One of the exciting assignments you are likely to encounter in college is an opinion essay. It can be an intimidating task if you haven’t encountered it previously, but once you understand the basics, it becomes easy. Like any other essay, opinion essays require enough preparation and following the right structure. You’ll also need some creativity and the ability to articulate your thoughts properly. So before you start wondering, “Who’ll write my essay cheap?” here’s a guide that should help you understand how to deal with this task and secure your grades.
Opinion Essay: What It Involves
An opinion essay is a type of academic writing that allows you to express your personal views on a specific topic. Unlike some essays, which require you to depend on factual evidence on a topic, opinion essays rely on a writer’s subjective perspective and reasoning. However, like a persuasive essay, the writer will still have to conduct good research from various sources to support their point of view and construct valid arguments.
Before you write an opinion essay, understand that your main aim is to persuade the reader to agree with your point of view or to consider it a valid alternative. Don’t mistake it for an argumentative paper where you defend a position with facts. With an opinion paper, you lean more towards expressing your views than supporting them.
An opinion article works best with controversial topics, where you provide an alternative point of view without necessarily trying to discredit other perspectives. It differs from a persuasive essay in that you are sharing opinions, not trying to convince your reader that your point of view is correct.
In opinion writing, you’ll most likely be answering a prompt; you can choose to agree with the statement, partially agree with it, or disagree. So, why should students embrace writing an opinion paper? The main reason is that opinion essays help students be more comfortable expressing their opinions, which is a useful skill.
The Requirements for Writing an Opinion Piece
Essays tend to have varying requirements that students have to adhere to, and an opinion composition is no different. Here’re the key requirements you should fulfill.
Formal Language
Since you’ll probably be writing opinion essays as assignments, we recommend using formal or academic language. It means using standard English; without slang and colloquial terms. It also means using less personal language, even though you are expressing a personal opinion.
A Strong Thesis
Your thesis statement should provide a general description of your paper. While it might be brief, it dictates your whole article and shows the reader what to expect.
Keep It Concise
Express your ideas clearly but in the fewest number of words. While writing an opinion essay might seem more challenging, it makes it easier for the reader to follow your line of thought. To achieve that, you:
- Use short sentences
- Avoid filler words
- Don’t stray from the thesis
Stay on Topic
Don’t wear yourself out trying to include irrelevant info. Some students struggle to write an opinion essay because they try to include everything they’ve discovered about a topic. Only use valid examples that do not stray from the topic.
What opinion essay format should you use? Your essay’s format will be dictated by your instructor or in the assignment instructions. Always stick to the specified format to avoid losing points.
Right Structure for an Opinion Composition
Is there a specific opinion essay structure? Yes. Your paper should follow the standard 5 paragraph structure, which is easy to follow and works quite well for this type of essay. Here’s a breakdown of a common opinion essay structure for guidance.
Introduction
As you might have seen in most opinion essay examples, the introduction is where you introduce the reader to what you’ll be discussing. The main idea here is to capture the readers’ attention and make them interested in your essay. You can reference a quote, speech, poem, or book, but always remember to credit the author by including their name and the publication date according to the correct opinion essay format.
Thesis
Your thesis immediately follows the introduction and consists of one or two sentences briefly describing what you plan to discuss. Your thesis statement should summarize your whole paper in a few words.
Body Paragraphs
In opinion writing, the body paragraphs are where a writer develops their arguments to support the thesis statement. Each paragraph should contain one main supporting argument. Support the arguments using good examples and logical explanations.
It’s always good to start every paragraph with a topic sentence introducing the main point. At the end of each paragraph, have a linking sentence to make for an easier transition to the next and encourage a fluid opinion essay structure.
Conclusion
As the final part of your paper, the role of the conclusion is to summarize the content of the whole essay. You can start by restating your thesis to remind the reader what your essay was about but using different words. The last sentence of an opinion essay conclusion is a conclusive statement that aims to provide the bigger picture and leave your reader with a lingering interest in your topic.
What Should You Include In an Opinion Article?
Since an opinion composition is about expressing your viewpoint, it should contain some key ingredients to achieve its purpose. You can greatly improve your essay’s quality by ensuring it includes the following.
A Clear Stance
You cannot write an opinion essay without expressing a clear stance. The reader should know your stance on a topic from the start. The main focus is your opinion, so you don’t need to spend time trying to defend other alternative views.
Novelty
Your opinion doesn’t have to be the popular opinion. A good opinion essay is one that contributes to the discourse. So, focus on finding a good position and use research to support it.
Formal or Semiformal Tone
Because of the conversational nature of opinion articles, it’s easy to slip into an informal tone. Keep your essay formal to keep your opinions credible, but don’t be too strict.
What Should You Not Include in an Opinion Essay?
Now that you know the vital ingredients for a superb opinion article, let’s review the elements that will ruin your essay’s quality.
Personal Language
While they are your opinions, avoid overusing “I” when writing your essay. You use it at the start, but relying on it for the entirety of your essay will make it flat.
Rambling
Write an opinion essay that sticks to the subject. Avoid rambling, as it will turn the focus from the main topic. An opinion essay outline should help but remember to cut out the unnecessary information during editing.
Ambiguity
Before you write an opinion essay, ensure you understand your stance, what it is, and why it is what it is. You cannot switch your stance mid-essay, so be sure you have a stance you can support for the entirety of the essay.
Tips for Composing a Winning Opinion Essay
Opinion writing can be exhausting. So follow the below steps to improve the experience and craft the perfect opinion essay.
Pick a Good Topic
Often, instructors will provide opinion essay topics to write about. However, if you are to choose your own, pick an interesting one that you understand well. It will make the task easier and motivate you to produce a good-quality essay. Brainstorm opinion essay topics and narrow your list down to the best, one that you can easily write and that fulfills your word count.
Research
An opinion article thrives on information in the form of data, facts, and reasoning. So be as thorough as you would be when analyzing essaybox reviews to find the best service. Use both primary and secondary research sources to acquire enough information to support your stance.
Outline Your Essay
The purpose of an opinion essay outline is to guide you during the writing and help you avoid straying from the main subject. Your outline should contain all the sections of your essay and the main points you’ll discuss within them.
Draft Your Essay
Now you’re ready to write. Don’t try to write the perfect opinion essay on your first draft. Instead, focus on putting down the information. Every draft after the first should then aim to improve on your essay until you are confident it is almost as good as professional opinion essay examples.
Proofread
In this stage, go through your essay, ensuring each word is spelled correctly and confirming you have properly punctuated all your sentences. If you don’t trust your editing skills, seek some editing assistance from the best writing service.
Closing Remarks
Writing this type of essay is less complicated than it seems. With the above guide, you should be able to write a good opinion essay. However, always seek professional assistance if you encounter any challenges.
