ESSAY BASICS.

Introducción:

Un ensayo es un escrito de corta extensión sobre un tema en concreto. Se compone de distintas

partes: introducción, cuerpo y conclusión.

El ensayo es uno de los textos que requieren mayor nivel de formalidad en un examen.

En ocasiones, nos pedirán que escribamos un ensayo con información sobre nosotros mismos,
nuestras vivencias y experiencias. En estos casos no se debe evitar el uso de la primera persona.
Si el ensayo apela directamente a tu opinión, es posible hablar en primera persona. No obstante,
hay ocasiones en las que se puede dar perfectamente nuestra opinión sin incluir el pronombre
“I”.

Debemos evitar usar todo lo posible el pronombre “you” y tratar de usas otras palabras como
“people, the reader, the students, etc.”

Estructura:

-Título: más que recomendable.

-Introducción: Un buen párrafo introductorio hace muchas cosas. Atrae el interés del lector,
anuncia o señala la “thesis”, esto es, lo que se va a contar en el ensayo, y guía al lector de
manera progresiva hacia el cuerpo del ensayo, donde se encuentran los párrafos que desarrollan
el tema.

Partes de la introducción:

Hook: Atrapa la atención del lector haciendo que quiera seguir leyendo nuestro ensayo. Puede
incluir citas impactantes y sorprendentes: “no man is an island” o “three out of four doctors
report that…”

Background: Presenta al lector el tema del que quieres hablar de una manera general para
permitirle conocerlo y ponerlo en aviso. Debe guiar al lector hacia la thesis.

Thesis statement: debe ser clara y debe incluir lo que quieres decir exactamente dentro del
ensayo. Si es un ensayo de opinión, debes dejar claro al lector de qué lado estás, cuál es tu
opinión. Puede incluir detalles mínimos que informen al lector de cómo vas a tratar el tema o
qué puntos serán los tratados y de qué manera. “Over the past few months / years, it seems
that…

Tipos de introducción: La extension de una introducción puede variar en función del largo del
ensayo. Suele ser de un párrafo con entre tres y cinco oraciones. Si la introducción es más corta,
puede no decir todo lo que debe expresar. Si es demasiado larga, puede estar expandiendo
demasiado una serie de ideas que deberían ser abordadas en el cuerpo del ensayo.

-Cuerpo del ensayo: En la mayoría de los casos, un párrafo contiene una sola idea principal
con la cual todas las oraciones de ese párrafo se relacionan. Esa idea principal viene recogida en
la “topic sentence”. La “topic sentence” es la oración más general; las otras oraciones del
párrafo contienen información más específica relacionada con el tema de la topic sentence.
La topic sentence suele ser la primera oración en el párrafo, pero en ocasiones puede estar en
medio o en la parte final. Incluso en ocasiones puede estar implícita, pero no se encuentra en el
texto como tal. Debe incluir el elemento del que hablamos, más la idea que queremos decir
sobre esta. “To begin with, clean air is no longer a situation that people can take for granted.”

-Conclusión del ensayo: El último párrafo de nuestro ensayo es la conclusión. No debe ser
demasiado extenso, tres o cuatro oraciones serán más que suficientes.

Los linkers más comunes para comenzar nuestra conclusión suelen ser: “In conclusion,” “In a
nutshell,” “To sum up”.

Debemos volver a exponer la idea original recogida en la thesis pero con diferentes palabras. A
la hora de reafirmar nuestra thesis debemos pensar en el lector como una persona olvidadiza, de
manera que, hay que repetir con otras palabras las ideas principales de nuestro texto y nuestra
thesis. Tras esto, otra estructura común para parafrasear las ideas expresadas en el cuerpo y
nuestra thesis es la siguiente: “When one considers (idea 1) and (idea 2), it´s clear that…”

Debemos decir por qué lo que hemos tratado en nuestro escrito es importante y relevante para el
lector.

