ECW, Week of October 15/16

OPINION PARAGRAPH

Steps to take before writing:

1. Pick a controversial issue, e.g. smoking in public places

2. Decide which side you will take, pro or con (for or against)

3. Make sure that your opinion about the subject is clearly stated in your topic sentence (“Smoking should be banned in all public places.”)

4. Transition smoothly into the body of paragraph. “There are many, many reasons for this, but here I will just mention a few most important ones.”

5.. Give your supporting arguments in order of importance (health, smell, inconvenience)

6.. Find important facts to support your arguments. (“Research shows that ….” )

7. You may want to use an anecdote or example from your personal life. (“My aunt, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer because all of her life she worked in a bar where second-hand smoke was always present.)

8. Finish with a good concluding sentence.

EXAMPLE

Smoking should be banned in all public places, including restaurants and bars. There are many reasons why this should be so, but I will mention only a few here. First of all, research shows that second hand smoke is as harmful to health as smoking itself. Nonsmokers who are regularly exposed to second hand smoke die of lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases at almost the same rate as smokers. My aunt, a non-smoker, is dying of lung cancer because all of her life she worked as a bartender in a very smoky bar. Second, the pleasant atmosphere in many public places is ruined by smokers’ inconsiderate behavior. The taste of food and drink in restaurants is spoiled by the smell of cigarette smoke. Non-smokers’ eyes water and they cough and sneeze because of thick smoke lingering around them. They have to get their clothes dry-cleaned or washed to get rid of the unpleasant smoke smell.There’s no reason why non-smokers should pay the price for someone’s nasty, unhealthy habit. To be fair to non-smokers, the city must outlaw smoking in public places.

HOMEWORK:

Instead of your regular journal entry, do the follolwing:
"Write an opinion paragraph. First, answer this question: What do I want my reader to think or do? Then brainstorm ideas and narrow your topic. Use modal auxiliaries (could, should, ought to, has to/must) and causal adverbs (because, since, so, therefore). " [From Activity 16, p. 38, Textbook]