*Based on Academic Writing Skills 3 (Cambridge), Unit 1: Preparing to Write

1. Understanding Essay Prompts
Taking a Position
Asking Research Questions

2. Instructional Words for Essay Requirements
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

3. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

4. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

5. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

6. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

7. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

8. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

9. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

10. Find the general topic and requirement for each of
the following essay prompts.
RECALL ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION
Summarize
List
Identify
Describe
Illustrate
Define
Analyze
Examine
Define
Compare
Contrast
Determine
Use
Refer
Include
Incorporate
Evaluate
Assess
Judge
Argue
Recommend
Comment

11. Understanding Longer Essay Prompts

12. Understanding Longer Essay Prompts:
I. Underline the general topic.
II. Circle each instructional word.

13. Understanding Longer Essay Prompts
Four Requirements:

14. Outline of a Long Essay Prompt

15. Taking a Position 1
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
“Globalization has had a positive influence on Asia.”
POSSIBLE POSITIONS:

16. Taking a Position 1
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
“Globalization has had a positive influence on Asia.”
POSSIBLE POSITIONS:

17. Taking a Position 2
When did the process of globalization start?
POSSIBLE POSITIONS:

18. Taking a Position 3
Define globalization.
POSSIBLE POSITIONS:

19. SEATWORK:
For each essay prompt, write a possible
position you could take.
1. Discuss some of the technological advances in the twentieth century
which have helped transform the workplace.
2. Compare the health care systems of France and the United States.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of anti-piracy laws on curbing the illegal
downloading of digitalized video, music, and print.
4. Argue for or against the expansion of the school week from five to
seven days.
5. Summarize the most significant developments in social networking
and describe their impact on the lives of internet users today.

20. Doing Research
Process for most writers:

21. Doing Research: Asking Questions
Essay Prompt:
Questions You Could Ask to Guide Your Research:

22. Doing Research: Asking Questions
Essay Prompt:
Questions You Could Ask:

23. REVIEW

24. 1
What are the two main parts of the
essay prompt below?
You are about to spend a year abroad and
must learn a new language. List the steps
you would take to accomplish this goal as
quickly as possible.

25. 2
What are the differences among the
four types of essay requirements?

26. 3
Which of the four types is the requirement in each
essay prompt below?
• Compare and contrast knowledge and understanding.
• More and more people are deciding to eliminate meat from
their diets and become vegetarians. Do you think this is a
good idea? Argue for or against becoming a vegetarian.
• Identify the various health problems associated with
obesity.
• Use points from this semester's assigned readings to
determine the major causes of the Ebola outbreak in
West Africa.

27. 4
Create an outline for the long essay prompt below.
Your outline should have a main requirement,
sub-requirements, and a sub-sub requirement.
Today, more and more colleges and universities are offering
not only individual courses but entire degree programs
online. Some educators worry that online programs do not
provide the same quality as an on-campus education and
that in an online program, students can get others to do their
work. Others believe online courses offer convenience and
flexibility and thus allow students, who might otherwise not
be able, to earn a degree and complete their education.
Comment on the rise of online education all over the world.
Include the online learning experiences of the students
featured in the assigned readings in your commentary, and
compare your own online learning experiences with theirs.

28. 5
Take an initial position on the essay prompt below.
Your position should be good enough for a
college-level essay.
Assess the quality of Enderun Colleges'
student facilities.
*facilities (noun) - buildings, services, equipment, etc. that are
provided for a particular purpose

29. 6
Ask three good questions that could guide your
research on the essay prompt below.
Discuss the effects of fame and fortune on
an individual's life.

30. 7
Ask three good questions that could guide your
research on the essay prompt below.
Recommend one tourist attraction in your
country that foreigners should not fail to visit.

31. Long Essay Prompt →Outline of
Requirements → Research Questions

32. Research Questions
→ Research List
•What are the statistics on
how much nuclear energy
is currently used?
•What are the benefits and
drawbacks of nuclear
energy use?
•How do alternative energy
sources compare with
nuclear energy?

33. Synthesizing Research 1
Essay Prompt
Research 1
Synthesis
Statement 1

34. Synthesizing Research 2
Essay Prompt
Research 2
Synthesis
Statement 2

35. Pair/Group Work
I.
1. Analyze the nuclear energy research list on page 13 of
your AcademicWriting Skills 3 book.
2. Identify pieces of information on the list that are related
to each other and put them in three groups.
3. Synthesize the information in the three groups.
Write three statements about the essay topic based on the
grouped research information.
*See page 15 of your book for a sample of expected
output.

36. Pair/Group Work
II.
1. Choose the position below that is best supported by the
information synthesized in Part I.
•Nuclear energy should be completely relied on.
•Nuclear energy should be mostly relied on.
•Nuclear energy should be partially relied on.
•Nuclear energy should be slightly relied on.
•Nuclear energy should not be relied on.
2. Defend your chosen position in front of the class.

37. Quick Review: Numbers
Cardinal Number
(For Counting)
Ordinal Number
(For Describing Order)
1 One First
2 Two Second
3 Three Third
4 Four Fourth
10 Ten Tenth
16 Sixteen Sixteenth
20 Twenty Twentieth
25 Twenty-five Twenty-fifth
30 Thirty Thirtieth
31 Thirty-one Thirty-first

38. Quick Review: Dates
Number Form Word Form
1876 Eighteen seventy-six
1903 Nineteen oh three
2004 Two thousand four
July 4, 1776 July fourth, seventeen seventy-six

39. Quick Review: Time Expressions
Preposition Use Example
In •Specific Year
•Specific Month + Year
•In 1776
•In July 1776
On Specific Date •On July 4
•On July 4, 1776
During Period of Time During the 1960s
Between..and… Period of Time:
Two Specific Years
Between 1960 and
1990
From..two.. Period of time:
Two Specific Years
From 1960 to 1990

40. Interview 1: Vocabulary in Context

41. Listening for Specific Information
• Read provided questions about the listening
passage/ lecture before listening so that you know
what information to listen for.
• If you can, use your background knowledge to try to
predict the correct answers.