ECPE Sample Essays

Topic: More and more countries are becoming becoming increasing increasingly ly dependen dependentt on nuclear power generation now that fossil fuels are dwindling in supply. What is your opinion about this? Write a composition that discusses the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power as an alternative to more conventional fuels. far-reaching numerous recapitulate

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There There is no doubt doubt that that nowada nowadays ys many many countr countries ies rely rely on nuclea nuclearr power power generation since fossil fuel supplies are shrinking. Some people believe that nuclear power is beneficial whereas others hold the opposite point of view. Personally Personally ! have ............. ....... feelings about this issue. "uclear power is believed to be advantageous for several reasons. #ne of these is the fact that nuclear power is .................. limitless and this can solve and .................... the problem of ever$increasing energy demands. %nother one is that nuclear power is the most ine&pensive source of electricity these days which gives poor countries the opportunity not to spend a lot of money on energy. 'inally 'inally nuclear plants are far cleaner than conventional fuel power plants as they don(t re)uire the combustion of fossil fuels and ................... do not not ..... ....... .... ..... ...... ...... ..... .. fume fumes s and and gree greenh nhou ouse se gase gases s into into the the atmo atmosp sphe here re.. *onse) *onse)ue uently ntly nuclea nuclearr power power has a very very positi positive ve influe influence nce on both both the environment and countries( economies. #n the the othe otherr hand hand nucl nuclea earr powe powerr is thou though ghtt to have have many many draw drawba back cks s for ....................... reasons. #ne of these is the fact that nuclear power has a great diversity of ..................... impacts on both the environment and people. To e&emp e&emplify lify the accide accident nt at *herno *hernoby byll cause caused d the conta contamin minati ation on and dest destru ruct ctio ion n of the the loca locall ecos ecosys yste tem m and and in term terms s of radi radio$ o$ac activ tivity ity its conse)uences in other parts of the globe were both serious and ................... %nother one is that nuclear power creates radioactive waste in the form of spent plutonium and the problem of its disposal is .................. as it remains radioactive for thousands of years. To ...... .......... ........ ........ ........ ..... . nuclea nuclearr power power genera generatio tion n has both both advant advantage ages s and drawbacks. #n a personal level ! support that nuclear power is very beneficial but recognise that it could be catastrophic as well particularly if something goes wrong. %s to whether any given country should ................. for nuclear power or abolish pre$e&isting plants ! believe only the citi+ens have the right to decide but the ................... is on governments to ensure that it is a fully informed decision.

Topic: Many countries are turning to nuclear power generation because of the problems problems using conventiona conventionall fuels cause. "uclear "uclear power power is however however not without its problems. So should countries choose nuclear or not? Write a composition which e&presses your views. indispensable unprecedented

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!n ....................... times it seems that an increasing number of countries have started to adopt the nuclear fusion process making it a source of energy for their their power power grids. grids. Some Some people people believ believe e that that this this is really really advant advantage ageou ous s whereas others would go to any .................... to prove the opposite. 'or my part ! consider nuclear power plants to be ...................... in this day and age. ! am a .................... supporter of the use of nuclear power generation for a number of sensible reasons. My main point concerns the matter of )uantity. "uclear energy is known for being virtually limitless. This is of vital importance as energy demands continue to soar to ..................... levels. %nother point to consider is the cost. "ot only is nuclear energy ine&haustible but it is the most ine&pensive source of energy which is really advantageous for the global economy. economy. "uclear power plants are also very clean compared to conventional plants which burn ................... fuels and pollute the atmosphere with to&ic fumes and greenhouse emissions while doing so. #n the other hand those who are against nuclear power generation base their opinion on the dire and .................. conse)uences nuclear accidents such as the one on *hernobyl cause. ,owever their ideas are flawed as they fail to realise that the safety record for nuclear power is actually very good and that new technologies are constantly being developed to ensure that they become better. To recapitulate it seems that the advantages of nuclea lear power far ...................... the disadvantages. Therefore in my view the onus is on each and every single one of us to support the use of this highly beneficial source of electrical energy.

