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Writing An Opinion Essay On Beowulf: 10 Quick Tips

In an opinion essay, you should share your personal opinion on a certain topic. To be effective, you should clearly state your position and logically organize your arguments. Beowulf is one of the common literary works that you may be asked to analyze in your opinion paper. For example, you may be assigned to present your idea of a true hero by the example of Beowulf, or trace the development of this character through the fights he took part in. The following tips will help you cope with the task well and compose a strong opinion essay on Beowulf:

  1. State your opinion.
  2. Make a clear stand in your thesis statement. Your reader shouldn’t guess what your position on the topic is. For example, you may write that Beowulf doesn’t display characteristics of a modern hero, or state that the battles with monsters illustrate the development of Beowulf’s power.

  3. Brainstorm.
  4. Take a piece of paper and write down key arguments that support your position. This may be a list or a spray diagram. Don’t filter your ideas at this stage. Just write down everything that comes to you when you think on the topic.

  5. Do research.
  6. Look through the poem and collect the supporting data. These will be quotations and examples from the text that prove your opinion.

  7. Decide on the strongest arguments.
  8. Pick three strong arguments that can be solidly reasoned by the collected evidence.

  9. Decide on the order of presenting arguments.
  10. As a rule, you are supposed to start with the least important argument while the strongest point should be left for the last.

  11. Include the opposing viewpoint.
  12. If you come across an opinion that is different from yours (for example, by any literary critic), include it in your essay as well. Such a strategy will make your work stronger.

  13. State each argument in a separate body paragraph.
  14. The opening sentence should introduce the point. Supporting evidence and relevant quotations should follow. Analyze why the evidence proves your arguments.

  15. Use transitions.
  16. To make your writing coherent and to represent different ideas, use appropriate transitions. Introduce your opinion by the following phrases: in my opinion, it seems to me, I believe that, etc.

  17. Write in a formal style.
  18. Avoid using colloquial language and contractions. Use present tense.

  19. Format quotations properly.
  20. Use appropriate quotation marks and punctuation to format quotations from the poem. Look through corresponding guidelines on how to format your work or use a well-formatted sample essay as a model.

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