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:

Sports centres

Sports centres should be a high priority when allocating government funding because they provide important spaces in a community for people to come together, in tern helping them make friends. Also, there are many different kinds of facilities which cost money. Pools, soccer fields, football stadiums, skating rinks, baseball fields, and skate parks should all be built to give people a variety of options when choosing to play a sport. Governments can also invest in stadiums because high-profile games bring a lot of money to the economy. Also, a community benefits when they are able to participate in team sport such as soccer, softball, or rugby because they teach how to work together as a team. Furthermore, when people participate in sports they are generally healthier...

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).

There’s no question that sporting facilities are hugely important for the health and well-being of a community’s citizens. However, due to their popularity among people they already are able to generate significant amounts of funding from outside sources. Corporate advertising and sponsorships already generate large amounts of revenue for these facilities, and as such, they are often not in need of further help. 

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

• One sentence introducing one of the points.

• One sentence for why it is or isn't the best choice with a clear reason or example.

• One sentence which addresses the main question.

Remember, our main point is: Museums are the most important facility for local authorities to give money to.

Body Paragraph 1:

• Introduce the topic (Sports Centers) 

• Point - They already make lots of money from sponsorships and advertising

• Tie it to the question - They don't need the money as much as museums do

Body Paragraph 2:

• Introduce the topic (Museums)

• Point - It is much harder for them to earn revenue through sponsorships and advertising and they rely on public support

• Tie it to the question - They need the money more

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: Sports Centres

Point: Sports centres need less funding because they get get corporate sponsorships and advertising revenue

There’s no question that sporting facilities are hugely important for the health and wellbeing of a community’s citizens. However, due to their popularity among people they already are able to generate significant amounts of funding from outside sources. Corporate advertising and sponsorships already generate large amounts of revenue for these facilities, and as such, they are often not in need of further help.