WRITING GUIDE

B2
Writing assessment criteria
 Content: • Did you use all the notes given in the task? • Did
you write at least190 words, or is it too long / short?
 Communicative Achievement: • Is the style suitably neutral
/ formal? • Is every point justified with a clear reason?
 Organisation: • Is the essay organised into clear
paragraphs? • Is the order logical? • Is the punctuation
correct? • Did you use linking words?
 Language: • Did you use a good range of vocabulary and
grammar related to the topic? • Did you use language
accurately?
5 essentials for good answers

 1. Answer the question

 2. Plan (what points to include, in what
order, and how they are connected )
 3. Use paragraphs
 4. Revise your work
 5. Make sure you answer the question
exactly and no more.
Writing essays
 Purpose of an essay An essay is a piece of writing in which you are asked to
discuss a topic that might be controversial or relevant somehow.
 Language The language of an essay should be formal. Also, make sure that
you justify all your ideas and that you use appropriate connectors to link your
sentences and paragraphs.
 Structure When writing an essay, you can choose whether to give it a title or
not. This could be the same question provided in the task. As for the
structure, it should have an introductory paragraph, and a conclusion at the
end. The body should consist of 2 or 3 main paragraphs, depending on how
you decide to structure your ideas.
 Giving your opinion Typically, in an essay we tend to express our opinion at
the end, although it is acceptable to do so at the beginning, too.
 Common topics Some common topics to write essays about are the
environment, health and ftness, work and employment, friendships and
family, money, celebrities, etc.
 1. ANSWER THE QUESTION.
 2. PLAN your essay.
 3. REVISE your essay to correct mistakes.
 4. 4 or 5 PARAGRAPHS, with introduction and conclusion.

 The first paragraph should be a general introduction.

 In the middle paragraphs develop your arguments.
 Give reasons to support your argument.
 Use a variety of discussive words and phrases.
 Give examples where possible.
 Use formal language.
 Don't use contractions (we're, I've etc.)
 The final paragraph is the best place to express your opinion clearly
Linking words & useful expressions
 Expressing the opinion of someone  Expressing Contrast: 
else: nevertheless  even so  even
though  however  in spite of
 One of the things that worries
people most nowadays is …  despite  but  although

some people say (that) …  Expressing results: because of


this  therefore  thus  as a
 many people say that) … result  for this reason 
 people often say that) … consequently

 it is said/believed/thought (that) …  Presenting two opposing views:

 on the one hand, on the
 according to … other hand
 Giving examples: such as  like   Presenting two advantages or
for example  for instance disadvantages together:  not
only … but … also
OPINION ESSAY:

 Introduction Some people claim/believe/say It is sometimes said that…

The question is… We often read/hear that…
 Stating your opinion In my opinion, As I see it, From my point of view…
 Making extra points What’s more… In addition… Furthermore…
 Introducing a contradictory point Although/Even though… Despite +
noun/gerund/ Despite the fact that… However…
 Contrasting views for and against On the one hand/side…on the other
While it’s true that… You could also argue that… Nevertheless,…/
However,… One advantage/ Another disadvantage is that… Even
though…
 Concluding On balance… I feel/believe that.. In my opinion…
Summarising… To sum up, in conclusion,
OPINION ESSAY:
 Paragraph 1 Introduce the topic using a
 Introduction Some people
claim/believe/say It is sometimes said
general statement and give your opinion. that… The question is… We often
Say whether you agree or disagree with the read/hear that…
statement.
 Stating your opinion In my opinion, As I
 Paragraph 2 Give the first reason to support see it, From my point of view…
your opinion. Provide specific justifications  Making extra points What’s more… In
for your opinion, using examples if addition… Furthermore…
necessary.  Introducing a contradictory point
 Paragraph 3 Give the second reason to Although/Even though… Despite +
support your opinion. Provide specific
noun/gerund/ Despite the fact that…
However…
justifications for your opinion, using
examples if necessary.  Contrasting views for and against On
the one hand/side…on the other While
 Paragraph 4 Give the third reason to it’s true that… You could also argue
support your opinion. Make sure this is that… Nevertheless,…/ However,…
clearly different from the points you made One advantage/ Another
disadvantage is that… Even though…
in the previous 2 paragraphs.
 Concluding On balance… I
 Paragraph 5 Summarise your ideas and feel/believe that.. In my opinion…
repeat your opinion using different words to Summarising… To sum up, in
provide a strong conclusion. conclusion,
FOR&AGAINST ESSAY:  Giving arguments for… On the
 two ways to structure a ‘for and one hand… You could argue
against’ essay. You can either that… While it is true that… I
contrast an argument for and agree that…
against in each paragraph OR
 Giving arguments against… On
give all the arguments for in one
paragraph and then all the the other hand… An argument
arguments against in the next against this is… However…
paragraph. One disadvantage is that…
Nevertheless…
 P1: INTRO: restate the question in
the task.  General expressions Another
 P2+ P3: Contrast an argument for reason for/against… First,
and against in each paragraph secondly, thirdly… In
addition… Finally…
OR
 P2 two or three arguments for. P3  Conclude So, on balance, I
two ar three arguments against. believe that… In my opinion,…
To sum up, I feel that…
 P4: Conclusion.
Writing informal letters or emails
 Writing informal letters and emails involves writing letters or emails to
friends or relatives.
 When writing an informal letter or email our language is more relaxed
and we are able to use abbreviations which is rare in other forms of
English writing, except perhaps when using direct speech.
Useful phrases (Writing informal emails or letters)
 Greetings:  Dear Jim  Hello Jim  Hi Jim
 Introductory paragraph:  Sorry I haven't written for ages  Sorry it's taken
me so long to write  How's it going?  How are you?  How are things with
you?  How are things?
 Referring to good news:  Glad to hear about  I'm really glad to hear about
 I'm very happy to hear about  I was very happy to read about  Great
news about your
 Referring to bad news:  I'm extremely sorry to hear about  I'm very sorry to
hear about  Sorry to read about  Its very sad to hear about your  I can't
tell you how sad I am that
 Introducing points  By the way  Did you hear about  Did you see  Have
you seen  Tell me about  Oh, another thing
 Ending:  Well, time to go  Well, it's time to go  Well, got to go  Well, time
to close  I've got to leave off now  Write soon  Make sure you write soon
 Love  Lots of love  All my love  Will write again soon  Look after
yourself  Take care of yourself  All the best  Everything good
Writing articles
 ANSWER THE QUESTION
 PLAN your article.
 Give your article a title.
 Make sure you have at least 4 paragraphs.
 Ask rhetorical questions to get your readers' attention. Eg. What would
the world be like without oil? What will life be like in 20 years time?
 Speak directly to your readers. Eg. Let's just imagine some of the
possibilities.
 Give examples where appropriate.
 Use humour where appropriate
 Give a conclusion and summary in the last paragraph.
 Finally, give your opinion where appropriate.
 REVISE your article to correct mistakes.
Useful phrases (Writing articles)
 Rhetorical phrases:  Have you ever ……..?  What do you think about
……..?  Are you one of those people who thinks that ……?  Are you
one of those people who …....?  What would life be like if ……?  Will
the future bring us ….. ?

