Agreeing, Disagreeing, and Giving Opinions

Giving Opinions/ Summarizing/Agreeing and Disagreeing in English

adapted from The Language of Meetings by Malcolm Goodale

Asking for an Opinion/Reaction

§  What’s your opinion of…

§  What’s your position on…

§  What do you think of…

§  I’d like to hear your views on…

§  Could I ask for your reaction to…?

§  I was wondering where you stood on…

Where exactly do you stand on…?

Giving a Tentative Opinion §  It seems to me that… §  I would say that… §  As far as I can judge… §  I think it would be fair to say that… §  It could be that….	Giving a Moderate Opinion §  I think…. §  In my opinion… §  It’s my opinion that… §  As far as I’m concerned…. §  From my point of view… §  It’s my belief that… §
Giving a Strong Opinion §  I firmly/strongly/definitely believe that… §  I’m absolutely convinced that… §  It’s my strong belief that… §  There’s no doubt in my mind that… §  It’s quite clear that… §  I’m certain that…. §  It’s my considered opinion that… §	Summarizing §  To summarize… §  In short,… §  Briefly, … §  If I could just sum up …. §  To sum up, ….

Strong Agreement §  I completely/totally agree. §  I agree entirely. §  Exactly! §  I’m of exactly the same opinion. §  I couldn’t agree more. §  You’re exactly right. §  That’s exactly right.	Moderate/Partial Agreement §  I think we’re in agreement on that.. §  I think I can go along with that. §  I tend to agree. §  I agree on the whole, but… §  I agree in principle but… §  By and large, I accept your views, but…
Moderate/Tactful Disagreement §  I don’t completely agree with you. §  I can’t say that I agree. §  We’ll have to agree to disagree. §  I’m not totally convinced by your argument. §  I feel I must disagree. §  You have a good point but… §  I take your point but… §  I see what you mean but… §  That’s a good point but… §  That’s true but… §  Yes, but…	Strong Disagreement §  I totally/completely disagree. §  I don’t agree at all. §  You’re completely mistaken. §  I disagree entirely. §  Under no circumstances could I agree. §  What you’re saying is just not possible. §  I really have to disagree.
Softening Disagreement §  Frankly,… §  To be honest… §  I’m afraid… §  With (all due) respect… §  To be frank… §  Frankly speaking… §	Softening any “face-threatening” act Use questions Use negative questions Use modals Use an introductory softening phrase Use “not + very” + positive adjective Use comparative adjectives Use continuous verb tenses Use qualifiers (“rather” “somewhat” “a bit” “slightly”…)

Outline Overview

 I.  Introduction

          A.       Background information (summary of the author’s main points, including the author’s thesis/main idea)

1 (main idea).  _________________________________

     2 (main points to summarize).  _________________________________

B.  Thesis Statement: (YOUR opinion/idea/point to discuss)

Body Paragraph I.    ________________________________________ 
                              (Main idea/aspect # 1)

          A.    ___________________________________ 
                              (Supporting idea #1)

A1. Point from the article that can be referenced : _______________________

          1.   ________________________________
                    (Example/detail)

          2.     ________________________________
                    (Example/detail)

             B.    ___________________________________
                                      (Supporting idea #2)

B1. Point from the article that can be referenced: _________________________

          1. ________________________________
                    (Example/detail)

          2. ________________________________
                    (Example/detail)

Body Paragraph II.  ______________________________________
                                (Main idea/aspect # 2)

              A.    _________________________________
                                (Supporting idea #1)
A1. Point from the article that can be referenced : _______________________

                      1.     ______________________________
                                (Example/detail)

                      2.     ______________________________
                                (Example/detail)

              B.    ________________________________
                                (Supporting idea #2)

B1. Point from the article that can be referenced : _______________________

  1.     ______________________________
           (Example/detail)

  2.     _____________________________
            (Example/detail)
 

Etc…

 V.    Conclusion

Restate thesis

Remind the reader of your points/the author’s main idea

Relate to the reader

You don’t have to talk about the main idea, but you have to name it in the summary, and you MUST reference it in your writing!

While the author believes commercials to be harmful to our concentration, I take this notion a step further and believe that TV as a whole is harmful to us, and we must get away from it.

… The author says that for children, “soon enough, attention will be turned inside out” because of the commercials they see. I agree with the author on the effects, but not the cause; I think TV as a whole is the problem, whether commercials are involved or not. For instance, when I am at work, all I can think about is watching my favorite sports games on TV. If it were not for TV, I would be able to focus better…