Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................5

Advantages & Disadvantages...................................................................................6 

1. Writing about advantages........................................................................................6 

2. Writing about disadvantages ...................................................................................7

Agreeing.....................................................................................................................9 

1. To agree with someone or something......................................................................9 

2. To partly agree with someone or something ..........................................................10 

3. When a group of people agree ..............................................................................10

Aim or Purpose.........................................................................................................12 

1. Ways of saying what the aim or purpose of something is.......................................12 

2. Words meaning aim or purpose.............................................................................13

Approximate / Exact.................................................................................................15 

1. Words meaning approximately ..............................................................................15 

2. Words meaning exactly .........................................................................................16

Causes......................................................................................................................18 

1. To cause something to happen..............................................................................18 

2. Ways of saying that something is caused by another thing....................................20 

3. To be one of the things that cause something to happen.......................................20

Certainty & Uncertainty............................................................................................23 

1. Ways of saying that you are certain about something............................................23 

2. Ways of saying that you are not certain about something......................................24

Comparing & Contrasting........................................................................................26 

1. What you say when comparing things or people....................................................26 

2. To compare things or people .................................................................................27

Concluding...............................................................................................................29 

1. What you say when concluding your essay or argument .......................................29 

2. Saying again what your aims were at the conclusion of an essay..........................30

Decreasing................................................................................................................31 

1. To decrease ..........................................................................................................31 

2. To make something decrease ...............................................................................32 

3. A decrease ............................................................................................................34 

4. When something stops decreasing........................................................................35

Disagreeing...............................................................................................................36 

1. To disagree with someone or with an opinion........................................................36 

2. When people disagree about something................................................................37 

3. Causing disagreement...........................................................................................37

Effects.......................................................................................................................39 

1. Words meaning effect............................................................................................39 

2. To affect something or someone ...........................................................................40

Emphasizing.............................................................................................................42 

1. What you say when emphasizing that something is important...............................42 

2. Ways of emphasizing one person or thing more than others .................................43 

3. To emphasize something.......................................................................................44

Explaining.................................................................................................................45 

1. What you say when you are explaining something ................................................45 

2. Words meaning to explain something....................................................................46

Giving Example........................................................................................................48 

1. What you say when giving an example..................................................................48 

2. What you say when there are a lot of other examples of something ......................49 

3. To give something or someone as an example......................................................50

Giving Exceptions....................................................................................................51 

1. Ways of saying that something or someone is an exception..................................51 

2. Someone or something that is not included ...........................................................52

Giving Opinions........................................................................................................53 

1. What you say when giving your opinion about something......................................53 

2. Ways of saying what another person’s opinion is ..................................................54 

3. To say what your opinion is about something ........................................................55

Giving Reasons........................................................................................................56 

1. What you say when giving reasons for something .................................................56 

2. Words meaning reason .........................................................................................57 

3. A reason that does not seem believable ................................................................59

Increasing.................................................................................................................60 

1. To increase............................................................................................................60 

2. To make something increase.................................................................................61 

3. An increase ...........................................................................................................63 

4. When something does not increase, or stops increasing .......................................65

Linking Parts Of A Sentence...................................................................................66 

1. Words meaning 'and' or 'also' ................................................................................66 

2. Words meaning 'because'......................................................................................67 

3. Words meaning 'but' or 'although' ..........................................................................69 

4. Words meaning 'if' .................................................................................................71 

5. Words meaning 'in order to' ...................................................................................72 

6. Words meaning 'or'................................................................................................73 

7. Words meaning 'therefore'.....................................................................................74

Listing & Ordering....................................................................................................77 

1. What you say when ordering a group of things that you want to mention...............77 

2. Ways of introducing a list of reasons, causes, points etc .......................................79

Making Generalizations...........................................................................................81 

1 .Ways of saying that something is true about most people or things.......................81 

2. To say that something is true about most people or things ....................................83

Problems & Solutions..............................................................................................84 

1. Problems ...............................................................................................................84 

2. Small problems......................................................................................................86 

3. Solutions ...............................................................................................................87

Quoting People.........................................................................................................90 

