An Opinion Essay Writing for Module G
Video Explanations
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It is not a big deal to write 120-140 words expressing your opinion.
And you will now see you can manage!
There should be at least 4 paragraphs – the opening, the body (2 paragraghs - one for each reason), and the ending.
In every paragraph only certain things should be written.
In the opening – we write the topic of the essay – what and why we are writing and the opinion itself. Nothing more is needed – no greeting like Hello and My name is, no reasons, no colons.
Do not use adjectives good or bad for your opinion. The style of a 5 point essay requires more interesting words like beneficial, promising, original, bright, superb etc, which can be even strengthed by extremely.
In case you choose to write about your negative attitude to the suggested idea or statement you can still use the same words that will follow I personally believe it is not quite a...
The second and third paragraphs – the body – is for writing reasons, explanations and examples. You might need one more paragraph in the body if you add the 3-rd reason.
In the ending – just restate your opinion - in different words.
For the opening part, we would offer you this:
I have been asked to express my opinion if (something is good or not). I personally believe it is...
Here is an example:
I have been asked to express my opinion if schools should work six days a week instead of five days. I personally believe it is not a very promising idea.
Or
I have been asked to express my opinion about (something). I personally believe it is...
Here is an example:
I have been asked to express my opinion about wearing uniforms at school. I personally believe it is a rather beneficial idea.
As you can see, you already have a liitle more than about 20 words.
For the ending, you could use this:
To sum it all up I am sure you agree with me that...
Here is an example:
To sum it all up I am quite sure you can see why I think that schools should not work six days a week.
Or
To sum it all up I am quite sure you can see why I think that wearing a uniform at school can be very helpful.
If you need more words you can use this:
Bearing in mind everything mentioned above I am sure you can clearly see why I suppose...
You can replace "bearing in mind":
Taking into consideration everything mentioned above I am sure you can clearly see why I suppose...
As you see, you already have at least about 20 words here in the ending, too.
It means that you should only write 80-100 words in the body. It is 8-10 sentences. We are sure you can manage it.
Do not forget to use linking words and phrases in the body. First – they will help your work look and sound better, second – they will add to the number of words you need.
You can start your first reason with:
Firstly...
First of all...
I would like to begin by saying that...
You can add information using:
Secondly...
Moreover...
Furthermore...
In addition...
In addition to it...
One more thing I would like to mention is...
One more point of paramount importance I feel I have to mention here is...
If you want to give examples, you can use
For example...
Now let us have a look at the following situation as an example.
For instance...
Mind a few important things:
You do not have to write your real opinion – the rules of the game say that you should write correctly on the given topic – nobody really cares what you think about the question given. So before writing, take a couple of minutes to decide what opinion is easier for you to write.
The composition must be written in blue or black pen.
You must use punctuation – periods and commas.
Each sentence starts with a CAPITAL LETTER.
The word I is always written with a CAPITAL LETTER.
Do not forget to start a new paragraph on a new line. It is even better to skip a line.
Pay attention that though the opinion essay mostly demands the Present Simple construction at least three of the folowing ones should also be used:
Perfect
If you want to say you like something "very much" – the words "very much" will always stay at the very end of the sentence.
Do not forget that in English, you enjoy something – there is no need for the preposition "from".
Do not shorten negations – use "do not", "is not", "can not", "have not", and so on. If you still want to shorten these words – do not forget to use the apostrophe – ' – "don’t", "isn’t", "can’t", "shouldn’t", etc. If you forget it – it is a mistake – as the apostrophe shows these are 2 words; without it, it is just 1 – and it is a mistake.
Your composition should NOT be shorter than 120 words and longer than 140 words. Every word counts. Still, if you repeat the same words and phrases again and again – they will not count.
Points will be deducted for not implementing these rules.
One more tip – start your exam with the writing task – not the unseen. If you practice enough, it will only take you about 15-20 minutes to complete – you will feel less pressure then.
Good Luck!