Writing Tutorial Series

WRITING ESSAY INTRODUCTION
____________________________________________________________

Question # 1

Science and technology have helped the world make many advances. The Arts, such as painting, theatre and dance, to name just three examples, however, are also valuable.
What things do the Arts provide to the world that Science and Technology do not?

Sample essay introduction

Societies have developed rapidly over time due to the many advances in science and technology. However, the arts are also very important and provide our world with many things that science and technology cannot.
__________________________________________________________

Question # 2

According to a recent study, the more time people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real human beings. Some people say that instead of seeing the Internet as a way of opening up new communication possibilities world wide, we should be concerned about the effect this is having on social interaction.

How far do you agree with this opinion?

Sample essay introduction

A recent study has shown that as people use the Internet more, they are spending less time with human beings. I believe that although this has increased the communication around the world in positive ways, it has also led to negative effects on the day-to-day social interaction of human beings.
____________________________________________________________

Question # 3

Unemployment has become an increasing problem in the recent past.
What factors contribute to an increase in unemployment and what steps can be taken to solve the problem?

Sample essay introduction

Over recent years, the level of unemployment has been increasing at an alarming rate in many countries around the world. This essay will discuss the reasons for this increase and consider what practical solutions are available.

WRITING ESSAY INTRODUCTION

In the writing for task 2 you must write an essay, but you only have 40 minutes. In this time you need to:
1 analyze the question,
2 brainstorm ideas to write about,
3 formulate an essay plan,
4 write your response.

Even for a native writer of English, this is a lot to do in 40 minutes!

So use your time carefully! When you write an introduction, you should make sure you do two things:

- Write a sentence introducing the topic/ otlining the problem and giving some background facts about it

- Tell the reader what you are going to be writing about ( advantages, reasons, solutions, predicitons, etc)

IELTS ESSAY EXAMPLE + COMMENTS

____________________________________________________________

In the last 20 years there have been significant developments in the field of information technology (IT), for example the World Wide Web and communication by email. However, these developments in IT are likely to have more negative effects than positive in the future.

To what extent do you agree with this view?
____________________________________________________________

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have brought many benefits to the world, it can be argued that these developments in IT will result in more negative impacts than positive.

To begin, email has made communication, especially abroad, much simpler and faster, resulting in numerous benefits for commerce and business. Furthermore, the World Wide Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. For example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more via the internet. It is evident that these improvements have made life far easier and more convenient for large numbers of people and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example, many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a day-to-day basis.

In addition, the large size of the Web has meant that it is nearly impossible to regulate and control. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites and viruses. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least until more regulated systems are set up.

In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe developments relating to new technology are likely to produce many negative effects in the future that must be addressed if we are to avoid damaging impacts to individuals and society.

(287 words)

___________________________________________________________

Comments

The IELTS essay introduction talks in general about the increasing use of IT, thus introducing the topic well. The thesis then clearly sets out the writers opinion.

The following paragraph mentions the present benefits of these developments, but the opening sentence in the third paragraph is a qualifying statement (Nevertheless, not all the effects...), so the writer can now focus on the negative elements.

The fourth paragraph provides two other negative examples (lack of regulation, viruses). Both paragraphs suggest that these problems will continue in the future.

The essay concludes with a clear opinion that agrees with the statement.

Overall, it is a well-balanced text that mentions the present situation (...this has made life...) but importantly, also refers to the future of IT (...likely to increase..., might get worse...).