Ways of quoting what someone has said...................................................................90

Reffering...................................................................................................................92 

1. Referring to an earlier part of an essay, report etc .................................................92 

2. Referring to a later part of an essay, report etc......................................................93 

3. Referring to another piece of work.........................................................................94

Related / Unrelated...................................................................................................97 

1. Ways of saying that two things are related ............................................................97 

2. Related to what is being discussed........................................................................99 

3. Not related.............................................................................................................99 

4. Not related to what you are discussing ................................................................100

Showing & Proving................................................................................................102 

1. To show that something is true............................................................................102 

2. To show that something is likely ..........................................................................104 

3. To show that something is untrue ........................................................................105

Study & Research...................................................................................................106 

1. To study something in order to try to find out more about it .................................106 

2. The work of studying something ..........................................................................107 

3. A piece of writing by someone who is studying a subject.....................................109 

4. The results of someone's research......................................................................110

Subjects & Topics..................................................................................................111 

1. Ways of saying what the subject of something is.................................................111 

2. Words meaning subject.......................................................................................112

Introduction

The Essay  Activator has  been  created  to  help you  improve  your  written English.  By 

varying the range of vocabulary and expressions that you use, your essays will become 

richer and your grades will improve. 

You can see from the menu on the left-hand side of your screen that there are 28 Essay 

Activators.  Each  of  these  contains  all  the  important  words  and  phrases  that  can  be 

used to perform a particular function in your essay, for example showing that you agree 

with  an  idea  (Agreeing);  explaining  how  something  has  increased  (Increasing)  or 

saying what other people think (Quoting People). The language covered by the Essay 

Activator is not related to any particular subject area. For subject-related vocabulary you 

should look at the Topic Activator.

Each Essay  Activator is  divided  into  sections.  Look,  for  example,  at  the Essay 

Activator on Giving  Examples.  This  is  divided  into  3  sections:  what  you  say  when 

giving an example; what you say when there are a lot of other examples of something; to 

give someone or something as an example. If you want to give some examples in your 

essay,  look  at  Section  1  and  you  will  find  a  variety  of  words  and  phrases  to  avoid 

repeating  for  example  every  time: for  instance,  be  a  case  in  point,  by  way  of 

illustrationetc. If there are a lot of examples you could mention, look at Section 2 for 

ways of dealing with this: such as, including, to name but a fewetc. 

Each  word  or phrase  is followed  by  an  explanation of the meaning  and/or use and is 

illustrated with example sentences. These examples can be used as models for you to 

produce your own natural-sounding sentences. 

In  each  of  the Essay  Activators you  will  also  find  Study  Notes  about  grammar  and 

formality. For example, in Section 2 of Giving Examplesthere is a Study Note at such 

as to  explain  that  there  is  not  usually  a  comma  before  this  phrase,  whereas  there  is 

usually one before for exampleand including. 

Look at the Exercisessection of the Writing Handbookfor activities which will help you 

to practise using the vocabulary included in the Essay Activators

Advantages & Disadvantages

1. Writing about advantages 

2. Writing about disadvantages

1. Writing about advantages 

advantage noun[countable] a good feature that something has, which makes it better, 

more useful etc than other things: 

• The great advantage ofdigital cameras is thatthere is no film to process. 

• The advantage ofusing a specialist firm is that the people who work there have years 

of experience. 

• One of the big advantages ofthis type of engine is thatit is smaller and lighter than a 

conventional petrol engine. 

• The university has the advantage ofbeing one of the oldest and best respected in the 

country. 

• The movement of the sea is predictable. This giveswave power a distinct advantage 

over(=an obvious advantage compared to) wind power. 

• Despite  a few problems with  the design,  the car's advantagesclearly outweigh  its 

disadvantages. (=the problems are not enough to stop it being a good car) 

benefit noun [countable]  a  feature  of  something  that  has  a  good  effect  on  people's 

lives: 

• Regular exercise has many benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease. 

• Modern technology has brought great benefitsto mankind. 

