Articles are a BIG part of the GCSE English Language exams. Therefore, it’s important to know how to structure them effectively.
In this post we’re going to look at how to structure an opinion article effectively!
In an opinion article, you are being asked to argue for or against a statement. The first mistake you want to avoid is this.
Don’t go wild and list hundreds of different reasons! Quality over quantity!
In fact…I would only recommend covering around three points but doing so effectively!
So how do you do that?
Let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to start!
The Heading
First, you want to use a heading. Think of the newspaper article headings you see in the supermarket. They rarely tell you much about the actual article. Their main aim is to catch your attention.
That’s why they’re usually packed with puns and alliteration and you want to do the same!
The Subheading
Under your heading, you might want to use a sub-heading. These are really great if your heading doesn’t actually say much about what the article is going to be about! For example:
Technology is taking over!
How tech entered our lives and why we are now dependent on it
We can see in this example that we have alliteration in the heading to catch our attention but it doesn’t really tell us much. The sub-heading is there to tell us what on earth the article is actually about.
The Introduction
Next…we have the actual writing! So, as pretty as it looks, examiners don’t actually want you to draw pictures or put it into columns. If you were really writing an article…that would be the publisher’s job. Just get straight to it and crack on!
Firstly, you want to begin your writing with an introduction. Here, you are going to introduce what the article is actually about. If it’s looking at a recent occurrence, such as technology, you might want to begin by looking at how this has changed over time:
“In recent years we have seen technology grow at exponential speed, but is this a good thing? Slowly but surely, we have welcome it into our home and become increasingly dependent on it.”
The Points
Now…it’s time for the juicy bit! You’re actual ideas!
So, I said you will only need three points…and I really meant it!
It’s all about quality over quantity in this game!
But how am I going to write a full side with only three points?
Don’t worry…I got you!
You’re going to use a tried and tested fool proof method…here we go:
Point
Explain
Evidence
Link
Seen that before? You probably have!
So, what does it mean?
Point
Your point is your reason which you are going to explain clearly and concisely.
Explanation
Next comes the explanation.
NOTE – this is different to how you may have been taught to answer literature questions where the evidence comes first!
In your explanation, you need to explain why that point is true. Here, it’s really useful to use a logical chain of reasoning. Imagine the examiner is really dumb! You have to explain it step by step in the clearest way possible! Make sure to throw in some devices here! Check out my free eBook guide to devices here!
Evidence
Okay…so now it’s time for some evidence.
Throw in some statistics or an anecdote to back up what you’ve said…don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be true! Examiners aren’t testing your knowledge of current affairs and statistics…they just want to see that you can write!
And…last but not least, before we finish our grand paragraph we’re going to link it back. During the course of your explanation and evidence you might have expanded and potentially gone slightly off course. In your link, you’re going to bring it back to what your main point is. Link it directly back to the overall opinion you wrote in your introduction to make sure it fits the bill!
And…there we have it! You’re going to do that three times for each of your points before summarising and wrapping it up in a conclusion! Don’t forget, the best way to improve your writing is by reading, read my post on why reading will change your life here! Have fun experimenting with this structure and I hope this has improve your confidence!