Opinion Essay -

Introduction

Week 2- Session 1
 TOWER​
T= Think​( Take a deep breath and think/
brainstorm your ideas)
O= Organise your ideas​
W=Write
E= Edit​
R= Revise before you submit​
What is a writing Prompt?

It is a detailed description of the task and the

requirements to do this task

We cut the task into pieces (Unpack it)

How to manage your time??
• Reading and understanding the prompt = 5 minutes

• Brainstorming & Organising ideas= 10 minutes

• Writing the essay= 30 minutes (Four Paragraphs)​

• Edit and Revise= 15 minutes

 Organizing
Step Two Essay Outline
Making an I. Introduction:
outline can help Hook (1 sentence), background information(3
you organize sentences), thesis statement(1 sentence: topic+
what you want opinion+ 2 reasons).
to write. II. Body :
This is a rough Topic Sentence (1 reason +topic+ opinion ) x2
plan for your supporting idea 1+ example body
essay and can supporting idea 2+ example paragraphs
help make the
Concluding sentence
process of
writing much (topic+ opinion+ 1 reason)
easier. III. Conclusion: Restatement of thesis statement (1
sentence) reasons+ summary of supporting
details (2 sentences) + clincher (1 sentence).
 Write Your Introduction
• Your introductory paragraph should do the following:
• Be a minimum of 5 sentences
• Move from general to specific, with the thesis and/or
development plan as the last sentence in the intro
• Get the reader’s attention (should have a hook)
• Set the tone for the rest of the essay

• Strategies for starting an Introduction include

– Stating a fact
– Telling an anecdote
– Beginning with a quotation, but do not forget to
mention its source
 Hooks or Dramatic Openers
Hooks (dramatic openers) are used to grab your reader’s attention at the
beginning of a paragraph or in a report or essay. The hook is often a short
sentence and is placed before the thesis statement. Here are some
examples of some hooks that you could use.

QUOTE/ PROVERB: “Gold! Gold! Gold from the American

River!” (Report on the Gold Rush )

STATING A FACT: In 1850, 92 percent of California was male.

(Report on the Gold Rush)

ANECDOTE: Bob Ellis was sad to leave his family in New York, but gold
fever was strong in his blood.
(Report on the Gold Rush)
Important Formats
• Thesis statement format: (the last sentence in the introduction)
People/X should/ should not _________ because reason 1 and reason 2.
Introduction= Hook+ Background information + thesis statement

Hook: (Attention grabber) – the first sentence- it grabs attention &

- Very attractive/ enthusiastic >> to make the reader curious
- Shocking fact/number/results

Background info> the reader has Zero knowledge about it >> What?Why?Where?
When?How?

Thesis>> A DIRECT Answer for the question >> Don’t write “I think/in my opinion/..”
>> Animal testing should stop for these reasons……
 More than three million animals were used and tortured
to conduct experiments in Korea (Morrison 2017).
Animal Testing refers to the use of animals to develop
products that will make humans’ lives better such as
medication, food products, cosmetics, and vaccines. This
is done by choosing animals whose body is similar to
humans. These animals could be rats, monkeys, rabbits
and cats. This is done in labs and in conditions that might
be bad for the animals. Animal testing cannot continue
because animals and humans are different, and there are
other alternatives to testing on animals.
Think about the following topics
• Some people spend their entire lives in one place. Others move a
number of times throughout their lives, looking for a better job,
house, community, or even climate. Which do you prefer: staying
in one place or moving in search of another place? Use reasons
and specific examples to support your opinion.
• Is it better to enjoy your money when you earn it or is it better to
save your money for some time in the future? Use specific reasons
and examples to support your opinion.
• Some people prefer to get up early in the morning and start the
day's work. Others prefer to get up later in the day and work until
late at night. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and
examples to support your choice.
• Some people believe that success in life comes from taking risks or
chances. Others believe that success results from careful planning.
In your opinion, what does success come from? Use specific
reasons and examples to support your answer.
What are Lead-ins?
• Lead-ins introduce direct or paraphrased quotations in
a research paper.
• They can appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at
the end of the quotation.
• They are generally set off with a comma or commas
depending upon their location in the sentence.
 In-text Citation
• These citations indicate the source of
the paraphrased information, and
they include the year of publication
placed between parentheses after the
author’s name.
• e.g.: In “Smoking Kills”, Baroukal
(2002) states that the number of
people killed due to smoking
increases annually.
*Samples of Lead-ins with citation

•According to Name(year), smoking is…

•In Title, it is stated that… (author year).

Exercise: Observe the following graphs, deduce information
from them, write the information in sentences using lead-in
phrases and in-text citation .
The chart shows Egyptian household spending
patterns in 2000

Source: “How Egyptians Spend Their Money?” by Ahmad

Fathy. Baladna Research. [2001]
http://www.baladnaresearch.org/2001/05/01/how-egyptians-
spend-their-money/
Source: “Who uses the internet?” by Barbara Star, Rigan Philip
and Samuel Benjamin. InterWeb. [2001]
http://www.interweb.org/2001/10/23/who-uses-the-
internet/
Source: “Smoking in Egypt” by Samia Nagy, Mona Hamed and
Sherif Medhat. Baladna Research. [2010]
http://www.baladnaresearch.org/2010/12/01/smoking-in-
egypt/