•  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  research  into  the potential  benefits  of using 

genetically modified crops. 

merit noun[countable] a good feature  that something has, which you  consider when 

you are deciding whether it is the best choice: 

• The committee will consider the merits ofthe proposals. 

•  In  her  book,  she  discusses  the relative  merits  of the  two  political  systems.  (=she 

compares the features that they have) 

• The  merits  and  demerits  of (=the  good  and  bad  features  of)  alternative  funding 

systems were widely discussed in the newspapers. 

• The chairman saw no great merit inthis suggestion. (=he did not think that it was a 

good idea)

good point noun[countable] a good feature that something has: 

• One of the good points aboutthe car is that it is easy to drive. 

• Each system has its goodand bad points. 

plus point noun[countable] a good feature that something has: 

• The small but powerful battery is another of the camera's many plus points. 

•  The  estate  agent's  leaflet  said a  major  plus  point was  the  recently  modernized 

kitchen. 

the good / great / best thing about used  when  mentioning a  good feature of 

something: 

• The great thing aboutliving in a city is thatyou can go shopping at almost any hour 

of the day or night. 

• Her wicked sense of humour was the best thing abouther. 

• The good thing aboutcycling is thatyou don't have to worry about getting stuck in a 

traffic jam. 

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 

the good/great/best thing aboutis rather informal. Don't use it in formal essays. 

the beauty of something is that used when you want to emphasize that something has 

a very good or useful feature: 

• The beauty ofthe design is thatit is so simple. 

2. Writing about disadvantages 

disadvantage noun [countable]  a  bad  feature  that  something  has,  which  makes  it 

less good, less useful etc than other things: 

• The main disadvantageof this book is its price. 

• These vaccines have two serious disadvantages. Firstly, they are not 100% effective, 

and secondly, they are expensive to make. 

• A major disadvantage ofusing large quantities of chemicals is that they quickly get 

absorbed into soil. 

drawback noun[countable] a disadvantage which makes you think that something is 

not so good, even though it has other advantages: 

• The major drawback ofthis method is that it can be very time-consuming. 

• Aluminium is very light and also very strong. Its main drawbackis that it cools down 

very rapidly. 

• Summer in the Scottish islands can be beautiful. The only drawback isthe weather, 

which can be very changeable. 

downside noun [singular]  the  disadvantage  of  a  situation  that  in  most  other  ways 

seems good or enjoyable: 

• The  downside  ofrunning  your own business is that you  are  responsible  if  anything 

goes wrong. 

• Everyone wants to be rich and famous, but it does have its downside. 

• Most comfort eaters enjoy what they eat, but the downsideis that they soon start to 

put on weight. 

bad point noun[countable] a bad feature that something has: 

• There are good points and bad points aboutsingle sex schools. 

• For all its bad points, and there are many, it is still the best software system of its kind 

available

Agreeing *opposite Disagreeing

1. To agree with someone or something 

2. To partly agree with someone or something 

3. When a group of people agree 

1. To agree with someone or something 

agree verb [intransitive  and  transitive]  to  have  the  same  opinion  as  someone,  or  to 

think that a statement is correct: 

• Many people agreed withhis views about the war. 

• I completely agree withChomsky when he says that humans are born with a special 

ability to learn language. 

• Most experts agree thatdieting needs to be accompanied by regular exercise. 

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 

Don’t say  ‘agree someone's opinion' or ‘agree to someone's opinion'. Say agree with

someone's opinion. 

share  somebody's  view  /  concern  /  fear  etc to  have  the  same  opinion, 

concern, fear etc as someone else: 

• I shareher concerns aboutthe lack of women in high academic positions. 

• A lot of people sharehis view thattourism will have a negative impact on the island. 

• This fearwas sharedby union leaders, who saw the new law as an attack on their 

rights. 

subscribe to a view / theory etc to agree with an opinion or idea: 

• There are a number of scientists who subscribe to the viewthat there is a God who 

controls the workings of the universe. 

•  Some people  think  that  there are  cases  where  torture  is  justified.  I,  for  one,  do  not 

subscribeto this theory. 

be of the same opinion if people are of the same opinion, they agree with each 

other: 

• All three specialists were of the same opinion aboutthe cause of her illness. 

