It is often said/It is often asserted/It is often claimed that the youth of today doesn’t care for anything but pleasure.

It would be universally acknowledged that unemployment is the greatest scourge of our days.

It is a truism/It is a commonplace that nothing of value is achieved without dedication.

It is undeniably true that war springs from greed.

It is a well-known fact that children up to the age of three have no concept of the extension of time.

For the great majority of people, literature is a subject that is studied in school but which has no relevance to life as they know it.

It is sometimes forgotten that investment is essential for economic growth.

It would be naive to suppose that all politicians act in the public interest all of the time.

It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that carelessness is the reason for all road accidents.

There are several aspects to the problem of understanding Shakespearean comedy.

A problem that is often debated nowadays is that of world famine and how to deal with it.

The question of whether Hamlet was really mad has occupied critics for generations.

The concept of existentialism is not an easy one to grasp.

The idea of getting rich without too much effort has universal appeal.

We live in a world in which capitalism seems triumphant.

One of the most striking features of this problem (issue/topic/question) is the way it arouses strong emotions.
One of the most striking aspects of …

A number of key issues arise from this statement.

History provides numerous instances of misguided national heroes who eventually did more harm than good.

It is hard to open a newspaper nowadays without being faced (oder confronted) with some new example of mindless violence.

What this question boils down to is: was Eliot at heart more of a philosopher than a poet?

What can we make of a somewhat sweeping assertion like this? It would be dangerous to reject it in its entirety without …

First of all, let us try to understand what the writer really means.

It is easy enough to make broad generalizations about the evils of alcohol, but in reality the issue is an extremely complex one.

The statement merits closer examination. We might ask ourselves why…

The public in general tends to believe that all education is a good thing, without regard to the quality of that education.

What we are mainly concerned with here is the conflict between what the hero says and what he does.

It is often the case that truth is stranger than fiction, and never more so than in this instance.

By way of introduction, let us give a brief review of the background to this question.

We commonly think of people as isolated individuals, but in fact few of us ever spend more than an hour or two of our waking hours alone.

It is surprising that faith survives at all, far less that it should flourish, in an industrialized society like ours.

The first thing that needs to be said is that the author is presenting a one-sided, even bigoted, view.

What should be established at the very outset is that we are dealing here with a practical rather than a philosophical issue.

First of all, let us consider the advantages of urban life.

Let us begin with oder I propose to consider first the social aspects of this question.

Let us see if there is any real substance in this claim/assertion/statement.

Was Othello a naive man or not? This is a question which we must examine carefully/closely before we &hellip

An argument in support of this approach is that it does in fact produce practical results.

We are often faced in daily life with the choice between our sense of duty and our own personal inclinations.

Even the most superficial look at this issue raises fundamental questions about the nature and purpose of human existence.

We must distinguish carefully between the two possible interpretations of this statement.

This brings us to the question of whether the language used is appropriate to the task the author sets himself.

It is interesting to consider how far this is true of other nations.

One might mention, in support of the above thesis, the striking speech of Frederick in Act III.

The second reason for advocating this course of action is that it benefits the community at large.

Another telling argument in support of this viewpoint is that it makes sense economically.

An important aspect of Milton’s imagery is the play of light and shade.

It would be reasonable to assume that the writer is sincere in his praise of such behaviour.

The fundamental reason for believing this assumption to be true is that subsequent events seem to prove it.

We need not concern ourselves here with the author’s intentions in disclosing these facts so early in the book.

It is now time to discuss the character of Sir James, and how this develops during the course of the first act.

When we speak of culture, we have in mind the development of the human spirit and its expression in various ways.

I will confine myself to a brief outline of the problem, looking more particularly at how it affects the poorer countries of Africa.

I am not concerned here with the undoubted difficulties and pitfalls inherent in the introduction of a new form of examination in secondary education.

It is worth stating at this point that the position is exactly the same in most other countries.

Finally, there is the related problem of how to explain the concept of original sin.

On the other hand, it is observable that people do not normally behave like this in practice.

