Opinions Writing Part 2

"How to Write Personal Essays and Opinion Pieces"


1. The article suggests that the writer choose a topic that is conversational for them. The topic that the writer chooses should be one that they find intriguing and that they feel strongly about - whether they feel angry, sad, or happy about that topic. Most of all, the writer needs to choose a topic that the reader can relate and emphasize with.


2. The writer should not make broad and boring observations. The writer should be very specific about their own opinion or experience and how they felt. The writer shouldn't make declarations of their feelings, but instead use specific details and phrases that emphasize how they were feeling.

3. Suggestions:
                         "Make connections. If you’re writing about a global theme (poverty, unemployment, child abuse) bring the subject closer to home by relating it to specific, individual examples. If you’re writing about more mundane subjects (left-hand turn signals, the search for the best French Fries, your daughter’s graduation) again, set your views against a wider backdrop or perspective so the reader can relate to it."
                             "Think of your essay as a camera lens. You might start by describing a fine detail (your personal experience or perspective, a specific moment in the narrative), then open up the lens to take in the wide view (the general/global backdrop), then close the piece by narrowing back to the fine detail. Or go the other way. Start with the wide view, focus in, then open up to the wide view again."
                             "No extra points for the number of facts you include. Academic essays contain more facts than opinion, personal essays contain more opinion than facts. But ensure the facts you use are accurate. Check names, spellings, numbers. Two sources of confirmation are better than one."