OPINION ESSAY

 An opinion is what a person thinks about a subject.

 This type of essays consists of several aspects, which are to be taken into account. The most
important part is your own opinion expressed on the topic supported by reliable sources and
valuable information presented by others.
 When you give your opinion about a subject, you want your reader to agree with you, so you
must give reasons for your opinion. One of the ways to support your reason is to give facts.

PLAN OF AN OPINION ESSAY

Paragraph 1 – Introduce the subject and state the topic and your opinion clearly
We use In my opinion, I believe, I think, As I see it, etc.
Paragraph 2 – First viewpoint and reasons / examples
Paragraph 3 - Second viewpoint and reasons /examples
In the second and third (in each) paragraphs we use (list) points with firstly, furthermore,
moreover, also, etc.
Paragraph 4 – Opposing viewpoint and reasons/ examples
We can start with On the other hand, However, etc.
Paragraph 5 – Summarise/ restate your opinion, using different words
We normally use present tense in such pieces of writing.
OR

Introduction
Thesis: _____________________________________________________________
Reason 1: ___________________________________________________________
Reason 2: ___________________________________________________________
Reason 3: ___________________________________________________________
Body Paragraphs
Topic 1: __________________________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 1: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 2: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 3: _______________________________________________________
Topic 2: __________________________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 1: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 2: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 3: _______________________________________________________

Topic 3: __________________________________________________________________

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Supporting sentence 1: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 2: _______________________________________________________
Supporting sentence 3: _______________________________________________________
Conclusion
Concluding sentence(s): ______________________________________________________
(Final thoughts) : ____________________________________________________________

SAMPLE OPINION ESSAY (1)

Topic: Credit cards offer a lot of advantages to consumers. If you agree, write an
opinion essay about the advantages of using credit cards. If you don’t, write an opinion
essay about the disadvantages of using credit cards.

The Usage of Credit Cards

Credit cards have become widespread a lot recently. People of all ages use credit
cards. No matter how wealthy or poor you’re, banks encourage people to use their credit
cards. It is an important issue because some people use it dangerously and face with some
financial problems. However, it’s my firm belief, if you are conscious of the traps of the credit
cards and use them when and where necessary; they offer us a lot of advantages.

The first and most important advantage of a credit card is for shopping. When we go
shopping, we may sometimes not have enough money to purchase what we need. In that case,
we have to wait until we have that amount of money. Nevertheless, if we have a credit card,
we don’t have to wait and take the risk of not finding the same item. Instead, we can feel the
pleasure of buying what we liked. Besides, we save time because we are not supposed to go to
that shop once more. We’ve already bought what we wanted with our credit card.

Another significance of credit cards is paying in instalment. That is, we don’t have to
do all the payment at once. Instead, we pay a certain amount each month. Most of the
companies offer this to their customers in order to encourage shopping. Moreover, the bank
gives us bonus which can be used for another purchasing. As a consequence, we not only earn
money but also save time to pay the card expenses.

The last but not the least advantage of a credit card is that it is safer than keeping a lot
of money in our pockets. That is, pickpockets-thieves who grab your bag and run away-have
increased a lot, especially in shopping malls, recently. That’s why, it’s dangerous to carry a
big amount of money but if your card is stolen, and you inform the bank, they block up your
card so that the pickpocket can’t use it. Consequently, using a credit card is much safer that
keeping cash in your pocket.

All in all, there is no doubt that credit cards are a need of the modern world and it is
advantageous to use them in many ways. Although some people claim that credit cards are a
big threat for our budgets, I believe that we should use them safely but at the same time
carefully.

Analyse the essay above and complete the outline below.

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INTRODUCTION

General Statement-

Refutation Statement-

Thesis Statement-

BODY PARAGRAPH I

Topic Sentence-

Supporting Example(s)-

BODY PARAGRAPH II

Topic Sentence-

Supporting Example(s)-

BODY PARAGRAPH III

Topic Sentence-

Supporting Example(s)-

CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

Restatement or summary of the main point(s)-

Final comment on the main topic-

EXERCISE

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“Is living in a house better than living in a flat?”
Match the prompts to the speakers’ viewpoints, and then make sentences, as in the
example, using such as, for example, for instance, etc.

Close to each other…1…

Household repairs ……
No room to store things ……
Bigger bills ……
No pets allowed ……

1- People who live in

flats have no privacy

2- There is less space in a

flat than there is in a
house

3- Living in a house can be

quite expensive.

4- A house needs more

looking after than a flat.

5- If you live in a flat, you

have to follow certain rules.

e.g. People who live in flats have no privacy. For example, they are so close to each other
that their neighbours know almost everything about their personal life.