It may be asserted, however, that this is a superficial point of view.

The other side of the coin is, however, that free enterprise may create economic chaos in certain circumstances.

Another way of looking at this question is to consider its social implications.

The snag about this argument is that it undermines the principles of free speech.

The author says it is style that matters. The very opposite may be true.

The claim she makes has much to recommend it, but it goes too far.

It is difficult to share the writer’s belief/view/opinion that with a little goodwill everything comes right in the end.

To say that Parker’s death was fortuitous is, however, a totally unjustified assumption.

In actual fact it would be more accurate to say that the fault lies in the monetary system itself.

All this may well be true enough, but we should not forget the victim herself.

If you consider the author’s real intentions, this argument is an extremely weak one.

Hackneyed arguments of this kind are scarcely convincing even in the popular press, far less in a work which claims to have been seriously researched.

Paradoxical though it may seem, we must look for good in evil itself, for without that evil, how may good be identified?

It will be objected that punctuality, or at least a semblance of it, is necessary for civilised life.

The difficulty about supporting this statement is that the facts appear to contradict it.

The fact of the matter/The truth of the matter is surely that television presentation does influence voting patterns.

We have now established certain principles, but when all is said and done it must be acknowledged that a purely theoretical approach to social issues is sterile.

How can we reconcile these two apparently contradictory viewpoints?

Of all these attempts to explain the playwright’s intentions, the last seems to offer the most convincing explanation.

There is much to be said on both sides of this question.

On balance/On reflection, however, the arguments for the local rather than the national approach have most to recommend them.

If one weighs the pros and cons (of the case), the argument for freedom of speech in these circumstances is hard to sustain.

One might be tempted to think that better technology is the solution, but in actual fact human attitudes are the vital element.

It is easy to believe that this could never happen in a civilized society, but the truth is that it happens everywhere, and it happens more and more often.

From all this it follows that these claims are false.

The key to this whole problem must surely be the development of heavy industries in that part of the country.

The social and economic consequences of the facts we have mentioned above are too important to ignore.

These two points of view, while distinct, are not mutually exclusive.

In the final analysis, the themes of the novel are confused.

To recap/To sum up, the cost of raw materials is falling faster than was ever expected in the early 1970s.

What conclusions can be drawn from all this?

The most sensible/satisfactory/convincing conclusion we can come to is that the author has not succeeded in putting his message across.

All this goes to show that it is unwise to make generalisations about human beings.

Surely the lesson to be learned from what has happened in Europe is that minorities should be respected.

The inescapable conclusion which emerges from what I have said is that health is too important to leave to the doctors.

The problem we have considered clearly does not admit of an easy solution, but it is to be hoped that governments will take steps to ameliorate its worst effects.

This brief account of the origin of the play is necessarily limited in scope.

The relations between the hero and heroine appear complex, but to put the whole matter in a nutshell, they are both more interested in power than in love.

Ultimately, then, these two approaches are impossible to reconcile.

All in all, we must acknowledge that the main interest of the book lies in its treatment of jealousy.

The play no doubt has an important message: nevertheless, at the end of the day, it must be acknowledged that it is a very bad play.

The best way of summing up the arguments I have put forward for equality of opportunity is that human rights have precedence over social inhibitions.

It would appear, then, that in a sane society nobody would be a social outcast.

I have demonstrated that Cox’s claims are based on a false assumption.

To sum up, I believe that urgent action is needed.

This brings us to the question of whether we can believe in a benevolent deity.

On the one hand, wealth corrupts: on the other, it can achieve great things.

As for the theory of value, it counts for nothing in this connection.

Compared with the heroine, Alison is an insipid character.

In the first (second/third etc.) place, let us consider the style of the novel.

First of all, I will outline the benefits of the system: next, I propose to examine its disadvantages: finally, we will consider the views of the recipients.

The arguments in favour of this theory fall into two groups: first, those which rely on statistics, and secondly, those based on principle.

Incidentally, we must not forget the contribution of Horatio to this scene.

