Having an opinion is easy; explaining and defending an opinion is much more challenging. In persuasive writing, it is necessary to have a clearly expressed opinion; however, it is important to remember that an opinion is only as strong as the argument behind it. Therefore, it is essential to support your position with clear reasons, each of which needs to be developed with specific details. In other words, the reasons support the opinion, and the details, such as examples, develop the reasons so that they are as clear as possible. For example:
- Opinion
- Music should be a mandatory class in secondary school.
- Reason
- Taking music class can actually help students academically.
- Detail
- Playing an instrument requires concentration, discipline and perseverance. Developing these qualities would help students achieve good grades in other subjects.
In academic writing, you can never assume the reader will understand your reasons until they are fully explained. In order to present a strong argument, imagine the questions a reader would ask you:
- Opinion
- Music should be a mandatory class in secondary school.
- Why?
- Taking music class can actually help students academically.
- Really? How?
- Playing an instrument requires concentration, discipline and perseverance. Developing these qualities would help students achieve good grades in other subjects.
In order to have a strong argument, you want to have atleast three good reasons, and make sure you provide as many specific details as you need to fully explain each point. These sentences need to be logically organized so the reader can easily follow your points.