AN OPINION ESSAY

Useful language you must use for

 Agreeing or disagreeing  Giving examples
 Giving opinions  Comparing and contrast ideas
 Giving information or and opinions
explanations  Drawing conclusions
 Giving reasons

 Giving your own opinion

 In my opinion / view…
 I personally feel that…
 I firmly believe that…
 I partly/fully agree that…
 I agree/disagree with...
 Structuring and sequencing your ideas
 Firstly/Secondly/Thirdly…
 First/Second of all…
 Finally…
 In conclusion…
 To sum up…
 Adding ideas
 Another reason why…
 In addition to this, …
 Moreover, …
 Furthermore, …
 What is more, …
 Contrasting two ideas/examples/statements
 However,…
 Although…
 But
 Nevertheless
Explaining
 Consequently…
 As a result…

Plan the structure of your essay before you write!

It’s difficult to organise an essay clearly without making a simple plan first. Decide
what points to include, in what order, and how they are connected – then start writing
your essay.
Structure for an opinion essay
Paragraph 1. Introduce the topic using a general statement and give your opinion. Say
if you agree or disagree with the statement.
Paragraph 2. Give your first reason(s) to support your opinion. Provide justifications
(examples, facts, quotes).
Paragraph 3. Give more reasons to support your opinion. Provide justifications
(examples, facts, quotes).
Paragrah 4. Summarise your ideas and repeat your opinion using different words to
provide a strong conclusion.
 Rich developed countries are the most irresponsible. Give your opinion.

FIRST PARAGRAPH: you should explain facts of on the subject and give your opinion.

Express opinion: As far as I’m concerned as I see it I totally/strongly (agree/ disagree) with ….
It seems to me that From my point of view I honestly think that… I believe / think

BOLD can
As far as I’m concerned I honestly think that rich developed countries are very irresponsible. As I see it,
be used
developed countries do not do enough to protect the planet. It seems to me that we should all be more
with any
careful with our planet.
topic

SECOND PARAGRAPH: write a paragraph for each reasoning which should include at least two. These reasonings
should include examples and facts which are convincing.

To give reasons: My main reason is….. One reason for…. is… Many people say / consider that…..

Express facts: It is a well known fact that….. Research has shown that…. It is clear that

I also believe that Moreover, Furthermore,

As I see it, and although I asume that there would be lots of people who do not think the way I do,
AGREE in my mind’s eye, there is no doubt about the fact that rich developed countries do not look after the
environment. The main evidence which can support this belief is the high levels of contamination
which surrounds us. relatives

DISAGREE I strongly believe that many people make a mistake when stating that rich developed countries are
the most irresponsible, because you can never be sure one hundred percent as each case is
different. Moreover, it seems to me that recent research can’t support this belief.
passive

THIRD PARAGRAPH: always try to have more than one reason.

It is a well known fact that developed countries have more industries and therefore produce
more contamination. Researchers say that this is the result of consumerism.

Reported speech

CONCLUSION: sumarize your opinions with different words. Here you could include a conditional sentence.

All in all, On the whole it is clear that…. To sum up…. In order to finish

On the whole it is clear that this issue is controversial and each person has differing opinions.
Nevertheless, if it depended on me, I would definately support / reject this posture.

conditional