Common Mistakes

Introduction

The introduction will have two sentences: a paraphrase of the question and an outline statement.

Paraphrasing is simply saying the sentence again with different words but with the same meaning. We can do this by using synonyms and/or changing the order of the words.

Question- Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face in the 21st Century and sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming rates. 

Paraphrased- Climate change is among the principal dangers facing people this century and ocean levels are increasing dramatically.

As you can see above, I have used synonyms to change the words of the questions but it still has the same meaning. The examiner will be looking for your ability to do this in the exam, so it is a good idea to practice this skill.

Our outline sentence is next and this tells the examiner what they are going to read in the rest of the essay. This makes it very clear to the examiner and makes the rest of the essay much easier to understand. You will, therefore, gain marks for coherence and cohesion.

Our outline sentence should look something like this: