Week 02 Session 03

Topic Introductory Paragraph of an Opinion Essay

Source Oshima, A., & Hogue, A., 2007: 171

An introductory paragraph has two parts: (1) several general statements and
(2) one thesis statement. The first part of the introductory paragraph of an opinion
essay often begins by explaining an issue. Do you remember the model of opinion
essay “The Right to Day”? The introductory paragraph of the essay consists of two
parts:

General A difficult problem that is facing society is the legalization

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of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of causing death painlessly in
order to end suffering. People who are in coma because of injury
to their brains and elderly peole who are terminally ill are kept
alive by artificial means. They do not have a chance to recover,
but laws in most states of the United States do not allow doctors
to end their lives.

Thesis statement Although many people feel that doctors must do everything
possible to keep their patients alive, I believe that euthanasia
should be legal for three reasons.

The thesis statement in the introductory paragraph shows that the writer is in
agreement with euthanasia. The following is another example of an introductory
paragraph.

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 General In some cities in the United States, teenage gangs create
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problems. The problems range from noisy but harmless drag races
to fatal drive by shootings. Some cities are trying to stop these
activities by keeping young people indoors and off the streets at
night. These cities have passed curfew laws that require people
under the age of eighteen to be indoors between the hours of 10.00
or 11.00 pm and 6.00 am.

Thesis statement Police departments say that curfew laws to control teenage gangs
are necessary, but I feel that such laws are unfair, unconstitutional,
and counterproductive.

Notice that the opposing view of the writer is connected to his or her opinion with a
contrast signal but. In other words, the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph
shows that the writer is in disagreement with curfew laws. Other contrast signals that
can be used include although and however.

Task 3.1 ADDING THE OPPOSITE OPINION

Instruction Complete each of the thesis statements by adding the
opposite opinion. Notice that statements 3 and 6 require a
separate sentence. Number 1 is done for you.

(1) Although the law prohibits separate classes for boys and girls in public
schools, I think boys and girls learn better in separate classes, especially in the
middle grades.
(2) Many people believe than women should not serve in the military, but ____
_____________________________________________________________.
(3) Society often ignores steroid use by well-known professional athletes because
of the athletes’ popularity. However, ________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.

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 (4) Although professional athletes undoubtedly feel that they deserve their
million-dollar salaries, I feel ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
(5) Some people are in favour of drug testing for high school athletes, but _____
_____________________________________________________________.
(6) Some people feel that the United States needs more laws to control the sale
and ownership of guns. However, __________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.

Writing Your Own Introductory Paragraph

Before writing the introductory paragraph of your own opinion essay, you
need to have a topic. A topic refers to what you are going to write. A topic can
become the title of your essay. You need to understand the issue or the problem
related to your topic in order to write it well. Follow these steps.
Step 1. Choose one of the following topics for your opinion essay.
(1) Anti-smoking laws
(2) Arrange marriage
(3) Censorship of films
(4) Laws against cell phone use while driving
(5) Your own topic: ____________________________
(Note: Your lecturer will guide you how to submit your title. A possible way
is submission via Whatspp group or other applications so that all students will
know your title).
Step 2. Decide whether you are for or against the issue.
Step 3. Write an explanation of the issue as the first part of the introductory
paragraph.

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Step 4. Write a thesis statement as the last sentence of your introductory paragraph.
Remember that you are not allowed to write too short or too long introductory
paragraph. You are advised to write 3 to 5 sentences for your introductory
paragraph including the thesis statement.

Task 3.2 WRITING YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

Instruction (1) Write the introductory paragraph of your opinion essay
in the provided space.
(2) The space for general statements is given numbers to
limit the number of the sentences. In the final version
of your essay, you have to delete the numbers.
(3) If you have finished writing the introductory paragraph,
keep it. In the next session, you need to continue your
essay.
(4) Write your own words; do not copy other people’s
work from the Internet.

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 ________________________________________________________
Title

General
statements
(1) _____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

(2) _____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

(3) _____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

(4) _____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Thesis statement (5) ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

THE END