Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

Opinion / 105

interferes with simultaneous out-of-town games) while others represent the view of those
uninterested in sports (interferes unnecessarily with regular radio programming; antago-
nizes regular listeners). Limit your supporting details to the three or four most relevant.

Next, organize the list logically. Most opinion papers follow some order of impor-
tance. [See Chapter 1, Prewriting, and order of importance in the Glossary.] Keep the
reader in mind. How can you most likely gain and retain his or her attention? Apply
those thoughts to the order of importance. For instance, if you can support your
opinion with details concerning tax dollars, environmental issues, and human rights,
the reader is most personally and immediately affected by taxpayers’ dollars—in the
pocketbook. Only if you can show the reader a direct personal stake in environmental
issues (for instance, that air pollutants will destroy the paint on an expensive new car)
will he or she be actively interested. The same holds true for the vague term human
rights; the reader must see the effects on his or her daily life. A reader will be attracted
first and foremost by what seems immediate and personal, in this case, taxes.

Now, organize the list. You will probably use the following order of importance:

Detail one: second most important

Detail two: least important

Detail three: third most important

Detail four: most important

This organization allows you to begin with something important enough to catch the
reader’s attention but still save the whopper for last, when the reader will most likely
accept it.

STEP 6: Writing—Following the Plan

As you write, follow the organizational plan you established above. Use the items
listed in the Characteristics section. In addition, try to include the following writing
techniques:

• Begin with an effective introduction, one that includes a topic or thesis sentence
  and attracts the reader’s attention. [See Writing a Paragraph and Writing a
  Multi-Paragraph Paper in Chapter 2, Writing. See also topic sentence and thesis
  sentence in the Glossary.]


• If your subject is highly controversial, your topic or thesis sentence may appear
  at the end of your paper. By withholding your statement of opinion, you can
  prepare the reader throughout the paper’s development to more readily accept
  your opinion.


• As you follow the organizational plan, maintain a single idea in a single
  paragraph. [See unity in the Glossary.]


• Provide adequate supporting details for each main idea. Use as many methods
  of development as your topic warrants.