ECPE Writing Notes

Introducing the phenomenon to be discussed

Nowadays, the… constitutes a prodigious (τεράστιο) and controversial subject and without doubt, a
sign of our times.

Nowadays, one of the most serious and predominant problems is… . This appalling (τρομερό,
φρικτό), social phenomenon is growing extremely, thus posing a threat on society. This begs the
question; Is this situation reversible? Can we do something to help?

Nowadays, we live in a complex and highly demanding society. The rat race which we daily face is
continuously minimizing our free time, making it difficult for us to find time …
More and more families are choosing to have only one child. / The trend nowadays is towards having
smaller families.

Over the past ten years or so the media have frequently carried reports of ... / Recent research
indicates that the number of teenagers who smoke is increasing. / Hardly a week goes by without
another report of ................. appearing in the media.

This raises the issue of whether .................

Although most people would generally agree that ............... few would deny that ................

Stating your opinion

To my mind / It is my firm belief that / As far as I am concerned / As far as I know / it is my concern

that / As I see it, / It seems to me that / I would also say that / I am convinced that / I am inclined
to believe that / There is no doubt in my mind that / I am of the conviction that / To the best of my
knowledge

Advantages / Disadvantages
One advantage of / A further advantage of / The main advantage of / the advantages far outweigh
the disadvantages / One of the drawbacks of .... is .... /However, one of the benefits is that ...

Changing topic
As regards the causes for this, … / Concerning the causes for this, .... / As for the causes, ... /
Regarding / with respect/regard/reference to / Concerning

Presenting arguments
One justification often given for ... is that … / Advocates/Proponents would claim that ... /

Those who object to ... often argue that ... / Another objection is that … / However, it should not be

forgotten that ... / ... are opposed to … on the grounds that ... / From the point of view of … /

… brings detrimental repercussions / Their appearance can be attributed to a diversity of factors,

such as …

According to / Owing to the fact that / Due to the fact that / Seeing that / On the grounds that / In
view of /

People often claim that / Some people feel that / Proponents of this view argue that / Opponents of
this view argue that / It is popularly believed that

Despite the fact that / In spite of the fact that / However / Nevertheless / Nonetheless / Although /
On the other hand
Describing causes
One factor which has led to ... is ... / One of the factors which has brought this about is ... /

The problem often stems from ... / The situation has been exacerbated by ... / … has only made

the situation worse / One consequence of ... is … /

Thus / Therefore / As a consequence / As a result /

Proposing steps and measures

As regards the most appropriate response to this situation, one suggestion would be to ... /

The first step to be taken would be to ... / To alleviate the situation people should ... / In addition

they ought to ... / To begin to tackle this situation society/individuals/the government need/s to … /

... would certainly ameliorate the situation / This can only be dealt with if ... / To overcome this

problem, … / Were the government to …, the situation would doubtless improve / Individuals can do

a great deal to ... / The burden of responsibility lies in the hands of ... / It is vitally important that /

Legislation should be introduced to control ... / It would be a grave error if we ...

Concluding
All in all it seems to me that … / The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that ... / On balance, I tend

to believe that ... / The world would surely be a better place to live in if ... / If people stopped ....ing,

we would have/ we could look forward to a ... / The prospects for the future will be bleak/grim

unless ... /
All things considered / Considering all the above / To sum up / On the whole / In conclusion / By and
large / In general / In closing /

Therefore, it is essential / imperative that we take the necessary measures to reverse the situation.

To recapitulate, it is indispensable to reiterate that each person / the government should do

everything possible in order to…

I hope that the situation will be generally enhanced and that…

To list points
First of all / In the first place / First and foremost / Secondly / What is more / Furthermore /
Moreover / In addition

Giving examples
for instance / for example /

Clarifying
To put it another way / That is to say / In other words / In the same way /

More expressions
with the intention of / with the purpose of /

obviously / it is a fact that / as a matter of fact /

In the event of / Provided that / up to a point

USEFUL VOCABULARY

Commendable – αξιαίπενο / Advisable / Appropriate / Expedient measures – χρήσιμα, κατάλληλα /

Opportune / Suggestive / Beneficial / Vantage point – πλεονεκτική θέση / Espouse policy, idea -
ασπάζομαι / advisable / crucial / to be vital / to be of pivotal importance / all-dominant /
advantageous / patently obvious = glaringly obvious - ολοφάνερο / to be of substantial prominence
/ of paramount importance / instrumental in doing sth – παίζω σημαντικό ρόλο σε / cause irreparable
harm to / is conducive to learning - ευνοώ / ameliorate - βελτιώνω / susceptible to / vulnerable to /
the determining factor of … is … / the ramifications (επιπλοκές) of this disparity (ανομοιότητα) entail
(συνεπάγομαι)… /

Asset / benefit

To advocate sth - υποστηρίζω / To further - προωθώ / To countenance sth - επικροτώ/ to support in

sth / to abet = to aid / to endorse – εγκρίνω (plans, proposal) / to recommend/comment on / to
fortify / to encourage / Adopt a proposal / to take rigorous steps / to comply with sth / To be an
advantage over sth / corrobate a belief, story, fact - επαληθεύω/ to be of great value / to submit a
proposal / to embolden sb to do sth - ενθαρρύνω / to retain the unequivocal (σαφή,
κατηγορηματικό) notion that / to attach importance to sth / to heed sb's advice – λαμβάνω υπ’ όψιν,
ακούω προσεκτικά / to ascribe importance to sth - αποδίδω/ It would be sensible to implement my
suggestions / upon my recommendation / to facilitate / it may entail (συνεπάγομαι) a constituent
(σημαντικό) factor in doing sth / aggravate the situation / accommodate our needs

________________________________________________________________________________
Using more advanced vocabulary

"solve the problem"

a crisis in education which must be addressed

something that must be tackled / be dealt with

a challenge which must be met

something must be done to restore law and order in the inner cities

________________________________________________________________________________
Useful Advanced Essay Structures

 Participle phrases and gerunds up front:

"Burning plastics produces dioxins."

