Lesson 46 of 46 · Analytical Writing: the Issue task
Writing and revising the Issue essay under time
Write a direct introduction, build body paragraphs that argue, and spend the last minutes on the fixes that change what the essay says.
About 20 minutes
In this lesson
- Write an introduction that reaches the thesis quickly and a body paragraph that argues rather than lists.
- Choose topic sentences and transitions that show how each paragraph supports the thesis.
- Use the last minutes for the revisions that matter most, in the right order.
The idea
The introduction: get to the thesis
An introduction has one job: tell the reader what you think and, briefly, how you will show it. Two or three sentences are enough. A useful pattern:
- One sentence that frames the issue in your own terms (define a key term if it needs it).
- The thesis, with its qualification.
- Optionally, a sentence naming the reasons in the order the body will take them.
Avoid the long warm-up ("Since the dawn of time, people have debated...") and the restated prompt. Neither tells the reader anything, and both use minutes you will want later.
The body paragraph: claim, example, explanation, link
Most strong body paragraphs follow the same four moves:
| Move | What it does |
|---|---|
| Claim (topic sentence) | States the reason this paragraph argues, in a way that clearly supports the thesis. |
| Example | Shows the reason working in a specific case. |
| Explanation | Says why the example supports the reason; this is the analysis. |
| Link | Ties the point back to the thesis, often to its qualification. |
The explanation is the move most often skipped. An example followed immediately by the next example leaves the reader to do the arguing. One or two sentences beginning "This matters because..." or "What this shows is..." turn a story into evidence.
Topic sentences carry the argument
Read only your topic sentences in order. They should form a short version of the essay. A topic sentence that names the subject but not the claim ("Next, consider transport") forces the reader to wait for the point; one that states the claim ("Free transport matters most to people who cannot currently afford it") does not.
Transitions show logic, not just order
"Firstly, secondly, finally" tell the reader where they are in a list. Words that show how ideas relate are more useful in an argument:
- Cause and result: because, so, therefore, as a result.
- Contrast and concession: however, yet, although, admittedly.
- Extension: moreover, more importantly, in the same way.
Use them only when the relationship is real. A "therefore" in front of a sentence that does not follow is worse than no transition.
Sentences: precise beats impressive
Clear, varied, correct sentences help a reader follow the argument. That means the exact word rather than the grand one, a mix of short and longer sentences, and no sentence that must be read twice. A rare word used slightly wrongly costs more than a plain word used precisely.
The conclusion
Restate the thesis in fresh words, including its line, and say briefly why the line matters. Do not open a new argument in the last paragraph: there is no room to support it, and it makes the essay look as if it changed its mind.
Revising in the last minutes
With only a few minutes left, revise in order of how much each fix changes what the essay says:
- Thesis and body agree. If the body argues a qualified view but the introduction states an absolute one, change the thesis sentence. One sentence, large effect.
- Missing links. Add a linking sentence where a paragraph never says how it supports the thesis.
- Sentences a reader would misread. Fix any sentence whose meaning is unclear.
- Typing slips and small errors. Proofread yourself; do not count on noticing them while writing.
Do not start rewriting a paragraph from scratch in the last few minutes. A half-rewritten paragraph is worse than an imperfect complete one.
Worked examples
Example 1: Turning a list into an argument
Thesis: "Towns should spend public money on preserving old buildings only once basic housing and services are secure." Draft body paragraph:
"Old buildings are important. Many tourists visit old buildings. Old buildings are beautiful. They are part of history. So towns should preserve them."
Improve it.
Diagnose. Four separate assertions, no example, no explanation, and a closing sentence that drops the thesis's qualification. It argues a different, unqualified thesis.
Pick one reason and state it as a claim: "Preserving a town's historic buildings can pay for itself when they draw visitors who spend money locally."
Add a specific example: a town whose restored market hall now holds a weekly market, bringing in visitors who also use the shops around it.
Explain and link back to the qualification: "This is why preservation deserves public money; but the same argument shows its limit: a market hall brings in visitors only if residents can afford to live in the town that hosts them, so housing must come first."
