WRITING AN ESSAY

argumentative essay

GENERATING IDEAS

• TOPIC: - how to lose weight

- my best friend

- Slovenia as a tourist country

1. Brainstorming

2. Freewriting

3. mindmapping

brainstorming

eat less, exercise more stop eating at McDonald’s

start cycling eat more vegetables don’t eat after

6 o’clock in the eat one apple a day evening drink more water (not beer/wine)

chew food slowly use smaller plates

freewriting

• Who is my best friend? this is difficult to say maybe mateja, we go out together often, have fun, like to do same things, there are things i haven’t told her, she wouldn’t understand,i don’t know if she’s really my best friend, best frinds should tell everything to each other, should support each other, should….

mindmapping

Slovenija

a lot to offer

mountainsseaside

Bohinj, Bled

Lipica,horseriding

different regions

goood food, poticagood wine

skiing, cyclingmountaneering

Farm holidays

“CONSTRUCTION” PLAN

MAIN PARTS PARAGRAPHS

- INTRODUCTION SPECIAL PARAGRAPH

- BODY 1st paragraph

2nd paragraph

3rd paragraph- CONCLUSION SPECIAL PARAGRAPH

INTRODUCTION

• MAIN IDEA OF THE ESSAY- THESIS, e.g. There are different ways of losing weight. / Slovenia has a lot to offer to tourists as well as to locals.

• SHOULD ATTRACT THE READER

• shouldn’t be too long (2 or 3 sentences)

• Should contain controlling idea – how deep you’re going to go into the problem

BODY

• 1st paragraph: the Alps + possible activities

• 2nd paragraph: beautiful countryside + possible activities

• 3rd paragraph: excellent food

CONCLUSION

• Repeat the main idea of the essay, but use different words.

• The reader should remember your point.

• DON’T START TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING NEW!

• 2 or 3 sentences is enough – you can add your opinion.

All the paragraphs should be connected and ordered. It helps the reader to understand and remember what you want to say.

(use linking devices between them,eg. on one hand/ on the other hand; on the plus side/ on the minus side; the advantages are/ the disadvantages are...)

Such organisation is COHERENT, has a clear message and makes a point.

Building a paragraph

• 1st sentence = topic sentence (main idea of a paragraph)

• Other sentences support the main idea

• Ideas should be ordered logically. You can e.g. give examples that support the main idea; compare two things (describe the first, then the second); explain sth by describing the cause and then the effect.

examples

Life expectancy depends also on what we do for a living. Sitting in an office all day long means that we do not do much to keep fit, but at least we are not exposed to any danger that could shorten our lives. On the other hand, people whose jobs are dangerous, such as firemen, take risks every time they go in action. They can get hurt or even killed at work, which is very unlikely if you work in an office.

2 EXAMPLES: OFFICE : ACTION

examples - comparison

How long we live depends also on the kind of job we have. Generally, people with stress-free jobs live longer than those who take their problems home instead of leaving them behind at their working place. Journalists, for example, are said to die relatively young because they work under constant pressure caused by deadlines, irregular and long working hours and possible attacks by those they report on – many have to appear in court regularly.

COMPARISON. STRESS-FREE vs STRESSFUL, FOR EXAMPLE: journalists

cause - effect

Wars can never bring peace to Earth, because violence just leads to more violence. One war is followed by another, each leader trying to impose his belief on others. What is more, also ordinary, otherwise calm and even gentle people usually become aggressive through terrible wartime experience and suffering.

EXERCISE

• Read the following paragraph from an essay entitled: The car is the curse of modern society.

• Find the topic sentence and make a list of all the arguments the writer uses.

Cars have definitely made our lives easier. Firstly, owning a car means independence and freedom. You can get into your car whenever you want without having to queue for public transport tickets or having to share a train compartment with complete strangers. In addition, cars make it possible for us to reach a wanted destination quickly and comfortably. This is very important, not only in case of emergency, but on daily basis since time is money in the modern world we live in. Finally, cars are used not only for transporting people but also for transporting things. Shopping, for example, is much easier to bring home if you have a car, and when you go on holiday, you can take with you a lot of luggage, skiing equipment and even your pet.

Suggested answer

• TOPIC: Cars have definitely made our lives easier.

• ARGUMENTS: 1. Independence and freedom: whenever you want

no queuing, privacy 2. Quick and comfortable:emergencies, time is money

3. Can be used to transport things:shopping,luggage

kriteriji

• vsebina

• besedišče

• slovnična pravilnost

• organizacija/ vezljivost