 Formal Essay

 No contractions: I am, I have, do not, cannot, did not, etc.

 No direct personal opinions. Distance yourself as if someone else is
giving the opinion.
 Your opinion in conclusion.
 Avoid phrasal verbs which are more informal.
 Formal and wide range of vocabulary relevant to topic. Brainstorm
vocabulary before you start.

Paragraphs

4 or 5 paragraphs:

1: INTRODUCTION. Make it interesting. Maybe compare past with

present. For eg. Social media now and communication in past. Don’t
just repeat the question. Summary of what you are going to talk
about as well. Finally, try using a statistic or a rhetorical question.
This will make them want to read on, right?
2 and 3 (and 4): BODY. One paragraph for each idea. Include a good
topic sentence and remember to give reasons for your answer.
Describe some of the advantages, and even some of the
disadvantages too. This will give a well-balanced argument.
 4 or 5: CONCLUSION. Don’t repeat ideas or words! Maybe predict
what the future will hold? probably + will / be likely / may, might,
could, etc. Make a summary of your ideas and opinion clearly.

Keep your distance!

1. Some experts claim that…

2. Experts strongly believe that…
3. Some experts argue that…
4. Studies have shown that…
5. A new study suggests that…
6. The vast majority of psychologists claim that…

People’s opinion
1. According to people´s belief,…
2. It is a common belief that…
3. Contrary to popular belief, …
4. People have been debating the principles of beauty for thousands of
years.
5. People question whether technology is benefiting children or harming
them.
6. The vast majority of people defend the theory that…
7. We live in an age when..

Seem / Appear:

1. Technology appears/ seems to be playing an important role in

children’s eductation.
2. Sport seems/ appears to be more and more popular among
teenagers.
3. Face-to-face communication seems/ appears to be vital for human
beings.
4. There would appear to be two possible approaches….
5. There seems to be no universal consensus on how important it is ….

May / Might (modals of probability):

1. Many young people might be reluctant to work for free.

2. Old people may be deemed as an important group in society.
3. Voluntary work may be guessed as a straightforward matter to do
when you are a child.

Turn out:

1. It turns out to be clear that…

2. It truly turns out necessary to make the most of that experience.

Passive of reporting verbs:

1. Students are known to be playing videogames all the time.

2. There will reportedly be several hindrances.
3. Cooperation is said to be crucial….
4. There are thought to be thousands of species in danger of extinction.
5. There are said to be many people living in poverty.
6. It is claimed that / it is believed that / it is reported / it is thought /it is
often said that/ it is known…
Useful stuff…
1. In the event of…
2. It is of utmost importance…..
3. No one would dispute the fact that…
4. There is no doubt that/ about…
5. It is likely that…
6. It goes without saying…
7. During the last fifty years there has been a considerable debate
over…
8. It can be clearly seen that…
9. This can be proved/proven (un)true…
10. There can be little that worries parents more than discovering
their children are not enjoying school.
Introducing quotes
1. To illustrate this issue, …
2. As a way of example, …
3. For instance, Barack Obama said…
4. In Barack Obama’s words, …
5. As Barack Obama once claimed, …

ADVERBS:
1. Undoubtedly
2. Conversely
3. Additionally
4. Curiously enough
5. Accordingly
6. Dramatically
7. Drastically
8. Enormously
9. Reportedly
10. Severely

CONCLUSION
1. In the light of these pros and cons…
2. With all the above in mind, I tend to believe that…
3. Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages, I believe that…
4. I genuinely think that…
5. Of the two arguments outlined above, as far as I am concerned, the
most effective …

Let’s forget about In my opinion and start using:

to my mind, in my view…

Let’s forget about however, and use nevertheless, nonetheless. See

Linkers en inglés para preparar exámenes oficiales de writings y speakings –
Laweldelingles.com (lawebdelingles.com)

Use different tenses.

Grammar
 Cleft sentences

What I like most about Spain is the weather / it’s the grammar that I
have more difficulty with in English.

 Participle clauses

Having finished my degree, I decided to look for a new job.

 Used to/Be used to/Get used to/Would

I used to play in the park when I was a child / I would cook desserts
with my grandmother when I was a child / I am used to getting up
early in the morning / I couldn’t get used to getting up before 6.

