opinion writing promps

opinion writing promps

Opinion Writing Prompts: Engaging Topics to Spark Critical Thinking

1. Introduction to Opinion Writing

With the use of prompts that are written with students in mind, teachers can nudge reluctant writers to craft a solid, delightful argumentative essay. Our students care about the world around them. With the focusing power of these topics, we can get students interested in writing an organized argument. After all of the work and energy that goes into refining our students’ essays, it is really rewarding when they unpack their thinking for an audience of peers who are excited to talk to them about what they’ve composed. Teachers who embrace writing instruction can use debate topics as a way to tap into students’ natural feminist energy. Opinions about important topics can fuel thought-provoking, innovative essays.

So much is happening in the world, and opinion writing is a powerful way for students to make sense of it. They love to talk about what they see and hear. Opinion writing taps into a rich pool of diverse responses to issues that are important to students. And they have a lot more opinions than we might think! Consider the ELA standards that require students to present and support opinions, descriptive writing, and explanatory writing with details. With the suggestion of interesting, real-world topics to get our students thinking and responding critically, we can make writing a highly motivating activity.

2. Importance of Opinion Writing in Developing Critical Thinking Skills

I am always looking for opinion topics to use with my third graders especially. They have such great ideas and many strong opinions, so giving them the chance to express those opinions gives them ownership of their writing and of themselves. Here are some wonderful opinion writing prompts I came across that could be used at various times throughout the year. Remember that lowercase encourages more realistic topics, uppercase more imaginative topics.

The ability to back up assertions with corresponding thoughts is the focus of argumentative writing and the Common Core, and my students need all the practice they can get with it. Boldly stating opinions requires all the necessary thinking skills involved in arguing, and this type of writing fosters great practice. And not just that, too: opinion writing enhances our spelling and grammar skills and provides a great authentic purpose to take notes-researching and supporting our opinions with facts.

Opinion writing is a priceless skill for students young and old. Learning to state opinions in a logical manner, back those opinions up with fresh ideas, and possibly argue against opposing opinions, are all skills necessary to write really well. And not just for English class, but for other subjects, as well.

3. Examples of Opinion Writing Prompts for Different Age Groups

Junior Students: We talk and share, we laugh and we cry, we touch and we feel, and we see with our eyes. How do these actions define us as being human? Sometimes we hope for growth in children in a variety of areas. For instance, a scientist, an athlete or a great communicator? Which area would you like your parents to push you or prod you in?

Children: Pets are an important part of our lives. Many families have a dog, cat, bird, rabbit, etc. Do you have a pet? If not, would you like to have one? Why? Reading books about others can help us become more caring individuals. Which book have you read recently that has given you more insight into the life of someone else? Holidays are wonderful days. They give us time for fun, time for relaxation, and time for friends.

Opinion writing is a long-standing tradition. In writing and speech, it’s a persuasive style of sharing your viewpoint and beliefs about a specific subject. You try to convince others to agree with you by giving facts that support your opinion. Here are three useful groups of opinion writing prompts which help to write critical thinking essays with different age groups. The first group is useful for children, and the majority of them have an introduction, followed by questions or tasks. The second set is focused on junior students. The provided questions can be an inspiration to the author to uncover interesting ideas behind information. The third one is aimed at senior students. All prompts are split by the subject and range.

4. Tips for Crafting Effective Opinion Pieces

Engaging lead: Opinion pieces need to grab the reader’s interest from the start. Authors can do this by writing a thought-provoking lead, such as a question, an anecdote, or a shocking statistic. Authors can also introduce their topics in other ways, such as with a quote, a background piece, a series of thought-provoking questions, a description, a comparison, or with a contrast. The key elements of an engaging lead include: The lead grabs the reader’s attention. The reader understands what the piece is about and who is writing. The reader knows the author’s opinion on the topic.

Four essential elements: Opinion pieces should include four essential elements. First, they should help the reader decide whether they want to read the article. They do this by telling the reader what the topic is, who is writing, and why. Second, they should give the author’s opinion on the topic being written about. Third, they should provide persuasive reasons and evidence to support that opinion. Fourth, they should end in a way that strengthens the reader’s opinion. This can be done by summarizing the reasons and evidence given and possibly giving a call to action. One other element, not quite required, but certainly helpful, is the inclusion of a counterargument and response.

5. Conclusion: Encouraging Thoughtful Expression Through Opinion Writing

The Common Core State Standards in English language arts provide the foundation for distinguishing literary from informational text across the content areas, including opinion writing as opposed to other types of writing where the author’s purpose, thoughts and beliefs are not explicitly put forth. By introducing structured frames for opinion pieces, students can get the support they need to begin to express their thoughts with confidence. Expanding from four-sentence paragraphs to more complex essays and formal speeches will happen with more ease. And by providing thought-provoking questions, they will feel more prepared and better armed to take on confusing, complex and important world issues. With this freedom to express comes a great responsibility. As teachers, our job is to help children articulate their thoughts with precision, grace, and understanding, to enrich the conversations we have, and invariably, to make them better global citizens.

As many of the prompts in this book demonstrate, we live in a world where there are so many topics rich for discussion and filled with opportunities for engaging and meaningful writing. We have an obligation to help them think critically about their opinions, consider all sides of an issue, and articulate their points of view clearly and convincingly. This can be done through active conversations, analysis of opinion pieces professionally written for publications that they know and respect, and through their own expression of these ideas in essays and speeches.