Topic: Tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years. Why do you think this is so? -o you think that it is worth the effort and environmental damage it causes? !s it ultimately beneficial to those who travel? se specific e&les to support your opinion. swamped modified

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!t is a fact that in contemporary times that tourism has become a .................... issue. % great number of people consider its e&istence to be an advantage to citi+ens while others would go to any lengths to prove the opposite. 'rom my point of view ! suppose that its effects on the local environment can be ....................... . ! am a fervent supporter of the idea that any kind of tourism even eco$ tourism should be restricted for the essential reason that the destruction of the environment is unavoidable. To e&plain being ............... by tourists pristine areas such as ,awaiian beaches or %ma+on forests rapidly become ..................... beyond recognition due to the demands for food and accommodation tourists bring with them and the pollution and garbage they leave behind when they go away. % second point concerns the disturbance of the ...................... people. To ..................... as bus$loads of tourists pour into cities on sightseeing tours or flock to local beaches in hordes inhabitants are disturbed by the commotion and noise they make. ................... citi+ens have the right to get indignant with tourists who more often than not have no regard for local customs or sensitivities. #n the whole it seems that the disadvantages of this issue far outweigh any possible advantages. To my mind tourism is only eminent nowadays because people are more concerned with the money it generates than the environment it destroys. Therefore ! believe that something must be done to .................. this imbalance.

Topic: /&cessive consumerism has resulted in the creation of huge amounts of garbage which cannot be easily disposed of. Write a composition which describes the main problems of garbage disposal. 0-o not write an argument nor offer any solutions1

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There can be no doubt that in our contemporary times that trash disposal is a ma2or problem which prompts great environmental damage. /&travagant consumerism has triggered the creation of enormous amounts of litter and yet the methods of disposal employed cause detrimental ....................... that cannot be easily rectified. #ne widely adopted way of disposing of rubbish is directly throwing it away in the sea. This has many negative effects on marine life including the fact that to&ins become part of the marine food chain. %s a result the health of those who rely on sea$food as a protein source is at risk. %nother disposal method is to dump litter into landfills. This is however a far from ade)uate way of dealing with the problem as rainwater washes through the half$buried garbage causing to&ins to .................... into the ground water below. This contaminated water is then used to .................. crops or worse as drinking water with inevitable conse)uences. !t also affects marine life as it makes its way down river systems and eventually to the sea. %dditionally not only do landfills take up considerable areas of land that could be used for other purposes such as agriculture or housing but the ................. given off by rotting garbage is intolerable. 'inally there is another way which ................... incineration. !n other words garbage and industrial effluence is disposed of by burning. This however also has its drawbacks. !ncineration causes direct atmospheric pollution which results in ..................... problems. !t also releases huge amounts carbon dio&ide thus adding to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Moreover there is no way of getting rid of the .................... ash which is highly to&ic and therefore a dangerous pollutant. To recapitulate it seems that there are a diversity of problems caused by current garbage disposal methods. They each have negative impacts on the environment and yet there are currently no viable alternatives or solutions. The onus therefore must be on the government and scientists to find an answer to this desperate problem. *ertainly unless something is done the modern habit of throwing things away is going to become the ................ for our own destruction.


!t seems that in contemporary times the problem of rubbish disposal is becoming increasingly desperate. "o viable solution has been found and yet the environment is under a distinct and very real threat. The )uestion is if something can be done or are we to bury our future under the piles of rotting garbage that modern society seems insistent on creating? "ow more than ever an e&haustive analysis of the problem is really crucial if any hope remains. The problems associated with garbage are innumerable and mostly irreversible. % first one to consider is the issue of air pollution. !ncineration is certainly an inefficient way to dispose of trash as the fumes and to&ic gases produced by burning damage and pollute the atmosphere and in turn lead to respiratory problems and ill$health. %nother devastating problem is the one related to the contamination of water. To elaborate dumping at sea seems to be a )uick and easy alternative but it is far from an effective method of disposal. Marine life and ecosystems are adversely affected resulting in the disruption of the food chain. Predators including people dependant on seafood are at risk. 3andfill dumping should also be considered. To&ins from deposited trash seep into the ground water below landfill sites thus contaminating it. This same water is then used for irrigation and drinking. To recapitulate each method of disposal has its inherent problems. With no alternatives available the onus is on each and every one of us to reduce our e&traneous needs and therefore the amount of garbage that has to be dealt with. !t seems that reducing consumerism is the only thing that could save the world.


