Writing Opinion Essay

Respuesta correcta: A) Introduction, body paragraphs, counterargument, conclusion

• A) Introduction, body paragraphs, counterargument, conclusionCorrect! It opens with the topic and your position, develops the reasons, adds the opposing view and closes by restating the opinion.
• B) Thesis, examples, conclusion, restatement of the thesisThis states the thesis twice and gives no place for the opposing view, so the reader gets the position twice and the argument not at all.
• C) Arguments, topic sentence, hook, final opinionThe hook and the topic sentence belong to the introduction and to the body, so putting them after the arguments breaks the reader's path.
• D) Conclusion, counterargument, body paragraphs, introductionA conclusion cannot come first: the reader needs the reasons and the counterargument before the final opinion can mean anything.

Respuesta correcta: C) I believe school uniforms should stay, because they make mornings calmer.

• A) Most students at this school wear a uniform on Monday and Tuesday.This is only a fact you could verify in any register, while a thesis must take a position the writer is ready to defend.
• B) Some people say that uniforms are a good idea for teenagers.It hides the writer behind 'some people', so nobody can tell whether the essay agrees, disagrees or only reports the debate.
• C) I believe school uniforms should stay, because they make mornings calmer.Correct! It states the writer's own position in one clear sentence and names the reason the essay will develop.
• D) Our principal explained last week why the dress code was created.It reports what the principal said, which is a summary of somebody's speech rather than a claim the writer defends.

Respuesta correcta: B) While it is true that ... , I still believe that ...

• A) because ... and so ...Both words link a cause to its result, so this pair builds one line of support instead of admitting any opposing point.
• B) While it is true that ... , I still believe that ...Correct! 'While it is true that' concedes the other side, and 'I still believe that' returns the paragraph to the writer's own view.
• C) Although ... , because ...'Although' does open a concession, but 'because' can only follow a cause, so the two cannot join inside one clause this way.
• D) On the one hand ... , on the other hand ...This pair simply sets two sides in balance and never signals that the writer rejects one of them before moving on.

Respuesta correcta: D) In my opinion, the uniforms are more practical.

• A) In my opinion I believe the uniforms are more practical.This keeps two opinion markers, 'In my opinion' and 'I believe', and one sentence should carry only one of them.
• B) In my think, the uniforms are more practical.'In my think' is not an English phrase: the preposition 'in' always comes before a noun such as 'opinion' or 'view'.
• C) In my opinion the uniforms is more practical.The subject 'uniforms' is plural, so it takes the verb 'are'; 'is' would agree only with the singular noun 'uniform'.
• D) In my opinion, the uniforms are more practical.Correct! One opinion marker plus the comma after it is enough, because the extra 'I think that' repeats the very same stance.

Respuesta correcta: A) In my opinion, phones in class are harmful because they divide attention.

• A) In my opinion, phones in class are harmful because they divide attention.Correct! Full spelling, closed punctuation and a because clause give the same opinion an academic tone that a teacher can reward.
• B) in my opnion phones in class r bad lolIt keeps the abbreviations 'r' and 'lol' and the misspelling 'opnion', which have no place in a graded essay.
• C) Nobody likes phones in class, so everybody should throw them away.'Nobody' and 'everybody' exaggerate the case, and 'throw them away' is a dramatic command that no evidence in the essay supports.
• D) It is obvious that phones are bad in class, and everyone knows this.'It is obvious' and 'everyone knows' hide the writer's real opinion behind a claim so absolute that nobody can argue with it.

Respuesta correcta: B) Uniforms raise costs for low income families, so schools should offer a subsidy.

• A) Uniforms cost money. They cost a lot of money. Money is important for families.It repeats a single idea in three sentences and never says why the cost matters, so the paragraph adds length without an argument.
• B) Uniforms raise costs for low income families, so schools should offer a subsidy.Correct! It names the effect on families and adds the 'so' clause that turns that effect into a recommendation.
• C) I bought a uniform at a store in Alajuela last year, and it was blue.A single personal detail with no explanation cannot carry a paragraph, since the reader needs the reason the detail proves.
• D) Some parents think about money, and other parents think about other things.Naming two groups with no position leaves the paragraph empty: it neither states a claim nor defends one.

Respuesta correcta: D) It announces the topic without stating any content or position.

• A) It uses the present simple instead of the past tense.The tense is not the issue at all here: 'There are' is correct, and the real problem is that the sentence says nothing.
• B) It repeats the word 'reasons' that closes the previous paragraph.No word is actually repeated from the previous paragraph here, so repetition cannot be the weakness you identify.
• C) It is far too long to work as a topic sentence.The sentence is short, which is exactly what a topic sentence should be, so its length does not weaken the paragraph.
• D) It announces the topic without stating any content or position.Correct! It labels the topic but gives no content, so the reader cannot tell what the paragraph will really argue.

