2. communication intended to induce belief or action opinion: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty

3. 1. When trying to convince your parents to let them go out with friends 2. When offering to wash an older sibling’s car if they would drive them to the mall 3. When begging a teacher to postpone a test 4. When asking a teacher for an extension.

4.  The writer tries to convince the reader that their view on an issue/topic is the better view.

5.  YOU need to find an opinion to which you feel connected.

6.  A fact is information that can be proved. e.g., “The temperature today is 20 degrees C” is an idea that can be measured and so demonstrated to be true.  An opinion is an author’s belief about something. e.g., “20 degrees C is very warm” is a relative term. Someone from a hot climate would call such weather conditions cool or perhaps even cold.  Ask yourself…  “Could somebody argue the other side?” If the answer is yes, then you have chosen an OPINION!

7.  Your opinions should be ones that other normal minds would debate.  For example: arguing that legislators should uphold the law prohibiting people to drive on the wrong side of the road would be a terrible topic. No sane person would disagree with that opinion.

8.  An essay about raising the legal driving age from 16 to 18, however, would draw strong reactions, whether pro or con, from most readers.  Try to choose something that might lend itself to an interesting, debatable opinion.

9.  Remember…you want to choose a topic that you feel strongly about.  Don’t choose a topic about which you are lukewarm. Arguing both sides of a topic without a clear preference will only confuse the reader.