Taking a Position — Essay Writing 4 (C1)

ESSAY WRITING · LESSON 4

Taking a Position

C1–C2 · IELTS Writing Task 2 · 90 minutes

Sit on the fence?

Task Alone: score the statement and write your number down. Keep it for later. In pairs: compare numbers. Agree one reason the advice sounds sensible, and one kind of essay where it might go wrong.

1

strongly agree

2

mostly agree

3

on the fence

4

mostly disagree

5

strongly disagree

Sit on the fence: it's safer. In an essay that asks for your opinion, it is safer to present both sides fairly and not commit to either.

Why the advice is tempting

A strong opinion can feel risky, or even rude, in a second language. Some prompts really do ask you to discuss two views. And a writer who sees both sides sounds mature, while a writer who sees only one can sound naive.

Two writers, one prompt

Some companies now publish the salary for every job they advertise. Some people think all employers should be required to do this. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

INTRODUCTION A · 45 words

INTRODUCTION B · 46 words

More and more companies now publish the salary in job adverts. Some people believe every employer should be required by law to do this, while others feel the decision should be left to each company. This essay will discuss both sides before reaching a conclusion.

Most people have, at some point, applied for a job without knowing what it paid. A growing number of companies now publish salaries in their adverts, and some argue that the law should require every employer to do the same. I largely agree, with one exception.

1. When you finish each introduction, what does the writer think?

2. Which writer has made a decision that the body paragraphs can now argue for?

3. Which of the four reader's questions does the difference touch?

What a thesis does

A thesis is your answer to the question, in one sentence (two at most). It does three things.

1

2

3

Arguable

Specific

Defensible

a sensible reader could disagree with it. A fact, or the topic said again, is not a thesis.

it says how far you agree, or which view you take, and why, in words that mean something. "Has many benefits" says nothing.

you can support it in two body paragraphs of about 105 words each, with reasoning and examples you actually know.

What a thesis does (2)

Not a thesis: an announcement ("This essay will discuss…"), a list of both sides, or "there are advantages and disadvantages", which is true of almost anything.

Task Response

TR

“Did it answer the question?”

Held throughout: every body paragraph serves the thesis, and the conclusion gives the same answer. The public band descriptors describe "a clear and developed position" at band 7.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

“Can I follow it?”

A nuanced position is still a position. "I largely agree, with one exception" tells the reader exactly where the line falls. The fence only says that both sides have a point, and stops.

Lexical Resource

LR

“Is every word the right one?”

Your thesis is not your introduction. The working thesis in your plan carries your reasons. The introduction states only the position; the reasons wait for the topic sentences (Lesson 5).

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

GRA

“Is every sentence under control?”

Thesis clinic: eight theses

In many countries, people now change careers several times during their working lives. Is this a positive or a negative development?

Task For each thesis, write Y or N for the three questions, e.g. "A: Y N Y". One thesis passes all three tests and still doesn't work: which, and why? Then choose one thesis that fails and rewrite it so it passes all three (35 words maximum).

1. Arguable: could a sensible reader disagree?

2. Specific: does it say how far, or which side, and why?

3. Defensible: could you support it in two body paragraphs of about 105 words each?

Thesis clinic: eight theses (2)

A

Many people today change careers more than once in their working lives.

B

This essay will look at the positive and negative sides of changing careers.

C

Changing careers several times has both advantages and disadvantages.

D

This is a positive development in many ways, as it has a good effect on people and on society.

E

It is a wholly positive development, because frequent career change will soon put an end to unemployment.

F

On balance it is positive, because people who move between fields carry skills from one kind of work into another, which the new field often lacks.

G

It is positive when people choose to change, and negative when they are forced to because their industry has closed.

H

Governments should pay for adults to retrain when they change careers.

Thesis clinic: the verdict

A

A fact that nobody disputes. Specific and easy to support, but not a thesis.

B

An announcement. It promises a discussion but takes no position.

C

The fence. True of almost anything, so it says nothing.

D

Arguable, but not specific: what is "a good effect"?

E

Arguable and specific, but not defensible: no 105 words could support "an end to unemployment".

F

Passes all three.

G

Passes all three. Nuanced, not neutral: it tells the reader where the line falls.

H

Passes all three tests and still fails: it answers a different question. This prompt asks whether the change is positive or negative.

Developability rank

Some people think that a four-day working week, with no cut in pay, would benefit both employees and employers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Task Rank the six ideas from 1 (easiest to develop well in about 105 words) to 6. Rank by what you could write, not by how clever the idea sounds. Then keep two that could sit under one thesis, write that thesis, and give a one-line reason for each choice.

