Opinion Essays

INTRODUCTION (Paragraph 1):

Opening sentence (general statement regarding the topic): As a (general) rule, By and large,
Generally, In general, On the whole, Up to a point, To a certain extent/degree, To some
extent/degree, In a sense, In a way, To a limited extent, …………………………………………..
Thesis (personal opinion regarding the topic): In my opinion/view, To my mind, To my way of
thinking, I am convinced that, It strikes me that, It is my firm belief that, I am inclined to
believe that, It seems to me that, As far as I am concerned, I think that, To the best of my
knowledge, As far as I know, …………………………………………………………………………..

VIEWPOINT 1 (Paragraph 2):

Topic sentence (the main idea of the paragraph): First, Firstly, First of all, In the first place,
To start/begin with, On the one hand, ………………………………………………………………..
Reasons/ arguments + examples to support the idea of the paragraph: What is more,
Furthermore, Apart from this/that, In addition to this, Moreover, Besides (this), …not to
mention the fact that, not only…. but also…; For example, For instance, such as, like,
particularly, in particular, especially,…………………………………………………………………

VIEWPOINT 2 (Paragraph 3):

Topic sentence: (the main idea of the paragraph): Secondly, Thirdly, After this/that,
Afterwards, Then, Next………………………………………………………………
Reasons/ arguments + examples to support the idea of the paragraph:
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

VIEWPOINT 3/
OPPOSING VIEWPOINT (Paragraph 4):1:
Topic sentence: (the main idea of the paragraph): Lastly, Finally, Yet, however, nevertheless,
but, even so, still, nonetheless, Although, Even though, Regardless of the fact that, In spite of
the fact that, Despite the fact that, On the other
hand,………………………………………………………………
Reasons/ arguments + examples to support the idea of the paragraph
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

CONCLUSION (Final paragraph):

Summary of viewpoints/ Conclusive sentence: (the topic sentences in other words as in the
developmental paragraphs): In short, Briefly, To put it briefly, In other words, That is to say,
To put it differently, To put it another way, All in all, Taking everything into
account/consideration, On the whole, All things considered, In conclusion, On balance, For
the above mentioned reasons,………………………………………………………………………….
Personal opinion: I am inclined to believe that, It seems to me that,……………………………

1 The exact number and devision of paragraphs will depend on the specific instructions for each essay - writing
task.

Prof. Georgeta Colăcel, Colegiul Naţional „Petru Rareş”, Suceava