USEFUL PHRASES FOR FCE WRITING The following phrases are not only useful for essay writing but also for other types such as letter, article, report and review writing 1. Opening phrases These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. 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 … Recently, we have all become concerned that … Nowadays, we are all realising that ... In the past, people used to …, but now ... These days, it seems that …. 2. Expressing and supporting opinions These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. I believe/do not believe that ... (because) ... Personally I feel that ... Let me explain why. In my opinion, ... Just consider ... As I see it, … The reason is ... It seems to me that… This is because ... I would argue that for the following reasons. I feel very strongly that ... I am convinced that ... I am of the opinion that ... I am very much in favour of/against ... I am completely opposed to ... The reasons why I believe that ... are as follows. 3. Making statements These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. It is clear that ... On the whole, it appears/seems that ... We must take into account the fact that .... It goes without saying that ... It is important to remember that ... 4. Explaining/Expanding ideas and giving examples These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. ... This means that ... ... This is largely due to ... …For example/For instance, ... …In other words, ... Take, for example, the situation in ... 5. Listing arguments These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. Firstly/In the first place / To begin with, … Secondly/A second area to consider is … Another point to remember is ... Finally, ... In conclusion, .. Last but not least, ... 6. Evaluating ideas, Dismissing contrary arguments These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays and articles. I think it is true that ... I totally disagree/agree with the point that… It is questionable whether … I am sure/I doubt whether … It is true that ... On the other hand, ... While nobody can deny that ... , I would like to point out that … I agree that …However, ... Although it is true that , we must remember that ... It could be argued that … However, I would like to point out that ... Despite all the arguments, I still feel that ... Notwithstanding the claim that ... , I would argue that… It may be true that ... , but all too often ... In no way can I agree that ... Surely it is completely unacceptable that ... 7. Persuading These words and expressions are especially useful in letters and proposals. I would urge you to consider… I am sure you will agree that… Surely you must agree that… I would urge you very strongly to ... When you hear the arguments, I am sure you will agree that ... 8. Evaluating These words and expressions are especially useful in reports, proposals and reviews. I was extremely impressed by… I was rather disappointed by… While X has much to commend it, I feel that some aspects could be improved. The problem could easily be solved if ... I would like to praise the ... Another area for complaint is … My overall impression was that … I am sure that visitors/readers/holidaymakers will thoroughly enjoy ... While some people will love ... , others may feel less happy. A major problem is that ... I was less happy with ... 9. Making recommendations These words and expressions are especially useful in proposals and reports. I recommend that we ... I propose that we ... We should also ... I believe that we should ... We could ... If we were to… , we could ... I suggest we… We would then be able to ... 10. Summarising These words and expressions are especially useful in letters, essays,article