Writing Assignment 3 : Opinion Essay
Tasks:
1. Write a five-paragraph opinion essay of about 500 words on one of the given topics:
a) Health
b) The internet
c) Animal testing
d) Modernization and environmental damage
e) Outdoor activities and communication skills
f)
Sports activities and academic performance
2. Find at least three articles or news reports (from magazines or newspapers) related to your
selected topic.
3. Support your opinion in the essay using the selected articles.
4. At the end of your essay, there must be a reference section that gives the full citations of
these articles.
5. Purely information-based/factual essays will not be accepted.
6. Your Assignment 3 portfolio should include the following items:
a) Essay outline
b) Draft 1
c) Peer Feedback Form 3
d) Draft 2
e) Peer Feedback Form 3
Your draft should show proof of editing done. A CLEAN draft (without any comments or
editing done either by you or your peer) shows that you HAVE NOT DONE the editing
process. Your mark may be deducted.
f)
Final draft
(This is the one that will be graded by the instructors. Please make sure it is clean and
well presented.)
g) The three articles you have cited and referenced in your essay.
Marks will be deducted if the portfolio is incomplete.
On the front cover of the portfolio, type the heading Assignment 3, your name and matric
number. Each item of the portfolio must be clearly labeled at the top of the page (e.g. outline,
first draft, etc.)
Explanation
1.
2.
Outline

Organise you main points and specific details into an outline.

Your outline must follow the format given.
Drafts
Step 1:
Based on your outline, write the first draft of your essay. Then ask your friend
(who is also taking this course) to read and comment on your essay. He/she
may write whatever comments or corrections on the draft itself and she/he
must also complete the Peer Feedback Form 3 provided. This checklist must
be stapled to the first draft. Write First Draft at the top of the first page.
Step 2:
Based on the edited first draft, do your second draft. Again ask your friend to
edit your essay. Repeat Step 1. Staple the second Peer Feedback Form 3 to
the second draft. Write Second Draft at the top of the first page.
Step 3:
Write your final essay. Write Final Draft at the top of the first page.
BBI 2421 GENERAL WRITING SKILLS
ASSIGNMENT 3
ESSAY OUTLINE
Use the outline below for your Assignment 3: Opinion Essay
Use complete sentences when you write the thesis statement, topic sentences and conclusion.
The rest, you may use phrases (incomplete sentences).
Introduction (paragraph 1)
General statement 1:
General statement 2:
General statement 3:
General statement 4:
Thesis statement:
Body:
Topic sentence (paragraph 2)
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Topic sentence (paragraph 3)
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Topic sentence (paragraph 4)
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Main supporting point:
Supporting detail:
Supporting detail:
Conclusion (paragraph 5)
BBI 2421 GENERAL WRITING SKILLS
ASSIGNMENT 3
Peer Feedback Form 3
Name of Peer Editor (Your friend’s name):
______________________________
1. Introduction

The introduction paragraph starts with general ideas and leads to
yes
no
The thesis statement is clear and presents the writer’s own view on the topic. yes
no
the thesis statement.

2. Support
•
The topic sentences in each paragraph support the thesis statement
•
Each supporting point in a paragraph is elaborated on
with details and/or examples.

no
yes
no
yes
no
The writer has incorporated ideas/information from other sources to
strengthen his/her arguments

yes
The writer has made it clear how his/her citations of info from other sources
contribute to his/her own arguments
yes
no
3. Unity

Each paragraph discusses only one main idea.
yes
no

All the topic sentences support the thesis.
yes
no

There are no irrelevant sentences in each paragraph.
yes
no

All info/ideas cited from other sources are directly relevant
yes
no
to the thesis/topic sentences
4. Coherence
•
The essay flows smoothly from Introduction to Body to Conclusion
•
Supporting points and details in each paragraph are
organised systematically and clearly.

The writer has linked ideas from one paragraph to another paragraph.
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
 The writer used transition words and sentences (give examples):
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
•
In each paragraph, I have used transition words/repetition
to show relationships among supporting points and details.
of key
yes
words
no
(Give examples): _______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

The writer has used consistent nouns and pronouns throughout the essay yes

The writer has clearly linked the ideas cited from other sources to the
thesis/topic sentences.
yes
no
no
5. Referencing

The writer has quoted/cited from at least three articles correctly
and completely in the text of my essay.
yes no

The writer has put the complete citation of these articles in the reference section. yes no
6. Concluding paragraph