There is no doubt that one of the most important problems in contemporary times is garbage disposal as people are yet to invent an effective and environmentally friendly way to discard their waste. That of course has spelt disaster in many ways. #ne method of disposing of litter is dumping it in a landfill without any insulation against heat rain or other natural phenomena. To elaborate in cases of soaring temperatures landfills can emit to&ic substances into the atmosphere thus greatly contribute to air pollution which is the leading cause of respiratory problems and asthma attacks. 'urthermore garbage is left there indefinitely which allows to&ins to slowly seep into the ground water through the soil below the landfill and contaminate it. This however is the very same water people drink or use to irrigate crops. %nother way is incinerating rubbish which is thought by many to be the best solution as it is space$saving. What those people fail to realise though is that reducing it to ashes does far more harm than good since it too releases to&ins that are deadly to any living organism. The last method is dumping at sea. !t is obvious that in this way it directly contaminates the water thus threatening marine life which is of great significance to both animal and human life as the e&tinction of any given species of fish wrecks havoc on the food chain hence putting other species at risk. Moreover swimmers are strongly affected by the level of pollution of the sea they swim in. !t simply is no longer be safe for them to swim in vast radiuses around any dumping site. To recapitulate garbage disposal is a problem that many generations have had to deal with and yet no successful solution has ever been found. To my mind the onus is on us to resolve the problem before its devastating conse)uences have an irreversible impact on our planet.

Topic: !t has often been suggested that the re$introduction of capital punishment would deter the ever increasing rate of serious crime. What is your view? -o you think that capital punishment should be reinstated?

!t(s an indisputable fact that the crime rate has increased dramatically. "ot many people can stand this situation so they suggest that capital punishment should be re$introduced. ,owever others have the opposite opinion. 'rom my perspective people should not be punished by being killed. There are several reasons as to why the death penalty should not be legalised. The most significant one is that killing criminals makes things worse due to the fact that neither their crimes can be corrected nor can they offer things to humanity in order to compensate for what they have done. To e&emplify a person that has been arrested and convicted for murder cannot make the dead person live again by being killed so e&ecution helps nobody apart from the relatives who might what the guilty person to die out of a sense of revenge. %nother important reason is that sometimes people who feel guilty and depressed are willing to die so in this case the criminal seems to be alleviated by this action. To elaborate capital punishment does not seem harmful for them so far from being a punishment it is a source of relief. "ot withstanding these facts there are those who support that by killing criminals danger to society as a whole is being reduced. This idea is flawed however because of the fact that they fail to realise that criminals that have committed serious crimes inevitably get life$sentences and are never released back into society thus ensuring the general public(s safety. To recapitulate it seems that there are strong arguments to support the re$ introduction of the death penalty despite the concerns of some. ! certainly think that capital punishment is both inhumane and unnecessary and therefore should not be considered as a viable solution to increasing criminality.

Topic: Many think that the achievement of success is due to hard work while others think it4s more of a matter of chance. What do you think success can be attributed to? Write a composition e&pressing your view. Support with e&les.

