Speakout Advanced Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A.

, 2012
1
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 exress your
o&n oinion.
1 Read the essa and sa i! these state"ents are true or !a#se$
1 'he author gives a fir% oinion on the su"#ect in the introduction.
2 'he second aragrah suorts the roosition in the tit!e.
( )n the third aragrah the author says that he thin*s hea!thcare and university shou!d "e free.
+ 'he author offers an extre%e oinion in the fina! aragrah.
, )n genera!, the essay is "a!anced.
- 'here are too %any aragrahs 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 sends, 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
urose of going to university. At the sa%e ti%e, fees shou!d not "e
so exensive 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&

Speakout Advanced Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A., 2012
2
(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 thus so further%ore for this reason
in conc!usion evident!y on the contrary hence

'o introduce additiona!
infor%ation
'o indicate a contrast &ith
&hat has co%e "efore
'o fo!!o& a !ogica!
argu%ent
'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 exensive 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 transort 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 ) &ent to university, &hereas %y father didn3t.
2 /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 .se however.
2 .se although.
( .se although.
+ .se despite.

Speakout Advanced Writing Reference Pearson Educacin, S.A., 2012
.
6ractice
7 Write an essa on the su)8ect9 :Roa# !a"i#ies serve no use!u# purpose in toda2s
societ2 ;27<=.<< &ords-$
Writing p#an
Paragrah 1$ introduce the toic.
Paragrah 2$ resent one side of the argu%ent.
Paragrah ($ resent the other side of the argu%ent.
Paragrah +$ give your o&n vie&.
Check our essa
6ave you fo!!o&ed the &riting !an4
)s your essay "a!anced4
6ave you avoided giving your o&n oinion unti! the !ast aragrah4
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, se!!ing and unctuation of your essay4