An opinion essay is a formal piece of writing which presents the author’s point of view on a particular subject supported by reasoning and examples. The opposing viewpoint is also suggested, but it is followed by arguments that show its inconsistency. Take a look at the guide prepared by Custom-writing experts to learn how to write a perfect opinion essay!
🔤 Writing an Opinion Essay: Basics
You may be wondering: How do I write an opinion essay? How is it different from a persuasive, an argumentative, or a pros and cons essay?
It’s simple: When you write an argumentative or persuasive essay, you should provide counterpoints and describe the essay topic from different perspectives. In an opinion paper, you don’t have to focus on the advantages and disadvantages in comparison. Instead, focus only on your opinion about the issue.
You may say: “I’m afraid to take a stand,” or “I don’t know what to say.”
Relax. There’s nothing to worry about if your arguments are based on well-researched data. Speaking about opinion essay topics, some students find it difficult enough to choose the perfect one. But it’s not so hard: Think about something that engages you and that you feel strongly about.
Do you still have no clues about what to write? Check our 100 free ideas for an argumentative or persuasive essay and choose the topic that you have a strong opinion on. Then pick up a few reasons supporting your point of view and gather the facts that you’ll use as evidence.
📑 Opinion Essay Outline
The next step is to write an opinion essay outline. First of all, it will help you to overcome the fear of the blank page. Second, you’ll have a broken-down list of ideas and an organized place for your random thoughts. This will help you write an assignment faster.
Here’s an example of an opinion paper outline:
Example:
- An introduction. Write a thesis statement and the reasons that support your opinion. Give your readers a hook to engage them with the topic
- The main body. Break it into several paragraphs where you provide arguments and supporting examples, statements, and facts.
- A conclusion. When ending a paper, restate the main thesis and summarize the central points of the essay.
Develop an outline while you’re researching the topic and place the pieces of evidence where they make the most sense. You don’t have to write the whole assignment at a time. Just put stand-alone examples and facts in the places where they should go.
A well-prepared outline for an opinion essay is almost 70 percent of the work. All you’ll need to do is simply join your arguments by bridging the language.
🏇 Opinion Essay: Introduction & Conclusion
After you’ve finished the outline, you will have all of your facts organized. It’s time to develop an introduction to your opinion paper. The primary goal of the introduction is to prepare your readers to dip into the text.
The opening paragraph is a kind of a roadmap describing the path your paper will take. An opinion essay introduction secret is to give your readers a hook, grab their attention, and make the rest of the writing irresistible. After giving a hook to your audience, introduce the topic, and briefly describe supporting reasons to expand on in body paragraphs.
The opinion essay conclusion wraps up your paper. It’s a summary that broadly covers your ideas and allows your readers to understand your arguments.
Apply the following techniques to start and finish your opinion paper:
- Address the reader directly
- Start with a quote
- Use thought-provoking or rhetorical questions
- Refer to a striking or unusual fact, idea, or situation
💬 30 Basic Expressions to Use in Your Opinion Essay
When it comes to opinion writing, a lot of students can’t explain their point of view. This shows a lack of critical thinking skills and leads to low grades.
If you need a quick fix for your assignment, check our list of basic expressions to help you start putting your opinions:
- As far as I am concerned, …
- I am (not) convinced that …
- In my opinion/view …
- My opinion is that …
- I (firmly)believe that …
- I (definitely) feel/think that …
- I am inclined to believe that …
- Personally, I believe that…
- It is clear that…
- It seems to me that…
- In my mind…
- As I see it…
- My principal reason is…
- Another reason is…
- It is widely known that…
- It could be argued that…
- The well-known fact is…
- Research has shown that…
- For instance/for example…
- This suggests that…
- It would seem that…
- This proves that…
- This supports the …
- Even though / Although…
- In contrast…
- Despite the fact that…
- In spite of…
- In order to…
- To sum up…
- In conclusion…
And don’t forget to use nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, or make your own phrases.
✅ Dos and Don’ts of Opinion Writing
Do you need more expert advice on how to write a great essay?
Keep reading!
Basic Dos in Writing an Opinion Essay
- Use formal style. Write your assignment as if you are giving an important speech.
- Avoid slang and jargon.
- Introduce the topic clearly. Avoid unnecessary phrases and useless facts that do not relate directly to the topic.
- Outline the main ideas. Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence.
- Use generalizations.
- Use the present tense when writing an opinion article.
- Properly cite your sources.