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SAMPLE OPINION ESSAY (2)

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Topic: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks)
encourage students to learn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion

Grades Encourage Learning

Exams and assignments have always been regarded as integral parts of education,
and so have grades. While many students tend to see them as something they fear, teachers
stand that grades are very good indicators of knowledge. On the other hand, do grades help
students in their learning process? For several reasons that I will mention below I believe that
grades encourage students to learn.
By showing their level of achievement and letting them have some kind of
competition among each other, grades stimulate students’ learning. First of all, grades show
students' knowledge. If a student gets a high grade on an exam it means that he understands
that subject very well. Conversely, a low grade means that he does not understand it
completely. Second of all, students have some kind of competition among each other for
higher grades. When a student gets a higher grade then another one, the second student asks
himself: "Why do not I have this grade? Is he better then me? ". So, in order to get a higher
grade the next time, he tries to spend more time and study more effectively, which makes him
learn better. Some people, on the other hand, believe that grades are obstacles that negatively
affect learning. They claim that grades cause stress, thus discouraging students’ learning.
However, they miss an important point: when a student gets a low grade, he feels that he has
some obstacles to overcome and new goals to achieve, and when he does this by getting a
higher grade, he feels stronger and more self-confident.
To sum up, I think there is no doubt that grade encourage students to learn, gain more
experience and knowledge, and to be more self-confident and persistent. Moreover, I am sure
that these small victories will help students to win and succeed in the future.

SAMPLE OPINION ESSAY (3)

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Topic: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Boys and girls should attend
separate schools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Co-Educational Schools are Better

Whether boys and girls should attend separate schools has always been a controversial
issue. Some people believe that it brings many benefits. However, others believe that it is not
good for our children to attend mixed schools. I agree with those people who think that
children should attend the same schools.
As far as I am concerned, attending a co-educational school has many advantages over
single sex schools. First of all, children attending the same schools have the opportunity to
learn how to communicate with each others. They can develop social skills, learn how to be
supportive and understand each other. Another important aspect of this is that if boys and girls
attend separate schools, they do not have common interests. They do not know what a person
of an opposite sex likes, how he or she spends her or his spare time, etc, which is not good for
the long run. Some of them will create a family someday and they will likely to have very few
ideas to share. They will not have enough common interests. However, there are also people
who think that boys and girls should attend separate schools. They claim that students
attending co-educational schools are not as successful as the ones in single sex schools
arguing that co-education creates a school environment where students get easily distracted by
the opposite sex. I strongly disagree with this idea, because learning has nothing to do with
sex, and schools shouldn’t be the places where students isolate themselves from the opposite
sex and don’t communicate with them; in contrast, a school should create an environment
where students can also make friends with the opposite sex, recognize each other’s values and
interests, and socialize.
To sum up, boys and girls should attend the same schools, because it will not only help
them to become people who can recognize and respect others’ interests, but also the ones who
will have many things to share with others in their future life.

SAMPLE OPINION ESSAY (4)

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Topic: Some people think that governments should spend as much money as possible on
developing or buying computer technology. Do you agree with this statement? Use specific
reasons and details to support your answer.

Government and Technology

Man, through the ages has undergone many changes from the time when he first draw
pictures on the walls of a cave to nowadays when he can chart with anyone across the sea by
use of modern means of communication. Some people think that in today's world government
should spend more money on computers. However, others think that this money should be
spent on more basic needs. These two options are very different and controversial. Yet, I think
that developing computer technology brings people more advantages than they think it does.
Computer technology provides people with ease using complicated machines and
more job opportunities. First, humankind nowadays more and more depends on machines
using computers. We often do not suspect the presence of computers around us; for example,
when we withdraw money from cash machines, get some gasoline on the gas station and pay
with our credit cards in the stores. So, nowadays computer technology plays an essential role
in our everyday life. Second, computer technology brings more job opportunities. For a
country computer technology means power, knowledge and constant development. In addition
to those practical benefits, the development of computer technology brings a lot of money to
the country. From the other side, some people oppose the idea of allocating a lot of money to
computer technology thinking that government should spend this money on food and shelters
for poor people, medicine, education, etc. However, I think that computers help people gain
more knowledge and experience and find a job to provide food and home for his family. So,
basically, computers give people the opportunity to reach their goals and be innovative.
To sum up, I think that computer technology gives people many benefits including the
opportunity to improve one's knowledge and be more self-confident, persistent and
experienced in this world. Taking all these into consideration, governments should spend as
much money as possible on developing and buying computer technology.

FREQUENTLY USED TRANSITION SIGNALS AND THEIR USE

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 The first (second, third) reason is…
 The first and the most important
reason is…
 The second reason is…
 Another reason is…
 The final reason is…
 The final and the most important
reason is…
 To my mind
 In my opinion …
 I (firmly) believe…
 I (do not) agree that/ with …
 My opinion is that …
 I (definitely) feel/ think that …
 It seems / appears to me that …
 As far as I am concerned …
 I (completely) agree that / with …
 I (strongly) disagree that / with …
 It is my (firm) belief/opinion/view
(that) …
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