Yes, I am doing this. I am publishing this post. And I am publishing this post even when I am well aware that it is going to stir up controversy.
How does she dare, I can almost hear you say, create a quiz about subject-verb agreement when she is not even a native speaker?
I might regret it, but the truth is that I sort of needed to clarify in my mind one of the most obscure points of grammar in the English language- namely that of subject-verb agreement-, because contrary to what one might think a singular subject in English does not always demand a singular verb, and what looks like a plural subject might not be so and take a singular verb instead. To top it all, when there is disagreement among grammarians, both singular and plural forms can be used.
To create this quiz, I have done a lot of research on the Internet and read what some noted grammarians have to say about this issue and I have found that they don’t always agree. For this reason, I have tried to avoid the most controversial subject-verb agreement issues.
An essay is a formal piece of writing which describes, analyses or discusses a particular issue.
The most common types are:
Opinion essays. They present the writer’s personal opinion of the topic, supported with examples and reasons.
For and against essays. They present both sides of an issue in a balanced way. In the concluding paragraph you can say why you find one side more convincing than the other.
In this post, I’ll guide you step by step to help you write a good for and against essay.
1. The first stage in writing is producing ideas. It’s important to dedicate two or three minutes to carefully planning what you are going to say. Make a list of the points for and against. Remember that the key to writing a good balanced essay is to include as many arguments you disagree with as those you agree with. They should be noted impartially although in your conclusion you can say why you find one side more convincing than the other.
2. Producing and organising ideas is one thing. Shaping ideas and the organisation of your writing is another. But often the most difficult part is starting a first draft.
Once you have your first draft pay attention to how you have organised the information into paragraphs and grouped ideas.
Once this is done you can focus on expression. This means looking at sentence structure, tense usage and vocabulary. It’s important to write clearly and economically. This can mean either rephrasing ideas in two sentences instead of one, or rewriting two longer sentences as one shorter sentence. So, go over your first draft, looking for ways of improving sentence structure, tense usage and vocabulary.
3. Organise your essay into three parts:
Introduction- Paragraph 1- Introduce the topic. The opening should engage the reader’s interest and give a hint of what is to follow.
Main Body- Normally you have two paragraphs. In Paragraph 2, you state your arguments for and in Paragraph 3, your arguments against.
Conclusion– In paragraph 4 you refer back to the topic and summarize. Here you can say why you find one side more convincing than the other.
4. It’s important that you begin each paragraph with a main idea and then develop this idea. For a new idea, begin a new paragraph.
5. This is academic writing, so don’t use informal style ( no contractions, colloquial words, or emotional language).
6. Remember to use a variety of structures and vocabulary adequate to your level.
Using connectors is important to express different relationships between ideas. Here, you’ll learn how to use connectors of contrast.
Read the flyer below to learn how to use: despite/in spite of, nevertheless, however, on the other hand, although, even though, though, yet, still, but and while/whereas.
At the end of the flyer there are some interactive exercises to test your knowledge.
Step 3. Using connectors of purpose.
Now we learn how to express purpose with the following words: to, in order to, so as to, for, so that and in case.
Are you ready to write now? Here’s a compilation of 53 for and against topics to write about from different sites and course books. Take your pick, follow all the tips and guidelines and good luck!
EDUCATION
Should schools start later in the morning?
Benefits of teaching children second languages early on.
The pros and cons of single gender classrooms.
Is sex education the job of parents or of the school?
The pros and cons of reduction of physical education hours in our current school system.
The pros and cons of security cameras in schools.
Pros and cons of a 4-day school week.
Should parents pay students for good grades?
The pros and cons of bilingual or dual language education.
The pros and cons of wearing a uniform.
The pros and cons of banning junk food in schools.
Should sexual education be taught in high schools?
The education a child receives at home from having parents who are positive role models is more important than the academic education a child receives at school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
HEALTHY ISSUES
Plastic surgery- vanity or need?
Is vegetarianism a healthy diet?
