Formal style

1. Don’t use contractions

Contractions  (e.g. ‘I’m’, ‘I’d’, ‘It’s’ ) make your writing less formal
2. Don’t use slang
Ex: slang ‘kids’ as a synonym for ‘children’
3. Don’t use cliches
Ex: ‘Every coin has two sides’ are not academic.
rephrase ->‘There are two sides to every argument’.
4. Don’t ask a question
Ex: informal : ‘But will this work?’.
Formal: ‘It is doubtful whether this strategy will succeed’

5. Don’t use emotional language

Informal: ‘murderer’ or ‘hooligan’
Formal: ‘violent criminal’.
Informal
bad = dangerous, harmful
wrong = unethical, unfair
6. Don’t address the reader as ‘you’
Informal: ‘If you lose your health, you may lose your job’.
Formal: ‘If people lose their health, they may lose their job.’
7. Avoid using pronouns like ‘I’ or ‘we’
Informal: ‘I believe’ ‘I think’ or ‘I would argue’
Formal: ‘This essay will argue that…’.

8. Avoid making generalisations

Generalisations can weaken your argument because they are too broad and imprecise.
Informal: ‘Everybody loves music’
Formal: ‘Many people enjoy listening to music’.
9. Avoid exaggeration
Informal: “Plastic waste is clogging the oceans, choking the life out of sea-creatures and threatening
to end all ocean-life as we know it!”
Formal: “According to the Plastic Oceans Foundation, humans have dumped more than 8 million tons
of plastic into ocean water each year for several years in a row. This plastic waste does not degrade,
and clumps together, which creates large blocks in the ocean that hurt ocean-life.”

10. Keep it simple

In an attempt to sound formal, many candidates use overly-formal words and expressions which can
sound unnatural.
Look at two example below:

a) ‘The staggering volume of synthetic organic compounds accumulating in large bodies of saline
water has engendered a colossal moral quandary for behemoth manufacturers’.

b) ‘The large volume of plastic waste that has accumulated in the Earth’s oceans has created a moral
question for companies that produce large amounts of plastic materials’.

Yes, (b) is better because it’s much simpler and easier to read.

11. Avoid short forms/abbreviations

Don’t write ‘e.g.’ – write ‘for instance’ or ‘for example’ or ‘as an illustration’.
12. Avoid INFORMAL phrasal verbs
On the whole, phrasal verbs tend to be used in less formal writing, and when you have a choice
between the two, always use the full verb in formal writing.
Ex 1: change the sentences below from informal to formal style
1. Informal:    The improvements canʼt be introduced due to funding restrictions.( contractions)
Formal:      Improvements cannot be introduced due to funding restrictions.
2.Informal:    The balloon was blown up for the experiment.( phrasal verbs)
Formal:      The balloon was inflated for the experiment.
 3.Informal:    It was raining cats and dogs.(slang)
Formal:      It was raining very heavily.
 4.Informal:    I considered various research methods for the study.( first person pronoun)
Formal:      Various research methods were considered for the study.
 5.Informal:    Lecturers still count on students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.
Formal:      Lecturers expect students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.
6.Informal:    The results of the study were mixed up.
Formal:      The results of the study were confused.
4 step to write opinion essay
Step1: make plan of your answer
Step 2: write the introduction
Step3: write the main body
Step 4: write the conclusion

 
A big salary is much more important than job satisfaction. 
Do you agree or disagree? 
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Write at least 250 words

Step 1: plan your answer

# 1  Decide on your opinion
Read the question again:
A big salary is much more important than job satisfaction.
Do you agree or disagree?
# 2  Generate ideas
 There are 4 main techniques for generating ideas for your Task 2 IELTS essay:
 Brainstorming
 Mind-mapping
 Friends technique
 Examples method

The second task is to generate some ideas to write about and you need ideas to support your point.
You often get more ideas than you need, so just pick two to develop in the essay – one for each of
the main body paragraphs.
Ex2: Give your opinion for the question above. Then, write some ideas you will use to support your
point.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………

# 3  Vocabulary
In order not to repeat the words, try to paraphrase them.
Ex3: Write some synonyms of the words below
satisfaction – ……………………………………………………………….
salary – …………………………………………………………………….
important – …………………………………………………………………..
job – …………………………………………………………………………….