!t is often argued that success may result from a variety of contributory factors. While a bewildering number of individuals embrace the idea that success is a matter of chance others advocate that it is a matter of planning. My firm conviction is that success can only come when somebody is well organised and prepared. !t goes without saying that should a person be contingent on nothing more than chance the game is lost. 3ife and success are all about goals. Whether an individual is concerned with a small task or a challenging goal which re)uires time and effort setting goals results in creating a purpose. This in turn leads to the individual e&pecting to achieve the goals and fulfil the purpose. 'or instance if a teacher is eager to alter the relationship he has with students by setting a goal chances are that he is more likely to accomplish that in comparison to a teacher who e&pects things to unfold by making +ero effort. This should be considered in con2unction with a second area to consider5 what people regard success as being and how much they fight for it. To e&plain it is thought to be advantageous for people who dream of success to actively fight for it simply by putting a stop to procrastination and starting to act on things they wish to obtain not 2ust long for them to come. "onetheless many are at odds with this idea They view that success comes from opportunities and chances irrelevant to goals or fighting for them. While this strikes me as being a comfortable point of view how is a person e&pected to attain the desirable outcome when not even trying to reach it? #n the whole it seems that success is a weighty issue having a great many aspects to consider. My firm conviction is that not only success but day$to$day activity is unlikely to be regarded as feasible if one is not prepared to instigate a serious plan for it.


There is no doubt that a host of factors are involved in success in somebody(s life. % group of individuals is convinced that success results from careful planning whereas others of aggressive opponents of this belief and advocate that it comes from taking risks and chances. 'rom my point of view success is uni)uely owed to careful planning of one(s future. Planning has certainly proved to be a successful strategy. 6y organising the future somebody is able to avoid unpleasant situations for the simple reason that they have already been predicted. 'or instance a business by organising and planning its economic well$being will undoubtedly not face the danger of bankruptcy. Moreover careful planning gives individuals an advantage. Those people are sure about their goals in life and won(t be misled or make a wrong choice that will probably destroy their plans. #n the other hand numerous individuals are opposed to this belief and strongly support the idea that success is a result of risks and chances. They base their arguments on the fact that making the correct choice will lead to a bright future. 6ut their ideas are flawed because they fail to realise the fact that risk taking is inherently dangerous and can easily destroy any chance of successful achievement. To sum up success in life is based on numerous factors. ,owever planning and organising are methods that will hardly ever disappoint a person for the reason that they do not involve risk which is something that could ruin an individual(s future.


There is little doubt that thorough planning is a form of discipline and organi+ation. Several individuals consider careful organi+ation a very beneficial way of ensuring success while others regard luck and taking risks the right method of provoking success. %s far as ! am concerned ! fervently advocate the concept of trusting luck and argue that it is an advisable way of achieving success. There are a host of reasons why ! have adopted this opinion when it comes to this highly debated topic. The first of them concerns the matter of self$esteem. To elaborate when a person takes risks he7she feels confident owing to the fact that he7she has faith in him7herself and his7her decisions. To elaborate a risky but simultaneously successful decision is likely to make a person gain self$confidence ,ence this may result in being more decisive and the positive outcome of a risky decision such as winning in gambling is capable of changing the entire life of a person. 'urthermore another not only fundamental but also significant reason entails the fact that when taking risks or e&ploiting opportunities of chance people feel independent. To 2ustify people feel far freer to do anything they desire when their actions are not part of a specific program or plan. Thus this factor is able to contribute to people having a sense of en2oying their lives and making the most of the opportunities they are provided with. 3ast but not least there is also another reason which is no other than the matter of challenge and suspense. When a person puts everything on the line with unsound or dicey decisions he7she risks winning everything or losing it all. %lthough failure is possible if it were not for such risks people(s lives would be dull and monotonous perhaps even robotic. To recapitulate although taking risks is not as safe as planning it provides people with the mandatory thrill and e&citement and is highly likely to provoke serious success. "ow the onus is on each and every single one of us to decide whether we desire to enhance our lives by risking a little more or e&perience the boring certainty of systematic and methodical plans.

Topic: Many think that it4s important to e&perience failure in order to learn from it. To what e&tent do you think this is true? -escribe an incident when you failed and what if anything you may have learned from the e&perience.

