Opinion Essay for FCE

1. In an opinion essay you must give your
opinion on a subject so, you must basically
say if you agree or disagree
with the statement.

2. Present the topic of discussion and
express your ____________. You must
imagine that whoever reads your essay
has no __________ what the topic is.
You must also show clearly that you’ll
be expressing one opinion, either in
__________ or against.
opinion
idea
favour

3. Explain your first reason for your
opinion. Talk about possible
consequences and give examples or
vice versa.

4. Explain your second reason and
maybe a third one, but only if it is
closely related. Mention possible
consequences and give examples, or
vice versa.

5. _______________ your reasons and / or talk
about possible consequences if nothing is
done. You can even finish your essay with a
______________ question.
Summarise
rethorical

7. There are people who claim/ believe/ say/
think (that)...
-There is no doubt that...
-I feel...
-According to... /...new research,...
-It is believed... / said (that)...
-It is believed by experts / scientist (that)...
-It seems / appears that...

8. -I think that...
-Firstly/ first of all/ to start with...
-I think there are two aspects of... The first
is...
State your first reason

9. State your second reason
The second aspect is...
Secondly,
Another reason why...
We should also consider the fact that...
Another matter/ aspect to consider...
Let us not forget...

10. Giving examples
- such as
- like
- for example
- for instance

11. Expressing result
• because of this
• therefore
• thus
• as a result
• for this reason
• consequently

12. Expressing personal opinion
• Personally, I think
• I (strongly) believe
• In my opinion
• I think (that)…

13. Expressing the opinion of somebody else
• some people say
• some people say that
• many people say
• many people say that
• people often say
• it is said
• it is said that
• according to

14. Expressing contrast
• nevertheless
• even so
• even though
• however
• in spite of
• despite
• but
• although

15. In short,
In brief,
To conclude,
In conclusion,
Do we really want to make our
children pay for our mistakes?