Writing introductions to essays

Writing essays is a task you are very likely to have to do for Cambridge First, Advanced and Proficiency, as well
as IELTS. The length of the essay and the complexity of the question vary depending on the exam, but the basic skills are
the same.
You will always need to:

plan the essay by brainstorming ideas

organize your ideas
write an introduction and conclusion
read your work through and make corrections

The introduction is very important because it is the first thing the examiner will see. A good introduction has two main
elements:

restating the question

explaining what you're going to do in your essay

We'll look at two IELTS examples for these exercises.

Restating the question
The examiner already knows which question you're answering! So, why do you need to do this? Firstly, restating the
question shows the examiner you have understood the question. Secondly, it helps you focus. Thirdly, it's an opportunity
to demonstrate your range of vocabulary and your ability to manipulate sentence constructions.
Example question: What are the benefits of living in big cities, as opposed torural areas? What are the problems of rural
areas and how can they be solved?
Vocabulary

Underline the key words in the question.

Think of synonyms that would work in this context.

benefit = advantage, pro, plus

big city = metropolis, urban area
as opposed to = compared with, in comparison to
rural area = countryside, in the country
problem = disadvantage, minus, drawback
solve = resolve, overcome
Sentence construction

Look at the way the sentences are constructed e.g. verbs or noun phrases.

the benefits of living in; how can they be solved?

Think of ways to change them.

For example,

change a verb construction to a noun construction:

the benefits of life in

or

change passive to active:

how we can solve them

You now have eight things you could change in order to state the question in your own words and show that you have
control over English. You don't have to use all the changes you thought of and it doesn't matter if you haven't got as many
possibilities as I have included here.
So, the first two sentences of my introduction might look like this:
There are many advantages of life in urban areas when compared with country living. The question to consider is: what
are the disadvantages and how can we overcome them?
Explaining what you're going to do
This just needs to be one more sentence which briefly outlines how you are going to answer the question. Useful phrases
are:
I will (attempt to/try to) discuss / look at / consider / compare / examine
So, I can add a sentence like this to my introduction:
I will compare a typical city in Europe with a countryside area and try to give suggestions for solving the problems found
with cities.
Your turn
Here's another IELTS question. It's a different style of question, but the principles of how to write an introduction are the
same.
Recently the freedom to work and live anywhere has become the main trend due to the development of communication
technology and transportation. Do the advantages of these developments outweigh the disadvantages? Discuss.

Which are the keywords?

Can you think of an alternative for each keyword?
What structures can you see?
Can you change them?
Write one sentence explaining how you will answer the question.

Example answers at the bottom of the page.

freedom, trend, due to, development, communication technology, transport, advantage, disadvantage, outweigh
flexibility, movement towards, because of, advances, -----**, transportation, benefit, drawback, make up for
 the freedom to; the development of technology; Do.outweigh?
people are free to; developments in technology; Are outweighed by?
I will examine the drawbacks to developments in communication and transport, and attempt to balance them
against the benefits.

** There aren't always alternatives!

Article contributed by Nicola Prentis who is a teacher and materials writer, based in Madrid and London. She is the author
of Speaking Skills (B2+) - a self study book with Collins

Brainstorming ideas for essays in exams

Writing essays is a task you are very likely to have to do for Cambridge First, Advanced and Proficiency, as well
as IELTS.
Even if you've got the right level of grammar and vocabulary for your written exam, there's one more thing you need to be
good at to get the best marks: having ideas and organising them. And you need to be able to get that done in about ten
minutes.
Failing to plan essays is one of the biggest reasons candidates fail their writing exam. There are two reasons why you
should never overlook this stage.

It gives you a structure to follow and ideas to include so you actually save time while writing. You don't want to
have to think about writing correct English and varying your vocabulary at the same time as coming up with ideas!
If you run out of time at the end of the exam, at least you have some notes which you could quickly add as
sentences to round off the final couple of paragraphs. This way the examiner can see that you had a complete
idea and a conclusion for your essay, so you'll lose fewer marks for organisation and cohesion.

Many candidates get stuck at the brainstorming stage. The good news is that, just like with anything else, practice is the
answer.
How to brainstorm
The point of brainstorming is that ALL your ideas go down on paper. You select the good ones afterwards, not before you
write them down. Many people think everything they write has to be good, but that's not true at this stage. Turn off the
"editor" in your head and just write whatever comes into your mind on the topic.
For essays, draw two columns:

1. agree
2. disagree

Not all essays have to be answered with this two-sided structure but it's the best way to start brainstorming as it makes
sure all your ideas will go into the brainstorm.
Now write 4 or 5 ideas for each column. Let's use an FCE-level exam question as an example.
Famous people, such as politicians and film stars, deserve to have a private life without journalists following them all the
time.
Agree

1. It's just their job like anyone else so they deserve privacy too.
2. The level of media attention can cause celebrities psychological/physical damage.
3. The "gossip culture" that is created by this kind of press is harmful to society in general.
4. The media attention can stop them actually doing their job as it takes up so much of their time.
5. These gossip stories waste news space when we could be reading about more serious issues.
Disagree

1. If you do these kinds of jobs, you have to accept the bad parts as well as the good, like money, nice lifestyle, free
clothes etc.
2. These people use the media when they want to promote something, like a film, so they can't complain when they
don't want the attention.
3. The public have a right to know if influential people are doing bad things like drugs etc.
4. There are famous people you never see in the papers, therefore only the ones that want to be followed are
followed.
5. Gossip magazines provide entertainment for people.

Selecting ideas
Not all your ideas should go into your essay. Choose the strongest arguments and the ones you think you can develop
and give supporting arguments and examples for.
Another way to make sure you have a solid essay is to match arguments with their counter arguments. Which points from
the "agree" side match up with points from the "disagree side"?**
Which ideas do you think you could develop?
Planning a structure
Once you've chosen, then it's time to organise your ideas into a structure.

Cross out the ideas you're not using.

Write a little number next to the points you want to use to show which order they're going to go in.
Make brief notes one or two keywords to remind you how you're going to support or develop the arguments.
For example, Agree 2: Britney Spears, Princess Diana.
Plan your introduction to focus the direction your essay will take.
Write!

Tip!
Practice essay planning until you can get it done in ten minutes.
** 1 and 1
3:3/5 and 5

https://www.examenglish.com/FCE/brainstorming_ideas_for_essays_in_exams.html

http://www.flo-joe.com/fce/students/wordbank/