Writing Essays • Сочинение ―expressing opinion‖

Writing Essays

• Сочинение ―expressing opinion‖ пишется в формальном (деловом) стиле. • В данном типе сочинения требуется выразить свою точку зрения на заданную тему, а так же привести противоположные вашей точки зрения других людей и объяснить, почему вы с ними не согласны. Ваше мнение должно быть четко сформулировано и подкреплено примерами или доказательствами. • Объем сочинения 200 -250 слов (минимум 180 слов, максимум 275) • В сочинении должны активно использоваться конструкции типа «In my opinion» , «I think» , «I believe» • Необходимо использование вводных слов и конструкций типа ―On the one hand, on the other hand‖. . . , слов - связок (Nevertheless, Moreover, Despite. . . )

l Cочинение ―expressing opinion‖ имеет строгую структуру, изменение которой при написании сочинения приведет к снижению балла. Сочинение expressing opinion‖ состоит из 5 -х абзацев:

Эссе не должно состоять минимум из 180 и максимум 275 слов. Важно научиться писать нужное количество слов! Ели Вы напишите меньше 180 слов, то задание проверке не подлежит и оценивается в 0 баллов. Если вы напишите больше 275 слов, то «проверке подлежит только та часть работы, которая соответствует требуемому объёму» .

Как же считать слова? «При определении соответствия объёма представленной работы вышеуказанным требованиям читаются все слова, с первого слова по последнее, включая вспомогательные глаголы, предлоги, артикли, частицы. В личном письме адрес, дата, подпись также подлежат подсчету. При этом: § стяжённые (краткие) формы can't, didn't, isn't, I'm и т. п. считаются как одно слово; § числительные, выраженные цифрами, т. е. 1, 25, 2009, 126 204 и т. п. , считаются как одно слово; § числительные, выраженные цифрами, вместе с условным обозначением процентов, т. е. 25%, 100% и т. п. , считаются как одно слово; § числительные, выраженные словами, считаются как слова; § сложные слова, такие как good-looking, well-bred, English- speaking, twenty-five, считаются как одно слово; § сокращения, например USA, e-mail, TV, CD-rom, считаются как одно слово. »

Структура эссе. Вам будет предложен следующий план: Use the following plan: • make an introduction (state the problem); • express your personal opinion and give 2 -3 reasons for your opinion; • express an opposing opinion and give 1 -2 reasons for this opposing opinion; • explain why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion; • make a conclusion restating your position. Таким образом, мы видим, что это так называемое эссе-мнение. Оно предполагает высказывание автором некой идеи и отстаивание её. Отстаивать своё мнение можно: путём аргументации — но этого обычно недостаточно для ЕГЭ; путём аргументации и опровержения мнения оппонентов, что и требуется в пунктах 3 и 4 плана эссе. Иными словами, опровергая мнение оппонентов, предварительно надо уметь объяснить, почему они так думают.

Use these phrases and words in your essays Expressing opinion/выражения мнения: l I agree/ disagree… l In my opinion, … / from my point of view, …/ as far as I’m concerned, … l I believe that…/ It seems to me that… l I am in favour of…. / I am against the idea of… l According to… l Some people say that… l It is said/ believed that… l There is no doubt that… l It cannot be denied that. . l It goes without saying that… l We must admit that…

Giving arguments/представление аргументов: l The main argument in favour/ against is. . l First of all, I should like to consider… l The first thing( I would like to consider ) to be considered is…. l To begin with/ To start with… l Apart from that…despite the fact that…In spite of the fact that… l On the one hand, …/ on the other hand, … l Besides…/ In addition… l What is more, …/ More over, …/ More than that, … l What matters most in this case is… l Finally, … l However, …/…, though l …although…/…. even though… l Nevertheless, …

Expressing cause/reason выражение причинно-следственной связи: l for this reason l therefore/ that is why l thus l sth happened l because of l as a result of l owing to/ due to l as a consequence of l for example l for instance l such as l like

Drawing conclusion/заключение: l To sum up, … l To conclude, … l On this basis, I can conclude that… l In conclusion, I would like to stress that… l All in all, I believe that…

For-and-against Essays Comment on the following statement. Education is compulsory, school is not. What can you say for and against this problem? Write 200 -250 words. ( you have 40 minutes to do this task)

Use the following plan: l Make introduction( state the problem ) l Give arguments “for” l Give argument “against” l Draw a conclusion based on the given arguments

l In most countries children can be educated at home by their parents and home schooling is becoming more and more popular. However, this way of education has both advantages and disadvantages. l On the one hand, home education is ideal for children who suffer from “school phobia” or do not fit in with school environment. They are very unhappy. On the contrary, when children are educated at home they study in an atmosphere of love and understanding. Moreover, this way of education will perfectly suit gifted pupils, who are bored by the traditional school lessons. In this case, parents can make studying more fascinating by choosing an individual curriculum. Finally, home educated children have more flexible schedule.

l On the other hand, parents are usually not qualified to teach their children therefore they may not receive an appropriate level of education. What is more, home education is very challenging for students as they have to work harder without a direct help of qualified teachers. In addition, children lack the opportunity to exchange ideas with their peers. They may also miss their friends as they meet only in the evenings. l To conclude, I think although the idea of home education is becoming more popular, it might not suit every child and every parent. As for me, I would rather choose school education because it makes me more organized and provides profound knowledge in all subjects.

Opinion Essays Comment on the following statement. Computer games teach us nothing and young people should avoid them. What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree? Write 200 -250 words. ( you have 40 minutes to do this task)

Use the following plan: l Make an introduction ( state a problem ) l Express your personal opinion and give reasons for it. l Give arguments from the other point of view and explain why you don’t agree with it. l Draw a conclusion.

l People have always had hobbies but technological progress has caused the appearance of computers and computer games, which can keep a child occupied for hours. However, adults consider computer games a complete waste of time. l In my opinion, computer games are more than mindless entertainment. To begin with, computer games can teach people to achieve their aims as they regularly put obstacles and traps in the way of players which are necessary to overcome in order to progress through the rest of the game. Additionally, computer games can be a voluble source of accidental leaning that can be applied to school, home and social events.

l Nevertheless, quite a few people are against this activity as they find it rather addictive and harmful for children’s health. They argue that computer games make students neglect their school work. However, I believe that if we learn to control our computer use and play games for an hour just to relax after a hard day at school, this will not do us any harm. What is more, modern technology has made it possible to eliminate the bad effect of computers on our eyes. l To sum up, I would argue that computer games have advantages than drawbacks. They make us persistent, develop our logical reasoning and help us escape from everyday problems. The right thing is to find a right balance between virtual reality and everyday life.