Opinion Paragraph Homework
Write an opinion paragraph with a topic sentence, three reasons (+ supporting
evidence), and a conclusion. There should be a total of at least 8 sentences
(TS + (SP + SS X 3) + CS).
Note the following:
1. You must observe the deadline for the first draft. This is Lesson #9
(Friday, 18 May). On this day, you will bring your printed paragraph to
class for a peer review. You can also ask me questions if you wish to.
You will then have the chance to improve the paragraph before you submit
it to me in Lesson #10 (Tuesday, 22 May).
2. If possible, your paragraph should be about your news story. You should
give your opinion of the story and three reasons for your opinion. Your
topic sentence will be a sentence giving your opinion.
A: You could start with the topic sentence, and summarize the news story
in the second sentence.
Examples of the topic sentence as the first sentence:
B: Alternatively, you could start with a sentence summarizing the news
story and have the topic sentence second. For example:
There is an example of a news story paragraph below. Which is the topic
sentence? Where do the supporting points begin?
C: If you cannot write a paragraph about your news story, You should write
one beginning with one of the following topic sentences:
3. Whatever your choice, follow the steps given on p.3, SCW. When reviewing
and revising (Step five), use the first three checklists on p. 21 of the
Study Skills Handbook. (Refer to p. 12 for advice about formatting with Microsoft Word, and
to p. 14 for advice about attaching the final checklist to your first draft.)
4. For advice about how to use an English-English dictionary when writing,
see pp. 13-14 of the Study Skills Handbook. Try to use vocabulary that you already know.
5. Here is a paragraph that I wrote about a news story:
On 22 April 2010, the BBC website covered the story of a young Japanese
dolphin trainer who has come to oppose the hunting of dolphins and therefore
given up her job. Initially the article appears to be just the story of a pretty girl in a swimming costume, but in fact it encourages the reader to think quite deeply. First, most
Western coverage of whale and dolphin hunting implies that the Japanese
either accept dolphin hunting as a cultural tradition or are not interested
in the issue. For example, this is the position of an article in the online
edition of Time dated 16 September 2009. On the other hand, this particular article introduces
a Japanese person who actually opposes dolphin hunting. Second, the young
woman used to work in an aquarium in Taiji. This is the Japanese village
that is featured in the Oscar-winning documentary called “The Cove”.
She has always loved dolphins; yet she helped the dolphin hunters by selecting
which dolphins should be kept for training purposes, knowing that the others
would be killed for meat. Finally, she mentions that non-Japanese come
to Taiji to buy dolphins. This reminds us that dolphin hunting is a problem
not only for Japanese people, but for all countries where dolphins are
held captive in aquariums, and for all people who go to see them performing
their tricks. In other words, although the photograph makes it look rather
superficial, this news story actually makes the reader think both about
dolphin hunting itself, and about the way in which it is reported.
Sources:
‘Dolphin hunt: “We must open
our eyes”’ BBC website, dated 22 April 2010.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8599723.stm, retrieved on 3 May 2010.
‘Japan Gets to See Dolphin-Hunting
Documentary “The Cove”, Time, 16 Sept. 2009.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1923252,00.html,
retrieved on 3 May 2010.