©2015 Paul Read Writing Opinion Essays in Part Two /sizes/z/in/photostream/

©2015 Paul Read Writing Opinion Essays in Part Two You will see a statement about an issue or topic connected with modern life in some way. You will be asked if you agree with the statement or not, or whether the advantages of the topic outweigh the disadvantages Divide the essay into an introduction, 2 or 3 main body sections and a conclusion

Introduction Explain to the reader what the topic is and why it is important. Imagine the reader cannot see the question, but don’t copy words from the question: try to paraphrase. Explain to the reader what your opinion is. It is important that the reader knows this at the beginning of this essay type. ©2015 Paul Read

Body Section The original question suggested an idea about a topic, and you either agree or you disagree, or you have an opinion about the relative advantages. Now you need to give some reasons why you believe what you do. Try to think of at least 2, one for each paragraph, and give examples. You may wish to present an argument against your opinion. Do this in a new paragraph and make sure you show why this argument is wrong. “Some people may argue that….. However, in my opinion…” ©2015 Paul Read

Conclusion You need to remind the reader of what the question was, what your opinion was, and why you hold this opinion (using arguments from the earlier paragraphs). Try not to repeat too much vocabulary, if you can help it. ©2015 Paul Read

Worked Example ©2015 Paul Read Write about the following topic: With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Worked Example ©2015 Paul Read Write about the following topic: With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words. Teachers will be important in future Group learning – humans work well in groups Flipped classroom – study at home with videos, practice in class

Worked Example - Introduction ©2015 Paul Read With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? There are those that argue that teachers will soon become irrelevant, as more and more teaching material becomes available online and on computers. I do not believe that teachers will ever be replaced completely, but I do think their role will change in future.

Worked Example – Main Body 1 ©2015 Paul Read With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Firstly, the idea that a teacher is simply someone who gives information is not correct. Traditionally this has been one of the roles of a teacher, but it is not the only responsibility, or even the most important one. Another role of the teacher is to be a facilitator of discussions and class-based learning: often we learn a lot from each other in debates and group work, and a good teacher can manage this in a way a computer cannot.

Worked Example – Main Body 2 ©2015 Paul Read With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Secondly, modern theories of education suggest that the ‘flipped classroom’ may be an effective way to teach students in future. This model has students learning information at home from videos or other computerised input systems (such as Khan Academy’s maths instructional videos), with the role of the teacher the next day to ensure that students have correctly understood the ideas with examples and practice, allowing them to give specific attention to particular problems some students may have, and give harder work to those who found it easy.

Worked Example – Conclusion ©2015 Paul Read With advances in technology and computers becoming more common in schools, soon teachers will no longer be necessary. To what extent do you agree or disagree? It is clear that computers offer a new way to learn information that is much more accessible and engaging than traditional text books, but this does not mean that there is no reason for a teacher. As long as humans work better as a social species than as individuals, then a teacher will be important in education: they just need to be imaginative in how they use the new tools available to them.

Extra Practice Go to The English Site website to find another table writing practice exercise Look at some student answers to the exercise and read my comments on these answers ©2015 Paul Read