A cursory scan through the recent posts here seems to indicate that many O level students are planning to pen argumentative essays tomorrow. Hence, the anxiety about which question will come up for the exam ensues.

I think instead of trying to cover all bases and predict the topic that will be tested, why don’t we crowdsource a list of high-value words and phrases that you typically like to sprinkle on your argumentative essays? That way, people go into the examination hall tomorrow, armed with some tried-and-tested vocabulary to flex the examiners with.

here is my list of favourites:

• Myriad / a plethora of
• overwhelmed with stress
• ⁠alleviate our stress
• ⁠unrelentingly / relentlessly hectic
• ⁠live a life with passion and purpose
• challenging
• repercussions / Consequences
• Decline / Deterioration
• Drawback / Detrimental