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Hello Everyone! 
As promised, here's the thread for the English tips for Argumentative, Descriptive and One Word Essays.
I've collected material from various resources plus points from the examiner reports/syllabus. I hope that this thread will help you.
Argumentative Essays:
- Read the topic carefully. Underline the main point of the topic (such as Politics).
- Decide 'for' or 'against' (i.e. are you in favour or against?).
- Jot down all the RELEVANT & LOGICAL points related to your opinion. Spend 5-10 minutes doing this in the form of notes. No emotional reasons should be included. As we say don't be "jazbaati".
- Starting - No quotes are needed; some books/resources will tell you to state your opinion at the start or by the end. In the paper, state it at the BEGINNING of your essay, most preferably in the opening paragraph.
- Manners in which you can start the essay:
(i) Ease into the topic then generally give your opinion. For example: "The trend of social media has greatly increased over the last four years. Nowadays, it has become a necessity for teenagers. I personally believe ........"
(ii) Start directly by exclaiming a valid point and giving your opinion. "Social Media, recently, has had a great negative/positive impact on teenagers. My personal opinion is that ........"
- Remember this 3-point structure for the MAIN BODY of your essay:
(i) General "For" Argument - Include all valid points that are logical and EMPHASIZE on them - All points must be in favour of your opinion and they should be your STRONGEST points.
(ii) Counter Argument - Pick out you're strongest counter arguments and state them. Be completely logical and honest when pointing the counter arguments. The reason for this is that if you're writing in favour, someone else will write against. You have to give both sides of the argument and prove yourself right.
(iii) Disputing Counter Arguments - After writing the counter arguments, you must dispute them and prove them to be either wrong or not STRONG enough to win the argument. Here's an example:
A counter argument could be "Social media is required for teenagers, it forms a platform for conversations, discussions and sharing valued information".
Disputing this counter argument "Although it does provide a medium for communication, teenagers waste most of their precious time in procrastinating since they needlessly read comics/have useless discussions. Social media is one of main reasons why teenagers procrastinate." You can also add the fact that other mediums of communication such as e-mail, messaging are also available.
- Ending your essay, now, you don't simply conclude an argument because it is a waste of words and time since you're only repeating what you've said. Two ways to end an Argumentative Essay are:
(i) Conclude your essay by restating your opinion in a different perspective, i.e. you could say, "Other resources of communication should be adopted such as messaging and teenagers should be encouraged to have outdoor activities rather than sit home and stick their heads to the computers."
(ii) After disputing you're counter arguments - finish on a high by adding a strong ending sentence to conclude your essay. For example "Hence all these points show that Social media is indeed an unnecessary part of life which has been forcibly indulged into the life of teenagers."
- Things to remember:
(i) You're not listing points or stating your opinion. You're trying to CONVINCE the examiner that you're opinion is correct using LOGICAL points.
(ii) Don't get emotional and carried away over the course of your writing. Don't be prejudiced.
(iii) DO NOT EMPHASIZE TOO MUCH ON VOCABULARY. Sentence structures, punctuation, tenses are all equally as important as vocabulary. Don't forcibly use strong words if you don't know their correct usage.
(iv) You're not making a list of your points. Don't use "firstly, secondly, thirdly and finally". Remember, you're language is being tested. Use good expressions and connectives such as "Furthermore, In addition to this".
http://www.slideshare.net/englishbites/useful-argumentative-essay-words-and-phrases
Here is a great website concerning words and expressions. Do read it.
Difference b/w Discursive and Argumentative Essays:
In Discursive essays, you present a balanced argument that contains 'for' and 'against' points. You do not state your opinion.
In Argumentative, you give your opinion and convince the reader on your point of view.
Here are some pointers from the IGCSE Examiner Tips:
- Be clear about the difference between an argumentative and a discursive essay. When
asked directly to give your own opinion you should commit yourself to a line of argument.
When asked to give a range of possible views then you are being discursive and may or
may not choose to say what you personally believe.
- Mention counter arguments – and dispute them. A strong argument includes refutation of
the other point of view. This way you can show that you are not being purely ignorant or
prejudiced in your response. It is important to show balance in presenting the argument.
- If you are having difficulty finding enough points to support your stance you
should consider arguing the opposite view – it might be easier!
