CAE EXTRA: Lesson 20 Writing assignment Unit 5 Part 1 An Essay

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Unit 5 Writing Assignment

Part one - An essay

For the CAE exam you MUST answer the essay question (In part 2, you choose ONE of three things that you may write about). 

Question 1 will say that you need to write 220 - 260 words on a given subject in an appropriate style

An essay......

• needs to present an argument and give reasons for this. 
  
• You need to be able to give opinions and to agree or disagree in a FORMAL OR NEUTRAL REGISTER
• You are free to agree or disagree with the opinions given in the task, or to discuss both sides. 

Important:

Effective planning and paragraphing is important in essay writing, as is the appropriate use of linking words and phrases.

We also need to practice writing good opening and closing paragraphs. 

2. Read the writing task on page 66

What are the key points that you need to cover in your essay? 

• Methods governments could use to encourage people to take more exercise
  
• discuss two methods
• explain which method is more important
• giving reasons
• use your own words

•  220-260 words in appropriate style
  

Exercise 

5

Similar or extra information

contrasting

information

expressing a

result

although

as a consequence/

result

so that

therefore

while

which is why

however

what is

more

in spite of/

despite

furthermore

Essay Writing (LESSON 2)

• How to organise your essay
• Good use of topic sentences
• Linking words
• A good intro and conclusion
• Further study ideas

Page: 66 and 67 Unit 5

1. You are given a question, for example " How can governments encourage people to

take more exercise?"

2. You are given three possible answers in bullet points :

• subsidised gyms
• better education
• compulsory sport at work and school

Remember that you ONLY need to write about TWO of the points

3. You need to say whether you agree or disagree with only two of them.

If you agree with a bullet point, you present this directly as your opinion. For example you may start a paragraph: "Probably the most important action governments could take would be to introduce an education programme in all schools",  

which agrees with the suggestion made by the last bullet point. Then you should go on to explain why this action would be effective

If you disagree, 

first you have to present the bullet point as something other people believe , and then say that you disagree. For example:

State what others believe: "It has been suggested that if exercise facilities were free, there would be an increased public take-up" Say that you disagree: "In theory, this seems an excellent way of encouraging adults to exercise, but in practice I am doubtful". And then go on to explain why you disagree. 

4. You should say which of the two proposals is more important

 The safest method is to agree with one statement and disagree with the other, as was explained above. 

Then in the conclusion, you will say that only the one method (the one you agree with) must be applied because it will be the most effective.

Exercise 4

Remember it is essential that you plan your ideas before you start to write.

look at the notes made by a student in ex 4: 

Now you try....

Brain storming

Look at the headings, chose the topic that you would like to discuss. Take some notes as these may be handy for your essay.

share what you have written with the others around you. What did they learn? Add to your notes as these may also be very useful for your essay.

Subsidised 

gyms

education

Compulsory sport at 

school and work

Or another way of approaching this could be to make a mind-map

online class

Exercise 6

Read the introduction and select the correct linking word for each gap: 

7. Look at the plan for the essay

LAYOUT TIPS: DO NOT USE SUB-HEADINGS IN YOUR ESSAY, THESE HEADINGS ARE FOR INSPIRATION AND ORGANISATION

Title

Introduction: Make a general statement about the benefits of exercise and the

suggestion that governments should help. Say you are going to discuss two proposals.

Par. 2 : Agree that an education program aimed at students would be effective. It

should be supplemented with a programme aimed at adults

Par. 3: It is suggested that there should be more free exercise facilities. Express your

disagreement. Walking and cycling are free but people do not use these methods.

Conclusion: An educational programme would be more efficient and cost-effective.

Good opening paragraphs: (1)

5. The introduction should be a general statement about the topic, the fact that there are different proposed methods and your intention to discuss two of them. 

There is unquestionably an urgent need for governments to encourage people to take more exercise. But what is the best method of doing this?  Well, this question can be answered in many ways but the most two important to consider are subsidised gyms and compulsory sport at work and school. 

Opening paragraph idea (2)

It is generally accepted that people today take insufficient exercise. This, combined with a poor diet, can lead to ill health and a poor quality of life. In view of this, it has been

suggested that governments should act to encourage more exercise. I shall consider two of the proposed methods. 

Topic sentences

Body Paragraph One: The first possible action is to make gym subscriptions affordable through government subsidies.

Body Paragraph Two: A second option would be to attempt to make sports compulsory in schools and then continue this in the workplace.

Good closing paragraphs

PARAGRAPH 4 – CONCLUSION. State your opinion. Write two or three sentences. Point out clearly which of the two discussed aspects is more important, on the basis of what you have written above. The conclusion should put a full stop to what you have written and not open a new argument.

It is a summary of what you have said in the main paragraphs, to make your main point. It must be an interesting ending, what do you want to demonstrate?

Closing paragraph idea

In view of the above arguments, I believe governments should introduce education programmes aimed at people of all ages because this is the most cost-effective means of achieving the desired goal. 

Use sentences such as:

 To sum up.....

Taking both points in to consideration ......

In a nutshell ......

as can be seen ......

in the final analysis .....

all things considered ......

as shown above .....

Writing Assignment 

Exercise 9 on page 67 in the Student Book

If you want to practice writing the essay, then please upload it to Google Classroom, or mail it to me and I will give you feedback on it. 

220 - 260 words

Check list

Title 

Introduction

P1

P2

Conclusion

Reread carefully checking for:

Repetition of words/structures.

No Contractions (it'll - don't - can't)

No Boring/informal vocabulary.

Also Furthermore/moreover. 

Because Due/Owing to the fact that. Although In spite of the fact that. However Nonetheless/Nevertheless.

Have you answered the question completely?

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