FOR AND AGAINST COMPOSITION
Hints:
- State the problem/topic once again in the beginning of your essay. Just assume that your reader doesn't know the question. Do not start with: It is right (what is right?); I agree/do not agree with this statement (what statement?)
- Separate positive and negative aspects of the problem you discuss.
- Remember that here you take the floor. Your potential opponents do not have the opportunity to present their ideas. It is your task to present both yours and theirs and keep proper balance.
- Use linking words. They help to follow your way of reasoning. The most common linking words are and, or and but. You may want to interchange these words with their more sophisticated counterparts in your essay.
Compare:
- AND is used when you want to conjoin two similar ideas:
He passed his examinations | therefore
as a result
accordingly
consequently
thus
hence |
he was admitted to the university. |
- OR is used when you want to put two different ideas together or reformulate what you have stated earlier:
In other words
To put it more simply
It would be better to say
To put it straightforwardly |
reformulation of what has come before |
- BUT appears when you need to contrast one statement with another:
The time available for writing
an essay was very limited. | However,
Nevertheless,
Nonetheless,
Yet,
In spite of that,
All the same, | it was still possible to present the main ideas concerning the topic |
- refer back to the topic statement in your conclusion. It will show that you treat your essay as a whole. Yet, it may be a good idea to paraphrase this statement, not just to rewrite it.
- Do not use contractions!!!
Useful expressions:
Expressing opinions: - I agree/ disagree with the above statement (that...)
- In my opinion...
- I believe that...
- I am in favour of...
- I am against the idea of...
- It seems to me that...
- I sympathize with...
Presenting and contrasting arguments: - The main argument in favour/ against is...
- First of all I should like to consider...
- The first thing (I would like to consider) to be considered is...
- In order to make the problem clear, I would like to present some examples of ...
- Apart from that...
- Despite the fact that .../ In spite of...
- On the other hand...
- What is more...
- What matters most in this case is...
- It is a fact that...
- There is no doubt that...
Reasoning: sth happened | - because of
- as a result of
- on account of
- owing to
- through
- due to
- as a consequence of
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Concluding: - To sum up/ altogether
- On this basis, I can conclude that...
- Given this, it can be concluded that...
- Having proved this, I would like to...
- In conclusion, I would like to stress that...
- All in all, I believe that...
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