• Professor Dawkins is of the same opinion asDr Jones

concur verb[intransitive and transitive] a formal word meaning to agree: 

• The committee concurred withthis view. 

• Most modern historians would readily concur that(=agree without any hesitation) this 

was an event of huge importance. 

•  As  most  biblical  scholars concur,  the  letter  could  not  have  been  written  by  any 

contemporary of Jesus. 

somebody is right / somebody makes a valid pointused when you agree 

with what someone says: 

•  Darwin  was right when  he  argued  that  humans  and  higher  mammals  are  closely 

related. 

• Cox makes a valid pointwhen he questions our ability to remain objective. 

2. To partly agree with someone or something 

agree up to a point to partly agree with someone or something: 

• Although I agree withhim up to a  point,  I find  it hard  to believe that  this  is true  in 

every case. 

broadly agree to agree with most parts of something: 

• The conference delegates broadly agreedwith the proposals. 

there is some truth in used when saying that you think that something is partly true 

or right: 

• There is some  truth  in the argument thatthere is a  link between violence on our 

streets and violence on our TV screens. 

• There is some truth inall of these theories, but none of them can fully explain the 

causes of unemployment. 

3. When a group of people agree 

agreement noun [uncountable]  if  there  is agreement on  something,  people  agree 

about it: 

• Today there is general agreement thatpollution from cars and planes is threatening 

the future of our planet. 

• There is widespread agreement onthe need for prison reform. (=most people agree 

about it) 

• Geologists aremostly in agreement abouthow the islands  were formed. (=most  of 

them agree about it)

•  The  two  sides  were  unable  to reach  agreement.  (=they  could  not  agree  with  each 

other) 

consensus noun[singular,uncountable] agreement between most of the people in a 

group about something, especially with the result that they decide on a particular course 

of action: 

•  There  is  now  a general  consensus  among scientists  on the  causes  of  global 

warming. 

• There was a growing consensus thatthe military government had to be replaced. 

common  ground noun [singular,  uncountable]  things  that  people  agree  about, 

especially when there are other things that they disagree about: 

• There are many areas of common ground betweenthe two philosophers. 

• Despite  their differing backgrounds, they found common groundin  their interest  in 

science. 

unanimous adjectiveif a group of people are unanimouson something, they all have 

the same opinion about it: 

• Medical experts are unanimous onthis issue. 

• They were unanimous in their oppositionto the plan. 

• a unanimous decisionby the three judges 

widely held view / belief etcan opinion, belief etc that many people have: 

• There is a widely held view amongbusiness experts that selling off a business to a 

management team is not in the best interests of the company's shareholders. 

• There is a widely held belief thatadvanced western societies are becoming more and 

more criminalized. 

widely / generally accepted if something is widelyor generally accepted, it is 

thought to be true by most people: 

• It isnow widely accepted thatthe universe began with the so-called 'big bang'. 

• It  is  generally  accepted  that electricity  generated  from  nuclear  power  is  more 

expensive than other forms of electricity.

Aim or Purpose

1. Ways of saying what the aim or purpose of something is 

2. Words meaning aim or purpose

1. Ways of saying what the aim or purpose of something is 

aim to do something to try to achieve something: 

•  This  paper aims  to show  how  science  and  technology  have  influenced  the  work  of 

artists. 

• The research aims toanswer two questions. First, what causes the disease? Second, 

is it possible to find a cure? 

•  In  this  study, we  aimed to  record  the  number  of  birds  who  returned  to  the  same 

woodland for a second summer. 

set  out  to  do  something to  try  to  achieve  something.  You  use set  out  to  do 

somethingespecially when talking about someone's original aims when they start to do 

something: 

• The organization never achieved what it set out todo. 

• The first chapter sets out toexplain the origins of modern science. 

• The authors set out toshow how men's and women's language are different from each 

other. 

in order to so that someone can do something, or so that something can happen: 

• Tests were carried out in order to findout if the drug had any side effects. 

be intended to do somethingif something  is intended to do something,  it is 

done for that purpose: 

• The course is intended to provide a basic introduction to molecular biology. 