One of the largest parts of government expenditure is health. Some people argue that this money would be better spent on health education on the principle that prevention is better than cure. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
MORAL ISSUES
Should parents be allowed to choose their child’s gender?
Pros and cons of having exotic animals as home pets?
Should advertising for plastic surgery be illegal?
Should priests be celibate?
What does everyone think about zoo animals? Is it a good or a bad thing?
Does legal prostitution reduce crime?
To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable? Discuss the pros and cons.
Some people argue that the amount of violence shown in films and on television has led to an increase in violent crimes in society. Do you agree with this argument? Should the government control what is shown on television and in the cinema?
Should rich countries forgive all debts for poor countries?
TECHNOLOGY
The pros and cons of children under the age of 10 playing video games.
The pros and cons of film, television, and music piracy.
Should kids under the age of 13 have a phone?
Advantages and disadvantages of digital spying on kids and teens.
The pros and cons of owning an electric car.
Have we become too dependent on technology? Discuss the pros and cons.
Should students be allowed to have cell phones in elementary and high schools?
Should we ban the sale of violent video games?
Some people say that the Internet is making the world smaller by bringing people together. To what extent do you agree that the Internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one another?
SPORTS
Should pro wrestling be considered a sport?
Should sport hunting be banned?
Many people want their country to hold the Olympics. Others believe that international sporting events bring more problems than benefits. Discuss both views and state your opinion.
FREE TIME
In the future, we will have more and more leisure time as machines replace many of the tasks we do at home and work. Discuss the benefits this will bring and also the problem it will cause.
It is said that travel broadens the mind. What can we learn by travelling to other countries? Should we first explore our own countries? Discuss.
In many countries tourism is a major part of the economy, but it also causes environmental damage and ruins the places it exploits. It is argued that tourists should pay an additional tax to compensate for this damage. Do you agree?
Should museums and art galleries be free of charge for the general public, or should a charge, even a voluntary charge, be levied for admittance? Discuss this issue, and give your opinion.
EMPLOYMENT
Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing developed nations today. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of reducing the working week to thirty five hours?
Most high level jobs are done by men. Should the government encourage a certain percentage of these jobs to be reserved for women?
Should retirement be compulsory at 65 years of age?
GLOBALISATION:
Differences between countries become less evident each year. Nowadays, all over the world people share the same fashions, advertising, brands, eating habits and TV channels. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Television has had a significant influence on the culture of many societies. To what extent would you say that television has positively or negatively affected the cultural development of your society?
HOUSING
Some people like living in a house, while others prefer an apartment. Are there more advantages than disadvantages to living in a house rather than in an apartment?
FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS
The pros and cons of gay marriage.
Some parents choose not to have a television at home because of the influence on their children. Is this a good or a bad thing?
Some people believe in the traditional idea that the woman’s place is in the home, while others say that idea is outdated and that women should play an increasingly important role in the workplace of the future. What is your opinion?
People are now living longer than ever before and many old people are unable to look after themselves. Some people believe that it is the responsibility of families to look after the elderly, while others say governments should provide retirement homes for them where they can be looked after properly. Discuss.
Are women better parents than men?
If children behave badly, should their parents accept responsibility and also be punished?
One of the things that worries me most when teaching vocabulary is that students tend to store the newly acquired knowledge as passive vocabulary. Agreed that most of us have more passive than active vocabulary, agreed that we use a larger variety of words when we write than when we speak, but still I think that as teachers we need to go the extra mile and help our students see the importance of incorporating new vocabulary into their communicative tasks.
Designing activities to convert passive vocabulary into active vocabulary is one of the things that occupies most of my planning.
This is a very simple activity I have designed to” force” my students to use new vocabulary and connectors to express contrast.
Level : Intermediate and above
Aim:
To use newly acquired vocabulary
To improve students’ writing abilities by using connectors of contrast
To encourage collaborative writing
Step 1. Selecting vocabulary. Ask students to work in pairs. Explain that they’ll need to write on a clean sheet of paper ten words or expressions recently studied. (You can also be more specific here and tell them the unit or the pages of the book you want them to get the vocabulary from).
