10 ways to express your opinion in an essay

Introducing The PhrasesIf you’re looking for a quick fix for your essay, these phrases should help you to start putting your own opinions in youressays.

But, before you rush over to your essays to start putting these phrases in, there’s something you need to know.

If you’re writing an academic essay, you will need to support your opinions with strong evidence. This is especially trueif you are using some of the stronger phrases.

This evidence can be a journal article, a lecture, a textbook, or something else which is a trustworthy source of information.

In a more informal essay, like one in an IELTS or TOEFL language test, you don’t need to support your answers with strong evidence. Your experiences or opinions will be enough.

Quick note: I know! You’re ready to see the phrases.

This won’t take long and it’s really important.

1. For these phrases to be really effective, you’ll need to review your grammar. Shayna has some great videos on her Espresso English Youtube channel.

I recommend these:

Subject/Verb agreementFormal and Informal EnglishCorrecting Grammar Mistakes2. If you want to know the structure of a good essay paragraph, check my post here.

Academic English Phrases for Writing an Essay

Informal English PhrasesThese phrases are suitable for language tests such as TOEFL or IELTS. In an academic essay, these phrases will probably be too informal because they are too personal.

“IN MY OPINION, + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

In my opinion, a good education is more important than a good car.“I BELIEVE THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

I believe that schools should encourage students to walk or cycle to school rather than drive.“IN MY MIND, + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

“In my mind, no-one should have to pay for medical care.”More Formal Academic Phrases With ‘That’These phrases are more suitable for academic essays. If you are unsure whether you should use an informal phrase or anacademic phrase, use an academic one. If you think your writing might be informal, read this post to learn more.

The patterns here are quite straightforward. Just add your sentence after ‘that’.

“IT WOULD SEEM THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

Use this when you support your opinion with evidence.

“It would seem that children learn best when they are feeling comfortable.”“IT COULD BE ARGUED THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

Use this when you want to challenge an existing opinion.

“It could be argued that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in this situation.”“THIS SUGGESTS THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

Use this when you don’t want to fully commit to an opinion. You’re giving yourself some distance.

“The evidence suggests that people who speak more than one language have more job opportunities.”“THIS PROVES THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

Use this when you are confident with your opinion. This phrase is quite strong*

“This proves that the best way to lose weight is through a controlled diet and a good exercise program.”“THIS SUPPORTS THE IDEA THAT + [YOUR SENTENCE]”

Use this one when you are supporting an opinion that you have already made.

“This new research supports the idea that successful English learners look for opportunities to use English.”Academic English Phrases for Writing an Essay

Other Ways To Express Opinion“ALTHOUGH [IDEA YOU DISAGREE WITH], [IDEA YOU AGREE WITH]”

Use this when you want make your opinion seem balanced.

“Although reports suggest that cigarettes could help people to lose weight, there are too many serious health problems associated with smoking.”Note: The ‘although’ pattern is very effective because it shows two sides of the argument. In the example, I support the idea that smoking is bad for your health –BUT- I recognise that it could have some benefits.

Structure your ‘although’ sentence like this: Although, [weaker argument you disagree with], [stronger argument you agree with].

USING ADVERBS, ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS

You can use adjectives to show your opinion.

“This research was poorly conducted with a lack of control.”The adjective and nouns in the example are negative. You can get some good ideas from this video on Extreme Adjectives. Note: try not to use any emotional adjectives.

Make Your Own Phrases!Of course, these phrases aren’t the only ones that you can use! You can find more –or– you can create your own by combining different patterns.

Here’s an example of #7, #9 and #10 used together.

“Although it is difficult for older adults to learn a second language, an important study by Smith (2014) proved that the elderly can successfully learn new languages.”

What Should You Do Now?So now you should have a better idea of how to include more opinions in your essays. But that’s not all; there are probably some new words here that you don’t know.