Opinion

Statement

Expressing your opinion . . .

From Reading to Writing The opinions of
Kurt Vonnegut and W. P. Kinsella come
through clearly in their stories. Mary Oliver
expresses her views throughout the poem
The Sun. All writers express their opinions
directly or indirectly.

Opinion
Statement

Expressing your opinion . . .

Some writers, however, create an opinion
statement, an essay or article specifically
designed to express an opinion or persuade.
Opinion pieces often appear in newspapers
and magazines.

Basics in a Box
Opinion Statement at a Glance
RUBRIC Standards for
Presents the issue
and states your
opinion

Introduction

A successful opinion
statement should

WHY I BELIEVE IT

Supporting
evidence

Supporting
evidence

Writing

state the issue and your opinion

on it clearly

Supporting
evidence

Body

support your opinion with

convincing examples, facts
and/or statistics
show an awareness of your
audience in word choice and
tone
exhibit clear reasoning

Summary of opinion

Conclusion

summarize your opinion in a

strong conclusion

Writing An Opinion Statement

1

Prewriting
To find a topic for your opinion
statement

Brainstorm a list of issues you have

strong feelings about.

Record your views about school

policies, social problems, sports, or
modern art and music.

Writing An Opinion Statement

1

Prewriting
To find a topic for your opinion
statement

Recall the last time you were really

pleased by an event or learned about
something that made you angry or
disappointed.

Planning Your Opinion Statement

1. Clearly state your opinion on the issue.

What aspects of the issue particularly
concern you?
2. Ask yourself why you hold your belief.
What reasons convinced you to hold your
opinion? What reasons will be convincing to
your audience? How can you answer
opposing beliefs?

Planning Your Opinion Statement

3. Research the issue. Where can you find

examples, facts, and statistics that support
your opinion? Which evidence is strongest?
4. Consider the tone of your writing. Do you
want to present a serious scholarly essay?
Would you influence your audience more by
adopting a humorous or satirical tone ?

Writing An Opinion Statement

2

Drafting
Dont
Dont recite
recite other
other peoples
peoples
opinions.
opinions. .. .. .. Tell
Tell me
me what
what you
you know.
know.
Ralph
Ralph Waldo
Waldo Emerson
Emerson

As you start putting your opinion in writing,

just follow your thoughts where they take
you. Remember, part of drafting is clarifying
and refining your ideas.

Writing An Opinion Statement

2

Drafting
Remember, however, that you must
organize and fine-tune your work later in the
writing process. In your draft

Consider using an especially strong or

striking example or fact to introduce your
writing.

State your opinion clearly and succinctly.

Present examples, facts, and statistics that

support your opinion.

Writing An Opinion Statement

2

Drafting
As you draft your arguments, be sure you
have used valid reasoning. Watch out for
these illogical arguments:

Circular reasoningsimply restating a

point without providing evidence
This is the best plan because it
is better than the others.

Writing An Opinion Statement

2

Drafting
As you draft your arguments, be sure you
have used valid reasoning. Especially watch
out for these illogical arguments:

Over-generalizationmaking a statement
that is too broad to prove
No one would vote for that candidate.

Writing An Opinion Statement

3

Revising
Target Skill
REFINING TOPIC SENTENCES

One way to organize your writing is to

make sure each paragraph includes a good
topic sentence and that all the details in the
paragraph relate to this topic sentence.

Writing An Opinion Statement

4

Editing and Proofreading

Target Skill
PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT
AGREEMENT

When you focus on stating your opinion

and supporting it clearly, you might
overlook issues such as making pronouns
and their antecedents agree.

Writing An Opinion Statement

4

Editing and Proofreading

Target Skill
PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT
AGREEMENT
Make sure that pronouns agree with their
antecedents in:
number

gender

person