Answer
"Preserving historic buildings can pay for itself when they draw visitors who spend money locally. A town that restores its old market hall and opens it for a weekly market brings in visitors who also use the shops around it. This is why preservation deserves public money; but the same argument shows its limit, because a market hall draws visitors only to a town whose residents can afford to live there. Housing must come first." The tempting fix, adding more reasons to the list, keeps the paragraph a list.
Example 2: An introduction that reaches the point
Statement: "Leaders should rarely change their minds." Draft introduction:
"Throughout history there have been many leaders. Leadership is a very important topic that many people have strong views about. In this essay I will discuss whether leaders should change their minds, which is a question with many sides."
Rewrite it.
Diagnose. Three sentences, no position. The first two would fit any essay about leadership, and the third repeats the prompt.
Frame the issue in your own terms: separate the two things a leader can change, principles and factual judgements.
State the qualified thesis: principles steady, factual judgements updated with evidence.
Optionally preview the reasons in the order the body will take them.
Answer
"A leader can change two different things: the principles they act on, and their judgements about the facts. Leaders should rarely change the first, because others plan around them, but should change the second whenever the evidence does, because a judgement kept against the evidence turns an error into a policy." Two sentences now do the work the draft's three did not.
Example 3: What to fix with four minutes left
Four minutes remain. Rereading, the writer finds: (1) the introduction says "competition always improves schools", but both body paragraphs argue that it helps only when schools are judged on fair measures; (2) two typing slips; (3) one paragraph that could use a better example. What should the writer do, and in what order?
Rank by how much each fix changes what the essay says. The thesis–body mismatch makes the whole essay contradict itself; a reader judging it as a whole will notice. Fix it first.
The fix is one sentence: change the thesis to the qualified version the body actually argues. That takes about a minute.
Next, correct the two typing slips: quick, and they make the essay easier to read.
Leave the example alone. Replacing it means rewriting most of a paragraph, which cannot be done well in the time left, and a half-rewritten paragraph is worse than the current one.
Answer
Rewrite the thesis sentence first, then fix the typing slips, and do not start replacing the example. The tempting order, polishing the slips first because they are easy, risks running out of time with the essay still contradicting itself.
Common traps
The warm-up introduction
Sentences such as "This is an important question that has been debated for centuries" fit every essay and say nothing. Start with your framing of the issue and reach the thesis by the second sentence.
Example without explanation
Moving straight from one example to the next leaves the reader to work out why each matters. After every example, write at least one sentence that says what it shows and how it supports the thesis.
A new argument in the conclusion
A fresh point in the last paragraph has no room for support and suggests the essay changed its mind. The conclusion restates the line you drew and why it matters; nothing new.
Starting a rewrite in the last minutes
Late in the time, a rewrite rarely finishes. Make the one-sentence fixes that change meaning (thesis, links), then proofread. Leave weaker paragraphs complete rather than half-replaced.
Check yourself
Answer each question before you open its answer.
Question 1: The topic sentence that argues
Analyze an Issue
Thesis: "Museums should allow photography except where light could damage an object." The paragraph that follows argues that photographs let visitors keep studying objects after they leave, using the example of an art student who sketches from her photographs of a sculpture for weeks after a visit. Which topic sentence best opens the paragraph?
- A.Next, I will talk about photographs.
- B.Some museums do not allow cameras at all.
- C.Light can damage old paintings.
- D.A photograph lets a visitor go on learning from an object long after the visit ends.
- E.Art students are the most important visitors a museum has.
Show the answer
Answer: D. A photograph lets a visitor go on learning from an object long after the visit ends.
Working
A topic sentence states the paragraph's claim in a way that supports the thesis. The paragraph's reason is that photographs extend study beyond the visit, and the student who sketches from her photographs for weeks is the example of it. The sentence saying a photograph lets a visitor go on learning after the visit states exactly that. The others announce a subject, give background, support a different point, or make an unsupported claim.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This names a subject but makes no claim; the reader still does not know what the paragraph argues.