Step 2. Explaining the task .Ask students now to pass their list of 1o words to the pair sitting behind them or next to them.
Tell students they are going to write a story in pairs. In this story they’ll need to use at least 7 of the words on their list and three out of the five connectors of contrast you are going to write on the board (see below an interactive flyer explaining Clauses of Contrast)
Give them the beginning of a story, for example “When Fiona entered the room, she couldn’t believe her eyes” or use a story starter generator here.
Step 3. Writing and editing. Encourage students to dedicate some time to planning their story. Set a time limit of 30 minutes, but I suggest not limiting the number of words in their stories to encourage fluency and boost their imagination.
Once they have written their draft (20 minutes), ask students to carefully edit their stories. Display the following checklist on the board (click here to download it) or alternatively print it and give one to every student.
Give each pair a different coloured paper or if you have more stories than colours, use different pen colours or assign a number to every story.
Ask students to write their story and underline the targeted vocabulary and the connectors of contrast used.
This is a small presentation I have made for my students using a new online tool smore.com, which is basically a tool for creating flyers. As it happens with most online tools originally designed for other purposes, it has a lot of potential for creating beautiful content for our classes. You can add text, pictures, audio, videos… etc , and you can also embed a link, which in the specific case of this presentation is a great help.
I hope you find this presentation on connectors of contrast useful. At the end of the flyer, you will be able to test your knowledge with some online exercises. Special attention requires the punctuation before or after these connectors.
Funny thing! Every single year, no matter the level I’m teaching one of my lessons is dedicated, without fail, to mobile phones.
This year, in November, I published a lesson for my B2 (upper-intermediate) students (lesson here) and now, it seems to be the turn of my B1 (intermediate) students.
This year my lessons about this topic seem to revolve around Adele’s hit “Hello”. Hey! What else did you expect? It’s not like every single year we have a song with
so many scenes where the leading actor is the mighty mobile phone. We certainly need to take advantage of this. Besides, I love Adele.
The lesson
This lesson is aimed at students with a language level of B1 and focuses on discussing, reading and writing about mobile phones.There is also some general phone vocabulary and a song.
Warm-up: Speaking. Ask students as a whole class some of these questions.
What do you use your mobile phone for?
Have you ever lost your mobile phone?
How many text messages do you send every day?
Would you say you’re addicted to your mobile or the Internet?
Have you ever…?
lost you phone?
sent a message to the wrong person?
forgotten to turn your phone off/set to silent or vibrate mode (with embarrassing consequences)?
Teaching Vocabulary. You might want to show the slides twice to consolidate vocabulary. I would suggest doing it a third time at the end of the lesson.
The song. Warm-up. Students are going to listen to a song, so it may be a good idea to get them into the right mood by introducing the activity in a lively way.
Don’t tell students just yet we are going to listen to a song. After revising the vocabulary from the previous exercise, make a long pause until you have all the students staring at you, and say “hello”; I assume everybody should say “hello”. Pause again. Say “Adele”. I bet half the class would add “It’s me”. There you are! The perfect introduction!
(you might want to remind students that to introduce yourself over the phone “ It’s “ or “this is” are used ie. It’s Adele (speaking)/ this is Adele (speaking))
Task 1. Give students a list of words or expressions from the song. Give them some time to read them. If necessary, review how to pronounce the most difficult words. Depending on your class, you might want to keep the words in the order they are going to hear them or if you want a bigger challenge you can shuffle them and/or add some words that are not in the lyrics. Play the song and ask students to cross off the words as they hear them. Play the song once or twice depending on how challenging you want the activity to be. Handout here
Task 2. Give students a photocopy with the lyrics of the song and ask them to sing/read along focusing on pronunciation.
Reading and writing. Ask students to read online “7 strange stories of lost cell phones” from the website mentalfloss.com and write a similar short story about something strange, funny or unusual that happened to them using their mobile phones.
