10
The Writing Process: Writing Foundations
3. Almost all essays, reports and articles have the same basic
pattern of organisation:
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
The structure of the main body depends on what the title
is asking you to do. In the case of a ‘discuss’ type essay, the
main body is often divided into two parts, one looking at
the advantages of the topic and the other looking at the
disadvantages.
An outline for the example in (1) might look like this:
The state should play no part in the organisation of industry
– discuss.
Introduction various economic theories: Marxist,
Keynesian, free market
most economies display trend towards
privatisation
Disadvantages state protects workers from exploitation,
e.g. children
consumers protected from dangerous
products, e.g. medical drugs
state has resources to support new
technologies
Advantages few state-controlled economies are
successful, e.g. Soviet Union
state control does not encourage
individual effort
state intervention often leads to
corruption

A study of major privatisations in the UK
A discussion of the benefits achieved by privatisation
c) To what extent is tuberculosis (TB) a disease of poverty?
A definition of TB
A report on the spread of TB worldwide
A case study showing how TB relates to social class
A discussion of new methods of treating the disease
d) Nursery education is better for children than staying at
home with mother – discuss.
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The Writing Process: Writing Foundations
A study of the growth of nurseries in the UK since
1995
A report on the development of children who remain
at home until age 5
A discussion comparing speaking ability in both
groups of children
An analysis of the increase of women in the labour
market since 1960
e) Compare studying in a library with using the internet. Will
the former become redundant?
The benefits of using books
The drawbacks of internet sources
Predicted IT developments in the next 15 years
The developments in library services since 1970
6. Underline the key terms in the following titles, and decide what
you are being asked to do.
Example:
Relate the development of railways to the rise of
nineteenth-century European nationalism.

True
False
?
Start here
2. Read the following sentences and decide first if they are fact or
opinion. Then decide if you agree with the opinions, and if the
factual sentences are true.
Opinion or
fact?
Agree or
disagree?
True or
false?
Example:
The USA has the biggest
economy in the world
Fact True
a) Shakespeare was a great writer
b) Shakespeare wrote textbooks
c) Smoking can be dangerous
d) Too many people smoke in
Britain
e) 95% of criminals cannot read
f) Poor education causes half of
all crime
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The Writing Process: Reading and Note-making
3. It can be seen that even short sentences, such as (2f) above,
can contain a mixture of fact and opinion. Most longer texts,
of course, consist of both.