What’s the topic of our essay?

Discuss the questions below with your partner. How similar or different are your answers?

1) What are your favourite TV programs?

2) How much television do you watch each week?

3) How much TV did you watch when you were a child?

5) Do you think that different kinds of TV programs have different effects on children?

6) What are some of the problems that might happen if children watch too much television?

Children should be allowed to watch as much television as they like.

Do you agree or disagree?

Agree Disagree

Reason 1 Reason 1

Explain/Example Explain/Example

Result Result

Reason 2 Reason 2

Explain/Example Explain/Example

Result Result

1) What is the writer’s opinion about children watching a lot of television?  2) Where do you first find the writer’s opinion?  3) What does the writer say he/she is going to do in this essay?  4) What are the writer’s three main reasons?

5) What examples does the writer use to help explain these reasons?

6) Who wrote that around 80% of Canadian kids watch television for at least an hour a day?  7) When did he/she write that?  8) What kind of sentence is the last one in each of the 3 body paragraphs?  9) What kind of final thought does the writer give in the conclusion?

It could be bad

Introduction – thesis statement

Give reasons to support my view

It’s bad for their health, TV is not a good model for life and they may get bad marks

Children may learn bad behaviour & they have homework

Smith

2012

This is a citation. You need to do at least 2 of these in your project essay.

A result

Advice

Introduction

1) Watching television is a very popular activity all over the world because it provides information and entertainment to billions of people. 2) Some people think that children can watch television for as long as they want to. 3) However, I believe this could be bad for children. In the following essay I will give reasons to support my view. 1)General background2)Essay topic3)Thesis statement

Body Paragraph 1

4) The most important reason is that television can have a negative effect on children’s health. 5) According to Smith (2012), around 80% of Canadian kids watch TV for at least an hour a day and many spend several hours just sitting in front of the television. 6) Because of this they have less time for doing sports or just playing outside with their friends. 7) As a result, more children are overweight and this can lead to more serious health problems as they grow up. 4) Topic sentence (main idea)5) Supporting citation6) Result7) Result

Body Paragraph 2

8) Another reason is that television shows children an unreal picture of society. 9) For example, television programs may be violent or show behaviour that is not acceptable in real life. 10) Singh (2010) reports that children now spend less time communicating with their families. 11) Therefore, they learn more about society from television programs, 12) so if they watch the wrong programs, they may copy bad behaviour.

8) Topic sentence (main idea)9) Example5) Supporting citation6) Result7) Result

Body Paragraph 3

13) Finally, watching too much television can make students get lower marks at school. 14) For instance, almost all children have to do homework after school. 15) If they just sit and watch television all night, they won’t do their homework. 16) Consequently, they don’t study or learn as much as they should, and may not do as well in their exams or even fail.

13) Topic sentence (main idea)14) Example15) Condition and result16) Result

Conclusion

17) In conclusion, there are many reasons why children should not watch television any time they like. 18) Spending time watching television can harm children’s health, they may learn bad behaviour, and it could affect their schoolwork. 19) Therefore, I believe that parents should strictly control the amount of television and the programs that children watch to avoid these negative effects.

17) Thesis statement again18) Summary of main reasons16) Advice

1) Is this a one-sided or two-sided essay?  2) How does the writer giver his/her opinion in the introduction?  

3) What does the writer say he/she is going to do in this essay?

 4) How many body paragraphs are there?  5) How many reasons (main ideas) are there in each body paragraph?  6) What does the first sentence of each body paragraph tell you?

7) Who wrote that parents have less time now?  8) When did he/she write that?

Two-sided

I partly agree that parents should let children ...

examine both sides of the argument and give several examples

two

two

Television can be bad = disagree paragraphTelevision may be beneficial = agree paragraph

Al Shamsi

2010

Introduction

Watching television is a very popular activity all over the world because it provides information and entertainment to billions of people. Some people think that children can watch television for as long as they want to. I partly agree that parents should let children choose how much television they watch. In the following essay I will examine both sides of the argument and give several examples.

General backgroundEssay topicThesis statement

Body Paragraph 1

On one hand, watching too much television can be bad for children. The most important reason is that television can have a negative effect on children’s health. According to Smith (2012) around 80% of Canadian kids watch TV for at least an hour a day and many spend several hours just sitting in front of the television. Because of this, they have less time for doing sports or just playing outside with their friends. As a result, more children are overweight and this can lead to more serious health problems as they grow up. Another reason is that television shows children an unreal picture of society. For example, television programs may be violent or show behaviour that is not acceptable in real life. Singh (2010) reports that children now spend less time communicating with their families. Therefore, they learn more about society from television programs, so if they watch the wrong programs, they may copy bad behaviour.

Topic sentence (main idea)1st reasonSupporting citationResultResult2nd reasonExampleSupporting citationResultResult

Body Paragraph 2

On the other hand, watching television may be beneficial. The main benefit is that children can learn a lot about the world by watching educational television programs. For example, the American television program Sesame Street teaches children how to spell and do simple maths. Consequently, children who watch Sesame Street for a few hours each day may do better at school. In addition, children who are watching television are usually quiet and well behaved. For instance, many small boys can be noisy and very active. However, when they watch television, they sit quietly in one place. According to Al Shamsi (2010), parents now have less time to spend looking after their children, so allowing children to watch television is a useful way for parents to manage the stress of family life. If the parents are less stressed, that is good for the children.

Topic sentence (main idea)1st reasonExampleResult2nd reasonExampleSupporting citationResultResult

Conclusion

In conclusion, I agree to some extent that children should not watch television any time they like. This is because although spending time watching television can harm children’s health and they may learn bad behaviour, it can also be educational for children and help their parents to be less stressed. Therefore, I believe that parents should control the amount of television and the programs that children watch to avoid the negative effects and enjoy the benefits of television.

Thesis statement againSummary of main reasons (contrasted)Advice

One-sided opinion essay

Introduction

2 or 3 body paragraphsOnly 1 main idea in each body paragraph

Conclusion

Two-sided opinion essay

Introduction

2 body paragraphs1 x agree reasons paragraph1 x disagree reasons paragraph2 main ideas in each body paragraph

Conclusion

Addition Contrast Reason Example Result Condition

and

In addition,

On one hand,

On the other hand,

However,

although

because For example,

For instance,

Because of this,

As a result,

Therefore,

so

Consequently,

If

Can you add any more linking words or phrases to these lists?

Why are these words and phrases important when we are writing essays?