Writing introductions

These days, more and more people are going to other countries for significant periods of time, either
to find a job or to study. There are clearly many benefits to doing this, but people who live abroad
can also face some difficulties.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living and working in a foreign country.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Broad topic to Nowadays, taking a year out to live or study abroad is becoming increasingly
set the context popular.

Support For many people, especially young adults, the chance to spend an extended
period of time overseas is an attractive one.

Issue= topic of However, there are both pros and cons to deciding to do this.
discussion

Plan In this essay, I will discuss some of the reasons why moving abroad is so popular
and some of the challenges to be overcome. OR

I (strongly) believe that there are more drawbacks than benefits to this
development.

These days, people work in more than one job, and often change career several times during their
life. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

● In this essay, I will look at both sides and try to draw some conclusions.
● But what are the benefits of this situation, and what are the drawbacks?
● Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common for people to take two jobs.
● Many have at least one change of career at some point in their lives.

1. In the past most people used to travel to their place of work. With increased use of computers, the
internet and smartphones, more and more people are starting to work from home. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of this development?

2. In order to get a job these days, many people do unpaid internships ( work experience). What are
the advantages and disadvantages of these internships?

General statement sentence: Time expressions

Ø Nowadays, ……/These days,…….(+ present simple or continuous)

Ø In recent years/times,……/Over the last few years,….(+present perfect)

Introduction:General sentence (Development/ Trend)

▪ More and more ……are V-ing

▪ It is becoming increasingly Adj (common/popular/difficult/ (for sb) to do sth
▪ An increasing/growing number of …… are V-ing..
▪ There has been a vast/sharp/constant/ increase/rise in the number/amount of Noun
▪ The number/amount of ……. is continuing to rise/fall/decline/drop etc.
▪ The number/amount of ……. is increasing/rising/falling/declining etc.
▪ There is a growing tendency among sb to do sth
▪ There is a tendency for sb to do sth
▪ There has been a trend towards doing sth..

Introduction: General sentence ( fact)

▪ It is undeniable that
▪ It is true without a doubt that
▪ It is undoubtedly true that
▪ It is irrefutable that
▪ There is no doubt that

Introduction: General sentence ( problem)

▪ ……..has been a cause of concern.
▪ ……..is a cause for concern.
▪ ……..is a matter of concern for sb.
▪ ……..has been a matter of debate/discussion.
▪ ……..has been a subject of discussion.
▪ ……..has been at the centre of (global)debate.
▪ ……..is (often) a concern for sb.
▪ ……..is of increasing concern to sb.
▪ ……..is becoming of increasing concern to sb.
▪ ……..is a matter of concern to sb.
▪ There is a (growing /rising/ widespread) concern about/over/that
▪ There are concerns about/over/that….

Introduction: General sentence (common view) one view essay

▪ It is believed that
▪ It is thought that
▪ It is popularly believed that
▪ It is suggested that
▪ It is often claimed that
▪ There is a common/general/popular/widespread belief that

Introduction: General sentence (two views essays)

▪ Some people believe that….............while others argue that….
▪ Some people believe that……… However, others argue that….
▪ It is certainly true that…. But it is also true that….
▪ It is believed by many that……… However, it is also argued that…..

Introduction: Plan/Opinion ( advantages and disadvantages essay)

Plan
▪ In this essay, I will explore the pros and cons of ………and (try to) draw my own conclusions.
▪ In this essay, I will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of ……….
▪ In this essay, I will consider the advantages and disadvantages of ……… and offer my opinion.

▪ In this essay, I will look at both sides and try to draw some conclusions.
▪ ….and there are both benefits and drawbacks to this.
▪ This essay will weigh up the pros and cons of ……… and draw some conclusions.
▪ This can have both advantages and disadvantages for ……(sth/sb).
▪ … has challenges as well as benefits.
Opinion

▪ In my opinion, the advantages of …(greatly/undoubtedly/far) outweigh the drawbacks.

▪ I (strongly) believe that there are more drawbacks than benefits.
Introduction: Plan (for and against essay : one view)
▪ The arguments both for and against …. will be evaluated in this essay.
▪ Although there are clear points to support this opinion, there are also a significant number of points of
comparison, as I will now discuss.
▪ In this essay the arguments surrounding …….will be examined.
▪ This essay will discuss the topic of ……in more detail.
▪ This essay will discuss whether …..should be cause for concern.
▪ I completely disagree with this idea and in this essay I will support my opinion with examples.
▪ I agree with this point of view and in this essay I will give my reasons.
▪ I agree with this point of view to some extent and in this essay I will support this opinion with examples.
▪ In this essay, I will discuss both sides of the argument and explain my support for the latter view.

Introduction: Plan (for two views essays)

▪ This essay will discuss both these positions in turn.
▪ There are pros and cons to both views.
▪ ….., both of these opinions need to be considered.
▪ In this essay, I will look at both sides of the argument and give my opinion.
▪ In this essay, I will explore these two points of view and give my opinion.
▪ In this essay, I will look at both sides and give my opinion.

Introduction: Positive or Negative Deveopment

This can cause problems but also has a positive effect.
However, ……………………………..comes at a cost.
Introduction: Plan Cause Solution
•This essay will look into/examine the main causes of .......and propose/ offer/
outline some possible/potential solutions.

•This essay will look into/examine the reasons for/behind .......and make
suggestions about how to tackle/reduce this problem.

Introduction: Plan Problem-solution

•This essay will consider/discuss/identify/examine the problem of ……..and outline/
offer/ propose some possible/ potential/ feasible solutions.