3ife is full of challenges. These challenges give rise to our strong desire to achieve goals which sometimes are unlikely to happen. Most people get to e&perience such moments of disappointment during their lives and ! am no e&ception. #f the number of times ! had to accept that things would eventually not work out the one during which ! faced the most severe disappointment was when ! struggled to convince my parents to purchase a bike for me. #ver the years the number of things ! would like to have owned was limited though at that time a bike seemed like a dream which 2ust had to come true. 6eing too young to be trusted with an independent vehicle ! had to cope with denial and long frustrating discussions over the danger bike ownership involved even if such arguments were sensible enough. "otwithstanding the fact that neither my father nor my mother would agree to e&pose their young child to the danger of transportation via such a form ! remember spending most of my time doing research on bikes of high )uality comparing prices and befriending people who owned one. /ventually there came a point when ! wished to hear no more of their ob2ections and merely went out bought the bike. %lthough ! never succeeded in persuading them to actually buy me one the e&perience was far more valuable than ! e&pected. -uring the bleak hopeless hours that ! spent while doing my best to get what ! truly wanted and despite the fact that it turned out to be a 8waste9 of time it really was not. To elaborate while ! tend to laugh whenever such memories are evoked ! strongly believe this incident was one of the most precious lessons ! have ever come to ac)uire simply for the reason that it made me realise that how hard you try to achieve a goal only makes you stronger with more will$power. To recapitulate lessons can be learnt from the hardest of times. Maybe that is what makes us go on in the end5 the never$ending hope for something better.


3ike almost everyone else in their life ! have e&perienced a moment when things didn4t go as well as e&pected. %nd that incident was when ! failed an /nglish e&am for which ! had been well prepared. 'irst of all before sitting for this difficult and important e&am ! tried my best to be properly prepared so as to succeed. ! made sure that ! had studied for every lesson and that ! did not miss any classes. ! pushed myself to be among the best students in class something that would ensure my success. ,owever the problem was not the theoretical or written parts of the e&am but the orals. 'or an illogical reason ! felt e&tremely an&ious even though the interview was not considered to be an e&tremely important or difficult e&am component. Therefore ! did not do as well in class in that part of the e&am though ! did try to improve on my performance in it as well. The day of the e&amination eventually arrived. There was no problem whatsoever with the written part. !ndeed ! believed that ! had obtained a very high score in that. 6ut when it was time for the interview my an&iety took over although my teacher kept telling me that my fears were unfounded and that there was no reason at all to feel uneasy. When my turn to be e&amined came ! vehemently thought ! would not manage to succeed. The theme of the interview seemed enormously difficult causing me to sweat and falter. ! could hear myself stuttering and not speaking fluently. The e&aminers however gave no indication that they understood my discomfort and looked neither impressed or disappointed. "evertheless ! was entirely uncertain of whether ! had been good enough to pass as ! walked out of the interview and began a long an&ious wait to learn the results. Several months later my teacher called me and told me that ! had failed the entire e&amination due to the orals. ! was devastated and couldn4t help thinking of giving up. ,owever it eventually dawned on me that ! should learn from the failure and make sure that ! was well$and$truly prepared ne&t time. /ncouraged by this insight ! vowed to try again. ! studied for more than si& months placing particular emphasis on the orals. !n the end when ! did re$sit the e&am ! actually achieved a better grade for the interview than the written parts of the e&am. This incident definitely taught me not to stop making efforts and doing the best ! can so as to succeed. ! learned that failure is always a possibility in people4s lives but it should not act as a deterrent and people should not be discourage by it. !n fact failure is a great motivator and should not be regarded as confirmation of defeat but an instigator for success.


There can be little doubt that failure is an integral part of everyone4s life. !ndeed it is inevitable not to undergo such unpleasant situations. %s far as my e&perience is concerned ! have faced failure many times. #ne of the most remarkable ones is last year4s final term e&aminations. There are many factors which led to this negative e&perience. %ctually ! used to have a condescending attitude towards e&aminations and ! felt the level was very low. Thus my efforts were insufficient and inade)uate. Seldom did ! devote time to study right up to 2ust before the e&amination period. #nly then did ! suddenly reali+e that time had passed e&tremely swiftly and that ! had totally failed to e&ploit it. nderstandably my results where disappointing and ! failed to obtain the re)uired grades to pass the year. ! was forced to re$sit the e&ams over the summer period at great inconvenience and personal embarrassment. What ! learned from this event was of great magnitude. !t is a gross misconception to take anything as read and therefore not try to ameliorate ourselves and out capacities. The fact that ! did not pay the attention that was re)uired deprived me of the gratification that ! would have e&perienced had ! passed the first time. 'ortunately ! took advantage if this in convenient situation and ! benefitted form it by avoiding the duplication of such a mistake. #bviously it is not always convenient to achieve one4s goals without effort. ia similar e&periences each and every one of us can benefit by analy+ing profoundly his7her mistakes which should have a great influence so as not to repeat them.

