An Opinion Essay vs. A For and Against Essay

An Opinion Essay vs.
a For and Against Essay
Atención: Si pregunto en general, me podéis decir “Un texto de opinión puede tener
esto o lo otro”. Pero si digo compara los dos textos no podéis decir “puede”, tenéis que decir
qué hay y qué no hay en los textos, no podéis hablar de lo que un texto podría tener, porque
se supone que habláis de dos textos que habéis leído y que tenéis delante.
Deberíais comparar esto con la tabla que hicisteis al principio para organizar las ideas
antes de escribir la redacción (Staying at home). La he vuelto a adjuntar al tablón aquí.
Lo que está en azul y en verde es lo que tendríais que haber respondido. Lo demás son
mis explicaciones (importantes).
1. Opinion essay
2. For and against essay
Things in common for 1 and 2. Differences between 1 and 2.

 Both texts have introduction, body and conclusion.
 Introduction:
- Both state a fact (1. “Many people strongly argue that ...morally wrong.” 2. “At
present there are... can marry.”)
In most introductions we start with a fact (some objective, true information. Be careful
if you “invent” it, don’t say something which is not true. )
- Both continue with a question ( 1. “Is it possible to justify such views?”
2. “But is that right?”)
Difference: The personal opinion (1) answers the question in the introduction. The for
and against essay (2) doesn’t answer the question yet.
The introduction shows what the text is going to speak about. In the personal opinion
we probably want to say our point of view since the beginning, because we are going to speak
only about our point of view. In the for and against essay we prefer to leave the question open
because we are going to discuss both possible positions, and it is better to answer the question
in the conclusion.
Someone said the difference between the two texts was that in the personal opinion
we know the writer’s opinion since the introduction and in the for and against essay the
reader doesn’t know the writer’s opinion until the conclusion. This is not exactly true, because
there are things that direct the reader towards the writer’s position, although it is true that the
writer doesn’t express it clearly until the end.
 Body:
- Both texts have two paragraphs.
- Difference: In the for and against essay the body is divided in two parts. In the
personal opinion it is not divided. (Check the information your book gives on the right
of each text.)
The personal opinion in this example has two paragraphs, but it could have three or
one as well. Remember: Each paragraph has one main idea. When we are going to introduce a
new main idea, we start a new paragraph. Paragraphs should not be too long or too short. You
mustn’t start a new paragraph with every new sentence. You must separate sentences with
colon (.), not commas (,). When we want to mark a bigger separation, we start a new
paragraph.
The body in a for and against essay always has two parts. In most cases you will need
to use two paragraphs for this, but in longer texts it could have more, using several paragraphs
for each part. In any case, it must be clear where the second part starts. Connectors help, but
we also need a sentence which makes it clear. Remember the Writing task 1: You had to list
three arguments in favour and three arguments against and extend each of them with an
example (there are other ways to do this too). Then in the second part ot the task I asked you:
“Write a first sentence for each paragraph in the body which makes it clear if it is positive or
negative.” (If your composition were longer and you wanted to use more than one paragrapgh
for each part of the body, you would probably use one paragraph, not one sentence, to
introduce each part, and then, one paragraph for each idea, which you would need to extend a
little more.)
Of course the writer of a for and against essay must know their conclusion before
writing the text, even though they don’t express it yet. Remember: We decide the order of the
two parts in the body to direct the reader towards our conclusion. The second part of the body
must be nearer the conclusion than the first. That means:
Intro:(?) Body: (+) (-) > Conclusion: (-)
Intro:(?) Body: (-) (+) > Conclusion: (+)
Differences between the intention of personal opinion and for and against texts:
A personal opinion gives your opinion and explains why it is so. You don’t necessarily
want other people to think like you. It is not necessary to consider different points of view,
although you can (mainly to justify why you don’t share them).
In a for and against essay you develop an argument. “Argument” means trying to
convince others that your position is the right one and that they should side by you. You
should also consider the opposite position regarding the topic.
Both kinds of text have many similarities. Sometimes a question of your exam may
allow you to choose one type of text or the other and both will be appropriate. For instance, it
would be easy to convert the example text of personal opinion in your book (page 113) into a
for and against essay, because the topic we are speaking about admits two positions. Other
times it is very clear from the question which kind of text is the best (or only) option. For
instance, imagine they ask you: “What is your favourite music style?”. I don’t want to convince
anybody to like heavy metal. I can’t speak about advantages and disadvantages. If they ask
you: “What is your opinion about videogames?”, they are directing you to write a personal
opinion. However, this would admit saying possitive and negative things (like in the example of
page 113), it is nearer to a for and against essay. If they used other words in the question, like
for example, “What are the consequences of videogames in human relationships?”, I would
start by making two lists, positive and negative aspects of videogames, and organise the ideas
in a for and against essay. Both possibilities may be right as long as the ideas are well
organised and are all directed to answering the question. Always write an introduction and a
conclusion (to CLOSE the text) and NEVER IMPROVISE.

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An Opinion Essay vs.

a For and Against Essay

Things in common for 1 and 2. Differences between 1 and 2.

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