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Opinion Essay
An opinion essay tells what the writer thinks or feels about a topic. People have different opinions about things. In an opinion essay, you write your opinion about a topic. When you write an opinion essay, you choose a topic about which you have strong feelings. You support your opinion with reasons. For this Unit Project, you are going to write an opinion essay about the wetlands of Mississippi.
Writing Process
Part I: Prewriting
Ideas As you learned in Unit 1, Mississippi has wetlands in the northwesten part of the state. Some people have opinions about the importance of wetlands, protecting existing wetlands, and protecting the species that live in wetlands. All of these can be ideas for an opinion essay. Write Mississippi’s wetlands in the center of the idea organizer below. Brainstorm topics and write them on the lines. You can add more lines. Then choose your topic. Make sure you have reasons to support your opinion. If you don’t have several good reasons, you might want to choose another topic.
Research and Writing Projects
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Voice In an opinion essay, you are telling how you really think and feel about a subject. Let the audience hear your voice. It should be strong and confident. Use strong words and details. Organization Use a chart like the one below to organize your opinion essay. Write your opinion in the top box. In the second row of boxes, write the reasons why you feel or think the way you do. In the last row of boxes, write details, such as examples, that support your reasons. Here are examples of an opinion, a reason, and details: Opinion: Reason: Details: People should spend more time playing sports. Playing sports is healthy. It helps you sleep better. It helps protect you against some illnesses.
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Be sure to fill in the boxes before you go on to the next step.
Research and Writing