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Get Students Excited About Opinion Writing With These 5 Ideas

Lisa Smith
Even the best teachers find themselves in a situation that they simply can not motivate some students to get excited about opinion writing. Not everyone is a naturally talented writer but that still does not mean that they should not enjoy these assignments.
Opinion essays can be very demanding for students. Especially if they are having trouble with clearly expressing their thoughts. Maybe they even don’t feel like they have enough to say.

Well, whatever is holding them back from rocking the opinion essay, you can find a solution.
Every problem essentially comes from their mindset and lack of motivation. If you could just help them to look at opinion writing differently, it won’t seem like much trouble.

That is why the following five ideas will help you to change their mind and get them excited about opinion writing.

1. Be There for Them

Let them know that you are their support, not the enemy. They need to see that you are not there to punish them, but to help them to express themselves and improve their writing abilities.

From the very beginning, emphasize that they can come to you with any question or suggestion.
Students often form their feelings about an assignment or a class based on their feelings for the teacher. Therefore, if they feel comfortable with you, they will also get more interested in writing.

2. Choose the Topics of Their Interest

Writing about what matters to you, makes a whole lot of difference. The same applies to your students.

If you give them topics that they can feel passionate about, that are relatable, and close to what they encounter, they will feel much more empowered.
Think about what are the things that affect them. What are they annoyed by? What gets them excited? What do they love?

Here are some of the many ideas that can you can use:
  • How much homework should students be given?
  • Which school rule should be changed?
  • Would you rather move to a big city or to the wilderness?
  • What kind of field trip should the class take?
  • Who should be given more money, schools or the military?
  • Is life easier for boys or for girls?
  • What one book should every student read?
If you need some help with coming up with new and exciting topics, you can always find university essays for sale which can give you some great ideas.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice

The saying “practice makes it perfect” has a good point. If your students get used to writing opinion essays, it will come more naturally to them.

Give them home assignments to write opinion essays, especially if they have an upcoming evaluation.
The feedback you provide will help them to realize their strong and weak points, so they’ll know what they need to work on. This will help them to feel more confident in their writing.

4. Let Them Participate

To make it more interesting for them, you can even let them suggest different topics that they like. By making writing personal, you can even motivate reluctant writers.
Let them be a part of the process and increase their participation by allowing the students to create personal lists of writing ideas, which you can later modify and give them as an assignment.
For example, you can let each of them suggest two topics and then they can vote which one they like best. The top three choices can be their options for home assignment.

5. Organize Group Practice

If you want them to see that sharing different opinions can be fun, organize some group work. You can set up a group exercise or partner practice where they can discuss on a particular topic.

To make it even more interesting, write different topics on small pieces of paper, put them in a bowl, and let them draw what they’ll discuss. Let the excitement rise!

Some Final Thoughts

Opinion writing doesn’t have to be any student’s worst nightmare. Ultimately, it all comes down to how you present it to them.

If you apply these five tips effectively, you will be able to see how students’ approach to opinion writing is drastically changing. Just find the balance between teaching and motivating them and you’ll be on the right track!