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Writing Task - ESSAY: Layout

This document provides guidance on writing different types of tasks, including essays, book entries, articles, informal letters, formal letters, and reports. For essays, it outlines the typical 4 paragraph structure and provides examples of formal language and discourse markers to use. For book entries, it describes the writing style and content. Articles are defined as pieces intended for publication with examples of their common elements. Informal letter examples include greetings, ways to persuade or advise, and closings. Formal letter guidelines cover salutations, reasons for writing, body paragraphs, and endings. Finally, report elements are outlined such as introductions with reasons and conclusions with recommendations.

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Dahlia Noir
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
60 views

Writing Task - ESSAY: Layout

This document provides guidance on writing different types of tasks, including essays, book entries, articles, informal letters, formal letters, and reports. For essays, it outlines the typical 4 paragraph structure and provides examples of formal language and discourse markers to use. For book entries, it describes the writing style and content. Articles are defined as pieces intended for publication with examples of their common elements. Informal letter examples include greetings, ways to persuade or advise, and closings. Formal letter guidelines cover salutations, reasons for writing, body paragraphs, and endings. Finally, report elements are outlined such as introductions with reasons and conclusions with recommendations.

Uploaded by

Dahlia Noir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing Task - ESSAY

Layout:
4 paragraphs:
1) Include statement declared in the task.
2) Give 2/3 reasons for the statement.
3) Give 2/3 reasons against the statement.
4) Conclude by summing up and giving your opinion.
Style:
Formal, so:
No contractions, phrasal verbs, idioms;
Avoid using the first person singular as far as possible;
Use passive voice as much as possible;
Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence;
Justify your ideas with examples;
Do not include any new ideas in the conclusion.
Useful expressions to introduce arguments/points:
Generally speaking/ There is no doubt that/There are many advantages to +
ing/It is a well-known fact that/It is thought/believed/claimed that/One
point of view is/For one thing,/Another argument is/Far from + ing/ There
are those/people who believe that/ On the one hand/On the other hand,/In
contrast with/Contrary to the above ideas,/On the contrary,/ /Others feel/argue
that.
Discourse markers: All types:- concession, cause, result, time, reason,
contrast, emphasis, summing up, etc.
Firstly,/secondly,/In addition,(to this,)/Furthermore,/Moreover,/What is more,/
However,/ Therefore, /In spite of + ing/ Despite + ing/Nonetheless,/
Although/Since/As/Because/Owing to/Due to/No matter how/what/All the
while/In the meantime,/nevertheless,/Regardless of/As a matter of fact,/As a
consequence,/All in all,/ On the whole,/Another point worth mentioning
is/Taking everything into account,/My belief is that../The way I see it is .

Writing Task - BOOK ENTRY


Introduction
What you write for a book entry is very similar to an article so:
There should be a title
It should include section headings
The language should be quite formal as book entries are usually written for
serious publications
The subject whether person or place should be made clear in the first
section
The opening section should be as interesting as possible to make the reader
want to carry on reading
It is important that what you write is as realistic as possible and therefore
should look like an authentic text
Writing style
Book entries will include a combination of :
Descriptive: e.g. describe a person/place etc
Discursive: e.g. give and support your opinion, analyse a situation, give
explanations
Narrative: e.g. narrate an event or a discovery

Writing Task - ARTICLE


What is an article?
An article :
is a piece of writing usually intended for publication in a newspaper,
magazine or journal
is written for a wide audience, so it is essential to attract and retain the
readers attention
may include amusing stories, reported speech and descriptions
can be formal or informal, depending on the target audience
should be written in an interesting or entertaining manner
should give opinions and thoughts, as well as facts

is in a less formal style than a report


An article can :
describe an experience, event, person or place
present an opinion or balanced argument
compare and contrast
provide information
offer suggestions
offer advice
A realistic article should consist of:
1. an eye-catching title which attracts the readers attention and suggests
the theme of the
article. (Think about why you read a magazine or newspaper article recently
- what made
you read it?) Articles can also have subheadings before each paragraph.
2. an introduction which clearly defines the topic to be covered and keeps
the readers
attention.
3. the main body of two to five paragraphs in which the topic is further
developed in detail.
4. the conclusion - summarising the topic or a final opinion, recommendation
or comment.
REMEMBER
Before you begin writing it is important to consider:
where is the article going to appear - in a newspaper or magazine?
who are the intended readers - a specific group such as students or
teenagers, or adults in
general?
what is the aim of the article - to advise, suggest, inform, compare and
contrast, describe, etc.?
DO NOT use over-personal or over-emotional language or simplistic
vocabulary.
DO NOT talk about yourself. You are writing for the general public, not a
close circle of friends.
Your opinions are only interesting to other people if you can make them
amusing, justify them or
explain them.

