Writing Advanced CAE – Expresiones

Certainty & Uncertainty

● certain (that / to do)

It now seems certain that life exists elsewhere in the universe.

The committee are almost certain to accept the proposal.

● there is no doubt that / there is no denying the fact that

There is no doubt that there is a link between smoking and lung cancer.
However irritating his arrogance may be, there is no denying the fact that he is a
brilliant player.

● not sure / unsure

I am not sure whether this story is true or not.

The police are still unsure about exactly what happened.

Comparing & Contrasting

● compared to/with; in comparison to/with

Compared to most other European capitals, Vienna has a low crime rate.
In the Philippines wages are very low in comparison with the US.

● unlike – a diferencia de…

Unlike his brother, he has no interest in music.

The drug has almost no side effects, unlike other drugs that are used to treat this
illness.

● in contrast to / by contrast (with comma)

In contrast to the south, the north of the country has a low unemployment rate.
The north of the country has a low unemployment rate. By contrast, in the south
many people are desperate to find work.

● make/draw a distinction between

It is important to make a distinction between allowing a patient to die comfortably,

and actively helping them to do so.
Subjects and topics
● as for (to introduce a subject which is connected with what you were
saying before)
You can ask the others, but as for me, I’ll be busy in the office.
As for racism, much progress has been made, but there is still much to do.

● focus on

In this report I will focus on the three main search engines currently in use.

Concluding

● the main conclusion to be drawn… is that…

The main conclusion to be drawn from this discussion is that the best way to help
slow readers is to help them recognise individual words.

● in this… I have tried/attempted to…

In this report, I have attempted to demonstrate why improved training is the best
solution to the current problem.

 Cómo mostrar intención o propósito y diferentes formas de indicar causas,

detonantes, etc.

Aim or purpose

● aim (to do)

This paper aims to show the influence of technology on the work of artists.

● achieve/attain a goal

It took Mandela over forty years to achieve his goal of a democratic South Africa.

● have intention of +ING

Rafsanjani claimed that Iran had no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

Causes

● make (without “to”)

She could always make me laugh.

What makes young people commit crime?
The government’s economic policies have made it unpopular with voters.
The invention of the washing machine made people’s lives a lot easier.
● cause (sth + to do): Generalmente se usa para cosas negativas

The crisis caused oil prices to rise dramatically.

High fat diets can cause heart disease.

● lead to

This research could eventually lead to a cure for many serious illnesses.
Overfishing has led to a collapse in the numbers of tuna and cod in the Atlantic.

● trigger: Disparar en el sentido de iniciar, provocar.

The First World War was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in
Sarajevo.

● arise from

Inter-ethnic unrest in central Asia is just one of the problems arising from the breakup
of the Soviet Union.

● be a (major/key) factor in

Public outcry against the cuts was a major factor in the government’s decision to rethink
their austerity measures.
Her lack of good looks was, paradoxically, a key factor in her success – millions of
people saw her as a kind of anti-celebrity.
The study tried to identify the key factors affecting economic change.

● source

 Housework can become a major source of conflict between couples.

The fact that the two words are so similar can be a source of confusion.

Making Generalisations

● most

Most people would agree that the law needs changing. (not “most of the people”)
Pero OJO!!
Most of the class are women. (most people or things in a group)
Most of the research (in this area) supports this point of view.

● mostly / mainly / largely

The people who use the early-morning shuttle flights are mostly businessmen.
Apart from the Nile valley, Egypt is mainly desert.
Their attempts were largely unsuccessful.

● generally/broadly speaking / as a rule

Generally speaking, girls outperform boys at school.

The surface of Mercury can, broadly speaking, be divided into two types of land
area.
As a rule, snakes have simple teeth, all roughly the same shape.

● on the whole / by and large

On the whole, the system worked well apart from a few minor setbacks.
The scheme was, by and large, a success.

Problems and Solutions

● solve & resolve

Aprovecho para dejaros las collocations típicas con estas dos palabras:

– Solve collocates most often with problem

– Resolve collocates with a much wider range of nouns such as issue, matter,
conflict, dispute, contradictions, difficulties, ambiguities, etc. and only sometimes
with problem.

The sooner this problem is solved, the better.

The crisis/issue was resolved by negotiations.

● setback

The peace talks suffered a major setback when a bomb exploded outside the
conference hotel.