La última oración debería dejar al lector asintiendo y estando de acuerdo, y sintiéndose

encantado de haberse molestado en leer el ensayo. Incluso podríamos usar alguna cita para
conseguir este efecto si tenemos alguna a mano.

Tipo de ensayo:

Según nos pidan un ensayo descriptivo, discursivo o argumentativo, deberemos tener en

cuenta las peculiaridades de cada uno de estos.

-Ensayo descriptivo:

En este ensayo el escritor debe describir algo, ya sea una cosa, lugar, concepto, experiencia o
cualquier otra cosa que el escritor quiera que el lector se imagine en su mente. El elemento
clave de este ensayo es el elemento descriptivo, se debe mostrar con gran detalle la cosa
descrita. Esto significa que se debe usar lenguaje cargado de adjetivos y adverbios, y ejemplos
que permitan crear con la palabra una imagen en la mente del lector. No es en este tipo de texto
la función del escritor el juzgar o dar opinión.

EJEMPLO:

An Australian city refuse collector´s job involves picking up the rubbish from homes and
businesses in their area. The work day starts at 5am when they arrive at the centre wearing
special work clothing, including glasses, gloves, boots and a reflector vest. They then pick up
their route map and collection sheet and work out their day´s schedule. From around 5.30am
until 4.30pm, they collect rubbish from homes and businesses in their refuse truck. At 4.30pm,
they return to the centre to unload their rubbish. Then, at around 5pm, they must clean their
truck and put fuel in it before they can go home.

Refuse collectors require a lot of skill and expertise. For example, they must be expert drivers
because they travel through busy streets that are not very wide in big trucks. Loaders and drivers
must be team players as they have to plan the best routes and work together to navigate the
streets. Loaders must have a high level of fitness too, since they lift a lot of heavy things and
travel about 12 miles on foot every day. Refuse collectors in general also need to be good
organizers and planners, using maps and traffic updates to work out their route and keeping
entry codes for business properties files safely.

They are not paid very well, earning about €22,000 less than the average Australian. Yet,
despite their low pay, the job is very difficult and they have a lot of challenges to face. For
example, they receive a lot of abuse from other drivers and customers often make complaints
about the level of service they get. Safety is also an issue as bins which are too full can cause
collectors serious injury. On top of these work-day challenges, collectors also have a very busy
schedule and put in a lot of hours.

In summary, refuse collectors have a long and busy day, starting work at 5am and finishing
more than twelve hours later. They also need a considerable amount of skill and expertise to do
their job. Yet they earn less than the average Australian despite their expertise and the fact they
face considerable on-the-job challenges each day.

-Ensayo discursive (for and against).

Escribir este tipo de ensayo supone discutir un tema, por ejemplo: ´how to make our city streets
safer´ ´the advantages and disadvantages of renewable power´

Para escribir un ensayo discursivo se debe o bien evaluar algunas opciones y presentar un punto
de vista equilibrado o bien examinar diferentes soluciones a un problema.

En este tipo de ensayo puedes dar tu punto de vista en la conclusión. Debes estudiar en detalle
en párrafos separados los diferentes aspectos (puntos a favor o en contra, etc) que se requieran
en el ensayo.

EJEMPLO 1:

Is the internet bad for young people?

It is now easier than ever to access the internet, whether you are using a computer, phone or
tablet. There is no doubt that many young people are spending more and more time online, with
both positive and negative consequences.

One advantage of the internet is that young people can do research for their schoolwork and
homework. This often helps teenagers to widen their knowledge and improve their grades.
Another positive aspect of the internet is that people can practise foreign languages by chatting
to friends in other countries. This is also a good way of keeping in touch with friends and family
around the world.

On the other hand, there are also negative consequences. Some young people become addicted
to online gaming and this can mean that they waste too much time playing these games. This
can have a negative effect on their schoolwork, the amount of exercise they get and their social
lives. In addition, excessive internet use can mean that some young people hardly talk to their
families because they are always on the computer.

