So in this video, we're going to go through the entire process of writing a TOEIC opinion essay.

First, we're going to carefully read the task, go through the analysis and the planning process, then we'll look at a sample.

And this will give you some ideas of how you can get a good score on test day.

But before we get started, just a quick reminder that for the opinion essay, you need to write an essay with a minimum of 300 words, and you'll have 30 minutes to do this.

That's 30 minutes total, meaning you will have 30 minutes to plan, write and check your essay.

Let's start by looking at today's essay question.

So here we can see the instructions.

You'll see these on test day, but it's always a good idea to read them carefully.

The question is asking you to state, explain and support your opinion on an issue, and to do so with 300 words.

You'll be graded on whether or not your opinion is supported with reasons and/or examples.

You grammar, vocabulary and organization.

Now, keep in mind, this doesn't just mean that you've written correct grammar and vocabulary.

You want to make sure that you've effectively addressed the question and effectively supported your position with real reasons.

Let's have a look at the essay prompt.

Looking at the prompt, we see that first there is a context.

Younger workers often look to older workers for advice, as they have valuable wisdom and work experience to share.

Yet the value of young workers knowledge is often overlooked.

So here, they're stating that we usually don't value younger workers knowledge in the workplace.

Keep in mind that you can't really question this, you must accept it as true, even if you disagree with the premise.

Back to the prompt.

Do you think there is nothing that young workers can teach older workers?

Give reasons or examples to support your opinion.

Okay, so the question is, do you think there is nothing that young workers can teach older workers?

Yes or no?

Can the younger ones teach the older ones?

That is the question you must answer.

So on test day, the first thing you'll want to do is brainstorm and make notes.

Now, you only have 30 minutes total for this.

So you'll have to be economical with your time.

So first, it's best to take three minutes to brainstorm and make a plan.

Let's start with brainstorming.

Feel free to pause the video here and make some notes.

When you're done, I'll show you my notes.

Go ahead, pause for one minute or take longer and see what comes to mind.

Great.

Let's have a look at my notes.

So you can see here, I've got a clear position, young workers can indeed teach older workers many things.

Then I've got two points.

The first is technology.

Young people often have to help older people with new tech.

And second, younger people often help older people understand what's going on in social movements and cultural changes.

Great.

So remember, it's your ideas.

Now at my job, to be honest, sometimes it's the opposite.

Sometimes the older workers are more knowledgeable than the younger ones about technology.

But as long as you support your ideas with clear examples, it will be fine.

Your work might be very different from mine.

Moving on.

On test day, you will want to write with a clear structure.

That structure will look something like this.

You'll have four paragraphs, an introduction where you'll state your position, yes or no,

two body paragraphs where you'll support and extend your positions, and then a conclusion where you'll wrap up your essay.

So let's make a plan.

I recommend taking two minutes to write your plan, but take longer if you need to.

You have quite a lot of time to take to brainstorm and make a plan, the easier it will be to write.

Okay, so on test day, we recommend you take no more than three minutes to brainstorm and plan your essay.

If you're confident with your writing, however, take more, but don't feel pressure to start writing immediately.

It's best to have ideas first.

If you have ideas, you'll be able to write much faster.

Trust me, I've spent years watching students, and they often start writing quickly.

And then after five minutes, they stop writing because they struggle to think of ideas.

Remember, ideas first, then write.

Two quick reminders.

First, write with the criteria in mind.

This can be a lot to remember.

My advice is this:

focus on the clarity of your argument,

develop and support your position,

answer all parts of the question,

and present a consistent position and extend your ideas.

Then remember to use a proper clear structure.

Use paragraphs, an introduction, two or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

That's going to cover most of the important points of the essay.

And remember, the more you focus on extending and developing your ideas, the easier it will be to use complex grammar and more advanced vocabulary.

Some of these words might help you to remember how to write advanced grammar.

Words like if, even though, while and because are important if you're aiming for a high score, and they are a express complex ideas.

But keep in mind that we use these words to express complex ideas.

So if you haven't brainstormed and developed your ideas yet, it's going to be harder to use these and make sure you get lots of practice.

Also, be sure on test day to leave two minutes to check your essay for spelling, grammar or punctuation errors.

Catching a few errors could have an impact on your score.

Now, I'm going to go through a sample essay, but feel free to pause the video and write your own essay.

Otherwise, here we go.

Here's my intro.

Now, one of the key elements of a good TOEIC score is having a clear argument.

This is accomplished here with the last sentence of my introduction.

There are many areas in which young workers have knowledge that they can share with older generations.

So I disagree with the idea that there is nothing that younger people can bring to the table.

Next, my body paragraphs will support this argument.

Let's look at the body paragraphs one at a time.

Start with the first sentence of each paragraph or the topic sentence.

Each of them states a clear point that supports the argument.

In the first paragraph, "Perhaps the most obvious area in which young workers have something to offer is in the field of technology."

So young people help with technology.

Then the rest of the paragraph uses a range of sentence structures and vocabulary to support this idea, and it's all accurate.

In the second paragraph, it says, "The other area in which young workers can educate older generations, although they may not always be receptive, is in matters of social movements and cultural shifts."

So, young people can help older people better understand modern culture.

And once again, a range of grammar and vocabulary has been used, and it's all correct.

Now, of course, you may be worried about grammar and vocabulary, but don't be.

The most important thing to do is practice.

Work on reducing the errors that you make, and you'll get the best possible result you can.

Remember, you can make grammar mistakes in this test and still get a good score.

But you must keep that number down.

Finally, I have my conclusion, a brief review of what I said.

By the way, I love the way this conclusion uses even though at the beginning to show that yes, the older generations will continue to give us useful advice and guidance.

But this by no means means that young people have nothing to share.

And that's it.

You must have a clear position that is well-organized and has a range of sentence structures and vocabulary that are as accurate as you can make them.

Good luck.