Matthew Walsh's
EFL ESL website
Today's essay question is:
Change
in your school:
If you could
make one important change in a school that you attended, what change
would you make? Use reasons and specific examples to support your
answer.
This essay question,
like the last one, asks you to imagine something. In order to write
about an imagined situation you will have to use conditional sentences like the ones we
studied last time. However, today let's concentrate on another tool for
making sentences: words of transition.
Words of transition are used to join sentences,
idea groups and paragraphs together. They signal the relationship of ideas
and make your point clearer. Below, I have listed some common words of
transition along with some example sentences relating to today's essay
topic. Read all of these and
then go to quizlab
and take the quiz called 'transitions'.
Adding
information
in addition
The gym at our school
has very dark lighting. In
addition, it is not air-conditioned so it is very hot in the
summer.
moreover
The library at our
school is very small and can only seat around 30 students. Moreover, there are very few
books although they have been chosen well.
furthermore
We should change the
doors in the classrooms because they are very noisey. Furthermore, the desks are also
very old and need to be replaced.
besides
Besides these changes. we could
aslo use some new blackboards. Some of them are very old and hard to
read.
Contrasting
information
however
Our school has several
places to practice music, however
we need a larger band room that we can use for practice whenever we
want.
nevertheless
We have a large playing
field for sports activities, nevertheless
there are many sports that we cannot do for lack of space.
on the one hand/on the other
hand
On the one hand , our school has
most of the things it needs, on
the other hand most of the buildings are very old and need
replacing.
in contrast
Some schools in Osaka
have elevators and even escalators, in contrast our school has only
stairways.
Comparing
information
similarly
Our gymnasium needs
replacing, similarly the
main building should be rebuilt as well.
also
The government has
given the elementary school a new building so we should also get a new one.
Result/Causation
as a result
The cafeteria is very
small. As a result, most
students must bring a packed lunch to school.
therefore
We do not have an
auditorium, therefore the
gym must be used, or we sometimes have to borrow a nearby community
center for all school functions involving large groups of people.
consequently
The main building does
not have enough room for a shoe-changing room. Consequently we must use a
temporary building which is outside.
If-Then
otherwise ( if (x) doesn't happen, then (y) will.
)
We must make changes
to our school soon. Otherwise,
the quality of education Ikeda Fuzoku is known for may suffer.
Ordering
information
firstly, secondly, finally ( I think you know how these words are
used.)
Now go to quizlab
and take the quiz called 'transitions'.
After you are
finished with the quiz, read the answer. (Click here)
For quizlab 'classwords' are:
writingclass1
writingclass2
writingclass3
writingclass4
Passwords are:
101,102,103....140
201,202,203....240
....
* By the way, for those of
you seriously considering taking the TOEFL test in order to enter a
university in an English speaking country, I'd like to recommend a web
site called 'WriteFix' for self-study. It is all about how to
write essays like this and has many very good explanations and
strategies.