To sum up, spending time on the internet can have a negative impact on young people, but it
also has many advantages. Personally, I think the internet is an incredible tool and the benefits
of internet access outweigh the dangers. However, we should be careful not to use the internet
excessively.

EJEMPLO 2:

Traffic congestion has become a major problem in UK cities. The average commuter now
wastes about 129 hours in traffic each year. The problem is worst in Bellfast, where journey
times are 82% longer during busy periods. London and Edinburgh are also particularly bad.
This essay will examine potential solutions to the issue.

Around 75% of us presently commute by car, so the main challenge is to encourage the use of
alternative transport forms. This could be achieved by improving public transport. Less
expensive tickets and faster, more reliable trains would popularize rail travel. Having more
convenient and sheltered bus stops would also encourage wider bus service use. Overcrowding
also needs to be resolved by increasing the number and capacity of services.

Improving the safety of roads for bicycle users would also help by encouraging more
commuters to cycle to work. More bike lanes are needed for improved safety. Bikes should be
available to rent cheaply throughout our cities to make cycling a convenient alternative too.

In conclusion, I believe the problem of traffic congestion in our cities is best resolved by
upgrading public transport and making the streets safer for cycling.

-Ensayo argumentativo.

Introducción: En este tipo de ensayo debemos tener en cuenta que se espera de nosotros que
expresemos claramente en la thesis de qué lado estamos y cuál es nuestro punto de vista.

Cuerpo: Un ensayo argumentativo debe mostrar ambos lados del argumento en discusión, la
opinión del escritor del ensayo y también aquella de la que no es partidario, la cual debe verse
claramente.

Conclusión: Deberemos en parte reconocer la existencia del punto de vista opuesto y darle
crédito, pero también debe dejar claro cuál es nuestra posición. También podemos incluir una
solución al problema o indicar un curso de acción.

EJEMPLO:

Our supply of non-renewable energy sources like oil and gas is running out. Furthermore, these
types of energy pollute the environment. Clearly, alternative energy sources are needed. In this
essay I will argue that nuclear power is the best solution to the problem we face.

First, let us look at the alternatives available. Solar power is simply not reliable enough to
depend on in countries where it rains a lot. Wind energy also has supply issues –what happens
when the wind stops blowing? As for biofuel, this produces harmful gasses that damage the
environment, just like fossil fuels. Furthermore, hydroelectric power is extremely costly to
produce.
On the other hand, nuclear power is environmentally friendly, producing few harmful gasses.
Additionally, the cost of operating nuclear plants is low. Nuclear plants are also capable of
generating so much power that one plant can supply a whole city.

Furthermore, future technological advances will make nuclear power even safer and the supply
of nuclear energy virtually limitless. In conclusion, considering the disadvantages of using other
energy sources. I firmly believe that nuclear power is the best way forward. Nuclear energy is a
cheap, clean, powerful and an increasingly safe alternative to fossil fuels.

EXPRESIONES ÚTILES.

Opening phrases.

-People (sometimes) claim that… but I feel that…

-It is often said / argued that… However, it seems to me that…

-It is a fact that…

-Over the past few months / years, it seems that…

-In the past, people used to… but now…

Making statements.

-It is clear that…

-On the whole, it appears / seems that…

-It must be taken into account the fact that…

-It is important to remember that…

-It is often said that…

Explain and develop ideas.

-This means that…

-This is largely due to…

-Take, for example, the situation in…

Enumerate.

-Firstly, it is clear that… / In the first place / To begin with, …

-Secondly / A second area to consider is…

-Another point to remember is…

-Finally, it is important to remember that…

More expressions.

-It is questionable whether…

-It is true that… On the other hand,…

-Surely it is completely unacceptable that…

-I totally disagree / agree with the point that…

-I am sure / I doubt whether…

-While nobody can deny that…, it should be point out that…

-Although it is true that…, it must be remembered that…

-It could be argued that… However, it should be point out that…

-While it is true that…