Useful phrases for writing an opinion essay

Basic expressions to help you start putting your opinions:

 Firstly…
 To start with…
 In my opinion…
 As far as I am concerned, …
 I am (not) convinced that …
 In my opinion/view …
 My opinion is that …
 I (firmly)believe that …
 I (definitely) feel/think that …
 I am inclined to believe that …
 Personally, I believe that…
 It is clear that…
 The way I see it..
 It seems to me that…
 In my mind…

 As I see it…
 My principal reason is…
 Another reason is…
 It is widely known that…
 It could be argued that…
 The well-known fact is…
 Research has shown that…
 It seems to me that…
 In my mind…
 As I see it…
 My principal reason is…
 Another reason is…
 It is widely known that…
 It could be argued that…
 The well-known fact is…
 Research has shown that…

Expressing opposite ideas;

 However…
 On the other hand…
 even though / Although…
 Having said that…
 By contrast/in comparison…
 In contrast…
 Despite the fact that…
 In spite of…

Providing examples:

 for/as an example…
 for instance…
 especially…
 as an illustration…
 in particular (particularly)…

Adding extra information:

 in fact…
 however…
 Secondly…
 In addition…
 Additionally…
 as well as…
 Moreover…
 Furthermore…
 Besides…

Summerising:

 To sum up…
 In conclusion…
 All things considered…
 Above all…