Step 3—finding reasons and examples—ask yourself questions 通过问问题来确定原因和例子

　　Here you have different options. One trick is simply ask yourself the questions "why?" or "how?" or "when? or what?" That is often enough.

　　Step 4—thinking vocabulary gives you more "ideas" 通过词汇来激发灵感

　　This is something else I use with my students a lot. It might also work for you. The concept is that once you have words, then “ideas” come naturally from those words. Try thinking of “planning words” and see if it works for you.

　　Organising and selecting your ideas reasons and examples

　　Key concept—one idea per paragraph supported by reasons and examples 一段一观点

　　Look at these two sample paragraphs from the essay and see how I use simple ideas from the question:

　　Much of the argument against taking any action to save these species is that the process is irreversible.Just to take one example, there are now so few Giant Pandas left in the wild, they will in all probability become extinct in the foreseeable future. There are simply too few bamboo forests left in order for them to survive. This is also the case with many other endangered species who have lost, or are losing, their natural habitat.

　　NotesThe first sentence outlines what the paragraph is about. It is the idea from the question: Some people think it is too late to save them. The rest of paragraph is an explanation of that idea

　　Giant Pandas arre threatened and will die out (example)

　　Problem with habitat (extended example)

　　Other species have same pattern (explanation of example)

　　The opposite view is that it is the responsibilty of mankind to act and try and save these species for posterity.There is a moral aspect to this argument because most of these species are only endangered because of man’s actions and it is our duty to make amends. Another consideration is that advances in science, especially in the field of genetics, mean that we may be able to recreate some of their lost habitats. It is no longer the case that the only option is to preserve these species for future generations in zoos and botanical gardens.

　　Notes

　　You should see that this paragraph follows almost the same model. There is one clear and simple idea in the first sentence. It relates back to the question words: while others think humans should still take some action. The rest of the paragraph explains that idea:

　　moral duty because it is our fault (reason why)

　　science can now help through genetics (second reason why)

　　zoos are not the only solution (extended second reason why)

　　Key concept—you don't need to include all your reasons and examples

　　My "notes" for this essay included all this. They are my notes, so you don't need to understand them all. What I want you to see is that I have not included everything. In an academic essay I might have. Here I have selected the ideas that were easiest to write about.

　　zoos (example)

　　breed in captivity (example extended)

　　preservation (how)

　　giant pandas (example)

　　medical benefits (why)

　　loss of habitat (why)

　　river dolphins (example)

　　biodiversity (reason)

　　logging and rainforests (example)

　　dams (example)

　　progress of man (why)

　　deforestation (how)

　　bamboo forest (where)

　　science (why)

　　cloning (example)

　　genetics (example)

　　moral responsibility (why)

　　Key concept—balance your paragraphs

　　There are a number of different possible essay structures. My default (normal) structure is to have 2 paragraphs that balance each other—it is surprising how often this structure works. It is good for the coherence of the essay, it also makes it easier to write—especially if you are short of "ideas". You use the second content paragraph can reflect the ideas in the first paragraph, but from the opposite point of view.