Respuesta correcta: A) Moreover, exam practice also reduces anxiety before the test.

• A) Moreover, exam practice also reduces anxiety before the test.Correct! 'Moreover' is an additive connective: it presents extra information that strengthens the same line of argument.
• B) Nevertheless, exam practice makes students more nervous.'Nevertheless' signals contrast, so this sentence would turn against the previous idea instead of adding to it.
• C) For example, a student who fails twice often stops revising.'For example' introduces an illustration that proves a claim, not new information that expands the point itself.
• D) Therefore, schools should offer free revision classes.'Therefore' draws a result at the end of an argument, so it belongs in the conclusion rather than in the middle of a paragraph.

Respuesta correcta: C) To sum up, libraries must stay open late, since many students depend on them.

• A) To sum up, libraries should close on Sundays, because we now use the internet.It adds a brand new claim and fresh evidence at the end, which is precisely what a conclusion must not do.
• B) In conclusion, I have written about libraries and I am finished with this topic.It comments on the writing task itself instead of the opinion, so the reader leaves without a restated position.
• C) To sum up, libraries must stay open late, since many students depend on them.Correct! It repeats the thesis in new words and closes on the reason already developed, adding no fresh information.
• D) Furthermore, there are also other reasons, and we can discuss them another day.'Other reasons' and 'another day' are empty promises, so the paragraph neither sums up nor gives a final position.

Respuesta correcta: B) In my view, it is

• A) I believe it is notThis adds 'I believe', a second opinion marker, and 'is not' may even flip the meaning of the clause that follows.
• B) In my view, it isCorrect! 'In my view' states the personal opinion just as firmly, so the meaning and the strength stay identical.
• C) I suppose it might be not'I suppose' weakens the claim into a guess, so a firm opinion would sound uncertain and the argument would lose its force.
• D) It is likely that I am not sure'It is likely that' marks probability instead of opinion, and 'I am not sure' openly cancels the writer's position.

Respuesta correcta: C) In Liberia, most families throw away plastic that could be recovered. I believe collection points should be added.

• A) Recycling. Recycling. Recycling is what people do when they recycle things we recycle.The same noun is repeated with no new information, so the paragraph adds nothing that a reader could actually use.
• B) Everybody in the world has always thought about recycling since recycling began.'Everybody in the world has always' is impossible to support, and it distracts from the local problem the essay must address.
• C) In Liberia, most families throw away plastic that could be recovered. I believe collection points should be added.Correct! It narrows to a place, gives one verifiable fact and ends with a thesis that the rest of the essay can defend.
• D) This essay is about recycling, and I will write about recycling in this essay today.It talks about the essay instead of the topic, a meta-comment that repeats itself without setting up any argument.

Respuesta correcta: A) Students in Puntarenas who begin at six cannot concentrate before eight.

• A) Students in Puntarenas who begin at six cannot concentrate before eight.Correct! It names a place, a group and a fact the essay can develop, and it keeps the formal tone the topic requires.
• B) Wake up! Do you really like getting up at six in the morning?A direct question to the reader with an exclamation mark suits a speech or a poster, not a graded formal essay.
• C) Sleep is boring, so school should never start early, ever, no way.'Boring' is an unsupported personal label, and repeating 'early' with the final 'no way' weakens the claim instead of arguing it.
• D) This is my essay about times, and I chose times because I like them.Saying 'my essay' and 'I like them' only describes the writer, so the opening gives the reader no reason to continue.

Respuesta correcta: D) On long school days, students get a second break, so they restart more alert.

• A) My cousin's car broke down on the road to Turrialba last Tuesday.A broken car tells us nothing about class length, so the reader cannot connect the detail to the claim.
• B) I prefer coffee to tea in the morning before the bell rings.A drink preference is a personal taste with no link to how many hours students spend in class.
• C) Buses in Cartago arrive late when the rain is heavy.Late buses change travel time, not the number of study hours, so the detail does not support the argument.
• D) On long school days, students get a second break, so they restart more alert.Correct! It names the extra break and the result for students, so the evidence explains why longer days can work.

Respuesta correcta: B) Recycling cuts waste and also saves money for families.