The concluding paragraph reflects the ideas in the thesis statement

I have repeated key words/ideas from the thesis statement and
supporting ideas.
yes
no
yes
no
Example of opinion essay
The Right to Die
A difficult problem that is facing society is the legalization of euthanasia. Euthanasia is
the act of causing death painlessly in order to end suffering. People who are in a coma because
of injury to their brains and elderly people who are terminally ill are being kept alive by artificial
means. They do not have a chance to recover, but laws in most of the United States do not
allow doctors to end their lives. Although many people feel that doctors must do everything
possible to keep their patients alive, I believe that euthanasia should be legal for three reasons.
(Thesis Statement)
The first and most important reason to support euthanasia is that some patients who
have no chance to recover do not wish to be kept alive on machines (topic sentence 1). These
patients are kept alive by life-support machines such as respirators to help them breathe and
feeding tubes to provide them with nutrition. A well-known example in United States is the case
of Terri Schiavo, a young woman who went into a coma in 1990. Mrs. Schiavo was able to
breathe on her own, but her brain was dead. For fifteen years, she was kept alive by feeding
tube. After eight years of seeking treatment of her condition, Michael Schiavo, her husband,
asked the courts for permission to remove her feeding tube, he said that his wife had told him
she would not want to be kept alive artificially when there was no hope of recovery. Mrs.
Schiavo’s parent Robert and Mary Schindler, disagree with Mr. Schiavo and fought to keep their
daughter alive. After seven years of bitter court battles, Mr. Schiavo fnally won. Doctors remove
Mrs. Schiavo’s feeding tube, and she soon died, fifteen years falling into coma. Clearly, when
there is absolutely no hope of recovery, society should allow a person in Terri Schiavo’s
condition to die if that is her or his wish (details for topic sentence 1).
A second reason to support euthanasia is that medicals costs in United States are very
high (topic sentence 2).. Keeping a person alive for years and years requires round- the-clock
care in a hospital or nursing home. According to an administrator at local hospital, daily hospital
room chargers average $5,000 there. Nursing home care is also expensive. A nursing home in
our area charges $4,500 per month. These high costs can cause serious financial problems for
a family (details for topic sentence 2)..
The final reason to support legalizing euthanasia is that the family suffers (topic
sentence 3).. Hospital or nursing home staff give terminally ill patients only minimal care. Thus
the family must spend time, caring for the special needs of their loved one. For instance, a
cousin of mine who had been in a motorcycle accident was kept alive on life-support machines
for eight years. He needed someone to stay with him 24 hours a day. During those years, his
parents took turns taking care of him. His father stayed with him during the day while his mother
worked, and then his mother stayed with him at night while his father worked. Other family
members tried to help out when they could, but his parents did most of physical work and
suffered most of the emotional stress, after he finally died, my aunt said, “Of course, I am sad,
but since we all knew he would eventually die, it might have been better if it had happen right
when he had the accident. These past eight years have been hard.” (details for topic sentence
3).
To summarize, patients who are either terminally ill or who are in an irreversible coma
often wish to die. Their care is a financial, physical, and emotional burden for their families.
Therefore, families should have the right to ask doctors to turn off life-support machine or to
remove feeding tubes.
Example of opinion essay using in-text citation and with reference list
Example 1:
Nowadays, a lot of sexual crimes have been reported in the mass media. They did not
only involve teenagers and women but even small babies. According to Datuk Chor Chee
Heung, Deputy Home Minister (The Star 3 April 2009, pN 30), the number of rape cases
increased by threefold since last year compared with the previous year. This alarming increase
is certainly a cause for great concern to the public. Malaysians have the tendency to depend
heavily on the police to provide protection; however, I strongly believe that this is not a job for
the police alone, but it is everyone’s responsibility to reduce sexual crimes.
The first and most important way to reduce sexual crime is that everyone especially
women should practice martial arts. In fact, schools should actively encourage students to take
up martial arts as co-curriculum activities. According to Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah; “There is
only one policeman for 260 people,” (The Star, 3 April 2009, pM 36). This clearly shows that the
police cannot be of help when the public especially women are confronted with assaults or other
sexual crimes. If women have martial arts skills, they will have the ability to deter would be
assailants or rapists.
Sexual crimes can also be reduced if parents are more vigilant. They must shoulder the
responsibility of caring for their children’s safety. They should not leave the care of their children
entirely to baby-sitters or child-carers. They must give attention to their children and make the
time to know their children’s friends well. This is because sexual abuse can be perpetrated by
someone they just met, or dated a few times, or even someone to whom they are close to.
Indeed, even close relatives can commit such heinous crime. In a case related by Petaling Jaya
OCPD, a sixteen-year-old girl reported that she was allegedly raped by her father and molested
by three other men in her house (The Star, 3 April 2009, pN 10). For working parents, before
sending their children to child minders, they must check their backgrounds. A 39-year-old
mother recently reported that the Indonesian maid at her child’s kindergarten had molested her
five-year-old daughter (The Star, 3 April 2009, pN 10).