● pitfall (= a trap that you can easily fall into if you are not careful)

This book shows you how to avoid the usual pitfalls when you are at an interview.

● solution
In this report, I shall outline the main causes of air pollution and attempt to put
forward some possible solutions.

● answer

People have been struggling with this problem for a long time, but no one has yet
come up with an answer.

Reporting what other people say

● point out

– Used to show that you agree with the person/people mentioned.

As Rachel Carson points out in her book “Silent Spring”, chemical use in farming is
destroying the countryside.
Many writers have pointed out that globalization, hyper-competition and the
Internet are constantly reshaping markets and businesses.

● claim

– Used to show that you doubt or disbelieve the person/people mentioned.

Es decir, usando “claim” tú das a entender que no te crees demasiado lo que

dice, sería como decir: “Fulanito asegura que ha visto OVNIS” en lugar de
“Fulanito ha visto OVNIS”. En castellano, solemos usar la primera forma para
insinuar que nosotros no le damos mucha credibilidad.
Some people have claimed that Kennedy was killed by the CIA.
Indian military scientists are studying an 82-year-old who claims he has not had
any food or drink for 70 years.
An Ohio man claims to have captured evidence of UFOs.

● argue

Rousseau argued that all men were created equal.

Sceptics have long argued that there are other explanations for climate change
than man-made CO2.

Talking about related/unrelated things

● (there is a) connection/link between

Studies in the 1960s showed that there was a link between smoking and lung
cancer.
Historically, there is a close connection between productivity and welfare.

● there is no relation / no connection between

There is clearly no connection between a person’s gender and their ability to do the
job.
It can be concluded that there is no relation between learning styles and academic
achievement.

● have nothing to do with

Intelligence has nothing to do with common sense.

The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political
attitude.

● be beyond/outside the scope of

These debates are beyond the scope of this essay.

Talking about results / findings

● suggest

Recent research strongly suggests that high protein diets are in fact bad for you.
New evidence suggests that humans existed on earth much earlier than was
previously thought.
● findings

Her findings show that regular exercise can prevent some of the diseases that are
common in old age.

Weighing things up

1. advantage /disadvantage

The great advantage of digital cameras is that there is no film to process.

A major disadvantage of these vaccines is that they are very expensive to produce.
Despite the initial outlay, the long-term advantages of this proposal clearly
outweigh the disadvantages.
Aprovecho este ejemplo para insistir en lo que os contaba en la entrada pasada:
sentido común por encima de todo. Esta última frase por ejemplo es de nota,
pero puede pasar a jugar en tu contra si luego tu vocabulario se limita a usar
good plan, bad weather, nice food. Hace falta ser (o al menos parecer) coherente
con el nivel de vocabulario mostrado a lo largo de toda la redacción y, clave, NO
FALLAR en el registro formal/informal. Si usas esta expresión para recomendar
a un amigo tuyo que se compre unas zapatillas frente a otras, es para no seguir
leyendo. Es lo que me han enseñado y a mí me fue fenomenal

2. good point

One of the good points about the book’s design is that it is easy to use
.
3. the good/great/best thing about (rather informal)

The good thing about cycling to work is that you don’t get stuck in traffic jams.

4. drawback (= a disadvantage in the context of other advantages)

This method produces by far the most accurate results, but its major drawback is
that it can be very time-consuming.
Agreeing/Partly agreeing

1. agree (+ that / + on) agree ON, agree ON, agree ON….”IN” caca!

Most experts agree that dieting needs to be accompanied by regular exercise.

Most experts agree on the need for dieting to be accompanied by regular exercise.

2. share sb’s view/concerns

I share her concerns about the lack of women in high academic positions.
A lot of people share the view that tourism will have a negative impact on the
island.

3. there is some truth in the argument that…

There is some truth in the argument that there is a link between violence on our TV
screens and violence on our streets.

4. there is (general/widespread) agreement (+that / +on) (agreement is

uncountable, so no “a”)

Today there is general agreement that climate change is a major concern.

Today there is widespread agreement on the need for action on climate change.

5. there is a widely held view/belief that… (belief is countable, so “a” is

necessary)

There is a widely held belief that body heat is lost mostly through the head.

6. widely/generally accepted

It is now widely accepted that the universe began with the so-called Big Bang.