FCE Essay

FCE Essay
A piece of writing written for a teacher to give your opinion and arguments to support it(reasons).
Summary
Mandatory task: yes; (part 1)
Word count: 140-190
Main characteristics: Agreeing and/or disagreeing
Giving information/explanations
Exemplifying
Comparing & contrasting ideas
Drawing a conclusion
Register: formal, academic register
Structure: Introduction: it introduces the topic in a general way and it leads to the second paragraph (first idea).
Paragraph 2: it deals with idea 1.
Conclusion: we express our opinion to conclude and summarise the essay.
Language: use connectors to define the development of the essay: firstly, second, finally, etc.
Passive voice
Vocabulary and grammar according to the level
Looking at different essay tasks, the first thing that students often realise is that all tasks look the same. Their structure
doesn’t change, which gives you the advantage of being able to plan a strategy before you even take the exam.
When you look at a writing task you should think about two things:
 what you have to include in your text

 who is going to read it.
In every essay task there is - a situation/topic (here: problems with pollution and damage to the environment),
- a question for you to answer (here: Do you think these problems can be solved?)
- three topic points (here: transport, rivers/seas, your own idea).
You must deal with all these things if you want to pass with high marks. If something is missing you will lose
marks. That includes your own idea. Always write about all three topic points.
All together that’s five paragraphs and we could structure the essay for our task like this:
 Introduction
 Transport
 Rivers and seas
 Your own idea
 Conclusion
Introduction
Think of the introduction as an appetizer before the meal begins. It gives you an idea of what to expect so you don’t
want to disappoint the reader from the start.
Your introduction should always put the topic in the context of today’s world and paraphrase the question of the essay.
It is also a good idea to include your opinion so the reader knows from the beginning what you think.
Example:
More and more countries and cities struggle with dirty air and water and while it is difficult to find a solution to these
issues, I believe that there are ways to improve the situation and to protect the environment.
In this introduction all the key elements are covered. The topic is put in context (“More and more countries and cities
struggle with…”), the question is paraphrased (“…while it is difficult to find a solution to these issues,…”) and the
candidates opinion is clear (“I believe that…”).
Body
Each paragraph of the body starts with a topic sentence which introduces the main idea of the paragraph. After that,
you add reasons, examples and you can even acknowledge other points of view.
A great topic paragraph in the body doesn’t just talk about advantages and disadvantages. Think about how you can
support the message in your topic sentence to convince the reader.
Example:
Firstly, congestion on roads not only in major cities, but also in smaller towns causes a lot of pollution and noise and
even though this situation seems to get worse and worse many countries are trying to encourage people to use
alternatives like electric cars, which is a good first step to deal with this kind of challenge.
In this example paragraph the candidate simply followed the formula from above. The first sentences states what the
problem is. After that, she acknowledges that the issue seems pretty bad, but then she explains different alternatives to
cars that could improve the situation.
Also, notice the different linking expressions she uses in this paragraph (Firstly, not only…but also, and even though,
which is). Examiners like a variety of linking words and phrases to connect your ideas so try to include them in your
essay.
Conclusion
Last but not least, a good essay is rounded off with a nice conclusion.
In a good conclusion you should summarise the essay in one sentence and clearly state your opinion on the question
one last time.
If the introduction is there to make a good first impression on the reader, the conclusion plays the role of giving a good
last impression. You don’t want the examiner to be happy until the end and then read a conclusion that is only average.
Make sure that every part is great.
Example:
To sum up, our environment needs our help and although the air we breathe as well as waterways in many parts of the
world are heavily polluted I strongly believe that we can solve these issues if governments and the people work
together.

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FCE Essay

 what you have to include in your text

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