1: main point 1

- Paragraph 2: main point 2

- Paragraph 3: main point 3

………

• Conclusion This is the sample outline for the task above:

- introduction:

• situation of tertiary education

• disagree

- paragraph topics:

• individuals need technology and knowledge

• societies need educated citizens in order to develop

• equal for everyone

- Conclusion: restate point of view: disagreement

4 Sample layout

You should decide on a layout The easiest is 3773 That means 4 paragraphs:

introduction (3 sentences), one side of argument (7 sentences), the other side (7

sentences) and conclusion (3 sentences) This will give you 20 sentences That will be perfect!

You can use either 3773 or 35553 layouts It depends on your ideas

- use 2 paragraphs ( in the body 3773) if you are giving both sides of the

argument or situation: one paragraph for, and one against ( or the opposite)

- use three paragraph( in the body) if you are only giving one side

- Study the following patterns for the sample layouts

- Finally, even if you are completely confused and your ideas are all mixed up, you should still make a paragraph Just skip a line somewhere Your essay will

be easier to read

5 Writing an essay

a) Writing the introduction

Most academic papers are laid out in such a way that the introduction sets out the problem, and the paragraphs that follow give supporting arguments for the writer’s point of view The introduction is laid out more or less like this:

- Giving necessary background information about the topic;

- Indicating the issue you plan to develop in the body of your essay;

- • Concluding with a statement that sets out your own opinion on the topic Study the following sample introduction for the task above

In the past, tertiary education was limited to a small proportion of people who were the most academic students Today, however, many more young people have the opportunity of going to university, and I think that this is a much better situation for several reasons

b) Writing the body

The body is the main part of an essay It should follow the form of your outline with separate paragraphs for each major topic Each major topic must be developed fully in

a single paragraph and all the paragraphs should be related to each other in some way Each paragraph contain one topic sentence and several sentences that explain and illustrate the topic sentence ( by giving relevant, accurate reasons of facts; giving examples, using transition words and phrases)

Study the following sample body for the task above

Firstly, individuals today need much higher level skills and technical knowledge For example, many professionals require advance computer skills and an ability to adapt

to a rapidly changing workplace Schools do not have the resources to equip students with these skills, so universities have to fulfill this role

Furthermore, societies cannot continue to develop unless more citizens are educated

In order to progress and compete in the modern world, each country needs people who can develop modern technologies further and apply them in new fields

Finally, it is only fair that anyone who could benefit from a university education

should have access to one Therefore, there should be equal opportunities for everyone

to realize their full potential Going to university is part of this

c) Writing the conclusion

Essays should not be finished abruptly with the last main point The final paragraph should provide a conclusion The conclusion should be short and forceful and made up mainly of restatements or summaries of the points that have been discussed

The conclusion is very similar to the introduction However, you should avoid

repeating the same words This is why a few minutes at the start of the exam writing down synonyms (words with the same meaning) and related words is very helpful Study the following sample conclusion for the task above

In conclusion, I totally disagree with the statement because I believe that the

increasing availability of tertiary education is vital both of the individual and for

society as a whole Individuals needs as high a level of education as possible to

achieve their full potential, and in the same way, society in the 21st century cannot function unless it has large numbers of highly educated people to cope with the

changes to our living and working environment that are likely to occur in the coming decades

Checking the writing

This final stage is very important for a writing task Some mistakes can often be found and corrected by quickly checking through after you have finished writing So you should make sure that you can leave yourself a short time to check your writing You should use the time particularly to check that you have used correct spelling and

grammar

Find and correct ten common mistakes in this extract

Firstly, individuals today needs /need much higher level skills and technical

knowledge For example, many professionals require advanced computer skills and

ability to adapt to a rapidly changing workplace Schools do not have the resources to equip students with these skills, so universities have to fulfill this role

Furthermore, societies cannot continue to develop if /unless more citizens are

educated In order to progress and compete in the modern world, each country need /needs people who can develop modern technologies further and apply it in new field

Useful Language

1 Presenting and justifying an opinion

It is not completely true to say that…

Many people would disagree with the assertion/ idea that…

It’s hard to believe that…

The fact that… doesn’t mean…

Just because… it doesn’t necessarily follow that…

It may be true that…but

2 Expressing views

I think…/I believe…/ It is my opinion that…/ It seems that…

It’s hard to believe that…

The fact that… doesn’t mean…

Just because….it doesn’t necessarily follow that…

It may be true that… but…

3 Refuting an argument

I am unconvinced that…

I don’t believe that…

It is hard to accept that…

There is little evidence to support that…

It is unjustifiable to say that…

4 Conditional clause

Conditional clauses are often used to introduce of develop argument in

academic writing

e.g : if we continue burn fossil at current rates, our economies may be at risk from rising sseas, more serve storms and more intense droughts

In addition to if, the following expressions can be to introduce conditional clauses:

Unless/as/ so long as/ on condition ( that)/ provided ( that)/ suppose/supposing (that)

GUIDED PRACTICE

1) Writing the introduction

One essay way to write the introduction for an argument or opinion essay

is to write THREE sentence:

- Two about the topic

- One thesis sentence

You can write either Situation or Opinion introductions There’s not much difference between them

Situation Introductions

Write two sentences to describe the two sides of the present situation The third sentence- the thesis sentence –will describe what you are going to do in your essay

E.g Topic: does aid to poor countries work?