 Introducing your first point:  Firstly  In the first place  First of all  The
first thing to consider is  One thing to consider is  To begin with

 Introducing more points:  Secondly  Another consideration  Yet

another consideration  Another thing to consider is  Added to that 
Apart from that  In addition to this

 Introducing your final points:  In conclusion  To conclude  To sum

up  So Introducing your opinion:  I think  In my opinion  Personally I
believe that  In my view  If you ask me  To my mind  My personal
opinion is
Writing reviews

 ANSWER THE QUESTION

 PLAN your review.
 Make sure you have at least 4 paragraphs.
 Choose an appropriate title.
 The introduction will talk about what's being reviewed.
 Use a relaxed, friendly, chatty style.
 You can use contractions such as I'm, I've etc..
 Use a new paragraph for each point you want to make.
 Give your opinion. In the concluding paragraph give your opinion.
Useful phrases (Writing reviews)

 Introducing your review: The aim/purpose of this review is to... My

favourite... is... The first thing you notice is...
 What I liked:  What I liked most was …..  The thing I liked most was ….
 I was pleasantly surprised by …..  ….. would appeal to …..  If you
get a chance to …. One thing I really like about it is... It’s worth seeing
because... A really good part is when...
 What I disliked:  What I disliked most was …..  I was disappointed by
……  I was disappointed with …..  I was very disappointed by …..  I
was very disappointed with …. One problem is... It isn’t very... One thing
that could be improved is... It also needs more...
 Final comments: Overall, I (strongly) recommend... It’s certainly a good...
(Nevertheless) it’s much better than...
 Reviews of books:  main character  is set in  comedy  science
fiction  thriller  romance  comedy:  author  written by 
chapter  factual  fiction  unbelievable  bestseller  chapter 
ending
 Reviews of films, tv programmes, plays:  lead role  star role  star 
star actor  star actress  starring  secondary role  He plays a …….
 She plays a …….  written by ….  is set in …..  based on a true
story ….. believable  true to life  not very believable  far-fetched
 comedy  romance  science fiction  ending
 Reviews of hotels, restaurants, etc:  location  service  setting 
attractive setting  disappointing setting  owned by  run by 
head chef (restaurant)  waiters (restaurant)  staff …….  staff at
reception …….(hotel)  hotel facilities ….  reasonable prices ….. 
good value for money …..  excellent value for money ….. 
expensive  a bit expensive  overpriced  not worth the money 
poor value for money  always fully booked  book in advance
Checklist for writing B2
 Have you included all the essential information in your text? – Why are you writing the
text and what do you hope to achieve? – Have you focused on the topic and the
specific questions?
 What style of text do you need to produce? – What are the style conventions of the
text you have to write? – Do you need to use a formal, neutral or informal tone? – Can
you include personal opinions or should you be objective? – Who are you writing the
text for and what are their expectations?
 Have you organised your ideas in a logical way? – Do the ideas develop logically so
the reader can follow your ideas or argument? – Have you used cohesive devices to
connect ideas across sentences and paragraphs? – Have you used appropriate
linking words for the genre of text?
 Have you used a range of language correctly? – Which tenses and language
structures are appropriate to communicate your ideas? – Do the verbs agree with
plural, singular, countable and uncountable nouns? – Have you used topic-specific
vocabulary to describe and explain in more detail? – Does any vocabulary appear in
your text frequently? Can you use any other words?( personal pronouns, this, that,
these, those, another one, …)