As far as the character of Tyson is concerned, we can only admire his persistence.

Over and above all these considerations, there is the question of whether the country can afford such luxuries.

Added to that, there is his remarkable sense of detail.

Similarly, a good historian will never be obsessed with dates.

There is a fundamental difference between people who act from the heart and those who act from the head.

There are important differences between these two approaches – differences which we ignore at our peril.

In the field of education it is clear that we have not learned by our mistakes.

From the earliest days of nuclear development, it was plain that the potential danger of the process was perhaps the most important single aspect.

Once, many decades ago, a foreign observer commented that English people were incapable of discussing principles.

The alternative is to accept the world as it is, and concentrate one’s efforts on one’s own spiritual development.

A further complication is that the characters on stage at this point include the missing man himself.

He considers the effect of this on the lives of the people, as well as on the economy of the country.

Also, there is the question of how this may be validated.

The book has considerable depth: equally, it has style.

As regards/As for the habits of foreigners, one may observe that they are very like our own.

In order to clear the ground, I will give a brief account of Mason’s theory.

The problem is how to explain why people behave as they do.

My own view of this is that the writer is quite wrong in this assertion.

That is the popular viewpoint, but speaking personally I cannot see its logic.

Jennings is, it seems to me, over-optimistic in his claim that no one is ever hurt by such wheeling and dealing.

My personal opinion of this argument is that it lacks depth.

The author argues for patriotism, but I feel strongly that this is a delusion.

In my opinion, nearly everybody overestimates the size of the problem.

For my part, I cannot discount what their spokesman said.

I maintain that no one has the right to deprive these people of their home.

The writer asserts (oder claims oder maintains oder states) that intelligence is conditioned by upbringing.

They would have us believe that the market is fair.

The official view is that this cannot affect the population adversely.

The author gives us to understand that his main aim is merely to please.

The position was put, with commendable clarity, by James Armitage, in a classic essay on this subject some years ago.

When one considers the man’s achievements, the portrait of him painted in this volume amounts to little more than a calumny.

The writer puts the case for restrictions on the freedom of speech very persuasively.

The House of Commons, it has been said, is like an elephant’s trunk: it can fell an oak or pick up a pin.

This line of thinking leads the author into the dangerous territory of feminist polemics.

These animals are perhaps less adaptable - which brings us to another side of the question: can the human race survive?

The writer here is clearly concerned to convey her conviction that life is seldom worth living, and never worth living to the full.

The author draws our attention to the fact that nowhere in the world is the soil so poor.

What this character is really saying is that he disagrees with the foundations of religious belief.

According to the writer, these figures are inaccurate.

The speaker is claiming, if I understand her rightly, that people do not really care about politics.

We should consider, for example/for instance, the problems faced by tourists in a strange land.

Take the case of Heathcote in ’Lost Masters’.

To illustrate the truth of this, one has only to mention the tragic death of Ophelia.

A single, but striking, example of this tendency is the way people dress for parties.

One instance is enough to show how powerful a device this is.

As Chesterton remarked, there is a purpose to everything.

A recent newspaper article claimed that inflation was now beaten.

Wordsworth observed with much truth that daffodils are impressive in large numbers.

According to the Prime Minister, our foreign policy is benevolent.

The writer makes this point graphically, by instancing the plight of those whose beliefs clash with the society they belong to.

Writing in 1932, Professor Armour-Jenkins said that unemployment had destroyed the minds of one generation, and the bodies of the next.

This passage serves to illustrate the way in which the writer, more than any other Irish writer of his time, looks sympathetically at the problems of the English middle classes.

Take another example: many thousands of people have been and still are condemned to a life of sickness and pain because the hospital service cannot cope with the demand for its services.

It is obvious to everyone that Freud is right.

What is quite certain is that justice will not always triumph.

The writer clearly does not understand the issue.

The fact of the matter is that nuclear waste is and always will be harmful.

It is easy to concentrate on this aspect of the problem, but the real question of the issue is different.