 1ª, 2ª y 3ª Conditional and mixed

If you study hard, you’ll pass your English exam / If I were you, I
would spend more time with your family / I had known, I wouldn’t
have visited her when she was ill / If I had studied more English when
I was a child, I would speak fluent English now.

 Inversions with conditionals

Had I known you were so tired, I wouldn’t have called you.

 Inversions with negative adverbs

Not only did I pass the exam, but I also got an A.

 Wishes/regrets (wish/if only)

I wish I were taller / If only I had a better job / I regret seeing that film,
I didn’t like it at all.

 Relative clauses. Easy and Complex

My neighbour, who is American, is very friendly / My colleagues, most

of whom are not Spanish, are very open-minded.

 Subjuntive (suggest, recommend, It is crucial that…)

I suggest that you should study more if you really want to pass all
your exams / I recommend that he spend his holidays in a cold
country.

 Perfect modals (Speculation and deduction)

I may have seen him but then I couldn’t recognise him / He must have
been ill when he didn’t come to class because he never skips a lesson
/ It can’t have rained as the sun was shining and it was really warm.

 Be supposed to

You are supposed to be here at 8pm.

 Would rather/would prefer to

I would rather stay in tonight / I would rather you didn’t call me so

late / I would prefer to be invited to the wedding.

 Reporting verbs

It is said that Spanish people are friendly and warm / the President is
believed to have resigned.

 Verb patterns

I remember travelling to the UK when I was only 10 / I stopped

studying to have a cup of tea / You make me smile.

 Passive: different tenses

The new school is being built and it will be finished by 2018.

 It’s time…
 It’s time to go home / it’s time you went to bed.

 Have/get something done

I’m having my house painted / I’m going to have my hair cut soon.

 The more…the more…

The more you study, the more doubts you have / the less traffic, the
less contamination.

 Possessive with “ing”

I don’t mind your smoking in here.

 Dependent prepositions

I am proud of my children / Are you aware of the problem? / I am fed

up with/of their rudeness / He is sick of his boss.

 Had better

I had better go.

 Be likely to

It is likely that I’ll visit you tomorrow. / I am likely to visit you

tomorrow.

 So / Such

The party was so good that that I stayed until late. / It was such a
good party that I stayed until late.

 So / Such in inversions

So strong was the noise that the baby woke up. / Such was the noise
that the baby woke up.

 Preparatory it

I find it difficult to understand native people speaking to me in

English.

 Comparative and Superlative with half, twice, much, nearly, easily

My house was twice as expensive as my neighbour’s.

 My house is easily bigger than his!

 Fewer / Less

I would like to work fewer hours / In the past I used to have less free
time.

 In all likelihood

In all likelihood we will have finished the project by Monday.

 The odds are that

If you play truant on a daily basis, the odds are that you will fail all
your subjects.

 No matter how + adjective

No matter how + hard it is, she won’t give up.

 Let alone

I find English difficult, let alone Chinese or Arabic.

 The chance of / The chance to

Mary has little chance of passing her English exam / In the interview, I
had the chance to show my high level of English.

Synonyms

Don’t repeat yourself!

advantage = benefit, positive, upside

disadvantage = downside, drawback
effect = influence, impact, result, outcome
problem = issue, challenge, difficulty, obstacle, setback,
complication
important = valuable, essential, beneficial
expensive = costly, dear, high-priced, extortionate
cheap = inexpensive, affordable, economical
big = great, large, sizeable, considerable, wide, vast
small = slight, tiny, little

Grammar: Take a look at these links.

 Participle clauses
  Conditionals
 Modal verbs
 Passive with reporting verbs
 Inversion
 Cleft sentences
 Comparatives
 Relative clauses

What the examiners are looking for

When writing your essay, bear in mind what you’ll be marked on:
Content
Have you answered all parts of the question? Is everything relevant to
the question?
Communicative Achievement
Is the style and tone appropriate?
Organisation
Does it follow a logical order? Have you used paragraphs and linking
devices?
Language
Are you using a variety of grammar and vocabulary? Is it accurate?

Check
 spelling
 subject + verb agreement
 singulars / plurals
 articles
 question formation
 variety of tenses
 dependent prepositions