Structure of an opinion essay

INTRODUCTION
1 A general statement about the topic and
background. State your opinion by saying
whether you agree or disagree with the topic
2 Justify your opinion

3 Justify your opinion

4 CONCLUSION
Summarise your thesis with reference to the
arguments made in previous paragraphs
 INTRODUCTION
Methods of Opening a Discursive Essay
1) It goes without saying that …
2) It would be foolish to think that …
3) It should come as no surprise that …
4) Ever since the appearance of ….
5) This day and age …
6) It is a widespread belief that…
7) Focus must be brought to the fact that the Internet is meant to
positively contribute to our welfare. Yet, a question should be posed to
those who endorse such an idea. Why …?
8) Too much hype is applied to the positive use of social media at
schools. Yet, I can´t help wondering if social networks may trigger more
drawbacks than benefits.
 BODY
Support your opinion; Get the reader´s attention and introduce the topic
Reasons and details; Help the reader understand the importance and controversy of the issue.
(Think of 3 good reasons to support your opinion)
The counter- Argument can also be introduced; It is the opposing view or the view of a person
who disagrees with your opinion.

Good Example

To begin with, the introduction of a toll to enter the city centre is a positive approach by
the government to prevent pollution. Conmuters who have access the city on a regular
basis for work by car will pay a toll, while others will obviously choose an alternative way
to get to their destination, for example by public transport. Moreover, by paying a toll it
will help governments mantain the environment and invest back into public transport.
Therefore, this kind of approach can help make the city a better place to live and work
by decreasing the overall number of cars within the city centre.
 LINKING IDEAS
SAME LINE OF THOUGHT ; ADDITION
First (ly), secondly .. Next,
Furthermore, In addition, Added to this,
Likewise, Moreover,
Also, Similarly,
Moreover, as well as
Not only … but also
along with California, along with Florida and Hawaii, is among the
most popular US tourist destinations.
 LINKING IDEAS
CONTRASTING IDEAS ; CONTRAST
On the one hand, Yet,
On the other one, / Be that as it may
Nevertheless, Nonetheless,

However, Even though

Otherwise, Although, while, whereas

Alternatively, Conversely,

In spite of (+noun) In spite of his injury, Ricardo will play in Saturday's match.

Despite (+ noun or + gerund) I still enjoyed the week despite the weather.
 LINKING IDEAS

RESULT
Therefore, As a result,
Hence, Consequently,
That is (to say), Thus,

DEFINITE STATEMENT
Needless to say, Without question,
Without doubt, Unquestionably,
 LINKING IDEAS
REASON
Because Due to (+noun)
Owing to (+noun) As / Since
Because of (+noun) On account of (+noun)
For instance, For example,
On grounds of +noun
 LINKING IDEAS
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, All in all,
To sum up, In brief,
By and large, Long story short,
Last but not least, On the whole,
In a nutshell, So overall, one can
conclude that …
The bottom line is that… There is no escaping
the conclusion that
 CONCLUSION
Sum up your opinion / thesis with reference to the arguments
made in the previous paragraphs

Avoid introducing new ideas.

End with a strong statement

Good Example
By and large, as has been shown the approach of a toll system or having a no entry
zone for cars inside the city centre can have a huge benefit on the environment and
people´s health.
It is clear that through the implementation of these measures , restricting the
number of cars whithin the city centre to only those that need to be there, people
can enjoy a healthy lifestyle in the city.