Good writing always includes examples. There are particular words you can use to introduce your examples and you should use a variety of them.

Australia is one of the best places in the world to get a cup of coffee. It is not that the coffee beans themselves are extraordinary, but rather the art of the coffee is in the making. For example, in many countries wait staff get a few minutes of  training on how to use a machine to make coffee, but in Australia people who make coffee get specific training in a college. After a period of intensive training they graduate as baristas. Australian baristas are recognised around the globe. For instance they often win international coffee making competitions. In particular many have gone to New York where they train locals in the art of making coffee.

When you drink Australian cappuccino you will notice several features; namely the texture as the coffee blends seamlessly with the aerated milk and the hint of cocoa as the bitter powder is often dusted over the coffee prior to the addition of the milk.

Often you will want to give an example to show your meaning or you will want to repeat an idea in your conclusion, but you will need a different way to say it.

Generally in English writing we move from a broad idea to a specific point. Importantly we give examples to illustrate our meaning. This is particularly important in Academic writing where the reader expects to see a point and then examples to make your meaning clear. For example, if you are talking about the effects of climate change in the USA, the reader would expect you to give examples such as the possibility that the current Californian drought, Hurricane Katrina or an increase in tornadoes may be a result of climate change. In fact, in your writing  you always need to link broad ideas to specific examples. 

Sometimes in your writing you want to add a few arguments or ideas.

Studying English in Australia means that you will be exposed to English inside of the classroom and out. This is great because it builds your knowledge of formal English, but importantly it also helps you to learn common native speaker phrases that help your English sound more natural. Furthermore, you will have to use English every day to survive. This can be exhausting, but it will help you to learn quickly. An additional point in favour of studying in Australia is that every day you will see signs on the roads, on billboards, on television, in shops that will seem strange and confusing at first, but after a while, you will know what it all means.

If an essay question asks you to CONTRAST two things, you have to show the differences between them.

While Australian football involves handling the ball with both the hands and the feet, soccer only involves the feet. Australian Rules football players often leap into the air to catch a ball, but by contrast soccer is generally played much lower to the ground. Whereas soccer teams have a goalkeeper, there is no such position in Australian Rules football.

essay writing

A lot of essay questions will ask you to compare and contrast. COMPARE means to look for similarities while CONTRAST means to look for differences.

Cats and dogs are similar to one another in several ways. Just as cats are considered to be great house pets, dogs are very popular in many countries and can make great companions. Like cats, dogs enjoy interaction with humans and can be a great source of joy. Dogs come in a variety of breeds and sizes just like cats. 

One of the things that you need to do in the writing test is show that you have a variety of vocabulary to join your ideas.

If you repeat the same word (next, … next, … next, … next) it doesn’t look good. If you use ordinal numbers too much, it looks silly too (firstly, … secondly, … thirdly, … fourthly, … fifthly, … , sixthly, … ). You need to mix the words up a bit. With ordinal numbers, I suggest that firstly, secondly, thirdly is enough. After than you need to change the words around.

There are several steps you need to take when writing a 250 words essay. Firstly, you need to decide what you want to say. Then you need to organise your ideas. Next you should think about your paragraphs. You also need to ensure that you have one main idea per body paragraph.  Another important consideration is that you have thought about synonyms for key words. When you have done all of those things, your preparation is done. Finally, you are ready to begin writing.