Discursive essay (on a given topic) I Student magazine article

• If you're given a topic to w rite

about, read the instructions or
notes carefully to make sure you
understand what you need to
do.
• Before you write your essay or
....-...-.. .
art icle, take notes of the key
points you w ant to make. Make
sure you w rite something about
each of the points in the
instructions.
Write 220-280 w ords on the follow ing subject:
Teleoision channels are becoming more and more specialised. There are
channels catering fo r a wide rallge of differellt viewers. This is challgillg
the role tcleoision plays ill our lives.
Include th e foll owing p oints:
the background to this change (what made it p ossible?)
• the ro le TV played twenty year s ago
.r: •
•
the ro le of TV today
your personal view s on th e subject.
a su itable title for y ou r essay.

• Always think about your

audience. (Who's going to read
your writing?)
• Make a general statement to
introduce you r topic at the start.
• Write a paragraph about each of
the required points.
• Use examples to illustrate th e
points you are making.
• Use linking words to con nect
your sentences and your
paragraphs.
• If you're asked to include your
opinion, don 't use infor ma l
expressions to express it.
• If there is a wo rd lim it, check
that you have written the
required amount.
Television: still the centre of our lives?
Nowadays, te levisio n is becoming increasingly specialised ,
~ each channe l offeri ng differe nt experiences fo r different
v iewe rs. There are channels ded icated to sports, to coo kery, o r
to f il m s, to give a few examples.
The deve lopment of sate llite tec hno logy in the 1980s and
digita l broadcasting in the late 1990s increased the number of
te lev is ion channe ls, which is now no lo nger rest ricted by the
capacity of trad it iona l TV aeria ls. But t hi s increase in cho ice has
also made our expe rience of watch ing te levision diffe rent fro m
w hat it was like before.
Twe nty yea rs ago , mostTV sets could on ly rece ive a small
num ber of channels. Thi s also meant t hat peop le were
watching the same thi ngs, and eve nts in popular programmes
often became the central to pi c of co nve rsations . For examp le,
w hen th e characte r of JR Ewi ng was shot in an ep isode of the
popula r soap opera Dallas, many peop le spent the following
day disc uss ing their theories about the identity of his attacke r.
~ Today, people can choose wh ichever channe l shows
"" programmes abo ut t heir favourite subjects . One per son m ig ht
wa tc h a footba ll game, but ot he rs spend the sam e eve ning
wa tching a f ilm or pop music videos. Apart from ma jo r eve nts
t hat attract a globa l audience, like t he Olymp ic Games, there
are few th ings on TV that cap ture the public im agi nat io n t he
same way t hey did in the past.
But I be lieve having the freedom to w atch w hat we want, when
we want to , is worth the pr ice of losing a shared topic for
conversations .

• Re-read your finished essay or

article to check tor mistakes.

MORE USEFUL PHRASES:

Furthermore, ... For one thing, .
In addition to this, ... For example, .
A further (negative / positive) aspect of this is ... For instance, .
Such as ...
On the one hand, ...

138 WRITING BA NK
Argumentative essay (for/against a statement)

• Read the instructions carefully

Write an essay of 200-250 words for or against the and make sure you understand
following statement: what you need to write.
Shoppillg celltres have improved the way we shop.

• Write the title of your essay.

The way we shop • Make a general statement to

introduce the topic.
Shopping centres have chang ed the way we shop - but is
this really an improvement?
• Write about the advantages and
One positive aspect of shopping centres is conve nience: we disadvantages or the arguments
can find everything from groce ries to electron ics, from for and against in separate
cosmetics to clothes, under the same roof. paragraphs.

Furthermore, shopping centres offer entertainment facilities,

like cinemas or bowling alleys, with an enormous range of .-- -f-- • Use a new paragraph to
introduce each new topic.
things to buy and to do.
In addition to this, they are places where you can meet
• Support your main ideas with
people and socialise in cafes and restaurants. They have arguments.
become the focus of socia l life for many teenagers.
However, sma lle r loca l shops which used to offer a f riendli er, • Use linking words and discourse
more personal service are closing down because they cannot markers.
keep up with the competition .
The same thing is happening to local cinemas, and
sometim es even bars and restaurants. In fact, we are losing
places that were once im po rtant in our lives.
Another disadvantage of shopping centres is that they offer
bland, uniform products all ove r t he wo rld - loca l character
is disappearing . In orde r to supply a large numbe r of
customers efficiently, mass-produced goods replace • Summarise you r arguments at
custo m -ma de products. the end of your essay.
To summarise, on the one hand, they offer a more
comfortable shopping experience, but on the other hand, • You should include your own
they make us all the same: customers in a commercialised opinion, but don't use informal
world where the most important things are things you expressions.

can buy.
• Check that you have written the
In my view, shopping cent res are useful, but we shou ld not
requ ired num ber of wo rds.
allow them to change t he wo rld we live in.

In contrast, ... As far as I'm concerned, ... To sum up, .. .

However, ... In my view / opinion, .. . To summarise, .
In fact, . My view / opinion is that ... In conclusion, .
Actu ally, .
On the other hand, ...

WRITING BANK 139