Bite an English per day

The following are tips on writing essays:

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(Source: Longman Writing Coach 2005)

Addition

again

also

and

and then

besides

equally important

finally

first

further

furthermore

in addition

in the first place

last

moreover

next

second

still

too

Concession

Granted

Naturally

of course

although it’s true that

Comparison

also

in the same way

likewise

similarly

Contrast

although

and yet

at the same time

but at the same time

despite that

despite the fact that

even so

even though

for all that

however

in contrast

in spite of

instead

nevertheless

notwithstanding

on the contrary

on the other hand

otherwise

regardless

still

though

yet

Emphasis

certainly

indeed

in fact

of course

Example/ Illustration

after all

as an illustration

even

for example

for instance

indeed

in fact

in other words

in short

it is true

of course

namely

specifically

that is

illustrates

thus

truly

demonstrates

illuminates

portrays

Summary/

Conclusion

all in all

altogether

as has been said

finally

in brief

in conclusion

in other words

in particular

in short

in simpler terms

in summary

on the whole

that is

therefore

to put it differently

to summarize

Time Sequence

after a while

afterward

again

also

and then

as long as

at last

at length

at that time

before

besides

earlier

eventually

finally

formerly

in the first place

in the past

last

lately

meanwhile

moreover

next

now

presently

second

shortly

simultaneously

since

so far

soon

still

subsequently

then

thereafter

too

until

until now

when

• Try to avoid using simple general words to describe someone's character. For example, instead of saying that someone is 'kind', there are many other words that you can use, such as considerate, generous, or sympathetic.
  

• It's good to give a real example of an occasion that shows that what you are saying is true.For example, instead of just saying that someone is helpful, you could say:
  

• Don't say things like 'Her character is very nice.' Say:
  
• She's a very nice person. or She's very nice.
  

• People often also say that someone is a particular sort/kind of person, for example:

• If you want to say that someone does something often, and this is an important part of their character, you can say that they are always doing something. For example:
  

• If you want to say that someone sometimes behaves in a particular way, you use 'tend to be" or 'can be', especially when talking about negative qualities:
  

• If you want to say something negative about someone, you often use 'not very':

Describing how people look
• You can say that someone has brown hair, blue eyes etc. Another way to say
this is to use with, for example: a man with brown hair or a girl with blue eyes.
In written descriptions you can also use adjectives such as dark-haired or
brown-eyed, for example: a dark-haired man in his late 30s.

• Don't use too many short sentences. For example, don't write things like 'He is
tall. He has dark hair and bright blue eyes. He has a small moustache.'
It sounds much more natural to link your description together into a longer
sentence: He is tall, with dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a small moustache.

• Don’t say ‘She has dark/long hairs.’ Say She has long dark hair.
• Don’t say ‘He has black eyes’. Say He has dark brown eyes.

• In spoken British English, people often say has got instead of has/have, for
example:You've got beautiful eyes.
In written descriptions, people usually use has/have. Note that when talking or
writing about the past, you should always use had, not 'had got'.

• There are several ways of describing someone’s age. If you know exactly, you
can say, for example, He is 22 years old. If you are not sure, you can say He’s
about 20 or He’s in his early twenties. In more informal English you can say
He looks twentyish.

• Don't say 'He is ten years.' Say He is ten. or He is ten years old.

• When you are describing someone's clothes, you can say someone is wearing
a black jacket and a denim skirt, or someone is dressed in a black jacket and
a denim skirt. Another way to say this is to use in, for example a man in a
black jacket.

In more informal English, people often say that someone has something on,
for example: She had a black jacket and a denim skirt on or She had on a long
green dress.

(Source: Longman Writing Coach 2005)

Free essay on ‘Organic Farming’, ‘The Uses of Forests’, ‘Traditional Medicine’;

Report/ Recount/ Account/ Story on a trip/ visit to a place;

Debate/ Discussion on ‘Uses and Abuses of Television/ Internet/ E-mail/ Computer/ Scientific Inventions’

Account on a sport activity;

Speech on ‘Smoking Habit’, ‘How to Keep House Safe from Malaria’, ‘The Benefits of Co-curricular Activities/ Exercises’;

Letter of Advice on ‘How to stay healthy and keep a normal weight’;

Free essay on ‘The Importance of Breakfast’, ‘Healthy Lifestyle’, ‘Keeping Fit’, ‘An Outdoor Game I Play’, ‘Deeds of Kindness’, ‘Personal Hygiene’, ‘Self-esteem’, ‘Nutritious Food’, ‘Balanced Diet’

Letter of advice on handling friendship problems;

Speech on ‘The Role of the Elderly in Our Society’, ‘How to Manage Time Wisely’;
Description/ Report on society activities, gotong-royong, activities done during school holidays

Free essay on ‘My Friend’, ‘The Qualities of A Good Friend’, ‘Caring Society’, ‘Social Problems among Teenagers’, ‘Road Safety’, ‘The Importance of Leisure Activities’, ‘How to Manage Time Wisely’, ‘Ways to Build a Healthy Friendship’

Letter of Complaint on an Environmental Issue;

Speech/ Discussion on ‘Conservation versus Development’;

Story/Description/ News report about a serious flood, incident;

Free essay on ‘The Advantages/ Disadvantages of Living in the City/ Countryside’, ‘Pollution’;

Description on preventive steps of fire, outbreak of Dengue fever, flash floods, etc

Description on the person whom you admire, your mother/father/brother/friend/classmate/teacher, famous person;

Description on an occupation e.g. a teacher, doctor, nurse, sailor, soldier, housewife, air pilot, scientist, firefighter, etc

Description on the process of making a kite/ batik/ lantern/ jewellery or others;

Letter to foreign pen pal to introduce Malaysian handicrafts;
Free essay on ‘Kite-Making Industry’, ‘Pottery-Making’, ‘Batik’, etc

Patriotism
Patriotism is the respect and love we have for our country.
A way of showing Patriotism is through our work.
We are Patriotic when we recognise what our country has given us.
To be Patriotic, we need to be conscious of our laws and our history.
Being Patriotic is to know and love our history, our culture and our traditions.
We are Patriotic when we support our authorities and help them resolve a situation in conflict.
We are Patriotic when we are kind with our neighbours and keep our neighbourhood clean.
We are Patriotic when we help people who suffer from natural disasters.
We are Patriotic when in our family we follow our country`s traditions.
We are Patriotic when with our effort and work we get a fair, peaceful, and respectful society.
We are patriotic when we are loyal to our country.

Honesty

We are being honest when we think and act the same way.

Honesty is not to make promises that we are not planning to keep.

An honest person is somebody whom we trust because he or she doesn’t lie.

We are being honest when we comply with rules.

We are honest when we pay what is fair and don’t steal somebody else’s money.

We need courage to be honest.

We are honest when we tell the truth, even if other people don’t agree.

Being honest is to keep our promises to our friends, our parents, and ourselves.

We are honest when we help our friends to change what they did wrong even if they don’t feel good.

We are honest when we do our own job. When we copy in a test we are being dishonest.

We are honest when we promise a friend to play with him or her during recess and we keep that promise.

We are honest when we return things that a friend borrowed us.

We shouldn’t feel bad if people think that being honest is foolish.

We should always be honest even if people don’t recognize it.

To be honest we should report people who did something wrong.

We should always tell the truth and not tell stories that could harm other people.

We should accept our mistakes and correct them.

We shouldn’t take anything that doesn’t belong to us.

Live everyday with honesty, you will be happier and you will make happy everybody around you.

To write does not mean start writing away.

We need to follow the writing process.

Here is the outline of the writing process: (Have a glance through it.)