Writing: B2+. Els Geyte Van

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       Exercise 4

      Look at the example essay titles and work out the meaning of the highlighted word or phrase. Choose the correct multiple-choice option.

       1

      Why, when Britain has one of the richest economies, does homelessness still occur?

       ‘when’ here means:

       2

      How is local government financed at present and how, if at all, should that financial system be reformed? Discuss.

       ‘if at all’ suggests:

      There are support structures in place at university. You will probably be given the name of a personal tutor, who you can see for advice. Moreover, it is unlikely that you will be given very difficult titles to start with – the first essays will probably require a relatively easy content and structure in comparison to the ones you have to write later in the academic year. You are likely to get a number of titles to choose from, and the ones in the first semester may ask you to ‘describe’, or ‘explain’, before you are asked later on to carry out more difficult tasks, such as ‘analyse’ or ‘evaluate’. The required essay length will probably also be relatively short to start with.

      Remember that it is perfectly acceptable to ask the tutor who set the question if you have understood it correctly. You will, however, need to show that you have put effort into interpreting the question.

       Exercise 5

      Look at the notes made by a student about an essay question. Put

if you think he is right about it,

if you disagree, and ‘?’ if you think the student might have misunderstood something. Use a dictionary to help you.

       An appreciation of politics is essential to understand the opportunities for and limitations on development.

       Analyse this statement with reference to a selected country and by reflecting on development theory and thinkers.

This is my understanding. The question asks me to:
1 Give an idea of how development and politics are related.(in general, probably in the introduction)
2 State what opportunities for development come from politics.(reference to my selected country, i.e. China, with the supporting development theory and/or thinkers)
3 State what constraints for development come from politics.(reference to my selected country, i.e. China, with the supporting development theory and/or thinkers)
‘appreciation of politics’: I think I should look at the importance of politics in order to relate it to the development.(somehow I wonder if there is any further meaning than that or how I can incorporate the appreciation of politics into my answers)
The question says theory and thinker. For the thinker part: in my understanding, a thinker is a person that states his/her idea about certain topics. So in this case, I can use his/her opinion and thought to support my point. It does not have to be theory related.

       Tip

       You will have to make many decisions about whether to include something in your essay or to leave it out, but you can work out the answer: remind yourself of the purpose of essays in general, and go back to your analysis of your specific question.

       Remember

       Break down the essay question to identify its exact meaning.

       To analyse a question you need to look in detail and use your knowledge of English to understand the clues about what is expected.

       Don’t be afraid to ask for help with understanding the question.

       You need to demonstrate the ability to evaluate different points of view and demonstrate research skills.

       You need to show awareness of the reader, of academic conventions and the way others in the discipline write.

2

Reader expectation and essay structure

       Aims

        plan your essay structure

        guide your reader through structure, signposting and cohesion

        understand paragraph structure and how to connect paragraphs

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