OPINION ESSAYS

An opinion essay states an opinion and tries to convince the reader that this opinion is correct.

Paragraph 1: Introduce the topic of the essay and your opinion ( refer to the statement but don’t copy it.
Try to rephrase it and expand it)

Paragraph 2: Give facts and examples to support your opinion. You can also refer to other people’s opinion.

Paragraph 3: Sum up and restate your opinion. (balance your conclusion)

Useful phrases

Giving background information: Expressing opinion:

Some / many people think / believe / argue/ consider that… And what about…?
According to ( the media ,…) In my opinion / in my view / from my point of view
Studies show / suggest that… As I see it, … / Personally,…
It is well-known that… I (strongly) think/ believe/ agree / disagree that…
It is generally agreed that… I feel/ think / believe that…
Sequencing ideas: It seems to me that….
Let’s start with… It is clear (to me) that…
First of all… I would begin by saying… If you ask me,…
Firstly For me,…
Secondly Personally speaking…
Finally That’s why in my opinion,…
There are several reasons why I think…
Concluding
To sum up / To conclude / In conclusion/ All in all Giving general opinions:
In general, I think…. However, …. Some people think/say that…
On the whole I think…… However, …. It is thought / said that…
Giving examples: Most of us believe that…
For example, … / For instance,… There’s no doubt that
…, such as…. / …, like….
Adding ideas: Giving reasons and results:
Furthermore, / Moreover, / In addition (to this) , …, because / as…..
What’s more This is because…
Contrasting ideas: The reason for this is…
On the one hand,…. / on the other hand, … Because of this,…
However,… As a result (of this),…
Although (+ subject + verb) One result/effect of this is that…
In contrast to this…. Consequently,…
While it is true that… As a consequence,….
EXAMPLES :
Write an essay using ALL the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

IS IT BETTER TO SAVE MONEY OR SPEND IT?

( write about: enjoyment, security and your own idea)

Obviously, having enough money is important for everyone. We need to earn enough to pay for somewhere to live,
food, clothes and other necessities and we work hard to do this. If we’re lucky, we earn more than we need and we can
choose what we do with this. Some people spend the extra; others save it. Which is better?

First of all, I think it’s important to enjoy our lives as much as possible. We spend a lot of time working, so we should
spend time having fun too. Why not spend money on doing things we enjoy – like going out or buying music?

Some people worry about the future and prefer to save money in case they lose their jobs or get ill. Saving money gives
them some security.

Personally, I don’t think the answer to the question is either to save or to spend. As far as I’m concerned, we need to
do both. We don’t know what is going to happen in the future, but also we need to enjoy our lives. So, spend fifty
percent and save fifty percent- that’s the best answer for me!
IS IT BETTER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR OWN COUNTRY RATHER THAN TRAVEL ABROAD ON HOLIDAY?

(Write about: which is more expensive, which is more educational and your own idea)

Which is better? Staying in our own country or travelling abroad on holiday? Although I can understand why some
people think we should find out more about our own country, I think it’s better to go abroad.

I realize that there are many interesting and beautiful places I have not seen or been to in my country. Tourist may have
seen more than I have! And of course, it’s more important to know about the country where you live and where you
were born. It is also a lot cheaper to have a holiday in your own country and can sometimes be less stressful than going
abroad.

However, in my opinion, it is very good for people to travel to different countries as much as possible. In addition to
seeing new types of scenery and spectacular sights, you can meet people who have a different way of life.

In today’s world it is very important for us to respect people from other cultures and I firmly believe that travelling to
these countries is the best way of doing this.

Everyone needs a break but while many people choose to spend their holiday time in another country, others prefer to
stay and explore their own. I have to admit that I belong to the second group.

Firstly, a holiday abroad can be very expensive, especially for a big family. You need to pay for accommodation and
travel which can both cost a great deal. There is also holiday insurance to consider, which I think is more important
when you travel abroad. In contrast to this, a holiday in your own country is likely to be much less expensive and
stressful.

Secondly, people often do not realize that there are lots of different beautiful and interesting places still to visit in their
own country. Many people say that they like to go abroad to learn about different cultures, but in fact, even in a small
country like England the people who live in different areas have different traditions, food and even ways of speaking!

Although I can see the attractions of going abroad, in my opinion there are definitely more benefits to travelling around
your own country.

DO YOU THINK THAT ADVERTISING CAN HAVE A BAD INFLUENCE ON YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY?
Write about : the importance of giving us information, we want to buy things we cannot afford and your own idea)
…

ADVERTISING CAN HAVE A BAD INFLUENCE ON YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY

There is no doubt that advertising is an important part of our lives today. Posters are bright and colourful and TV
commercials can be very clever and entertaining to watch. As well as this, magazines and newspapers depend on
advertising to survive and, of course, without advertising we wouldn’t know what to buy. However, in my opinion,
advertising can cause a lot of problems.
First of all, advertising encourages us to want things that we do not really need and can’t afford. In my view, this causes
dissatisfaction and envy. However, for me the biggest problem with advertising is the effect is has on children.
Advertising campaigns that are aimed at children make them think about money and buying things from a very young
age. Kids put pressure on their parents to buy more and more things. They start to think that having the most recent
designer clothes makes them a more important person to their friends.
On balance, I think that we have to accept that advertising will always be with us. Nevertheless, we should try to
protect children as much as possible. They need to learn that people and relationships are more important than brands.