Opinion essay An opinion essay expresses your personal point of view on some controversial problem in writing. The main aim of an opinion essay is to persuade your audience that your position is correct. To produce a successful opinion essay, you should carefully choose the theme and conduct proper research on the debatable problem.

Quick writing 1. Write fast – as fast as you can 2. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling 3. If your mind goes blank, write: I can’t think of anything to write. I can’t think of anything to write. 4. Re-read your quickwriting and circle the ideas you might want to use in your writing. Your topic to write is TELEVISION

Questioning General topic WHAT WHEN WHY WHO HOW WHERE

Stating Reasons and Giving Examples Costa Rica Costa Rica is a great place to spend a vacation for two reasons. First of all, Costa Rica has an excellent system of national parks where visitors can observe nature. For example, in Tortuguero National Park, visitors can watch sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand. Then they can come back several months later to see the new babies crawl down to the sea. In Santa Rosa National Park, visitors can see unusual birds such as toucans and quetzals and exotic animals such as spider monkeys. Second, Costa Rica has many beautiful beaches. For instance, the beaches at Manuel Antonio National Park are among the most beautiful in the world, and the beaches on Canoa and Cocos Islands offer perfect conditions for snorkeling and scuba diving. Indeed, Costa Rica is a wonderful place to go if you love the outdoors.

Reasons and Examples: When you write a topic sentence such as Costa Rica is a great place to visit, you need to support it with reasons. You need to explain why Costa Rica is a great place to visit. The writer of the model paragraph gave two main reasons why tourists enjoy visiting Costa Rica: 1. It has many national parks where tourists can see nature. 2. It has beautiful beaches.

After you state your reasons, you need to support them. A good way to support reasons is to give specific examples. Specific examples can be names of specific people, places, things, or events.

Transition Signals with reasons: When you give reasons, you should introduce each one with a transition signal. You can use the listing- order transition signals: first, first of all, second, third, moreover, in addition, besides, finally etc. First,…………………………………………………………………………… …. First of all, ………………………………………………………………………… The first reason is ………………………………………………………………… The first reason is that…………………………………………………………….

Transition Signals with Examples: There are 3 transition signals used to introduce examples. For example,…………………………………………………………… For instance,……………………………………………………………. …………………………………………….such as………..+ n. ………

Complete the outline of the model paragraph. running your own business Title: running your own business holidays abroad holidays abroad keeping a pet keeping a pet Topic Sentence Reason A __________________ Reason A __________________ Example 1 Example 1 Example 2 Example 2 Reason B __________________ Example 1 Example 1 Example 2 Example 2 Concluding Sentence: _____________

topics Do you think that advertising encourages people to buy things that they don’t want? How would you reduce traffic congestion in your hometown? What rights do you believe children should have?

Steps for writing a conclusion Copy and paste key points Read your work again Add final sentence with overall opinion Edit sentences into paragraph

Revising Checklist 1. Are my ideas clear and easy to follow? 2. Will my reader be able to find and understand my main idea? Did I provide enough details and examples? Did I take out all unnecessary information? Will the first part of my writing catch my reader’s attention?

A Few Points to Keep in Mind ( Use this as a check list) Use connectors to link your ideas logically and correctly. Use the appropriate style. Avoid contractions (don't/isn't/ hasn't etc) in formal style. Use a varied vocabulary. Pay attention to the punctuation and to capital letters. Pay attention to the grammar. Don’t forget to skip a line between the different paragraphs. While writing a draft, underline words or expressions you are not sure about. Rewrite (if necessary) and this time check with your dictionary. Count the words to see that you have not written less than you have to. Write legibly. NEVER hand in work without re-reading it carefully TWICE!!!!!!! (if you have time)

main connectors RESULT – SUMMARY So – Therefore, – as a result – thus – Consequently, – in this way – in short – in brief CONCESSION However, – Nevertheless, – despite – in spite of – yet – although – though – still … CONTRAST Instead – in comparison – but – on ( the ) one hand – on the other hand – by contrast – whereas – otherwise ADDITION Also – and – Furthermore, – Moreover, – in addition ( to ) – besides – above all… REASON Because – since – as - because of, due to – thanks to EMPHASIS As a matter of fact, – in particular – Of course, – In fact, – indeed – in any event… ILLUSTRATION For instance – for example … REPETITION Similarly – likewise – in the same way… SEQUENCE First – next – then – finally – at last – eventually – in the end…In conclusion, Firstly – Secondly- thirdly…

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