- Aim for an effective introduction which captures attention and makes the topic and
context clear
- You should end on the side you are arguing for structure your essay so that you deal
with the other side first and end strongly to clinch your argument with a final convincing
point . Do not repeat yourself - ‘To sum up’ and ‘In conclusion’ are not strong endings as
you won’t be saying anything new to convince your reader.
- It is generally advisable to argue your own personal viewpoint as it is likely to sound more
convincing. It is however, possible, to argue effectively for or against an argument which you
have never considered before, provided that you can marshal some evidence from the
media, facts, statistics and experience. These are the areas from which you draw your
supporting detail and illustration.
- Do not get too passionate about the topic as this will make your essay sound
too emotional and subjective, and therefore less persuasive.
- Sometimes there is a single word in the question which alters the emphasis of the
argument, for instance the word ‘compulsory’. Make sure you pay attention to the key words
in questions when you are planning and answering – it is worth underlining key words to
remind you.
- Try using personal pronouns - ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’ can make your argument seem
more authentic and inclusive.
- Do not start each paragraph with a numbered point- firstly, secondly, thirdly and so on- as
this can get tedious for the reader and sound quite artificial if the ideas are not in fact
sequential. Use other paragraph linking words, the ones which show whether your argument is
continuing in the same direction (e.g. ‘furthermore’, ‘in addition’) or changing direction (e.g.
‘nevertheless’, ‘on the other hand’). The key is to make sure that your argument is “building” as
you go. Use your connectives to help you take your reader with you so that they can follow your
train of thought all the way through.
- Three-point structures (sometimes called tricolons) can sound authoritative, e.g.
‘involving the learners, the teachers and the parent’. More than three of anything becomes a
list; fewer lacks persuasive impact and overuse of tricolons is rarely effective.
My Guesses for this years Argumentative Essay:
-Social Media has become a necessity for teenagers. Do you agree?
-Smartphones are more useful than harmful. Do you agree?
-Increase in Cyber Crime has made the internet an unsafe place. What are your views?
-Terrorism is one of the world's most major problems. Do you agree?
The last one is controversial but still, it can be an option.
Scroll Down for Descriptive and One Word Essay Tips.
As promised, here's the thread for the English tips for Argumentative, Descriptive and One Word Essays.
I've collected material from various resources plus points from the examiner reports/syllabus. I hope that this thread will help you.
Argumentative Essays:
- Read the topic carefully. Underline the main point of the topic (such as Politics).
- Decide 'for' or 'against' (i.e. are you in favour or against?).
- Jot down all the RELEVANT & LOGICAL points related to your opinion. Spend 5-10 minutes doing this in the form of notes. No emotional reasons should be included. As we say don't be "jazbaati".
- Starting - No quotes are needed; some books/resources will tell you to state your opinion at the start or by the end. In the paper, state it at the BEGINNING of your essay, most preferably in the opening paragraph.
- Manners in which you can start the essay:
(i) Ease into the topic then generally give your opinion. For example: "The trend of social media has greatly increased over the last four years. Nowadays, it has become a necessity for teenagers. I personally believe ........"
(ii) Start directly by exclaiming a valid point and giving your opinion. "Social Media, recently, has had a great negative/positive impact on teenagers. My personal opinion is that ........"
- Remember this 3-point structure for the MAIN BODY of your essay:
(i) General "For" Argument - Include all valid points that are logical and EMPHASIZE on them - All points must be in favour of your opinion and they should be your STRONGEST points.
(ii) Counter Argument - Pick out you're strongest counter arguments and state them. Be completely logical and honest when pointing the counter arguments. The reason for this is that if you're writing in favour, someone else will write against. You have to give both sides of the argument and prove yourself right.
(iii) Disputing Counter Arguments - After writing the counter arguments, you must dispute them and prove them to be either wrong or not STRONG enough to win the argument. Here's an example:
A counter argument could be "Social media is required for teenagers, it forms a platform for conversations, discussions and sharing valued information".
Disputing this counter argument "Although it does provide a medium for communication, teenagers waste most of their precious time in procrastinating since they needlessly read comics/have useless discussions. Social media is one of main reasons why teenagers procrastinate." You can also add the fact that other mediums of communication such as e-mail, messaging are also available.