- Stay brief.
- Be logical. Make sure that there is a logical sequence that allows your readers easy to follow.
Basic Don’ts in Writing an Opinion Essay
- Don’t use colloquial expressions. Even though the slang language is expressive and vivid, jargon words come and go quickly.
- Don’t use short forms. Replace the contractions with the non-contracted versions of the words.
- Don’t use over-generalizations. Stay very precise.
- Don’t use statistics without proper referencing.
- Don’t give personal examples. Stick to a formal writing style and mood.
- Don’t repeat arguments. If you have a few similar facts, group them as a single argument.
- Avoid unnecessary abbreviations. Your reader should understand what you’re writing about.
- Don’t overuse short and straightforward sentences. They are not typical for academic writing.
- Don’t use an imperative voice.
- Avoid exclamation marks, parentheses, dashes. Try to be discreet.
- Don’t address your readers as “you”.
- Don’t use emotive vocabulary.
👌 Opinion Essay Examples
Do you want to better understand what an opinion essay is? You are welcome to use our opinion essay examples! Reading them will help you gain an insight into this form of academic writing.
Opinion Essay Example #1
Example:
The USA is a multinational and multicultural country that is advanced in many areas, including healthcare, medicine, and science in general. However, some of the experiments, such as the syphilis studies discussed in this paper, show that the country is still in the process of overcoming intolerance, racial segregation, and social inequality. Talking about these studies aloud brings the question of research ethics to the forefront. In particular, people who participated in those scientific experiments were misled and misinformed about their health. The research group observed how the participants suffered from the disease’s symptoms until death (Brandt, 24). There are a number of diseases and conditions that have not been researched enough. The experience gained during the studies in Tuskegee and Guatemala should be used to eliminate the possibility of unethical conduct and ensure transparency in all the activities.
Opinion Essay Example #2
Example:
To confront cyberbullying effectively, it is vital to know how to identify what it is and spread this awareness among the children who may unwarily become participants. The tendency to raise this issue in the scientific and public spheres has positive dynamics. As there is legal protection for cyberbullying victims in the USA, it is vital to detect harassment cases. For this purpose, parents and teachers should cooperate to create trustworthy relationships so the child can ask for help from adults. That is why a high level of emotional support from parents and peers is necessary to combat bullying before it has occurred.
🏁 Concluding Remarks
Thank you for reading! Our free tips will help you get through any kind of essay. Still, if you’re stuck with your essay, you can always count on professional writers’ tips and recommendations!
With the help of the tips above, you’ll be able to create the most unbelievable papers in a blink of an eye. Now that you know the secrets of professional writers, try writing your opinion essay!
The final piece of advice: Don’t forget to proofread your paper. Revise your content, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc. Make sure that your essay answers the main question. Check if the evidence you provided is accurate and up-to-date.
✏️ Opinion Essay FAQ
An opinion essay, sometimes called “argumentative,” or “persuasive,” presents the author’s perception of a subject as well as supporting arguments. It is written in a standard essay format. In such essays, authors usually try to persuade the readers that their opinion is the correct one.
Just like any other paper, an opinion essay starts with an introduction, has several points in the body part, and concludes with a high-level overview of the presented ideas. There are countless topics for opinion essays, and many examples available online as a source of inspiration.
This type of essay presents your personal ideas on a given subject. However, students often try to start their essays without using “I.” Try to compose an introduction that gives a high-level overview of the topic. Just state the problem you are going to write about later on.
It is advisable to state your opinion without using “I.” In a persuasive essay, you run the risk of overusing “I” as you describe your own viewpoint. Thus, adapt a seemingly more objective approach. For ideas of appropriate constructions, check exam preparation books (e.g., IELTS).
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thanks
Thank you for your feedback!
Thanks for the help
keep the good work gentlemen
Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated.
This was great it really helped out.Thanks.
Thank you for the feedback. Your opinion is very important for us!
They are very useful in every essay.
Thank you for giving your feedback, Nodira!
Thanks for the info this really helped me in my opinion essay thanks a lot!
I’m glad the article was helpful for you, Joshua 🙂
Thanks. A lot of good info. Without your post, I would get a bad grade for my opinion essay. This is very helpful.
Hi Sangeeta,
Thanks for your kind comment. We’re happy to know it helped. Be sure to check other posts on our blog!
It gave me ideas on how to start my opinion paper. No problem to get it started!
Thanks! This was really helpful. Now I can finally start mine!