Essay
Explore or argue a position through audience-aware writing.
Write for the situation
Audience
a reader expecting a reasoned discussion
Purpose
Explore or argue a position
Register and tone
Reasoned, appropriately formal and precise
Avoid
Memorised arguments that ignore the task
Conventions that help the reader
A clear position or line of inquiry; logical paragraphing; developed examples; coherent conclusion. These are adaptable guidance: task, audience and purpose decide the choices.
A flexible route through the text
- 1Introduce the issue and position
- 2Develop a reason with an example
- 3Consider another perspective
- 4Reach a justified conclusion
Language to develop
Choose precise verbs and examples. Connect reasons and consequences, qualify claims when necessary and vary sentence forms without forcing unfamiliar language.
Planning question
Where does each example help establish your argument?
Model extract · Social organization
This original teaching extract shows selected choices. It is shorter than a complete Paper 1 response and is not an IB-marked exemplar.
Peer mentoring can help new students participate in school life, but its value depends on the quality of the relationship rather than the existence of a scheme. A shared activity may create a manageable first conversation and introduce a newcomer to a wider community. Nevertheless, an unsuitable match could make the student feel more exposed. Schools should therefore provide a way to change partners without embarrassment. A programme that combines purposeful meetings with participant choice is more likely to support belonging than compulsory friendship.
Read as a writer
Find evidence of the intended reader, purpose and register. Identify a convention that makes the text usable.
Explore the content
Underline an example, reason or practical detail. Explain what it contributes, then develop the next paragraph yourself.
Connect it to each core theme
Identities
Your school is considering a multilingual welcome project.
Write an essay for a reader expecting a reasoned discussion. Develop a reasoned position, address an opposing argument and reach a justified conclusion.
Theme connection: how language choices shape belonging.
Planning focus: Where does each example help establish your argument?
Plan this taskExperiences
Your school is considering a student exchange programme.
Write an essay for a reader expecting a reasoned discussion. Develop a reasoned position, address an opposing argument and reach a justified conclusion.
Theme connection: what students gain from an unfamiliar experience.
Planning focus: Where does each example help establish your argument?
Plan this taskHuman ingenuity
Your school is considering an AI-supported language-learning app.
Write an essay for a reader expecting a reasoned discussion. Develop a reasoned position, address an opposing argument and reach a justified conclusion.
Theme connection: how technology helps learners and where its limits lie.
Planning focus: Where does each example help establish your argument?
Plan this taskSocial organization
Your school is considering a school peer-mentoring programme.
Write an essay for a reader expecting a reasoned discussion. Develop a reasoned position, address an opposing argument and reach a justified conclusion.
Theme connection: how a community can support newcomers.
Planning focus: Where does each example help establish your argument?
Plan this taskSharing the planet
Your school is considering a student-led food-waste project.
Write an essay for a reader expecting a reasoned discussion. Develop a reasoned position, address an opposing argument and reach a justified conclusion.
Theme connection: how individuals and institutions can reduce waste.
Planning focus: Where does each example help establish your argument?
Plan this taskTeach, practise and refine
- Read a real example of this text type and identify its readership and purpose.
- Annotate the model extract, then discuss how a different audience would change its wording.
- Select a theme task. Plan all required actions before writing; develop examples rather than listing them.
- Draft independently, review audience and task coverage, then revise one paragraph.
Teacher language
Where does each example help establish your argument?
Support without fixing every sentence
Offer an audience–purpose planning grid, a few useful connectors and oral rehearsal. Then remove the paragraph openings and ask for independent wording. Extend by developing an alternative viewpoint or a justified qualification.
Self-check
- Have I addressed every instruction?
- Do the reader, purpose, tone and conventions match?
- Does each main idea have a developed example or explanation?
- Have I checked verb forms, reference, spelling and punctuation?