What to talk about

A lot of people really struggle with idea generation. They think that their ideas must be really clever or interesting so they waste a lot of time brainstorming, trying to think of good things to write about.

Your ideas do not need to be amazing. In fact, they can be stereotypical and overused. This is not an ideas test; it is a communication test. You do not need to impress the examiner with original, mind-blowing ideas. You only need to impress them with your English!

Instead, write about whatever is:

• • • easy for you to talk about that you have vocabulary for

    • easy to explain

    • easy to think of examples for that are logical and support your position

This will also make your essay clearer and easier to understand for the examiner, resulting in higher scores under communicative achievement and organization. 

Planning the Body Paragraphs

As I mentioned before, pick things that are easy for you to talk about. You get no extra points for creativity or amazing ideas.

Also, it doesn't matter which order you write the points in. You could write about everything in the same way its presented in the task, or begin with your point and address the other two last - it doesn't matter. Do whatever is easiest for you.

Filling the Paragraphs

Another mistake people make is filling their paragraphs with lists of things. They think the key to writing their essay is to come up with as many ideas as possible. They then list those things in a paragraph to try to illustrate what they know about a subject. Let's look at an example with the point below:

Making friends

It's hard for homeschooled students to make friends because they don't have classmates. They may need to arrange play dates or other get-togethers to find friends outside of the home. Their only friends may be their relatives or siblings, or possibly their neighbors. They may feel really lonely as a result...

Don't do this. This often leads to unorganized essays.

It's much better to pick one thing to talk about per paragraph, and then expand on that by giving reasons or example that supports your thesis (your answer to the question).

One challenge for homeschooled students is making friends since they have less contract with other children their age. This can result in them feeling alone and isolated, which be harmful for their mental health. To avoid this, it is much easier to send children to school where they can find others similar to them and potentially feel less lonely.

For this essay, we are goign to follow this strategy:

• One sentence introducing one of the points.

• One sentence which gives an example or a reason.

• One sentence which addresses the main question.

Body Paragraph 1:

• Introduce the topic (Parent as Teacher) - They are the same person

• Point - makes it harder for children to leave school behind

• Tie it to the question - It's best to send them to school

Body Paragraph 2:

• Introduce the topic (Making Friends) - Can be harder without classmates

• Explanation - It's harder to make friends, resulting in loneliness 

• Tie it back to the question - Better to send them to school where it's easier to  make friends

Body Paragraph 3:

• Introduce the topic (Quality of Education) - Educators are trained but parents are not

• Explanation - The quality of education is not as good because of lack of qualifications

• Tie it back to the question - Better education at school

Choosing Examples

Examples can be:

• • • Scientific, such as statistics, data, or some other general facts you know about the world

    • Anecdotal - that is: something you’ve personally experienced and you can speak to, just talk about it in a general way

    • Either of the above, but made up - as long as it is believable, it's okay

Remember, this is an English test and not a test of your knowledge on a subject.

• • • Try to choose examples that logically support your point

    • Present your examples like a general fact

    • Try not to choose anything that's too personal

Following the advice above will lead to a cohesive essay that’s easy to follow, and higher marks.

Example

Here are the paragraphs I wrote for the three bullets, with the points that I brainstormed. I talked about one point per paragraph and I expanded on each point and added an example.

1st paragraph addresses: having a parent as a teacher

Point: Makes it hard for children to leave school behind

One problem with homeschooling is that the child's teacher is also their parent. Teachers are usually strict authority figures and it's common for children to look forward to leaving school to go home and get away from them. However, when children are homeschooled, it is harder for them to leave school behind. For this reason, it is best for a child to be sent to a school outside of the home.

2nd paragraph addresses: making friends

Point: It's harder to make friends, resulting in loneliness 

One challenge for homeschooled students is making friends since they have less contract with other children their age. This can result in them feeling alone and isolated, which be harmful for their mental health. To avoid this, it is much easier to send children to school where they can find others similar to them and potentially feel less lonely.