- Ending your essay, now, you don't simply conclude an argument because it is a waste of words and time since you're only repeating what you've said. Two ways to end an Argumentative Essay are:
(i) Conclude your essay by restating your opinion in a different perspective, i.e. you could say, "Other resources of communication should be adopted such as messaging and teenagers should be encouraged to have outdoor activities rather than sit home and stick their heads to the computers."
(ii) After disputing you're counter arguments - finish on a high by adding a strong ending sentence to conclude your essay. For example "Hence all these points show that Social media is indeed an unnecessary part of life which has been forcibly indulged into the life of teenagers."
- Things to remember:
(i) You're not listing points or stating your opinion. You're trying to CONVINCE the examiner that you're opinion is correct using LOGICAL points.
(ii) Don't get emotional and carried away over the course of your writing. Don't be prejudiced.
(iii) DO NOT EMPHASIZE TOO MUCH ON VOCABULARY. Sentence structures, punctuation, tenses are all equally as important as vocabulary. Don't forcibly use strong words if you don't know their correct usage.
(iv) You're not making a list of your points. Don't use "firstly, secondly, thirdly and finally". Remember, you're language is being tested. Use good expressions and connectives such as "Furthermore, In addition to this".
http://www.slideshare.net/englishbites/useful-argumentative-essay-words-and-phrases
Here is a great website concerning words and expressions. Do read it.
Difference b/w Discursive and Argumentative Essays:
In Discursive essays, you present a balanced argument that contains 'for' and 'against' points. You do not state your opinion.
In Argumentative, you give your opinion and convince the reader on your point of view.
Here are some pointers from the IGCSE Examiner Tips:
- Be clear about the difference between an argumentative and a discursive essay. When
asked directly to give your own opinion you should commit yourself to a line of argument.
When asked to give a range of possible views then you are being discursive and may or
may not choose to say what you personally believe.
- Mention counter arguments – and dispute them. A strong argument includes refutation of
the other point of view. This way you can show that you are not being purely ignorant or
prejudiced in your response. It is important to show balance in presenting the argument.
- If you are having difficulty finding enough points to support your stance you
should consider arguing the opposite view – it might be easier!
- Aim for an effective introduction which captures attention and makes the topic and
context clear
- You should end on the side you are arguing for structure your essay so that you deal
with the other side first and end strongly to clinch your argument with a final convincing
point . Do not repeat yourself - ‘To sum up’ and ‘In conclusion’ are not strong endings as
you won’t be saying anything new to convince your reader.
- It is generally advisable to argue your own personal viewpoint as it is likely to sound more
convincing. It is however, possible, to argue effectively for or against an argument which you
have never considered before, provided that you can marshal some evidence from the
media, facts, statistics and experience. These are the areas from which you draw your
supporting detail and illustration.
- Do not get too passionate about the topic as this will make your essay sound
too emotional and subjective, and therefore less persuasive.
- Sometimes there is a single word in the question which alters the emphasis of the
argument, for instance the word ‘compulsory’. Make sure you pay attention to the key words
in questions when you are planning and answering – it is worth underlining key words to
remind you.
- Try using personal pronouns - ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’ can make your argument seem
more authentic and inclusive.
- Do not start each paragraph with a numbered point- firstly, secondly, thirdly and so on- as
this can get tedious for the reader and sound quite artificial if the ideas are not in fact
sequential. Use other paragraph linking words, the ones which show whether your argument is
continuing in the same direction (e.g. ‘furthermore’, ‘in addition’) or changing direction (e.g.
‘nevertheless’, ‘on the other hand’). The key is to make sure that your argument is “building” as
you go. Use your connectives to help you take your reader with you so that they can follow your
train of thought all the way through.
- Three-point structures (sometimes called tricolons) can sound authoritative, e.g.
‘involving the learners, the teachers and the parent’. More than three of anything becomes a
list; fewer lacks persuasive impact and overuse of tricolons is rarely effective.
My Guesses for this years Argumentative Essay:
-Social Media has become a necessity for teenagers. Do you agree?
-Smartphones are more useful than harmful. Do you agree?
-Increase in Cyber Crime has made the internet an unsafe place. What are your views?
-Terrorism is one of the world's most major problems. Do you agree?
The last one is controversial but still, it can be an option.
Scroll Down for Descriptive and One Word Essay Tips.