Topic: Some people prefer to multitask. They often do more than one thing at the same time whether it4s listening to music and doing homework or working on two or more task at the same time in the office. #thers prefer to 2ust focus on one thing at a time without distractions. *onsider one of the two styles and discuss why that style works or doesn4t work for you.

There can be little doubt that nowadays each and every single one of us is inevitably charged with some responsibilities. %lthough a bewildering number of people advocate that focusing on one task is beneficial others are conscientious ob2ectors to this notion. %s far as ! am concerned ! firmly believe that performing two or more tasks simultaneously is far more propitious. Working by e&ecuting many tasks at the same time is efficient. This style of work tends to be less time$consuming and less wasteful of one4s precious and irreplaceable time. -oubtlessly in our contemporary times our modern way of life involves and demands too many responsibilities to be able to cope with easily. To illustrate my point of view imagine a child whose spare time is restricted #n a daily basis he7she is charged with tons of homework forced to study and so on. !t would be a great deal more efficient for e&le to have a meal in tandem with studying in e&treme cases. *onse)uently the time dedicated to the meal and other similar activities would be accumulated in order to devote it to something more crucial. #ne the other hand there are some individuals who ignore this point and subscribe to the idea that focusing completely on one task is favorable. !n my view it is a gross misconception as they fail to perceive that time is restricted and normally not ade)uate for one4s needs. To recapitulate it is apparent that the positive aspects of the simultaneous e&ecution of tasks overwhelmingly outweigh the negative ones. This is a vital part of our life and therefore the onus is on us to organi+e it as we wish. 'rom my point of view however ! am an ardent supporter of the most efficient way of doing things5 that is multi$tasking.

Topic: ;esearch shows that some people are reading and writing more than ever due to blogs e$mails and instant messages. #thers worry about the )uality of these people4s writing. -o you think technology can be a help or a hinderance in promoting literacy? -iscuss with e&les.

There is no doubt that the ma2ority of people write more than ever due to the constant development of technology. 'orums blogs and websites where one is able to chat with others encourage writing. Some individuals are fervent supporters of the belief that writing under those circumstances is not beneficial and in that way literacy will vanish from peoples abilities whereas others are aggressive opponents of this belief claiming that writing chatting and blogging are constructive. 'rom my point of view literacy is not at all affected but the internet but contrarily enhanced and improved. To begin with writing on the internet and e&changing views through forums is undoubtedly beneficial. !ndividuals when writing for blogs or forums read first what is published and then e&press their opinion on any given topic. !n that way numerable ideas and beliefs can be observed and read by the user. *onse)uently one is capable of enriching his7her knowledge on a topic and ac)uiring information by the debate created there. !n addition to this the diverse opinion e&pressed in blogs and forums may make the individual consider his7her permanent beliefs and draw new and accurate conclusions. 'urthermore the people writing in serious internet pages always e&press their view by using advanced vocabulary and literacy. %s a result the individuals can be benefitted from the simple procedure of reading what is published. They learn and retain the new words or e&pressions which is something that leads them to develop their own language skills thus ac)uiring the skill of writing proficiently. #n the other hand a large group of people is a convinced that writing on the internet is not only pointless but harmful. They base their arguments on the fact that on the internet many badly$written te&ts are published which often include contracted forms of real words and that the reader deliberately embraces these bad e&pressions. Their ideas are flawed however because they fail to reali+e that bad e&pression is something that repels readers from setting their eyes on the te&t and in that way they are protected from any bad influences. To sum up it is a fact that more and more is written in blogs forums and chatrooms $ media only made possible by technological advances and the internet. Personally ! believe that e&posure and participation in such media can only improve the level of language and literacy.

