Opinion Writing: Identifying your Opinion

"You sure are typing up a storm there, Ernie!" "I've been asked to write an article on why deer crossings are important, but I'm having a hard time coming up with supporting reasons." "If you want, I could fly around and gather some information." "That would be great, thank you!" Let's help Ernie learn about 'opinion writing: identifying your opinion to help with his article. You might already know about facts, or bits of real information and you might also know about the word opinion, which is how you feel or think about something. We all have opinions about food that we like, activities we don’t, or TV programmes that are amazing. But what happens when someone disagrees with your opinion? It’s OK to have different opinions, but in order to try and get someone to support your opinion, you must convince them! You can be persuasive and convince the reader of your writing by using conjunctions such as 'because'. We can take a look at Ernie's first opinion to learn more. Ernie has written that we need deer crossings to keep deer safe and Jane has just flown in with a supporting reason! When deer use a deer crossing they get into fewer accidents. In order to make his opinion convincing, Ernie needs to connect his opinion with the supporting reason. To do this, he needs to start by writing his opinion. Then, he must write his reason. Finally, he can connect his reason and opinion statement with a word like because. Ernie wrote that deer crossings keep deer safe because when deer use them, they get into fewer accidents. But, his article isn't finished yet! He needs at least two more statements with reasons. Remember, first he needs to find his opinion statement. This time he wrote that deer crossings are needed to keep deer families together. Then, he must find his supporting reason. This one says: Deer families use the crossing to cross the road together at the same time. Finally, he needs to connect his reason and statement together. How can he write his statement and supporting reason? Ernie can write, 'deer crossings keep families together because the deer can cross the road at the same time'. In order to write his final part of the article, what should Ernie do first? He needs to find his opinion statement, which is, deer crossings give families more food to eat. What does he need to do next? Write his supporting reason, which is that because they have grass, many deer stop to eat when they are crossing. Finally, he can connect his opinion and statement by saying something like deer crossings give more food because they are made of grass, which many deer eat when they cross. Before we see Ernie's article, let's review. Today we learnt about identifying your opinion and supporting it with reasons. In order to do this you can start by identifying your opinion. Then, identify your supporting reason. Finally, connect the two together with words like because. Now, was Ernie's piece finished in time? "Ernie, look! Your article made the front cover!"