2 WRITING EXTRA
ADVANCED UNIT 2
a discursive essay
WRITING TIP
A discursive essay is an essay that explores a particular
subject. A discursive essay needs to be balanced: you
should present arguments on both sides in a neutral
way before you express your own opinion.
1 Read the essay and say if these statements are
true (T) or false (F).
1 The author gives a firm opinion on the subject
in the introduction.
2 The second paragraph supports the
proposition in the title.
3 In the third paragraph the author says that he
thinks healthcare and university should be free.
4 The author offers an extreme opinion in the
final paragraph.
5 In general, the essay is balanced.
6 There are too many paragraphs in the essay for
the content. Two would be enough.
Should students pay their own university
tuition fees?
Twenty years ago, if you went to university in the UK, all of
your tuition fees were paid for by the government. Now,
however, you have to pay for them yourself. There is
currently a lot of debate about which of these two
situations is better. What is more, there are no
straightforward answers.
In an ideal world, all education would be free, including
tertiary education. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is
that we do not live in an ideal world and there is not an
unlimited supply of money.
In addition to this, the more money the government
spends, the more it taxes its citizens, and the less money
they have.
On the other hand, it could be argued that in a modern
democratic society, citizens have some basic rights. For
example, many people would agree that universal free
healthcare is a basic right: no one should go without
medical attention because they can’t afford it.
Likewise, a significant number of people also think
university fees should be free of charge. After all, they
maintain, if healthcare is free, why shouldn’t university be
free, too?
In my own view, university tuition fees should not be totally
free. If they are, many people will go to university just
because they don’t know what to do after secondary
school. Obviously, this is not the purpose of going to
university. At the same time, fees should not be so
expensive that they put off people from poor families from
carrying on with their studies. Consequently, the best
solution would be for the government to subsidise tuition
fees, but not to pay for them entirely.
© Pearson Education Limited 2016
2 A Look at the linking devices in bold in the text. Which:
1 introduce additional information?
2 indicate a contrast with what has come before?
3 follow a logical argument?
4 prove your point?
B Add the linkers in the box below to the categories above.
additionally thus so furthermore for this reason
in conclusion evidently on the contrary hence
3 Delete the incorrect alternative in each sentence.
1 He pays his own fees. For this reason/However/
Consequently, he wants to complete his degree as
soon as possible.
2 Jane’s family have a lot of money. However/Thus/
Nevertheless, they don’t give her much.
3 Everybody failed the exam. Evidently/In addition to this/
Obviously, it was too difficult.
4 Healthcare is very expensive in the United States.
On the contrary/For this reason/Hence, it’s a good idea
to have health insurance.
5 She lives a long way from the university. Furthermore/
Consequently/What’s more, public transport in the
area is very poor.
6 His sister studied Maths at university. Thus/However/
In contrast, he studied French.
4 A Read the sentences below.
1 I went to university, whereas my father didn’t.
2 Despite all my advice, they didn’t go to university.
3 She’s extremely intelligent. Having said that, she’s
also very lazy.
4 Although he worked very hard, he failed all his exams.
B Which of the expressions in bold …
a) connects two clauses in the same sentence?
b) is followed by a noun clause?
c) has a similar meaning to however?
5 Write an essay on the subject: ‘Royal families serve no
useful purpose in today’s society’ (250–300 words).
Plan your writing
• Think about the content of your essay. Introduce the topic
and present both sides of the argument. Summarise by
giving your own view.
Check your writing
• Have you used a good range of linking devices?
• Have you checked your grammar and spelling?
• Did you find any mistakes?