Lesson Essay

13 discussion essays
Are they about personal opinions?
NO, They are about OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS

Type 1:
Supporters/Advocates of the opinion …
Those who support + N
The supporters of + N

Opponents of the view mentioned above …

Those opposed to the above-mentioned idea/opinion

Type 2 – USING impersonal ONE

CONCLUSIONS – BALANCED CONSIDERATIONS

On balance, it can be claimed that + S V
All things considered, the best course of action would be to V
achieving the balance between … and … would be to V
the obvious conclusion to be drawn is that + S V

1
 SAMPLE DISCUSSION ESSAY
“Censorship is necessary in modern society”. Discuss.

Censorship is an issue which frequently generates a great deal of heated debate, with
supporters maintaining that it is vital in order to protect society, whilst opponents claim that
it is an unjustifiable restriction of public access to information.

Firstly, all countries have secrets which must be safeguarded for reasons of national
security. For instance, if an enemy country were to acquire such highly sensitive information,
the effects could be catastrophic. Consequently, governments have to have the power to
restrict access to information concerning areas such as the armed forces or particular aspects
of foreign policy.

Secondly, it is often argued that censorship is necessary to prevent the broadcast and
publication of obscene material which is considered offensive or harmful to public morals.
Many people feel that, without censorship the public would be constantly subjected to
material that the majority would find offensive. For this reason, the government has a duty to
impose certain restrictions on the mass media by censoring films and texts which contain
explicit scenes of sex, violence or foul language.

In contrast, opponents of censorship point out that when it is abused by governments,

censorship becomes an instrument used to misinform society and maintain power. In order to
control the flow of information which riches the public, repressive regimes try to put
constraints on the media, thus denying citizens the right to information owing to the fact that
governments believe it may lead them to seek greater freedom.

Furthermore, it is generally felt that mature adults are able to make informed choices
about what they watch, read and listen to and should, therefore, be permitted to make their
own decisions. For example, some comedians make use of offensive language taboo subjects
in their performances. Critics of censorship argue that the only people who will watch or listen
to such material are adults who have made a conscious decision to do so. Thus, it is claimed, it
is unjust to censor material like this since it is not forced upon people who may subsequently
be offended by it.

All things considered, it can be concluded that a certain degree of censorship is always
necessary. The best course of action would be to attempt to achieve a balance between the
requirements of the country and the public on the one hand, and individuals’ rights on the
other.

2
IMPERSONAL VOCABULARY
This can be useful in discussion type essays when talking about other people’s opinions.
The impersonal structures

 make what you say sound more intelligent/plausible

 give you some ready-made English to use that is grammatically complex
 are an alternative to “Some people say”
The impersonal IT

IT phrase + S V
It goes without saying that
It is quite clear that
It is worth pointing out that
It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that
It is often argued that
It is sometimes suggested that
It is particularly significant that
It could be argued that
It is likely that

The impersonal THERE

THERE phrase + S V
There is not a shadow of doubt that
There is the possibility that
There can be no doubt that
There are those who maintain that
There is a school of thought that
There is a strong likelihood that

The impersonal ONE

ONE phrase +S V
One could claim that
One must remember that
One could draw the conclusion that

PRACTICE
Write sentences about the following topic, using impersonal One, It or There.
- Advantages and disadvantages of tourism
- Environment: problems and solutions
- Causes of and solutions to crime
- Advantages of listening to music

3
PRESENTING SOMEONE ELSE’S OPINIONS
Introducing opinion
(Đưa ra quan điểm)
Many people/ A growing number of people
argue/claim/ /think/ believe/ hold the view
that...
It is argued by some that...
There is a common belief that...
Impersonal IT / THERE/
ONE (See the previous page)
Supporting the opinion
(Chứng minh quan điểm)
It is their view/belief that...
They claim/argue/feel that...
This is because...
A common belief about [prison] is that...
This could be explained by the fact that …
This could be exemplified/illustrated by …
To illustrate, …
(Use the P.E.E formula)

Exercise 1. Use a chunk to introduce the opinion and another chunk to develop the paragraph.
Example: television / good for children / educational / helps / learn
Many people believe that television is actually a good thing for children.
They claim that it is educational and that, in fact, it helps them learn.
1. robots / replace teachers / future./ more efficient
2. sport in school / waste of time. / concentrate on key subjects / sport / outside school
3. teachers / able / physical discipline. / reduce / misbehaviour
* enforce/exercise/impose physical discipline on sb

4. take gap year / waste of time / people / become lazy / not want to work / return
5. changing career / bad
6. older people / better employees
7. anyone can be famous