'ormula for a discursive essay /very discursive essay needs an introduction and a main body. "ormally a final paragraph that rounds off the essay is needed but e&aminers know that time could easily run out before you manage to round off your essay. "ot having a concluding paragraph will probably not matter much5 not having a good introduction will matter a great deal. !ntroduction 6egin by redescribing the phenomenon the trend or the debate that is the focus of the essay )uestion. !n a short /*P/ essay this might only need one or two sentences. eg. !n the past it seemed obvious to many that the only reliable test of intelligence was one which assessed a person4s ability to reason especially the ability to see patterns in words numbers and symbols. !n recent years however there has been a growing suspicion that those !< tests assume a conception of intelligence that is too narrow.

/nd your introduction either by: = briefly stating the point of view you are going to defend. eg. %s ! see it musical and sporting abilities are two of the skill areas that deserve to be regarded as forms of intelligence. > stating what you are going to do in the rest of the essay. eg. !n this essay ! will look at two skill areas that deserve to be regarded as forms of intelligence.  stating the two different points of view that you are going to consider. eg. %lthough the vast ma2ority of farmers look upon pesticides as invaluable some consumers and pressure groups have spoken out against them. @ stating the )uestion you are going to answer. eg. This raises the )uestion of whether the benefits of pesticides outweigh their drawbacks.

!f the essay )uestion specifically asks about your opinion it might be better to briefly state this at the end of the introduction without giving any details or arguments 0but it is not absolutely necessary especially if you don4t have a firm opinion1. !f you want to look at different points of view before you weigh them up and give your final assessment it might be better to use techni)ues three and four above. Main body This needs two paragraphs each of which should develop one point. -epending on the essay task you might need to describe e&les 0as in the )uestion about intelligence1 discuss different points of view describe causes make suggestions and give reasons for your point of view. 6elow are e&les of paragraphs that do each of these things. -escribing e&les eg. The e&ceptional bodily control seen in some athletes and dancers could definitely be viewed as a form of intelligence. The ability of a ballerina for instance to maintain perfect balance and turn her movements into a work of art can only be developed with years of strenuous training. !n a sense ballet has its own language and it seems reasonable to compare the skill of using this language with the skill of using the verbal language that has been traditionally tested when measuring a person4s !<. %dmittedly performing in a ballet does not involve as much thought as solving problems in an !< test but that does not seem to me to be a good reason to e&clude this as a form of intelligence. %nother area in which people can show how smart they are is music. ... -iscussing different points of view eg. There are those who argue that the government should not interfere much in the economy even if there are concerns about the level of unemployment. !t is said that the rate of unemployment will fall naturally if there is economic growth and the best way to guarantee economic growth is to allow the market to develop without government interference. Those with this point of view accept that the government has a responsibility but they insist that it should not go beyond providing a minimal unemployment benefit to those who are temporarily out of work. #n the other hand it is often argued that... -escribing causes and making suggestions eg.

#ne of the reasons why some children fail at school is poverty. Students will only make good progress if they do their homework well but a child from a large and poverty$stricken family who does not have a )uiet room at home in which to study will not be able to do her homework well. 'urthermore in poor families the parents sometimes have a very low level of education and may even have a negative opinion about the importance of education. !n these cases they will not be able to give the help and encouragement that the child needs. %s regards the steps that need to be taken to remedy this situation the first priority should be to... Aiving reasons for your point of view eg. #ne very powerful argument against pesticides is that they are harmful to humans. *hemicals can only be used as pesticides if they are to&ic either to plants or animals. These are poisons and it is hardly surprising that chemicals that are poisonous to some forms of plant life for instance also have detrimental effects on human health. /ating rice that has been sprayed during storage and transport to prevent it being eaten by insects may not make us ill immediately but by continually eating sprayed fruit and vegetables it is almost certain that we increase our risks of suffering from cancer. %nother reason for banning pesticides concerns the effect they have on the environment. ... 'inal paragraph se this paragraph to re$emphasi+e the main point or points you want to make or to weigh up the opinions presented earlier in the essay. Then add a comment about for instance why this is so important or about how difficult or easy it will be to change things or about the likely conse)uences if we do nothing. eg. !n conclusion for the sake of both the environment and human health drastic reductions in our use of pesticides must be made. %dmittedly this will not be easy since they have become such an important part of modern agriculture. ,owever if there is enough investment in research into alternatives ! am optimistic that we will be able to phase out the use of these harmful to&ins. Try to avoid simply repeating what you have already said. This can be particularly difficult especially when the essay task merely involves describing different aspects of something 0like the forms of intelligence1. eg. To sum up it is clear that the ability to do the old$fashioned !< tests is not the only form of intelligence. "ot only are music and movement areas where we can see how smart people are but there are also many others. !t is wonderful