Introduction

Body 1

Body 2

Conclusion

40–50

100–110

100–110

30–40

0

100

250 minimum

200

~320 ceiling

~300 target

Developability rank (2)

A

A four-day week could change what work means to people: a job would become one part of life rather than the centre of it.

B

With a weekday free, staff can deal with medical appointments, repairs and family duties outside working hours, so fewer working days are lost.

C

In jobs that need cover every day, such as nursing or public transport, a four-day week means hiring more people, which raises costs.

D

Within ten years, the four-day week will be normal in every developed economy.

E

A shorter week can reduce the exhaustion that pushes experienced staff to leave, and replacing them costs an employer time and money.

F

Most employees would enjoy having more free time.

For each idea, ask: Do I know why it happens? Do I have a specific, believable example? Does it lead somewhere that answers the question?

Developability: the reasoning

A suggested order

E

B

C

F

A

D

1

2

3

4

5

6

• E, B, C each have a cause you can explain, an example you can picture and a consequence that answers the question. C points the other way: keep it if your thesis has an exception.

• F is true, but there is little to say about it, and it ignores employers, who are half the question.

• A is a fascinating idea for a long essay. In 105 words it turns into large claims with nothing under them.

• D is a prediction. Nobody can support it without data you don't have, and inventing data is not an option.

The rule: choose the ideas you can develop, not the ones that sound clever. The cleverness of an essay is in the development.

The 5-minute plan

A plan is written in notes, in your own document, in five minutes. It has four parts.

1. The thesis, written in full. It is the only full sentence in the plan.

2. Body 1: the point in a few words, then its support: why, an example, what follows.

3. Body 2: the same.

4. The budget: the words for each part, written next to it. Introduction 40–50, each body 100–110, conclusion 30–40.

Then check: does every point serve the thesis? Could each body point fill about 105 words, no more and no less?

The 5-minute plan (2)

Part

Point (notes)

Support (notes)

Words

Introduction

Body 1

Body 2

Conclusion

40–50

100–110

100–110

30–40

0

100

250 minimum

200

~320 ceiling

~300 target

Timed plan

Some people believe the best way to choose a career is to follow your passion. Others think it is wiser to choose a career with good job prospects. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Task Alone, 5 minutes against the clock: write a plan in your own document: the thesis in full, Body 1 and Body 2 in notes, and the words for each part. In pairs, 7 minutes: swap plans and answer the four questions about your partner's plan. Then suggest one change.

1. Is the thesis arguable, specific and defensible?

2. Do the words add up to about 280–300, with each body paragraph 100–110?

3. Could each body point fill about 105 words, no more and no less?

4. Does the plan discuss both views and still say which is wiser?

Your portfolio thesis

Task Alone, 5 minutes: open your portfolio prompt from Lesson 3. Write two different draft theses, 35 words maximum each: one a full position, one a nuanced position ("largely…, with one exception", or "only when…"). In pairs, 5 minutes: read your partner's two theses and answer Y or N to the three questions for each. Say which essay you would rather read, and why. Then each writer keeps one.

1. Arguable: could a sensible reader disagree?

2. Specific: does it say how far, or which side, and why?

3. Defensible: could you support it in two body paragraphs of about 105 words each?

Back to the fence

Task Score the statement again. Has your number moved? Why?

1

strongly agree

2

mostly agree

3

on the fence

4

mostly disagree

5

strongly disagree

Sit on the fence: it's safer. In an essay that asks for your opinion, it is safer to present both sides fairly and not commit to either.

The verdict: balance is not the same as neutrality. You can weigh both sides and still say where you stand: that is what a nuanced thesis does. The fence leaves the reader's first question unanswered.

Homework

Task Your portfolio essay: the thesis and the plan. About 30 minutes, in your own document.

1. Revise your thesis (about 5 minutes). Use your partner's answers from "Your portfolio thesis". One sentence, 35 words maximum. Check it against the three questions.

2. Plan against the clock (exactly 5 minutes). Set a timer. Thesis in full; Body 1 and Body 2 in notes (point, why, example, what follows); the words for each part, adding up to about 280–300.

3. Test the plan (about 15 minutes). For each body point, write three or four lines of notes on how you would fill about 105 words. If a point runs dry, or needs far more, swap it for a better one.

4. Note to yourself (about 5 minutes, 30–50 words). Which idea did you drop, and why?

Bring the plan to Lesson 5.

Before Lesson 5

A thesis is a claim you can defend in two paragraphs: not the topic, not a promise, and not the fence.

