Picture the examiner's afternoon
They have been reading essays since this morning. Yours is the 61st. They are not bored with you, they are bored with a sentence, because a large share of those sixty essays opened with the same one. None of these lines is a grammar mistake, which is exactly why nobody ever warns you about them. They simply say nothing, and they cost you twice: once in words, and once in the impression that you memorized your essay before you saw the question.
7 lines to retire
In today's modern, fast-paced world
✕In today's modern, fast-paced world, technology plays an important role in our daily life.
✓Smartphones have changed the way families talk to each other.
This opening could sit on top of any essay about anything, which means it belongs to none of them. Start with the actual subject and you have said something in your first six words.
Since the dawn of time
✕Since the dawn of time, human beings have always needed education.
✓Free university education is now a serious political question in many countries.
You are not writing a history of humanity. You have about 40 minutes and 280 words. Start where the question starts.
Every coin has two sides
✕Every coin has two sides, so this issue has advantages and disadvantages.
✓Remote work saves time and money, but it quietly damages the thing offices were built for.
This is a saying, not an argument, and it is one the examiner has met all day. Name the two sides instead of announcing that two sides exist.
It is a double-edged sword
✕Social media is a double-edged sword for young people.
✓Social media gives teenagers a wider world and a smaller amount of sleep.
The phrase is fine English. It is just worn out from overuse, and it hides the specific point you were about to make. Say the two edges.
Different people have different opinions
✕Different people have different opinions about this topic.
✓Parents and teachers usually disagree about this for one clear reason: they are measuring different things.
Of course they do, that is why there is a question. This sentence uses words to say nothing at all. If you name WHO disagrees and WHY, the same idea becomes real content.
This is a controversial topic
✕This is a very controversial topic which has been debated for many years.
✓The argument usually comes down to cost, and cost is where it should be settled.
Announcing that a debate exists is not part of the debate. Enter it. Your introduction should already show your position, not warm up toward one.
I 100 percent totally agree
✕I 100 percent totally agree with this statement without any doubt.
✓I agree, although only where the schools are already well funded.
Piling up words does not make a position stronger. A clear, slightly limited opinion is easier to defend for four paragraphs, and defending it is where the marks are.
The real damage is not the words
Losing twenty words hurts, but there is something worse. The moment an examiner recognizes one memorized sentence, they start reading the rest of your essay looking for the others. Every phrase that is even slightly formal now feels prepared rather than yours. One tired opening changes how the whole page is read, and you never get that first impression back.
The test for any sentence you were about to write
✓Could this exact sentence sit on top of an essay about a completely different topic? Then delete it.
✓Does it contain one specific noun from the question? If not, it is warming up, not writing.
✓Would you say this to a friend who asked you the same question? If not, it is a costume, not a voice.
✓Did you write it before you read the question? Then it is not an answer.
What to do with your first sentence instead
The best opening is not clever. It is specific. Take the main noun of the question and say one true thing about it, in your own ordinary words. "More parents are working from home than ever before." Nine words, no formula, and the examiner now knows this essay was written after the question was read. That is a better start than any memorized line, and it costs you nothing to learn.
Read next
More on the habits that quietly cost marks: 6 IELTS writing myths that lower your score and when linking words start hurting you.
See your essay the way an examiner does
It is hard to hear your own memorized sentences, because they were taught to you as good writing. Write your next essay in VoyaLang and read the feedback on Task Response and Lexical Resource. Empty phrases, padding and repeated openings show up in your own sentences, next to a stronger version of the same essay. Create a free account and check your next essay in about a minute.
