ESSAY STRUCTURE

Sample Essay: In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this
phenomenon. Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay.

(1) In England, if you live to be over 100 years old you receive a telegram from the queen. What an
honour. (2) However, this is becoming a less extraordinary occurrence. Old age is no longer the
accomplishment it once was because people tend to live longer nowadays for several reasons. (3)
My sentiment is that we are extending our lives because we are more knowledgeable, we have more
complete diets and we have better healthcare.

(4) To begin, greater awareness of how to care for your health has helped us to prolong our lives. (5)
Initially, illnesses are no longer a mystery. (6) For example, we can diagnose conditions quickly and
therefore can cure them effectively. (7) Also, information about unhealthy practices is more
widespread and accessible. (8) A prime example would be the smoking ban. Now, in many countries
it is common knowledge that cigarettes can harm smokers and those around them and thus, it is
banned in many public places.

(4) The next point is that we tend to have better diets nowadays. (5) Primarily, we have a better
knowledge of which foods to eat. (6) In my experience, I always try to avoid eating any kind of
artificial food like MSGs or e-numbers because I know they are harmful to my health. (7) Finally,
we are extending our life spans thanks to better availability of fresh, healthy food. (8) If you take a
simple stroll down a supermarket aisle you can see many organic products that are 100% natural.

(4) My final point is that in modern society, we have a modern healthcare system. (5) Perhaps most
importantly, we have new hospitals. (6) These hospitals are filled with state of art machinery like CT
scanners to diagnose and often treat once misunderstood conditions. (7) However, our insurance has
also improved. (8) This ensures that when the unthinkable happens, we can afford to cost of using
such advanced medical machinery.

(9) In conclusion, mankind has entered an age where life is longer than ever. (10) Better
information, food and healthcare have made this remarkable feat not only possible, but also common
place. (11) Who knows, in the future maybe the average life span of a human will be one hundred
years or more.