FCE ESSAY STRUCTURE

FCE ESSAY STRUCTURE

An essay is an opinion piece with which we analyze a topic, a situation or a problem from different points of view, arguing each one of them and expressing our opinion about it. For this reason, an essay has the following characteristics:

Purpose: With an essay, what we do is evaluate a subject, situation or problem that is, in some way, of interest or controversial. Normally it is considered as an activity to be carried out after a debate that has taken place in class. In the exam, of course, you will have to imagine the debate.

Tone and registration: Being a writing about a serious or controversial topic, the essay is a formal writing, so we must use an objective tone. In addition, the linguistic record should be formal, avoiding common words (eg, things, stuff, get, etc.) and contractions (eg, can’t, don’t, won’t, etc.).

Structure: Like all writings, an essay must have a defined structure. To start, we can choose to give it a title or not. Personally, it seems more appropriate for me to write an essay with a title. Then, the body must be divided into introduction, idea 1, idea 2, idea 3 and conclusion. That is, in general, an essay must have 5 paragraphs, although it is not mandatory.

Opinion: There are countless ways to express your opinion in an essay, so you must choose the one that best suits your style. However, it is normal to remain impartial throughout the writing and express your opinion only in the last paragraph, by way of conclusion. The most important thing is that you justify everything you say in the brief.

Consistency: Consistency is fundamental in all writings, but especially in the essay. Being a justifying and argumentative text, you cannot write unconnected sentences and paragraphs, so your ideas must follow a logical and well connected order using appropriate connectors.

In the following video you have a overview about the essay

Now it is time to practice by yourself!