Speakout Advanced

WRITING REFERENCE UNIT 2

Writing a discursive essay
A discursive essay is an essay that ex !ores a articu!ar su"#ect. A discursive essay needs to "e balanced$ you shou!d resent argu%ents on both sides in a neutra! &ay before you ex ress your o&n o inion. 1 Read the essa and sa i! these state"ents are true or !a#se$ 1 2 ( + , 'he author gives a fir% o inion on the su"#ect in the introduction. 'he second aragra h su orts the ro osition in the tit!e. )n the third aragra h the author says that he thin*s hea!thcare and university shou!d "e free. 'he author offers an extre%e o inion in the fina! aragra h. )n genera!, the essay is "a!anced. 'here are too %any aragra hs in the essay for the content. '&o &ou!d "e enough.

Students% not the state% shou#d pa universit tuition !ees$

'&enty years ago, if you &ent to university in the ./, a!! of your tuition fees &ere aid for "y the govern%ent. 0o&, ho&ever, you have to ay for the% yourse!f. 'here is current!y a !ot of de"ate a"out &hich of these t&o situations is "etter. What is "ore, there are no straightfor&ard ans&ers. )n an idea! &or!d, a!! education &ou!d "e free, inc!uding tertiary education. Neverthe#ess, the fact of the %atter is that &e do not !ive in an idea! &or!d and there is not an un!i%ited su !y of %oney. In addition to this, the %ore %oney the govern%ent s ends, the %ore it taxes its citi1ens, and the !ess %oney they have. 'n the other hand, it cou!d "e argued that in a %odern de%ocratic society, citi1ens have so%e "asic rights. 2or exa% !e, %any eo !e &ou!d agree that universa! free hea!thcare is a "asic right$ no one shou!d go &ithout %edica! attention "ecause they can3t afford it. (ike&ise, a significant nu%"er of eo !e a!so thin* university fees shou!d "e free of charge. After a!!, they %aintain, if hea!thcare is free, &hy shou!dn3t university "e free, too4 )n %y o&n vie&, university tuition fees shou!d not "e tota!!y free. )f they are, %any eo !e &i!! go to university #ust "ecause they don3t *no& &hat to do after secondary schoo!. ')vious# , this is not the ur ose of going to university. At the sa%e ti%e, fees shou!d not "e so ex ensive that they ut off eo !e fro% oor fa%i!ies fro% carrying on &ith their studies. Conse*uent# , the "est so!ution &ou!d "e for the govern%ent to su"sidise tuition fees, "ut not to ay for the% entire!y. Introduction

E+p#ore one side o! the argu"ent

E+p#ore another side o! the argu"ent

,our o&n vie&

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Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A., 2012

(earn to use !in*ing devices

2a- (ook at the #inking devices in )o#d in the te+t$ C#assi! the" according to their use$ a5 'o introduce additiona! infor%ation "5 'o indicate a contrast &ith &hat has co%e "efore c5 'o fo!!o& a !ogica! argu%ent d5 'o rove your oint )- C#assi! these #inking devices according to the categories in 2a-$ additiona!!y in conc!usion thus evident!y so on the contrary further%ore hence 'o fo!!o& a !ogica! argu%ent for this reason

'o introduce additiona! infor%ation

'o indicate a contrast &ith &hat has co%e "efore

'o rove your oint

. /e#ete the incorrect a#ternative in each sentence$ 1 6e ays his o&n fees. For this reason 0 1o&ever 0 Conse*uent# , he &ants to co% !ete his degree as soon as ossi"!e. 2 7ane3s fa%i!y have a !ot of %oney. 1o&ever 0 Thus 0 Neverthe#ess, they don3t give her %uch. ( Every"ody fai!ed the exa%. Evident# 0 In addition to this 0 ')vious# , it &as too difficu!t. + 6ea!thcare is very ex ensive in the .nited States. 'n the contrar 0 For this reason 0 1ence, it3s a good idea to have hea!th insurance. , She !ives a !ong &ay fro% the university. Further"ore 0 Conse*uent# 0 What2s "ore, u"!ic trans ort in the area is very oor. - 6is sister studied 8aths at university. Thus 0 1o&ever 0 In contrast, he studied 2rench.

E+tension
3a- (ook at the sentences and trans#ate the"$ 1 2 ( + ) &ent to university, &hereas %y father didn3t. /espite a!! %y advice, they didn3t go to university. She3s extre%e!y inte!!igent. 1aving said that, she3s a!so very !a1y. A#though he &or*ed very hard, he fai!ed a!! his exa%s.

)- Which o! the e+pressions in )o#d 4 i5 connects t&o c!auses in the sa%e sentence4 ii5 is fo!!o&ed "y a noun c!ause4 iii5 has a si%i!ar %eaning to however4 c- Re&rite sentences 153 as indicated$ 1 2 ( + .se .se .se .se however. although. although. despite.

Speakout Advanced

Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A., 2012

6ractice
7 Write an essa on the su)8ect9 :Ro a# !a"i#ies serve no use!u# purpose in toda 2s societ 2 ;27<=.<< &ords-$ Writing p#an Check Paragra Paragra Paragra Paragra h h h h 1$ 2$ ($ +$ introduce the to ic. resent one side of the argu%ent. resent the other side of the argu%ent. give your o&n vie&.

our essa 6ave you fo!!o&ed the &riting !an4 )s your essay "a!anced4 6ave you avoided giving your o&n o inion unti! the !ast aragra h4 6ave you used a good range of !in*ing devices to he! %a*e your %eaning c!ear4 6ave you chec*ed the gra%%ar, s e!!ing and unctuation of your essay4

Speakout Advanced

Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A., 2012