Opinion article example

The first thing you must do when thinking of writing an opinion article is thinking how to plan it. It is crucial that you plan your opinion article before you write it as this will mean that you will not simply be staring blankly at your computer screen wishing that you were watching the television or playing a video game. If you want to write an opinion article but don’t know what you want to write, then you need to brainstorm. This can be done in several ways – you can either draw a spider diagram, you can just write down the first thing that comes into your head, you can do word association where you think of something and then write down what you associate with that word or you can do any number of different things to produce your idea. What is important is that once you have thought of your idea, you need to plan out how you are going to write about it – how you want to structure your article, how you want to use your evidence and how you want to incorporate your opinion both from the beginning of the piece and throughout so that you have a strong linking device.

This can be done in several ways which will be explained below. Please note that these are only suggestions and if you have another method of planning that you prefer to use that it is better because you are familiar with it what you it, use that. It is better to use a planning method that you are comfortable with than having a planning method artificially forced on you that does not you or help you with your opinion article.

• Write a list. This is a simple but effective way of planning – write a list of what you want to say. It doesn’t have to be in order, it simply must be what you want to say about the particular issue you are interested in. Then think about it carefully – does it make sense in that order? Does it seem logical? Think about it again and try to consider another order that it might make more sense in and try to order it like that. This should help with ordering your ideas in such a way that when it comes to write the piece you are not muddled.
• Draw a diagram. By drawing a diagram, you can easily encapsulate what you want to say in a creative and unique way. Write your main opinion in the centre of a page and then draw lines from out of it expressing either developments of that opinion or other opinions that are related to it or connected that you can use in your article.
• Make a typical plan. This is one of the best ways to plan an opinion article, though it is not the most exciting. Write you all your ideas down for your piece. Then divide them up into the various paragraphs you want to include them in. Then think about what you want to write about your introduction. This should cover several different pages. Once you are done, write them out onto one sheet of paper so you have a clear and concise copy of your plan that you can easily refer to.

Now it is time to touch upon the research side of your article. Once you have decided what opinion you want to express it is time to consider how to research it. Whatever the topic you have a vast array of sources to use – websites, books, government databases, experts in the field etc. You should try to use a great as range as possible to allow yourself to not be reliant on one source. However, remember to have fun when researching as you are meant to be writing something interesting and if you aren’t interested then the reader is unlikely to be either.

When writing your opinion article, it is important to remember that it is your opinion – nobody else’s. Don’t be timid when you come to write your piece and try to subvert this fact – make it as bold as anything that you think this way and that you have evidence to support it. Try to make your opening punchy by using direct words – address your audience directly if you wish. You must always try to think that your article is like a conversation with a person; try to be as precise as possible with why you have the opinion you do and try to convince the person reading that you’re right.