A: This type of question can seem misleading, many students find this so you are not alone! Questions that are entitled with a declaration or statement of opinion such as ‘Sin móvil, la vida seria imposible’, or ‘Se utiliza el deporte hoy en dia para aliviar el estrés’, always warrant a set essay structure and are asking for certain skills.A good way to think about this is to consider that your essay is trying to put forward an argument to convince the reader. Think about this, which would be more convincing:(Question to the student)‘Bananas are the best fruit because I like them. They are easy to carry around and give lots of energy.’Or‘Bananas are often considered the best fruit because they are easier to carry around than apples, which become bruised and rot easily. Also, scientific reports show that acidic fruits are the main cause of tooth decay, whereas bananas actually improve your immune system and increase cognitive brain function by 38%.’?Why?The latter is the more convincing statement, because it considers other opinions (the opinion that apples, oranges etc are the best fruits), and disproves these opinions by putting forward evidence to support this. Do you see? I’m sure you can remember a time when you have said or heard ‘because I just do’, ‘because I said so’? Not very interesting or convincing is it?When faced with a statement question, the skills you want to demonstrate are that you can investigate and evaluatebothsides of the argument, and come to a decisive conclusion based on the balancedargument you have put forward. If you just say ‘i like bananas because they are yummy’, you are just showing that you can only see your own opinion, not others’- do you understand?To do this, you want to spend your time equally between both points of view, and can plan you essay to make sure you do this.An example plan would be:Essay statement: ‘Se debe legalizar las drogas’INTRODUCTION:- 1 sentence: AGREE with statement- Doctors say: drugs are useful for many reasons- 1 sentence: DISAGREE with statement- Parents say: drugs are dangerous and it sends wrong messagePARA 1: YESPARA 2: NO- POINT 1: Drugs = medicine- EXAMPLE/EVIDENCE/STAT: (Examples of use of drugs in a medical context and the benefit it has had- before and after stats)- POINT 2: Legalising drugs removes the existence of unmonitored underground networks- EXAMPLE/EVIDENCE/STAT: (Facts, examples of other countries where this has already happened, past examples etc)- POINT 1: Drugs are dangerous- EXAMPLE/EVIDENCE/STAT (Statistics e.g. drugs affecting health, hospital rates)- POINT 2: Legalising drugs would send wrong message to children- EXAMPLE/EVIDENCE/STAT: (Facts, quotations from people who have a strong reason to be part of the debate e.g. parents, teachers) CONCLUSION:- State your opinion and why, based on the evidence and your own experience/point of view. * Opinion statements such as ‘aunque hay mucha evidencia a lo contrario, yo diría que…’, ‘en mi opinion, seria ingenuo, en luz de tanta evidencia, creer que…’ help you to phrase your opinion in a way that shows you are aware of the evidence, contradictory or supportive!Is this clear?You have been clear about your own opinion, and you can state that strongly with ‘Yo creo que’, ‘pienso que’, etc but you have taken a mature, balanced approach to reach that opinion.

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