that we are now appreciating this variety instead of giving a privileged place to one narrow set of abilities. 'ormal or informal /nglish? When writing academic essays the usual advice is to avoid e&pressions that are considered informal. 'or instance e&pressions with BgetB are considered )uite informal so instead of saying Bkids will get bad marksB it would be better to say Bchildren will receive a poor grade.B #ne good reason for following this advice is that most of the language you have been learning on your proficiency course is formal and so by choosing a formal register 0as we call it1 you give yourself more opportunities to show what you have learnt on the course. ,owever you may be surprised to see that the sample essay from Michigan which was given an honors grade begins with a very informal conversational style. eg. #C so your son got a low score in his !< tests. -on4t be discouraged since this does not mean he is not BintelligentB. !t simply means they may not have tested his main intelligence. More and more reassuring news is coming from new research. These new studies indicate that there is more to intelligence than the traditional mathematical and linguistic intelligence. !n his notes the e&aminer calls this a Bstrong beginningB but not everybody would agree. 06y the way the rest of that essay didn4t use a conversational style.1 #ur advice is to use more formal and sophisticated language wherever you can because this will give better proof that you have become a proficient user of the kind of academic /nglish that makes up most of the /*P/ e&am. -os and -onts •

-o make sure you have understood the task correctly.

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-o ask if you are not sure about the task.

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-o spend a couple of minutes thinking of ideas choosing the best ones and the order you will discuss them in. -o try to have a good introduction. This creates the first impression on the e&aminer and first impressions are very important. -o show that you appreciate how comple& the topic is 0vital if you want to get a rating of % or 61 -o make sure that each paragraph in the main body of your essay has a clear topic. -o develop your ideas by giving arguments for the opinions you mention and7or giving e&les or drawing a contrast or by

acknowledging the opposite point of view 0if you have not planned to do that in the following paragraph1. •

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-o imagine that you are writing for someone who is not )uite as well$ informed as you are so that you really have to make your points clear. -o try to use a good range of vocabulary. -o not 2ust use the simplest e&pressions that come to mind first and avoid repeating the same words if you can. -o find ways to avoid the sort of repetition seen here: B% ma2or health ha+ard nowadays is pesticides. Pesticides are widely used in modern agriculture.B -o use e&pressions such as B#n the one handB BSecondlyB B6y contrastB B'urthermoreB B3ast but not leastB B%ll in allB etc where appropriate to make the connection between your sentences perfectly clear. See our list of useful phrases for essays. -o vary the length of your sentences. !f all your sentences are either very short or very long the essay will be boring to read. -o use some of the lovely proficiency structures you have learnt throughout the course. See our essay grammar structures to get a few ideas. -o not use phrases like B%s ! said aboveB which 2ust prove that either you didn4t plan the essay or the plan was a bad one. -o not use e&tremely general sentences that say nothing about your particular topic 0sentences such as BThere are two sides to every coin.B B/verything has its drawbacks.B B"othing is perfect.B etc1. -o try to write sufficiently neatly so that your essay is easy to read. %s long as you manage this it does not matter if certain words and phrases are crossed out. -o 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 Sample Essays

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