Step2: write the introduction

A good introduction has a simple 3 part structure:
1)  Paraphrased question
2)  Thesis statement: state your opinion
  “ This essay totally disagrees with that statement” or
“'This essay completely agrees with that statement.'
3)  Outline statement
you must outline the two main points (2 main ideas above)
An introduction should:
 Have 2-3 sentences
 Be 40-60 words long
 Take 5 minutes to write
Ex4: paraphrase the exam question
     Question: A big salary is much more important than job satisfaction.
                       Do you agree or disagree?  
Paraphrased question: 
……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ex5: complete the introduction with 3 main parts mentioned above with the words in the box
fulfilled risk believe
statement significance argued

It is ________that earning lots of money has more ____________to people than being content in
their work. This essay totally disagrees with that __________. I _________that people are
increasingly concerned about the _________ of stress-related ill-health frequently experienced by
people in highly paid positions and they care more about feeling _____________at work.

How To Write Main Body Paragraphs

The structure of a good main body paragraph has 3 parts:
 Topic sentence
 Explanation
 Example

ex6: Read the information. Then, write topic sentence for below idea

Main idea 1 – concerns about the risk of stress-related ill-health

Topic sentence: 
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Ex7: put the sentences below into correct order
B.This causes many individuals to suffer high levels of stress which can result in both mental and
physical health problems.
A.This happened to my uncle. He used to boast about his huge salary but the boss kept increasing his
sales targets and in the end, the stress became too great and he had a nervous breakdown. Now he
regrets being driven by the money.
C.Employees earning a large income are generally under significant mental and emotional pressure
to perform well and achieve targets.

Ex8: write the topic sentence for the idea

Main idea 2 – Job satisfaction gives a sense of fulfilment.
Topic sentence:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………..
Ex9: complete the second main body using the words in the box
even though workload teaching profession
which well-paid workforce

Having a job that they enjoy doing, and in which they feel valued, is a major concern for most of the
modern _________. A significant number of people are giving up _________positions to do jobs
_______pay less but that they find more enjoyable and less stressful.I am an example of this myself.
A year ago I left the _________________because the ___________had become too great and I am
now a gardener. I feel really fulfilled in this work and I am much more relaxed and happy
___________I earn far less money.
Write a Conclusion
Conclusions to IELTS opinion essays should do two things:
 Summarise the main points
 State your opinion

This can generally be done in a single sentence.

Ex10: write the conclusion for the essay
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………..
3 Common Mistakes
These three errors are common in IELTS opinion essays.
 Not stating an opinion.
  Giving arguments for both views.
 Not supporting your opinion with clear reasons.

Useful vocabulary/phrases to open/start the Vocabulary to show an example:

essay: As an illustration...
Many/some people claim/opine/believe that...
As an instance...
There is no denying that...
It is often said that... As for example...
These days.../ Nowadays.../ In this day and age...
By way of illustration...
It goes without saying that...
It is universally accepted that... To illustrate...
We live in an age when many of us are... To paraphrase...
People are divided in their opinion regarding...
.... is one of the most important issues... To show an example...
Whether .... or .... is a controversial issue... To cite an instance...
Take one example...
Useful vocabulary/phrases to end the
Introduction part:
Vocabulary to present an idea:
In my opinion...
Research shows that...
I strongly opine that...
Research has found that...
I strongly agree with the idea that...
When it comes to...
I strongly disagree with the given topic...
With respect to...
Personally speaking...
Not only... but also...
Apparently...
In terms of...
From my point of view... 
As far as I am concerned... up at the end of a paragraph:
From my perspective... To sum up...
I realise... In short...
To my way of thinking... In a word...
It seems to me that... To put it simply...
To my mind... That is to say...
My own view on the matter is... To repeat in short...
It appears that... To summarise...
First and foremost...
Vocabulary to make a point stronger/ Adding
Initially...
Let us take a look at... emphasis:
It is worth considering... It goes without saying that...
In the first place... Obviously...
Though it is true that... Needless to say...
Some people believe that... There is little doubt that...
Many people think that... Nonetheless...
According to many... Nevertheless...
Some people believe that... Still...
Many support the view that... Yet...
On the one hand... Must... After
Last but not least...