"Reducing the retirement age would create significant difficulties for pension funds."

"Having been bullied at school, I know how psychologically damaging this can be."

"Having been released from prison, many people subsequently reoffend."

 Conditionals with inversions instead of "If.."

"Were the government to ......... , we would .............."

"Had television not been invented, economic growth would have been slower."

"Had the police implemented the law more strictly, fewer people would now be disabled."

 Cleft sentences

"What ecologists object to is ............"

"What many people would like to see is ......................"

"It is the ................. that I object to."

  Inversions

"Not only are landfill sites unsightly but they are also a source of pollution"

"Rarely do we see our political leaders riding bikes."

 Passives

"It is often forgotten that ..................."

"............. is considered to be ............."

"...... has been attributed to ......."

".......has been linked with ........"

"The conlusion to be drawn is that ............."

 The advanced use of 'so'

This is so grave an issue that ........

Referring to the sources provides

"According to recent research conducted by....,...."

"The results of a survey revealed that ...."

"As, (name, profession) claimed, ....."

Dos and Donts

 Do make sure you have understood the task correctly.

 Do ask if you are not sure about the task.

 Do spend a couple of minutes thinking of ideas, choosing the best ones and the order you will
discuss them in.

 Do try to have a good introduction. This creates the first impression on the examiner, and
first impressions are very important.

 Do show that you appreciate how complex the topic is (vital if you want to get a rating of A or B)

 Do make sure that each paragraph in the main body of your essay has a clear topic.

 Do develop your ideas by giving arguments for the opinions you mention, and/or giving
examples, or drawing a contrast, or by acknowledging the opposite point of view (if you have
not planned to do that in the following paragraph).

 Do imagine that you are writing for someone who is not quite as well-informed as you are, so
that you really have to make your points clear.

 Do try to use a good range of vocabulary. Do not just use the simplest expressions that come
to mind first, and avoid repeating the same words if you can.

 Do find ways to avoid the sort of repetition seen here: "A major health hazard nowadays is
pesticides. Pesticides are widely used in modern agriculture."

 Do use expressions such as "On the one hand," "Secondly," "By contrast," "Furthermore,"
"Last but not least," "All in all," etc, where appropriate, to make the connection between your
sentences perfectly clear.

 Do vary the length of your sentences. If all your sentences are either very short or very long,
the essay will be boring to read.

 Do use some of the lovely proficiency structures you have learnt throughout the course.

 Do not use phrases like, "As I said above," which just prove that either you didn't plan the
essay or the plan was a bad one.

 Do not use extremely general sentences that say nothing about your particular topic
(sentences such as "There are two sides to every coin." "Everything has its drawbacks."
"Nothing is perfect." etc).

 Do try to write sufficiently neatly so that your essay is easy to read. As long as you manage
this, it does not matter if certain words and phrases are crossed out.

 Do keep one eye on the clock and leave yourself a minute or so to check your work. We all
make mistakes, and if you can correct some of yours, you will save valuable marks.
 ECPE ESSAYS – THE FIVE TYPES

1. Narrative Essay

Introduction Restate the topic as a general issue that needs to be addressed.

§1. Approach the topic as a general issue.

Main Body §2,3. Narrate your personal example. Break it into 2 or 3

paragraphs. Before the main event – After the main
event.

Conclusion Discuss the general influence of this specific event.

2. Problem Solving Essay

Introduction Restate the topic as a general issue that needs to be addressed.
Mention the problem and tell that solutions do exist.

§1. Analyse the problem: Aspects of the problem and

negative consequences.
Main Body
[Version I] §2,3. Provide the solutions. Break it into 2 or 3
paragraphs. Each paragraph is devoted to one solution.
Show how things will be better if you put this solution
into practice.

§1. 1st aspect of the problem and its negative consequences.

Possible solutions and its positive results.

Main Body §2. 2nd aspect of the problem and its negative consequences.
[Version II] Possible solutions and its positive results.

§3. repeat the same pattern if it is required.

Conclusion Express the confidence that if the solutions are implemented the
problem will be solved.

3. For & Against Essay

Introduction Restate the topic as a general issue that needs to be addressed.
(Do not state your opinion here)

§1. Negative aspects of the issue.

Main Body Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers

§2. Positive aspects of the issue.

Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers

Conclusion Repeat the two aspects and express your opinion.

Considering all the above, it is clear that... outweigh the…

4. Opinion Essay
Introduction Restate the topic as a general issue that needs to be addressed.
State your opinion.

§1. 1st aspect of the issue.

Main Body Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers.
[Version I: only
your opinion] §2. 2nd aspect of the issue.
Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers.

§1. Your opinion.

Main Body Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers.
[Version II:
mention the §2. The opposing view.
opposing view] Analyse the opposing view and explain why it is wrong.

Conclusion Summarise your view. Leave the readers with a thought provoking
idea.

5. “Unique” Essay: tasks that not quite fit any mold

Read the title carefully and number the points that it raises.

Introduction Restate the topic as a general issue that needs to be addressed.

§1. 1st point of the issue.

Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers.

Main Body §2. 2nd point of the issue.

Start with a clear topic sentence. Use appropriate linkers.

§3. repeat the same pattern if it is required

Conclusion Summarise what you have said. Leave the readers with a thought
provoking idea.