C1 Advanced Essay

Anastasia Glebova's
Exam Dive
 What is a C1 essay?
Task 1 (essay) is compulsory.
Don’t worry about writing more than 260 words, but make sure every idea
you include is relevant to the task. If you write less than 220 words, it is
very likely that your essay doesn’t answer the question fully.

Target reader: a teacher. This means the should be written in a

formal/neutral tone.

How to start?
We often hear that (a greater effort should be made to create jobs for
young people.)
Many people argue that (the school should be about more than just
preparing students for the world of work.)
Although many people (enjoy meeting others through networking sites),
there are those who say that (these sites are not good for making
friends).
We often hear that (a greater effort should be made to create jobs for
young people).
There can be no argument about the fact that the last few years
have seen a huge increase/decrease in (the wide range of electronic
devices most of us use).
It is often said/claimed that (people today read less than in the past.)
It is often thought/believed that (spending a lot of time on social
networking sites has had a negative effect on the way we communicate.)
(Social networking sites) are often believed to have (a negative effect on
the way we communicate.)
Many people contend that (climate change is the most serious problem
we face.)

Anastasia Glebova's Exam Dive

 How to express my opinion?
Personally, I…
I believe (that)...
In my view, …
In my opinion, …
There is no doubt that…
It seems clear to me that…
As far as I am concerned,

How to finish?
To conclude, ...
All things considered, ...
For these reasons, [...] is far better than ... / by far the best...
Considering everything, it seems (to me) that…
On balance, I believe that…
Taking everything into consideration, there are many good arguments for +
n/(-ing)...
In conclusion, the question of whether … or … is a better choice/option,
depends on…
In conclusion, there are sometimes good reasons to + verb
To sum up, although it is true to say that (money cannot buy
happiness,) it is equally true that (not having enough often leads to
misery.)

Anastasia Glebova's Exam Dive

 How to sound formal?
avoid using ‘you’/’we’ too much.
no emotions: don’t use exclamation marks, emotional words (e.g.
happy, hate, amazing, flabbergasted etc).
use structures that start with ‘It is…’ or ‘There…’ When you read serious
texts, notice and learn formal phrases. Examples: It is sometimes
believed that…/It is often said that… or ‘There have been many advances
in… recently’.
use passive voice. Examples: ‘The situation is believed to have changed’
(instead of Many people think the situation has changed).
avoid sentences that are too short/incomplete.
use complex sentences:
- with relative clauses (who/which/that/where... etc)
Example: ‘Students on gap years tend to think about themselves as
travellers who want to learn something about the place they are visiting.’
- with participle clauses
Example: Having tried different jobs, people may find out that they are not
satisfied with any of them, so they start a business of their own.
avoid being too general. For example, don’t say: ‘all children love
chocolate’ or ‘school-leavers know very little about the world’.
use phrases like: tend to/there is a tendency for…
usually/often/sometimes and modal verbs. For example: ‘School-leavers
have usually learnt little about the world.’
use less common ‘linkers’: moreover, additionally, alternatively, despite
etc.
use nominalization (but not too often to avoid heavy style): use a noun
instead of a verb. Example: it would give students a chance to exchange
(v) ideas -> it would encourage/stimulate exchange (n) of ideas between
students

Anastasia Glebova's Exam Dive