HOW TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY

Writing an essay for and against

To help you in the following tasks, you may have a look here

1. Classify the folowing link words in the chart bellow.

Introduire le sujet	Ajouter une idée	Donner des exemples
Présenter un aspect différent	Conclure	Donner son point de vue

All in all/ All things considered / As for me/ Besides/ For example/ For instance / Furthermore

Generally speaking / However / I am convinced that / I really believe that /In most cases

It is believed that / Moreover / nowadays / Nevertheless / On the other hand /Particularly

Such as /To conclude / To my mind/ To put it in a nutshell /What is more / Yet

2. Look at the way this short essay has been composed.

Subject: Is technological progress always positive? Explain your point of view.

Introduction: Recent technological progress	Over the last few years, there have been tremendous changes in our work and leisure activities. Indeed, we could go as far as to say that our daily life has been revolutionized by computers, faster communications and other forms of technological progress.
Arguments for: easier work, more varied leasure	First of all, this has made our working lives easier by getting rid of boring repetitive tasks and speeding up our work. In addition, video games and CD players have brought high quality sound and pictures, as well as huge quantities of information right into our homes.
Arguments against: Saturation or refusal of reality	On the other hand, some people, especially the young, are tempted to spend too much time either in front of a screen or wearing headphones and, as a result, their ability or desire to communicate is reduced. They have no friends or, even worse, they invent imaginary friends who inhabit their artificial universe.
Personal point of view: Good if used with moderation	As far as I am concerned, I consider that technological progress is both inevitable and globally beneficial, as long as people use it in moderation in order to improve their efficiency or increase their pleasure. Pushed to extremes, it can lead people to refuse the real world and seek refuge in “virtual reality”.

Which of the inderlined expressions in the essay could be replaced by the following?

1. As a matter of fact...............................

2. However................................................

3. In my opinion......................................

4. Particularly..........................................

5. Not to mention.....................................

6. Provided that .......................................

7. Recently...............................................

8. Therefore..............................................

9. to begin with..........................................

10. What is more...........................................

Now, it is your turn:

Number one: Is the mobile phone a good or a bad thing? Explain your point of view.