8. Identify the different sections of the essay above. Mark the parts of the essay as:

Title; Introduction (background); Introduction (thesis statement); Paragraph 1 (paragraph leader); Paragraph 1 (paragraph body); Paragraph 2 (paragraph leader); Paragraph 2 (paragraph body); Conclusion (summary); Conclusion (future suggestion: a prediction, recommendation or solution)

9. Choosing a title.

Choose a unique essay title, so you will need to think about a topic that interests you, and that you know something about already.

Develop an essay title that begins:

Discuss the reasons why…

Add your own topic to the end to complete the title. To give you some ideas, here are some titles:

“Discuss the reasons why more and more young children are learning English early in Russia”

“Discuss the reasons why people choose to live in big cities”

Although it is important to make use of our personal background knowledge when we write, academic writing is not usually personal. Instead, academic writing should be impersonal or objective. Writing in an academic way involves observing the world as an onlooker. Perhaps the best way to understand this is to imagine that you are inside a house looking out through a window, writing about facts and situations as you see them rather than experiencing them yourself. As you become a more experienced writer, you may learn about other academic genres that require more personal involvement, but when you are beginning to write, it is important to learn how to write objectively.

The choice for your own title is very wide. Just choose a topic that you are interested in, and that you know something about. You should also make sure that the topic is not personal.

10. Quiz: Check yourself

When you write your essay, you need to use an impersonal style, as you are writing objectively about impersonal topics.

1. Select all of the sentences below that are written in an IMPERSONAL/FORMAL style.

a) I live in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, which is on the east coast of the country. I travel around easily.

b) Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, is located on the east coast of the country. The transport system is efficient.

c) People use their own cars instead of taking the bus, and as a result there is more air pollution.

d) We use our own cars instead of taking the bus, so we create more air pollution.

e) In Bangkok there are traditional wooden houses along the river.

f) In Bangkok you can see traditional wooden houses along the river.

2. Which of these two paragraphs is written in the more formal style?

a) Diet is also changing. We are wealthier than a generation ago, and we now always have enough to eat. We also understand more about which food is healthy, which means we eat more fish and chicken and less red meat than before. You can see more supermarkets now, so food shopping is easier.

b) Diet is also changing. People are wealthier than a generation ago, and they now always have enough to eat. They also understand more about which food is healthy, which means they eat more fish and chicken and less red meat than before. There are more supermarkets now, so food shopping is easier.