Finally, in my point of view, awareness campaigns are very effective in combating sexual
crimes. Commercials in radios and televisions depicting these crimes and how to prevent them
should be aired periodically. During these campaigns, too, the police can hold sexual crime
prevention talks with the public. Hot lines should also be set up not only to help victims but also
provide a place for the public to make reports or complaints. I believe, in this way, the public can
be made to be more aware and vigilant of these crimes. Besides that, these campaigns should
also highlight the punishments meted to those who commit these crimes. Thus, would be
assailants or molesters will think twice before looking for victims.
In short, I strongly feel that these three ways can be helpful in reducing sexual crimes.
Everyone in the community should play his/her role in preventing the number of sexual crime
cases from escalating to alarming level. We must not depend solely on the police to solve this
problem.
References
Be proactive in fighting against crime. (2009, April 3). The Star, p.N30.
Mother: My daughter told me kind maid molested her. (2009, April 3). The Star, p.N30.
Rape cases number 4,959 last year – up 300% from 2007. (2009, April 3). The Star, p.N30.
Example 2:
Why Educate the Children of Illegal Immigrants?
Immigration laws have been a subject of debate throughout American history, especially
in states such as California and Texas, where immigrant populations are high. Recently, some
citizens have been questioning whether we should continue to educate the children of illegal
immigrants. While this issue is steeped in emotional controversy, we must not allow divisive "us
against them" rhetoric to cloud our thinking. Yes, educating undocumented immigrants costs us,
but not educating them would cost us much more. Thesis statement
Those who propose barring the children of illegal immigrants from our schools have
understandable worries. They worry that their state taxes will rise as undocumented children
crowd their school systems. They worry about the crowding itself, given the loss of quality
education that comes with large class sizes. They worry that school resources will be deflected
from their children because of the linguistic and social problems that many of the newcomers
face. And finally, they worry that even more illegal immigrants will cross our borders because of
the lure of free education.
This last worry is probably unfounded. It is unlikely that many parents are crossing the
borders solely to educate their children. More likely, they are in desperate need of work,
economic opportunity, and possibly political asylum. As Charles Wheeler of the National
Immigration Law Center asserts, "There is no evidence that access to federal programs acts as
a magnet to foreigners or that further restrictions would discourage illegal immigrants" (qtd. in
"Exploiting").
The other concerns are more legitimate, but they can be addressed by less drastic
measures than barring children from schools. Currently the responsibility of educating about
75% of undocumented children is borne by just a few states--California, New York, Texas, and
Florida (Edmondson 1). One way to help these and other states is to have the federal
government pick up the cost of educating undocumented children, with enough funds to
alleviate the overcrowded classrooms that cause parents such concern. Such cost shifting could
have a significant benefit, for if the federal government had to pay, it might work harder to stem
the tide of illegal immigrants.
So far, attempts to bar undocumented children from public schools have failed. In the
1982 case of Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled on the issue. In a 5-4 decision, it
overturned a Texas law that allowed schools to deny education to illegal immigrants. Martha
McCarthy reports that Texas had justified its law as a means of "preserving financial resources,
protecting the state from an influx of illegal immigrants, and maintaining high quality education
for resident children" (128). The Court considered these issues but concluded that in the long
run the costs of educating immigrant children would pale in comparison to the costs--both to the
children and to society--of not educating them.
It isn't hard to figure out what the costs of not educating these children would be. The
costs to innocent children are obvious: loss of the opportunity to learn English, to understand
American culture and history, to socialize with other children in a structured environment, and to
grow up to be successful, responsible adults.
The costs to society as a whole are fairly obvious as well. That is why we work so hard
to promote literacy and prevent students from dropping out of school. An uneducated populace
is dangerous to the fabric of society, contributing to social problems such as vandalism and
crime, an underground economy, gang warfare, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and
infectious and transmissible diseases. The health issue alone makes it worth our while to
educate the children of undocumented immigrants, for when children are in school, we can
make sure they are inoculated properly, and we can teach them the facts about health and
disease.
Do we really want thousands of uneducated children growing up on the streets, where
we have little control over them? Surely not. The lure of the streets is powerful enough already.
Only by inviting all children into safe and nurturing and intellectually engaging schools can we
combat that power. Our efforts will be well worth the cost.
References
Edmondson, Brad. "Life without Illegal Immigrants." American Demographics May 1996: 1.
"Exploiting Fears." Admissions Decisions: Should Immigration Be Restricted? 7 Oct. 1996.
Public Agenda. 10 Feb. 19
http://www.votesmart.org/issues/Immigration/chap2/imm2itx.html.
McCarthy, Martha M. "Immigrants in Public Schools: Legal Issues."
Educational Horizons 71 (1993): 128-30.
(The above sample is the work of Knutson, A. (1999). Why Educate the Children of Illegal
Immigrants? Hacker Handbook Resources. Retrieved from
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/arguing.htm)