The facts speak for themselves: James is guilty.

Politicians make much of educational aims, but what we are concerned with here is the financial resources to achieve these.

It should be stressed that this is only a preliminary assumption.

It would be ridiculous to assert that any one political doctrine holds the answer to our quest for Utopia.

Few will dispute the claim that the microchip has changed our lives, although many will wish to take issue with the statement that it has changed them for the better.

It is undoubtedly true that time is money.

The new law could have far-reaching implications for patterns of crime.

There might well be an explanation which we have overlooked.

Such a response suggests that oder might be taken to mean that the group lacked enthusiasm for the project.

Let us assume (oder suppose oder conjecture) that Mary does love Worthington.

There is a strong possibility that oder There is a strong probability that Worthington loves Mary.

One might reasonably suppose/One might justifiably assume that such behaviour would be frowned upon in any civilised society.

It is questionable whether the author intended this.

The government’s present attitude raises the whole question of whether local government can survive in its present form.

This line of reasoning sets a serious question mark against the future of education.

It remains to be seen (however) whether new techniques can be found.

It is to be doubted whether the book is intended to convey a real message.

It may well be that Johnson is serious in this, but his motives are certainly questionable.

Few people would deny the benefits of such a scheme. But, it may be argued, few people would identify the need for it in the first place.

It is certainly true that moral factors are important in this area, but I wonder whether the economic background is not more crucial.

We can believe the author up to a point, but it is hard to be sure that he is right all the time.

In spite of the known facts, there must be serious doubts about the validity of this approach.

It is certainly possible that oder It cannot be ruled out that the author wished us to believe this.

It may be conceded that in this play Hector is a type rather than a person.

Of course, one could reduce the number of accidents by such a method, but we must ask ourselves whether the price is not too high.

Undoubtedly this has improved life for a large section of our society, but we must consider carefully the implications of this fact.

It cannot be denied that the buildings are unusual, but whether they are beautiful is quite another matter.

He has begun well. It remains to be seen whether he will continue as impressively.

Nothing could be more true to life than this portrayal of the pangs of youthful love.

We must acknowledge the validity of the point made by Bevin.

In a minor sense, however, one is forced to admit that these criticisms have some validity.

It is, as the writer says, a totally unexpected event.

Their opponents are to be congratulated on the accuracy of their predictions.

He says, rightly in my view, that there is no meaning in this statement.

In Act II, the hero makes an extremely perspicacious remark about John’s intentions.

It is hard to agree with the popular view that religious belief is out-of-date.

This statement is totally inaccurate/is very far from the truth in many respects.

Unfortunately, there is not the slightest evidence to justify such a claim.

This argument offers no solution to the problems which have beset the artist from time immemorial.

This is clearly a false view of the poet’s intentions.

The pessimistic view of life should not go unchallenged.

This simplistic notion of Shakespeare’s aim is quite unconvincing.

I find it impossible to accept the philosophical argument for this.

Let us be clear that the essential question is not one of money.

It should never be forgotten that the writer belongs to his own times.

It is hard to overemphasize the importance of keeping an open mind.

This disaster underlines the importance of good safety measures.

Most important of all, we must understand the feelings of the victims.

The reasoning behind this conclusion deserves especial consideration.

Not only does this passage enlighten us, but it also inspires us.

It is well worth noting the background to this argument.

It is essential to realise that the problem will not be solved by more spending.

This scene s a difficult one, especially in view of the unlikely background events.

Next I wish to focus our attention on the use of dramatic irony.

What is more, the argument lacks conviction.

It is no coincedence that law comes before order in the popular mind.

Another argument supports this thesis: without the contribution which the working woman makes to the economy, taxes would rise immediately.

The chief feature of this scheme is its emphasis on equality of opportunity rather than material goods.

Let us remember that any chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Moreover, it was significant that the Conference rejected the call for peace at any price.

Virginia Woolf’s attitude to this, as to many things, is particularly interesting in that it reflects the artist’s sense of isolation.