WRITING AN ESSAY

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WRITING AN ESSAY

• argumentative essay

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GENERATING IDEAS

• TOPIC - how to lose weight
• - my best friend
• - Slovenia as a tourist
  country
• Brainstorming
• Freewriting
• mindmapping

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brainstorming

• eat less, exercise more stop
  eating at McDonalds
• start cycling
• eat more vegetables dont eat after 6
  oclock in the
• eat one apple a day evening
• drink more water (not beer/wine) chew
  food slowly
• use smaller plates

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freewriting

• Who is my best friend? this is difficult to say
  maybe mateja, we go out together often, have fun,
  like to do same things, there are things i
  havent told her, she wouldnt understand,i dont
  know if shes really my best friend, best frinds
  should tell everything to each other, should
  support each other, should.

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mindmapping
Farm holidays
Lipica,horseriding
mountains seaside
skiing, cycling mountaneering
Slovenija a lot to offer
different regions
Bohinj, Bled
goood food, potica good wine
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CONSTRUCTION PLAN

• MAIN PARTS PARAGRAPHS
• - INTRODUCTION SPECIAL PARAGRAPH
• BODY 1st paragraph
• 2nd
  paragraph
• 3rd
  paragraph
• CONCLUSION SPECIAL PARAGRAPH

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INTRODUCTION

• MAIN IDEA OF THE ESSAY- THESIS, e.g. There are
  different ways of losing weight. / Slovenia has a
  lot to offer to tourists as well as to locals.
• SHOULD ATTRACT THE READER
• shouldnt be too long (2 or 3 sentences)
• Should contain controlling idea how deep youre
  going to go into the problem

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BODY

• 1st paragraph the Alps possible activities
• 2nd paragraph beautiful countryside possible
  activities
• 3rd paragraph excellent food

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CONCLUSION

• Repeat the main idea of the essay, but use
  different words.
• The reader should remember your point.
• DONT START TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING NEW!
• 2 or 3 sentences is enough you can add your
  opinion.

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• All the paragraphs should be connected and
  ordered. It helps the reader to understand and
  remember what you want to say.
• (use linking devices between them,eg. on one
  hand/ on the other hand on the plus side/ on the
  minus side the advantages are/ the disadvantages
  are...)
• Such organisation is COHERENT, has a clear
  message and makes a point.

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Building a paragraph

• 1st sentence topic sentence (main idea of a
  paragraph)
• Other sentences support the main idea
• Ideas should be ordered logically. You can e.g.
  give examples that support the main idea compare
  two things (describe the first, then the second)
  explain sth by describing the cause and then the
  effect.

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examples

• Life expectancy depends also on what we do for a
  living. Sitting in an office all day long means
  that we do not do much to keep fit, but at least
  we are not exposed to any danger that could
  shorten our lives. On the other hand, people
  whose jobs are dangerous, such as firemen, take
  risks every time they go in action. They can get
  hurt or even killed at work, which is very
  unlikely if you work in an office.
• 2 EXAMPLES OFFICE ACTION

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examples - comparison

• How long we live depends also on the kind of job
  we have. Generally, people with stress-free jobs
  live longer than those who take their problems
  home instead of leaving them behind at their
  working place. Journalists, for example, are said
  to die relatively young because they work under
  constant pressure caused by deadlines, irregular
  and long working hours and possible attacks by
  those they report on many have to appear in
  court regularly.
• COMPARISON. STRESS-FREE vs STRESSFUL, FOR
  EXAMPLE journalists

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cause - effect

• Wars can never bring peace to Earth, because
  violence just leads to more violence. One war is
  followed by another, each leader trying to impose
  his belief on others. What is more, also
  ordinary, otherwise calm and even gentle people
  usually become aggressive through terrible
  wartime experience and suffering.

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EXERCISE

• Read the following paragraph from an essay
  entitled The car is the curse of modern society.
  
• Find the topic sentence and make a list of all
  the arguments the writer uses.

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• Cars have definitely made our lives easier.
  Firstly, owning a car means independence and
  freedom. You can get into your car whenever you
  want without having to queue for public transport
  tickets or having to share a train compartment
  with complete strangers. In addition, cars make
  it possible for us to reach a wanted destination
  quickly and comfortably. This is very important,
  not only in case of emergency, but on daily basis
  since time is money in the modern world we live
  in. Finally, cars are used not only for
  transporting people but also for transporting
  things. Shopping, for example, is much easier to
  bring home if you have a car, and when you go on
  holiday, you can take with you a lot of luggage,
  skiing equipment and even your pet.

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Suggested answer

• TOPIC Cars have definitely made our lives
  easier.
• ARGUMENTS
• Independence and freedom whenever you want
• 
  no queuing, privacy
• 2. Quick and comfortableemergencies, time is
  money
• 3. Can be used to transport thingsshopping,lugga
  ge

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kriteriji

• vsebina
• besedišce
• slovnicna pravilnost
• organizacija/ vezljivost