Developing writing A for-and-against essay
Great students’ tip
Writing paragraphs Structure your essay by planning your argument. Identify at the start what you want to say in each paragraph. In a for-and-against essay, you should present the arguments for the topic in one paragraph and the arguments against in another. This will make your essay easier to write and to understand.
Teenagers should spend a week without their mobile phones What was life like before mobiles? Most teenagers don’t know the answer to this question. They never experienced a time when people communicated by writing letters or making telephone calls. Should they spend time without a smartphone to experience this? First of all, spending time without a smartphone could mean teenagers find other ways of interacting. You often see groups of teenagers paying more attention to their smartphones than to each other. In addition, some worry too much about missing social media messages. It’s possible that a week without phones could help them find out how to enjoy their life in different ways. Furthermore, they would know what their friends are doing because they would see them more often. However, most teenagers say they enjoy their life as it is. Despite the fact that a lot of time is spent on their phones, many use them in very positive ways, for example, to share information and connect with family and friends around the world . Besides, they might not enjoy a week without their phones as they would feel lonely. In addition, the world has changed. It is not realistic to ask teenagers to do this because the smartphone is not an accessory, it is a way of life. To sum up, I think that, on the one hand, it could be a good idea for teenagers to go without their phones for one week because they could discover new hobbies and spend more time socialising with their friends and family. But on the other hand, the smartphone is not going to disappear, so this experiment will not make any difference. Finally, while I am sure that some teenagers would learn to become less dependent on their phones, many more would feel unhappy and cut off from the world and their friends.
Introduce the topic clearly in an interesting way. Make a general statement about the main content without giving your opinion. Give the ‘against’ side of the argument in a fair way with examples to help the reader understand your arguments.
Give a brief outline of the issue. Examine the ‘for’ side of the argument with your justifications.
Use linkers to connect your ideas in paragraphs.
Restate the main arguments in your conclusion.
State your opinion and give a balanced consideration of the topic.
Which of the arguments mentioned in the essay are for (F) and which are against (A)? 1 It wouldn’t improve communication because they are already in touch with lots of people. F / A 2 They would spend less time on technology. F / A 3 They would pay more attention to their friends and leisure activities. F / A 4 They would experience what life was like before smartphones. F / A 5 It would make no difference because phones are here to stay. F / A 6 They would feel alone and worry about missing out on things. F / A
Put these words and phrases in the correct categories. Besides, • D espite the fact that … • F inally, • Firstly, • F urthermore, • H owever, • In addition, • In conclusion, • In contrast, • L astly, • On the one hand, • O n the other hand, • Secondly, • T o sum up, • W hat’s more, Sequencing arguments
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Adding arguments Making contrasts Concluding
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Unit 6
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