TR

Task Response

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

Choose the position you can develop, hold it from the first paragraph to the last, and plan in five minutes so that the next 35 are spent writing it.

LR

Lexical Resource

Next lesson: Beginnings and Endings. How an introduction leads the reader to your thesis, and how a conclusion answers the question without repeating the introduction.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

TWO WRITERS, ONE PROMPT whole-group discussion; teacher notes

1 Introduction A: we can't tell. The last sentence promises a discussion and a conclusion, but no answer. Introduction B: largely agree, with one exception, which the introduction doesn't name yet.

2 Writer B. Its position gives the essay a job: Body 1 argues why the law should require published pay, and Body 2 names and explains the exception. Neither reason appears in the introduction, so neither topic sentence will repeat it. Writer A will probably write one paragraph per side and decide only in the conclusion, where the decision has nothing behind it.

3 Task Response first ("Did it answer the question?"). Also Coherence and Cohesion ("Can I follow it?"): a reader who knows the destination can follow the route. Both introductions are otherwise competent, so the difference is the position alone.

THESIS CLINIC: EIGHT THESES Y or N for arguable, specific, defensible

• A. N Y Y. A fact nobody disputes. It is specific and easy to support, which is exactly the problem: there is nothing to argue.

• B. N N N. An announcement. It names the topic and promises a discussion, but states no claim, so there is nothing to defend. Rewrite by deciding: positive or negative, how far, and why.

• C. N N Y. The fence. True of almost every development, so it tells the reader nothing about this one.

• D. Y N N. It takes a side, but "in many ways" and "a good effect" carry no meaning. It is defensible only once we know what it claims. Rewrite by naming the effect (see F).

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

• E. Y Y N. Clear and specific, but an overclaim. Supporting "an end to unemployment" would need evidence the writer doesn't have, and an invented figure would be worse. Rewrite by shrinking the claim to what two paragraphs can carry.

• F. Y Y Y. A full position with a reason the body can develop (examples of skills carried across fields).

• G. Y Y Y. Nuanced, not neutral: it gives two different answers for two named groups and says where the line falls (choice versus force). A writer could easily develop one body paragraph for each group.

• H. Y Y Y, but it fails. It is a good thesis for a different question (what governments should do). This prompt asks whether the change is positive or negative. Task Response asks "Did it answer the question?" before anything else.

DEVELOPABILITY RANK suggested order E, B, C, F, A, D; accept other orders with good reasons

• E: a clear cause (exhaustion), an effect (experienced staff leave) and a consequence for employers (the cost of replacing them). It answers the "employers" half of the question directly.

• B: a cause you can explain, everyday examples, and a consequence for employers (fewer days lost) as well as employees. Some students rank B first; that is fine.

• C: concrete and developable, with obvious examples. It points against the statement, so it belongs in a thesis with an exception ("largely agree, except where work needs daily cover").

• F: true, but obvious, and it speaks only to employees. 105 words on it becomes repetition.

• A: the most interesting idea and the hardest to develop. In 105 words it tends to become large, unsupported claims about "work" and "life", the "tendency to over-generalise" named in the band 7 Task Response descriptor.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (3)

• D: a prediction about every developed economy. It cannot be supported by reasoning or examples, only by data the writer doesn't have.

• Pairs that fit one thesis: B and E ("I agree: a four-day week benefits both sides, because…"); E and C, or B and C ("I largely agree, except in jobs that need daily cover"). A pair that mixes, say, A and F has no single thesis over it.

TIMED PLAN: ONE MODEL PLAN one possible plan, not the answer; real five-minute plans are often terser

MODEL Plan for "Passion or prospects?" · 139 words · Intended band: 8

Thesis: Choosing a career for its prospects is usually wiser, because interest often grows out of becoming good at something; passion is the better guide only when two careers offer similar prospects.

Introduction, 45: context (young people hear "follow your passion" everywhere); the question (passion or prospects?); position only: prospects first.

Body 1, 105: passion view at its strongest. Love of the work carries people through hard early years: a game designer accepts long hours, low pay. Limit: passion at 18 rests on little experience of the job.

Body 2, 105: why prospects win. Steady demand and pay buy time to get good; skill brings satisfaction: an accountant who chose for security comes to enjoy solving problems for small businesses. So what: a secure base makes a later move affordable.

Conclusion, 35: prospects first, passion as tie-breaker. Total 290.

• Why it works: the thesis is nuanced but clear (prospects first, passion as the tie-breaker); both views are discussed, the opposing one at its strongest; each body point has a reason, an example and a consequence; the budget adds up to 290.