- B. This is background, not the paragraph's reason, and it does not say why photography should be allowed.
- C. This supports the thesis's exception, not the paragraph's point about study after the visit.
- E. This is an unsupported claim about one group, and it is not the reason the paragraph's example illustrates.
What carries over
Read your topic sentences alone: each should state a reason that supports the thesis.
Question 2: Adding the missing explanation
Analyze an Issue
Thesis: "Leaders should keep their principles steady but change their factual judgements when the evidence changes." A paragraph reads: "A city council that decided a bridge was safe kept saying so after engineers reported new cracks, and the bridge was later closed in an emergency." Which sentence, added next, best explains how the example supports the thesis?
- A.Bridges are expensive to build and to repair.
- B.The council's error was not a lack of principle but a refusal to revise a factual judgement once the evidence had changed, which turned a fixable problem into an emergency.
- C.Therefore leaders should never change their minds about anything.
- D.Many other councils have also had problems with bridges.
- E.Engineers are often more reliable than politicians.
Show the answer
Answer: B. The council's error was not a lack of principle but a refusal to revise a factual judgement once the evidence had changed, which turned a fixable problem into an emergency.
Working
An explanation says what the example shows and ties it to the thesis. The council kept a factual judgement after the evidence changed, and the result was an emergency; the sentence that names that as a failure to revise a factual judgement, not a lack of principle, connects the example to both halves of the thesis. The other sentences add side facts, more examples, a new claim, or a conclusion the thesis rejects.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Cost is beside the point; the sentence does not connect the example to changing judgements.
- C. This draws the opposite conclusion from the example and contradicts the thesis; "therefore" signals a link the logic does not support.
- D. This adds more examples of a topic without explaining how this one supports the thesis.
- E. This is a different, unsupported claim; it shifts the argument from leaders' judgement to a comparison of professions.
What carries over
After every example, say in one sentence what it shows and how it supports the thesis.
Question 3: The most valuable last-minute fix
Analyze an Issue
Three minutes remain. The writer's body paragraphs argue that national service helps young adults at the end of education but should not be forced on people with caring duties. The introduction states: "Every adult without exception should do national service." Which single revision is the best use of the time?
- A.Replace the introduction's thesis with one sentence stating the qualified position the body argues.
- B.Replace several plain words with longer, less common synonyms.
- C.Add a new paragraph on the history of national service in different countries.
- D.Change the conclusion to agree with the introduction's "without exception" claim.
- E.Delete the paragraph about caring duties so that the body matches the introduction.
Show the answer
Answer: A. Replace the introduction's thesis with one sentence stating the qualified position the body argues.
Working
The essay contradicts itself: its thesis is absolute while its body argues a qualified view. That mismatch affects how the whole essay reads, and the fix is a single sentence: restate the thesis as the qualified position the body supports. Moving the conclusion or the body to match the absolute thesis damages the argued part, a new paragraph cannot be finished, and longer synonyms change nothing that matters.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Rarer words do not change what the essay argues, and nothing ETS states says they are rewarded; meanwhile the essay still contradicts itself.
- C. There is no time to write and support a new paragraph, and background history does not fix the contradiction.
- D. This makes the conclusion contradict the body as well; the body is the argued part, so the thesis should move to match it, not the other way round.
- E. Deleting the essay's qualification throws away its best analysis and leaves an absolute claim that obvious cases break.
What carries over
In the last minutes, fix whatever changes what the essay says, starting with the thesis.
Key points
Reach the thesis within the first two sentences.
A body paragraph argues in four moves: claim, example, explanation, link.
Topic sentences read alone should form a short version of the essay.
Revise in order of effect: thesis and body agree, missing links, unclear sentences, then slips.
Never start a rewrite you cannot finish.
All questions here are original and written for UniExamer; none comes from the test maker.
Written by the UniExamer team with AI assistance. Every worked example and check question was re-solved by an independent checker before publication. No subject expert has reviewed this lesson yet. If you find a mistake, write to support@uniexamer.com.