• A) Recycling cuts waste. This also saves money.'This' points back to 'waste', so the reader still cannot tell whether the waste or the recycling is what saves money.
• B) Recycling cuts waste and also saves money for families.Correct! Joining the two ideas with 'and' names both actions, so no pronoun has to guess what it refers to.
• C) Recycling cuts waste. It also saves money for they.'For they' is ungrammatical, because the preposition 'for' needs a noun phrase such as 'for families'.
• D) Recycling cuts waste. Also it saves money too.Opening with 'Also' leaves the sentence without a clear subject, and the two adverbs repeat the same idea twice.

Respuesta correcta: C) Schools should limit phone use during lessons, because notifications break concentration.

• A) Cell phones are the best technology of the twenty-first century.Judging all technology is far too wide to argue in five paragraphs, so no single reason could ever settle it.
• B) Some students like their phones, and other students do not.It reports both sides without choosing one, so the writer has no thesis to defend in the body paragraphs.
• C) Schools should limit phone use during lessons, because notifications break concentration.Correct! It fixes a clear position, limits the topic to lessons and names a reason that examples can support.
• D) Phones are bad and they are good, and it depends on the day.The sentence argues for and against itself at once, so the body can never settle what the writer actually believes.

Respuesta correcta: D) Introduction, reason plus example, reason plus example, counterargument, conclusion.

• A) Introduction, one paragraph, conclusion, with the same idea repeated three times.Repeating one idea fills the word count but adds no development, so the essay never really argues anything.
• B) Introduction, three paragraphs on different topics, conclusion about a fourth topic.Three unrelated topics plus a fourth in the conclusion leave the reader with no single argument to follow.
• C) Introduction, arguments, conclusion, counterargument placed at the very end.The counterargument must sit inside the body before the conclusion, or the final paragraph contradicts the thesis it should close.
• D) Introduction, reason plus example, reason plus example, counterargument, conclusion.Correct! It opens with the thesis, develops two supported reasons, faces the opposing view and only then closes.

Respuesta correcta: B) Students who check phones while studying tend to recall less on the exam.

• A) Every student who uses a phone at night fails every test.'Every' pairs two universal claims, so a single counterexample would prove it false and the evidence does not support it.
• B) Students who check phones while studying tend to recall less on the exam.Correct! 'Tend to' marks a pattern instead of a rule, and the claim is narrow enough to be backed by real evidence.
• C) Phones are the main cause of every learning problem in our schools.'The main cause of every' turns one contributing factor into the only explanation, which one essay could never show.
• D) Nobody can study with a phone in the same room, without exception.'Nobody' and 'without exception' remove every possible exception, so the claim cannot survive contact with real students.

Respuesta correcta: C) Last year I visited a coffee shop in Escazu where the music was very loud.

• A) Many students in San Jose finish class at four and then need a quiet place to study.It gives a real reason why students need a place after class, so this paragraph supports the thesis about extending hours.
• B) Some families in Liberia can only borrow a book once a week.Limited access shows how much the current schedule restricts readers, so the paragraph works with the thesis.
• C) Last year I visited a coffee shop in Escazu where the music was very loud.Correct! A coffee shop in Escazu has no link to public library hours, so this paragraph breaks the unity of the essay.
• D) Longer hours would let more students finish a project without going home first.It explains the direct benefit of the proposal, so it is exactly the kind of paragraph a persuasive essay needs.

Respuesta correcta: A) With safe lanes, more students in Cartago could ride to school this year.

• A) With safe lanes, more students in Cartago could ride to school this year.Correct! It closes with a specific future result, so the last thought adds something the reader can actually picture.
• B) In conclusion, bicycles are the best friends of a student in Costa Rica.Calling bicycles a 'best friend' is a metaphor with no argument in it, so the essay ends on a soft slogan.
• C) To conclude, it is very clear that this issue is very important today.Repeating 'very' and saying a thing is 'clear' states no position at all, so the conclusion only fills space.
• D) As I said before, that is all I have to say about this topic.Referring back to the opening shows the writer is still talking about the essay rather than about the topic.

Respuesta correcta: D) A specific thesis, two developed reasons, a counterargument and a linked conclusion.

• A) A long introduction, one long paragraph, and no conclusion at all.A long opening with no body development leaves the reader with a promise that the essay itself never keeps.
• B) A clear thesis, three reasons, but no counterargument and no conclusion.Without a counterargument the essay never faces an objection, and without a conclusion the position is left open.
• C) A hook, a thesis, reasons and a conclusion that ends with a brand new fact.Introducing a new fact at the end breaks the rule that a conclusion only recycles what the body already proved.
• D) A specific thesis, two developed reasons, a counterargument and a linked conclusion.Correct! It covers every required move and keeps them in the order a reader needs: claim, reasons, opposition, closing.