Introduction: Plan Solutions only

•There are a number of potential solutions to the problem, as will now be discussed.
•There are a number of measures that can be used to deal with …..
•This essay will offer some suggestions of how …..
•It seems to be increasingly clear that measures need to be taken in order to address this
issue.
•There are several potential solutions which I believe would be effective.

Introduction: Plan Causes only

•In this essay, I will look into/examine the main/underlying/root causes of ……..
•In this essay, I will look into /examine the reasons for/behind ........
•In this essay, I will look into /examine the reasons why/that ……
•In this essay, I will look into /examine what causes/is causing this problem.
•In this essay, I will look into /examine the main culprits of this problem.

Topic sentences for Middle Section I (advantages and disadvantages essays)

▪ Let’s begin by looking at the advantages of ……..
▪ I will start by looking at the advantages of ………
▪ There are a number of advantages/disadvantages to….....
▪ X brings a number of advantages/disadvantages to sb……….
▪ There are a number of arguments in favour of ………….
▪ X has a number of points in its favour.
▪ There are, indeed, several benefits to ………………..
▪ There may indeed be good arguments for …………..

Topic sentences for Middle Section II (advantages and disadvantages essays)

▪ Turning to the other side of the other side of the argument, ….

▪ In spite of these negative effects, …………… has brought important benefits.
▪ However, the disadvantages of ………………. would be considerable.
▪ On the other hand, there are certainly dangers/drawbacks in ……………………….
▪ However, besides these drawbacks there are numerous advantages to/in ……………
▪ There are certainly a few/certain drawbacks to……………………, however.
▪ However, ……………has/have their ( its) negative side.
▪ Despite these advantages, there are some drawbacks which need to be considered.
▪ Yet there are significant disadvantages in ………………………..

First idea

▪ To begin/start with,
▪ In the first place,
▪ First and foremost,
▪ First
▪ Firstly
▪ First of all,

Additional idea

▪ Secondly/ Thirdly
▪ In addition (to this)/Besides (this),
▪ Also,
▪ Furthermore/Moreover/What is more,
▪ More /Most importantly,
▪ Another point to consider is that …
▪ Another reason (for this) might be . . .
▪ A common criticism of ….. is that ……
▪ Another objection to + ………. is that/includes …..
▪ An argument in favour of/against …is that…
▪ One/A/an (obvious) advantage/benefit of ….. is that ….
▪ A/One positive aspect of …. is that…
▪ A/One good point about …..is that
▪ The downside to/of this, however, …. is that…
▪ Another/A further advantage/disadvantage/drawback (of…) is that…

Example

▪ As an illustration,
▪ As an illustration of this,
▪ To illustrate,
▪ To illustrate this,
▪ For instance
▪ For example
▪ such as…
▪ …and so on
▪ As evidence of this,
▪ Take …..as an example.
▪ A good example of this is/would be …

Effect

▪ Therefore,…
▪ As a result/consequence,
▪ As a result/consequence of this,
▪ …and as a result….
▪ ….and therefore,…
▪ For this reason,
▪ Consequently,
 Cause

▪ Perhaps this is because . . .

▪ This could be because . . .
▪ This could/may/might be a result of . .
▪ This could/may/might be due to (the fact) …
▪ ……because/because of
▪ ……due to/owing to (the fact that),

Contrast
▪ but/yet/even so,
▪ However,
▪ Although/Even though
▪ despite/in spite of (the fact that)
▪ regardless of the fact that …
▪ nevertheless/nonetheless,
▪ on the other hand,
▪ whereas/while/whilst

Final idea
▪ Lastly/finally,
▪ A final point to consider is …
▪ Last but not least,

Conclusion
▪ To conclude/ To sum up,
▪ In summary/conclusion,
▪ In a nutshell,
▪ All things considered,
▪ Taking everything into consideration,
▪ After examining the issue it is evident that …..
▪ Overall, it is clear that ….
▪ In the final analysis,

Conclusion: Sentence 1 Link + general summary( advantages and disadvantages essays

link
To conclude/ To sum up,
In summary/ In conclusion,
In a nutshell,
All things considered,
Taking everything into consideration,
After examining the issue, it is evident that …
Overall, it is clear that …
In the final analysis, ..

General summary ( advantages and disadvantages essays)

•there are clearly both positives and negatives to + Noun/V-ing/Subj+Ving

•………….has both advantages and disadvantages.
•there are both benefits and drawbacks to + Noun/V-ing/Subj+Ving
•…………clearly brings/has brought both advantages and disadvantages to + Noun
•…there are arguments for and against + Noun

Conclusion: Sentence 2 ( advantages and disadvantages essays)

•You need to weigh up the pros of …….and the cons of …

•While ……….., …………….
•While there are disadvantages such as …………, these must be weighed against …………..
•Although ……………………, ……………………………………………
•In spite of (the fact that)………., ………………………………
•Despite (the fact that)…….., ……………………………….
•While it is true to say that…., ……………............
Conclusion:Sentence 3 Link + Your opinion ( advantages and disadvantages essays)

Link

In my opinion,

Personally, I feel that ..

In my view,...

It is my belief that …
My own opinion is that …

My own view is that ….

Your opinion

the benefits undoubtedly/far/greatly/vastly outweigh any negatives.

these benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
the advantages are more significant/important than the disadvantages.
there are more advantages than drawbacks.

Conclusion: ( Problem-solution essays)

Sentence 1: Restate the problem.

Sentence 2: Summarize what you have discussed in the body paragraphs.

Sentence 3: You can end your essay by giving a warning or a recommendation (saying
who is responsible to deal with this problem).