Conclusion example:
All of this leads me to the conclusion

All this point make me want to

Writing Task - INFORMAL LETTER


Dear ..
Hi/Hello ...
Beginning
Great/Lovely to hear from you (after so long)
Thanks (a lot) for the letter / It was great to get your letter
Sorry to hear about your
Sorry for not writing for so long/I havent written/I havent been in touch for
so long
Persuading
Youd get so much out of it
Itd be a wonderful/marvellous opportunity for you to..
Just think of (all the people youd meet)
Just imagine how it would (improve your cv), not to mention (the money you
could earn)
Advising
Whatever you do, make sure you..
Its (not) worth/Theres no/little point + gerund
Id/I wouldntif I were you.
Youd be much better off + gerund
Ending
I must go now
Phone me as soon as possible.
Write back soon and let me know how it goes
(Im) Looking forward to hearing from you
Please reply quickly
Ill finish now as Im running out of space
Bye for now
Id better get going
Cant wait to see you again
(Give my) love/regards to
Signing of
Friends: All the best/Best wishes/Bye for now
Relatives: Lots of love/All my love/Love

When possible, use:


contractions
the present continuous instead of the present simple ('Im looking forward to
hearing from you' instead of 'I look forward...')
the present simple instead of the conditional ('I want to visit your farm'
instead of 'I would like to visit your farm')
colloquial expressions ('Im most interested' instead of 'I am really
interested')
direct sentences ('I think it's a good idea' instead of 'It would be a good
idea')
phrasal verbs

Writing Task - FORMAL LETTER


Dear Sir/Madam (In case you dont know the name Yours Faithfully)
Dear Mr X (Yours Sincerely)
Reason for writing (Who I am (not the name!), What I want, When
and Where it happened)
I am writing with regard/reference to (the article which appeared
when/where) to express my concern about/disappointment
with/dissatisfation with/disapproval of/apologies for (motivation)
Body (2/3 paragraphs Points from input material)

Firstly/To begin with/Moreover

In fact/Furthermore/In addition/Finally

(I feel) I must also (dis)agree with

I would like to/ I want to point out that

According to your (article)/ Your (article) states that.. However/which is


completely wrong

Action Step/Desired outcome

I trust/very much hope you will (print this letter in the next issue of
your newspaper)

I would appreciate it/be grateful if you would

It seems only fair that you should

I look forward to receiving/seeing

In light of the above (I feel I am entitled to a full refund and a formal


apology)

Ending
Yours faithfully/Yours Sincerely
Firma
(Ruolo/Carica)
Linking Words:
Formal

Less formal

Addition

furthermore, in
addition to,
in the same way
as,
moreover, similarly

also, and, as well


as,
besides, just as

Opposition

although, however,
nevertheless,
nonetheless,
whereas

but, or, so, on the


other hand

Reference

in all cases, in
general,
in many cases, in
most
cases, in some
cases,
regarding, with
reference to

since, so

Cause and effect


(result)

accordingly,
consequently,
on the whole,
therefore,
thus, unfortunately
firstly, finally, in
the first
place, secondly,
lastly, next

anyway, at any
rate, because,
because of

Listing

after, and, and


then, before,
first, last, second,
soon, then

Writing Task - REPORT


Title or:
To:
From:
Subject:
Date:
Reason of writing (Introduction)

The aim/objective/purpose of this report is to


compare/examine/evaluate/describe/outline (some
suggestions)/analyse (some suggestions)/expose/present/give
information on/regarding the/recommend/consider/suggest

This report aims to... etc.

Nouns: information (remember: not informations), ideas, suggestions,


situations, conditions, comments

in order to improve/decide

In case of suvey/discussion: It is based on a survey conducted among/It


is the result of a discussion which took place among

Body (2 paragraphs maximum)

Headings from the task

It should be considered, it is worth considering

The first observation to make is (concerns)

First of all/Firstly

Secondly/ Furthermore/Moreover

Lastly/Finally

In fact

According to (the majority of respondents)

However, although, alternatively

In spite of (the fact [that])/Despite (the fact [that]) + Noun, Pronoun


or ...ing

Predicting the future: The outlook for ... is (far from [+ing])
bright/optimistic/depressing/daunting

The future looks bleak/remains uncertain/is promising

This seems unlikely in the near/foreseable future

It has been stressed that

Making/giving recommendations

I would strongly recommend that ... should + bare infinitive

In the light of the results of the survey I would advise against...

I feel it would be to our advantage if...

The best solution is/would be to...

This will have an impact on + noun

Conclusion(s)

As long as/provided that these recommendations are taken into


consideration

In conclusion...

The reseach shows/demonstrates

From the research/the evidence we conclude that

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