• The dams were intended to control the flooding which affects the river in winter. 

be supposed to do something / be meant to do something to be intended 

to have a particular result or effect. You use these phrases especially when something 

actually fails to achieve what was originally planned: 

• The film is supposed tobe a serious drama. 

• The scheme was meant toimprove the city's image

2. Words meaning aim or purpose 

aim noun[countable] what you want to achieve when you do something: 

• The main aims ofthe project are as follows. 

• The main aim ofthe study is toinvestigate the way in which young people deal with 

the stress of exams. 

• The bank achievedits aim ofattracting 50,000 customers by the end of the year. 

• One of the aims ofthis chapter is toexplain Freud's theory of the mind. 

• My  aim in  this  article  is  to examine  ways  in  which  the  present  system  could  be 

improved. 

• A cure for cancer is our ultimate aim. (=the most important aim, which you hope one 

day to achieve) 

purpose noun[countable] the reason why you do something, and the thing that you 

want to achieve when you do it: 

• He did not tell them about the purpose ofhis visit. 

• The main purpose  ofeducation is tohelp people to lead  satisfying  and productive 

lives. 

•  The main  purpose  of the  changes  is  to  reduce  costs  and  improve  the  service  to 

customers. 

• The United Nations was established for the purpose ofprotecting basic human rights. 

• The information will be used for research purposes. 

• Many plants from the rainforest are used for medical purposes. 

objective noun[countable] the thing that someone is trying to achieve, especially in 

business or politics: 

• The policy has three main objectives: firstly, to increase food production; secondly, to 

improve the distribution of food; and finally, to improve the diet of ordinary people. 

• The principal objective ofany company is to make money for its shareholders. 

•  The  government  is  unlikely  to achieve its long-term  objective of  cutting  CO2 

emissions. 

goal noun[countable] something that a person or organization hopes to achieve in the 

future, even though this may take a long time: 

• It took Mandela over forty years to achievehis goal ofa democratic South Africa. 

• The company's long-term goalis to be the market leader in this type of technology. 

• World leaders have setthemselves the goal ofgetting rid of child poverty. 

target noun[countable] the exact result, often a number or an amount of something, 

that a person or organization intends to achieve: 

•  The  University  is  expected  to reach its target  of 5000  students  next  September. 

(=achieve its target)

• They failed to meettheir target ofhaving a computer in every classroom. 

• He sethimself the target ofraising over $1 million for cancer research. 

intention noun[uncountable and countable] something that you intend to do: 

• Their intention was tosail on February 10th, but bad weather made this impossible. 

• She went to Hollywood with the intention ofstarting a career in movies. (=that was 

the reason she went there) 

•  Rafsanjani  said  that  Iran had  no  intention  of developing  nuclear  weapons.  (=they 

definitely did not intend to do this) 

• The reader can never be 100% sure of the writer's original intentions. 

• It wasnever their intention toencourage people to break the law. 

• It is not my intentionhere togive a detailed account of all the events that led up to 

the war. 

mission noun[countable] something that a person or organization hopes to achieve, 

which they consider to be very important and forms the basis of their activities: 

• The agency's mission is toprovide medical and psychological help to victims of the 

war. 

• Our mission is toeducate people about the disease. 

• The students are on a mission torecord and preserve the history of their area. (=they 

are trying hard to do something, because they feel it is very important) 

the point noun[singular] the purpose of doing something and the reason why it is right 

or necessary: 

• The point of the experiment is to show how different metals react with oxygen. 

• People sometimes find it difficult to see the point ofstudying subjects such as Latin at 

school. (=they find it difficult to understand why it is necessary) 

• He felt that his critics were completely missing the point. (=they failed to understand 

the most important purpose or reason for something) 

ends noun [plural]  the  result  that  someone  is  trying  to  achieve,  when  this  is  bad  or 

dishonest: 

• Several politicians were accused of trying to exploit the situation for their own ends. 

(=use it in order to get advantages for themselves) 

• The terrorists will do almost anything to achieve their ends.