Many competitive exams require you to write an opinion essay on the stated topics. The purpose of this essay type is to elicit your opinion on particular topics and issues. An opinion essay is basically a formal piece of writing. In this, you are required to express your viewpoints along with good arguments and justified reasons. Generally, there are two types of opinion essays:
- One-sided opinion essay
- Two-sided opinion essay
As the name suggests, in a one-sided opinion essay, all the arguments either oppose or favour a particular thing. However, you need to present different viewpoints in a two-sided opinion essay. Also, you can express your opinion directly or indirectly in the essay.
Structure of Opinion Essay:
One-sided opinion essay can be organized as follows:
INTRODUCTION
BODY:
Paragraph 1: (Argument 1 in favour- along with examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 2: (Argument 2 in favour- along with examples, facts, etc.)
.
.
CONCLUSION
(In this case, the essay is written in favour of the topic at hand)
Two-sided opinion essay can be structured in the following two ways:
INTRODUCTION
BODY:
Paragraph 1: (Argument 1 in favour- along with examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 2: (Argument 2 in favour- along with examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 3: (Argument 3 against- along with examples, facts, etc.)
.
.
CONCLUSION
OR
INTRODUCTION
BODY:
Paragraph 1: (Argument 1 against- along with examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 2: (Argument 2 against- along with examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 3: (Argument 3 in favour- along with examples, facts, etc.)
.
.
CONCLUSION
GDPI Essay Preparation Links:
Examples of Opinion essay topics:
- Should school uniforms be mandatory?
- Would it be wise to raise the legal drinking age further?
- Reduce, Reuse, or Recycle?
- A life crisis is a blessing in disguise.
Strategies to write a good opinion essay:
- Language skills:
Avoid any illogical shifts in person, subject or number (singular/plural). It is advisable to maintain consistency and focus in the essay. Some of the words/phrases that can be used are as follows:
Phrases to express your opinion directly: in my view, to my mind, in my opinion, etc.
Also, the other way to state your opinion is using ‘It’ phrases like ‘It is worth pointing that..’
Phrases to present your opinion indirectly:
It goes without saying..
In this essay, I will discuss whether..
In this essay, it will be discussed..
Other transitional words and phrases that may be used to express opinion:
I am of the opinion that..
I would suggest that..
It goes without saying that some/most people argue/claim..
I would like to point out that..
- Evaluate your essay in terms of following parameters:
Content:
Check your essay for relevancy of the content, arguments, reasons, examples, facts and figures. Make sure that the content doesn’t deviate from the central theme of the essay.
Structure of the essay:
The organization of various ideas needs to follow a logical pattern/sequence leading to the conclusion. Also, the ideas presented in the paragraphs should be well-developed and maintain coherency.
Choice of words:
Use the correct and appropriate set of words to convey your opinion in a formal way. Lastly, check your essay for any punctuation, grammatical or spelling mistakes.
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