Human beings have opinions, and every day we counter people who have their opinions about some incident, political, social or religious issue. However, a few people can put their opinions into writing. Having an opinion is one thing, while being able to communicate them effectively is the hallmark of an opinion essay. In an opinion essay, students learn to convey their opinions convincingly by providing corroborating evidence to substantiate their claims. This article will provide a detailed guide on how to write an opinion essay.
What is an Opinion Essay?
An opinion essay encompasses expressing one’s opinions on a subject matter and supporting them with the help of evidence. You can have opinions about several issues that you witness every day. For example, you can have opinions about cricket, socio-political issues, a book you read, a TV show or a movie etc. Writing an opinion essay is a bit tricky because students mistakenly assume that writing an opinion essay means using emotionally charged language.
However, this concept is far from reality because even if you express your opinions, they must be articulated within the ambit of logic. An opinion on an issue either defends or refutes the already established concepts or practices. If you choose to write an opinion essay challenging the status quo, you would require ample evidence to support your key points, and the same applies to the scenario where you choose to defend a concept or practice. An opinion essay enables the writer to devise an opinion on any issue and explain to the reader why the author’s opinion is true.
What Is The Distinguishing Feature Of An Opinion Essay?
Opinion essay’s distinguishing feature is the subjective feature ingrained in its composition. Unlike argumentative or critical analysis essays, which are based on thesis statements predicated on facts and arguments, a thesis statement in an opinion essay is based on the author’s personal opinion. However, the opinion must not be an imaginary or fallacious idea such as “I believe that unicorns exist”. This statement is fallacious and cannot be supported with evidence since unicorns are imaginary beings. A thesis statement is based on the author’s opinions; however, the writer must support them with compelling arguments. In an opinion essay, the author can use phrases such as” I think” or “I believe”, to support these opinions with logical reasoning.
How To Write An Opinion Essay?
An opinion essay follows the standard five-tier structure with an introduction that includes the thesis statement, the main body, and the conclusion.
Introduction Section
The introduction section of an opinion essay starts with an attention grabber that captivates the reader’s interest and compels the reader to read further. Thesis statement, which is the central opinion of the author on the issue, should be no more than two lines at the end of the introduction section. However, after the attention grabbers, the author must include the transition or intervening sentences which connect the attention grabber to the thesis statement.
Authors can use rhetorical questions, quotations, famous sayings, or any intriguing phrase or idiom that can capture the reader’s interest. The writer’s opinion and the rationale behind that perspective must be both clear in the thesis statement. Transition sentences pave the way for a smooth transition from the attention grabber to the thesis statement. Transition sentences can include a brief background of the issue or opinions of other writers in the field. You can hire essay writing services if you are facing any issues in transition sentences.
Main Body or Supporting Paragraphs
The main body of an opinion essay comprises three paragraphs, including arguments supporting the thesis statement. Every paragraph starts with a topic sentence and includes arguments that discredit the opinions of others on the subject under discussion. The primary task of the author in the main body is to provide reasons to the reader to convince him or her that the author’s opinions are true and reasonable. A writer can use factual or statistical data to support his or her opinions.
PEEL Structure:
The main body paragraphs of an opinion essay should follow the PEEL structure:
- P stands for the point, which is the main idea of the supporting paragraph, and each point espoused in the body paragraphs supports the thesis statement, which is the core opinion of the author. The author expresses supporting opinions or points at the start of each body paragraph which logically supports the central idea.
- E stands for evidence the author provides to support his or her opinions expressed in each body paragraph. Evidence follows the topic sentence or main point of each body paragraph. Authors can use factual evidence or information to support the expressed opinion.
- E stands for the explanation, which means that only incorporating the evidence is not enough. The author has to express his or her opinion that how the evidence substantiates the author’s central opinion on the issue.
- L stands for linking sentence, which wraps up the discussion in each paragraph and paves the way for a transition towards the next paragraph. Authors must use signal and transition words to write linking statements. The linking statement wraps up the discussion in each supporting paragraph.
Writing an opinion essay does not entail using slang language because opinions should express logic. If you experience difficulty writing an opinion essay, you can always seek the guidance of expert writers or buy essay online from them.
Conclusion
The conclusion section of an opinion essay wraps up the discussion, and the author reiterates the thesis statement in the concluding paragraph. The author’s primary goal is to conclude the essay with final remarks, which finalise the central opinion of the author on the essay. The author must logically conclude that the expressed opinion is true in light of the reasoning provided in the body paragraphs. However, the conclusion section does not provide any new information or reasoning. The task is to wrap up the discussion with a thought-provoking statement or a rhetorical question for the reader to ponder over the issue.
Final Remarks
Writing an opinion essay enhances the students’ capability to formulate opinions on issues and become informed citizens. Students can follow the guidelines mentioned above for writing excellent opinion essays.
