The issue at hand is a controversial one! Use it or not ?

[zoha.zargham]

I have been reading a few writing samples(issue), and I noticed that most of them begin with " The issue of.....is a controversial one...."! At first I wanted to use it myself but now that I see it is everywhere, I'm having second thoughts. Is it a good idea to use it, or should I think of other ways to realize both sides of the issue? Any suggestions?

[gokul_nair1984]

I used this. You could try if this works for you( Argument),

The author states.....blah blah ...blah.....He bolsters his argument by..blah blah blah....(reasons)...
However, this argument is quite questionable in nature as it is based on certain unsubstantiated claims.

Most conspicuously,.........Blah... Blah... Blah(Strongest Reason)....

Secondly,.......Blah... Blah... Blah( Next reason)

Thirdly,.....Blah... Blah... Blah(Another reason)....

Due to all the fallacious aforementioned assumptions, it cannot be conclusively stated that ....( Repeat the Argument)....


As far as an Issue is concerned you could follow just about anything...this is what I followed...

A Strong Start (Give a general remark about the issue or if you could think of an Adage , then nothing like it. There is no need to take your stance here).....................................................
.............................................

Para 1: Rephrase the topic(issue) in your own words. Do not blindly copy it. Take your stand here. (I personally do not support both sides just because I do not get enough time to gather valid points on both sides.This is entirely your choice). Buttress it with certain examples that you will explain later..................................................................

Para 2: Explain the first example and your school of thought. (Its role in supporting your viewpoint).....................................................

Para 3:Explain second example and your understanding about the same (Its effect on the issue).................... .....

Para 4: Conclusion:Collate all your thoughts and write a gist about them. Finally end it with a general statement.....

[zoha.zargham]

Thank you! This is very helpful :)

[StaceyKoprince]

It's okay to have a general template in mind, but don't use one that everyone else is using. :) Try writing your own. Use synonyms. Pull in the actual issue at hand. "Reasonable people will disagree about this question" or "The issue under debate can be viewed in multiple ways" or "While there are often good reasons to prefer outsourcing, developing products internally is often more lucrative in the long-run" and so on.

[tweakin_it_up]

Stacey,

I used a pretty basic template that I found on another forum site for the AWA essays on my test today and i was wondering if there was anything negative that could come from that?

I used all of my own arguments and such as I had never seen the topic written about by anyone before, but small parts in the introduction and summary section of both essays may look familiar if you've seen the template before.

I'm the type of guy that worries about everything, so now that there's nothing left to worry about (great score on the GMAT today!) I've moved on to worrying about my AWAs.

I doubt there will be any problems, but any information would be greatly appreciated

[StaceyKoprince]

It's okay as long as what's similar or familiar is structural - eg, I have my topic sentence followed by my two example sentences - and not content-based - eg, a sentence that can be found verbatim by googling it. Nobody has a monopoly or copyright on structure. An actual sequence of words, though, is problematic. :)