Sentence 1: For the last fifty years, poor countries have been receiving huge sums of money from rich donor countries

Sentence 2: some of this money has improved lives, while much of it has

disappeared or made no difference

Sentence 3: In this essay, I will discuss some arguments for and against foreign aid

Opinion Introductions

In this kind you give two opposite opinions in the first two sentences The third sentences says what you are going to do

e.g : Topic: Does space exploration benefit mankind?

Sentence 1: For: Many people are excited about space exploration

Sentence 2: Against: However, others feel it is a massive waste of money

Sentence 3: This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against space exploration

Read the following introduction to the given topics As you look at them, try to decide that they are opinion or situation openings Also look at the thesis sentences, and guess if the writer agrees or disagrees

a) Topic: do athletes deserve their high salaries?

Everyday, we read about new record contracts and salaries earned by sportsmen and women Some people do not agree with these huge payments Others believe that our sports heroes deserve every penny This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against the high salaries of athletes (Opinion, both agree and disagree)

b) Topic: should dangerous sport be banned?

Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed in sports such as boxing or

motor-racing Because of this, many are opposed to such sports, and want them to be stopped or controlled This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against banning dangerous sports (opinion, both agree and disagree)

c) Topic: who should take care of our old people?

In my country, most old people live happily with their children Increasingly however, many families cannot take care of their parents This essay will describe some of the problems involved with taking care of old people, and discuss who should be responsible (situation)

d) Topic: Is money a good motivator?

People are motivated by different things Some employees have financial goals, others have professional goals, and others have personal goals The same

incentives cannot work for all This essay outlines some of the reasons why cash is not always a suitable motivator for excellent employees (situation, disagree)

2 Writing the body

Paragraphs make the body of the essay look good If your paragraph is in good shape, your body will look good and feel good

Here’s what you need to have in a body paragraph

- Topic sentence

- Argument or reason1

- Example, explanation, or supporting detail

- Argument or reason 2

- Example, explanation ,or supporting detail

- Or argument or reason

- Example, explanation, or supporting detail

Study the following paragraph:

• Topic: Is education being devalued?

- Topic sentence: people have several arguments against the need for degrees

- Argument or reason 1: they say that having so many graduates devalues a degree

- Example, explanation, or supporting detail: people lose respect for the degree holder

- Argument or reason 2: it is also claimed that education has become a rat race…

- Example, explanation , or supportig detail: … since graduates have to complete for jobs even after years of studying

- Argument or reason 3: another point is that studying for such a long time leads to learners becoming inflexible

- Example, explanation,or supporting detail: by that I mean that they know

a lot about one narrow subject, but are unable to apply their skills

- Example, explanation, or supporting detail( you can have one, two, or even more of these for every idea): employers, on the other hand, prefer more flexible and adoptable workers

Read the following paragraph:

Many people think that the Internet will replace books and newspapers because it is cheaper and quicker As well as that, it is easier to use

Comment: Bad ! The writer put two ideas together- “cheaper” and

“quicker” He or she didn’t explain how the Internet is cheaper and

quicker And is the Internet really “easier to use”? the ideas are good, but the development is weak

Now practice developing ideas the following sentences ( you can explain

or develop the ideas by giving relevant, accurate reason or facts; and / or giving examples)

a The Internet is cheaper than newspaper The Internet assists us to perceive from many sources with merely several ten thousand of VND per month However, each newspaper costs around 5000 VND on average, and only provides us with information of specific fields

b for me, the internet is easier to use If you desire to seek a certain information, you can simply type the keyword on a searching server, numerous relevant pages will be immediately available for you In contrast, it’s difficult for us to find out our demand on many pages in

a newspaper

3 writing the conclusion read the following introductory paragraphs and write the relevant conclusion for each The first has been done for you as

an example

a Introductory paragraph:

In the pursuit of scientific and technological progress, the mankind are facing more and more risk than before Should we accept these risks or failures in the development of human science or technology? There are some reasons for us to challenge the risks

Concluding paragraph:

In conclusion, it is important for people to accept the risks in the pursuit of

scientific and technological progress What we must do is to study all the science subjects intensively in order to avoid the reoccurring of risks

b Introductory paragraph:

Some people claim that school uniform take away of the students’

individuality and freedom, but it is quite possible for children to wear