The writing of comments
In a personal comment you add your own views of a problem. You do not discuss all the pros and cons of a subject, but you simply state at the very beginning what you think and to which conclusion you have come. Therefore, you normally begin with phrases like I believe that ... or In my opinion ... . Then you argue in order to defend your opinion and gain the support of your reader.
How to proceed in writing a comment
1. Read the question intensively and ask yourself whether you have understood the question (This is the normal case in examinations). Or choose a subject you are able to talk about.
2. Note down your main thoughts and collect possible facts to back your arguments.
3. The progressive paragraph is a suitable form:
• begin with a well-constructed topic sentence to whet your reader´s appetite,
• satisfy him with plenty of details and
• finish with a convincing statement referring back to the topic sentence.
4. Check whether you have been sticking to the subject.
Useful phrases:
How to begin...
I first want to make clear ....
In my opinion ...
The first point to mention ....
I object to ......
develop ....
With reference to what has been said ...
on the one hand ....., on the other hand ....
I would like to refer to further facts .....
In contrast to ....
I would like to compare this with ....
With regard to .....
to finish ...
When all´s said and done ....
In consequence of ......
I have come to the conclusion .....
In conclusion ......
I conclude ......
I am uncertain how to decide ........
Consequently .......
Read your text again and look for mistakes that normally occur in your exams.
Read your text at least twice, better three times to find all the important mistakes.
