The document provides information and guidance about writing an opinion essay. It defines an opinion essay as one where the writer expresses their view on a given topic and provides reasons to support their stance. The document outlines the typical structure of an opinion essay, including an introductory paragraph with a hook, background, and thesis statement; two or three body paragraphs with reasons and evidence; and a concluding paragraph that restates the thesis. Examples and exercises are also included to help writers identify the components of an essay and develop an outline.

1. AN OPINION ESSAY
WEEK 3

2. What is an essay?
 An essay is a piece of writing
several paragraphs long. It is
about one topic, just as a
paragraph is.
 Writing an essay is no more
difficult than writing a
paragraph except that an
essay is longer.

3. AN OPINION ESSAY
 An opinion essay is an essay in which you
EXPRESSYOUR OPINION about a given topic.
 To support your opinion, in the body of the
essay, you need to give the REASONS to explain
WHYYOU HOLDTHAT OPINION.

4. Three parts of an essay

5. Introductory paragraph
 An introduction of an essay includes:
+ A hook: engages the readers’ attention and stimulate their
curiosity.
+ Background information: gives a broader picture of the subject
matter to be discussed.
+ Thesis statement: contains the topic and the controlling idea of
the whole essay

6. Body paragraphs
 Body of an essay can include two or three paragraphs
 Body paragraphs of an essay contain the supporting details of the
essay.
 The topic sentence clearly states the content of each paragraph.
 Each body paragraph must develop a point presented in the topic
statement. All the supporting details in a body paragraph must
clearly relate to each other.
 The concluding sentence may either bring the idea of the
paragraph to a close or suggest the content of the next
paragraph.
 In an essay, the concluding sentence in body paragraphs can be
optional.

7. Concluding paragraph
 The conclusion of an essay is usually two or four
sentences in length.
 It restates the thesis statement of the introduction in
different words.
 It may give advice or a warn, make a prediction or
provide new insight and discoveries that the writer has
gained through writing the essay.

8. A structure of an opinion essay
 Introductory paragraph:
- Hook: generally introduce the topic
- Background information: introduce different views on the topic
- Thesis statement: state what you think about the topic
 Body paragraphs:
- Body paragraph 1: reason 1
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 1
- Body paragraph 2: reason 2
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 2
 Concluding paragraph:
- Restate the thesis statement

9. PRACTICE
 EXERCISE 1: Identify parts of an essay
Read the sample essay on pages 84-85 in your course book
and answer the following questions:
1. What is the topic of the essay?
2. What is the thesis statement?
3. How many reasons are given to support the thesis statement?
4. What are they?
5. Which sentence in the concluding paragraph restates the thesis
statement?

10. PRACTICE
 EXERCISE 1: Suggested answers:
1.What is the topic of the essay?
- Home genetic testing
2.What is the thesis statement?
- From this personal perspective,I believe that home genetic testing should be much more
strictly regulated,if not prohibited all together.
3. How many reasons are given to support the thesis statement?
- Two reasons
4.What are they?
- Reason 1:Devastating effects of home genetic testing
- Reason 2:Genetic test results are not infallible nor definitive
5.Which sentence in the concluding paragraph restates the thesis statement?
- If we,as a society,truly believe that genetic testing has more benefits than negative
effects,it is our responsibility to regulate it,so all testing includes counseling and
interpretation by professionals.

11. PRACTICE
 EXERCISE 2: Identify an effective hook
for the introductory paragraph
- Look at exercise 2 on page 87 of your course
book
- Check the hooks you think that are effective

12. PRACTICE
EXERCISE 2: Suggested answers
- Effective hooks: 1 – 3 – 6 - 7

13. BRAINSTORMING

14. BRAINSTORMING
What are some benefits and risks of taking
a genetic test?
Use aTREE MAP to organize your ideas
Genetic test
Benefits Risks
Benefit
1
Benefit
2
Benefit
3
Risk 1 Risk 2 Risk 3

15. SUGGESTED IDEAS
GENETICTESTING
Benefits Risks
• make an accurate diagnosis for some
diseases
• provide a sense of relief from
uncertainty
• Provide information to help make
informed medical and lifestyle
decisions
• Help choose the most suitable
therapy and support for the patient
• good surveillance and early
intervention can save the patient’s
life
• useful for future family planning
• May cause a range of mixed negative
emotions
• Some genetic mutations are very
difficult to find
• Some serious diseases cannot be
detected through genetic testing
• people can be discriminated and
treated differently because of their
genetic disorder
• It is costly to take a genetic test

16. SUGGESTED ESSAY OUTLINE
[If you support genetic testing]
 Introductory paragraph:
- Hook: generally introduce the definition/popularity of genetic testing
- Background information: say that taking a genetic test has both benefits and risks
- Thesis statement: state that you think people should take a genetic test because of its
benefits.
 Body paragraphs:
- Body paragraph 1: the 1st reason why you think taking a genetic test is beneficial
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 1
- Body paragraph 2: the 2nd reason why you think taking a genetic test is beneficial
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 2
 Concluding paragraph:
- Restate the thesis statement
- Make recommendations/suggestions/predictions

17. SUGGESTED ESSAY OUTLINE
[If you oppose genetic testing]
 Introductory paragraph:
- Hook: generally introduce the definition/popularity of genetic testing
- Background information: say that taking a genetic test has both benefits and
risks
- Thesis statement: state that you think people should not take a genetic test
because of its risks.
 Body paragraphs:
- Body paragraph 1: the 1st reason why you think taking a genetic test is risky
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 1
- Body paragraph 2: the 2nd reason why you think taking a genetic test is risky
+ details/evidence/example to develop the reason 2
 Concluding paragraph:
- Restate the thesis statement
- Make recommendations/suggestions/predictions