This week’s tip gives some ways of expressing personal opinions in writing:

In our recent post on ways of giving your opinion we looked at some phrases that are used
when saying what you think. Expressing your opinion in writing involves the use of some
different expressions. 

In informal writing you can use I think and I believe to say what your opinion is. Phrases
such as in my opinion and in my view can also be used to express your opinions explicitly:
I think that a sense of humour is a very important quality.
A partnership can, I believe, be temporary and for a fixed purpose.
In my opinion, America continues to set an example for women around the world.
The most obvious implication of the single market is, in my view, the abolition of trade and
customs barriers.

In academic writing and other formal types of writing such as professional reports it is
usual to give your opinion implicitly. One way of doing this is by using an impersonal
structure:
It is worth noting that some writers on business strategy are well aware of this problem.
It is reasonable to  assume that such changes have significant social and economic effects.
It is essential to have good professional advice and to review your insurance cover from
time to time.
It seems that  education is not even essential to happiness.
It would seem that  the date of the invention of the mechanical clock is some time between
1280 and 1300.

You can also use adverbs as a way of giving your opinion, especially when you want to
qualify or evaluate the content of your message:
Interestingly, virtually all published studies from around the world have reported similar
findings.
Significantly, leading Japanese  computer makers have adopted export strategies similar in
some respects to those of the car industry.
There is, surprisingly, still a good deal of uncertainty about whether animals can solve
problems of this kind.

You can use the phrase according to when talking about someone else’s opinions, but not
when giving your own. Use in my view or in my opinion instead:
According to Freud, our dreams represent our hidden desires. Acording to me/to my
opinion, women and men are equal.

In my opinion, women and men are equal.

Would you like to learn more about pragmatics? Keep a close eye on our pragmatics page
where the fifth of our life skills lesson plans was published last week. For more information
about Life Skills, visit the Macmillan Life Skills page.
A guide to essay and report I have made my/the case
writing (= I have proved it by
means of arguments,
  reasons, and facts)

Stock words and phrases argument ... is hard to sustain ... is

weak/strong
point = something said or stated
expressing a particular fact or idea seems very cogent
/convincing
"That's a
very good lacks depth ... has no firm
point ... basis
There are a
few points raise the question
you might
like to bear tackle the question
in mind ....
this was a to be concerned with ..
point I put
to her in the issues arise from this statement
interview
 
= what one says and tries
to persuade other to accept Verbs

I can see state, assert, claim, hold, maintain,

your point declare, believe, think, suggest
(= I
understand point out, indicate, suggest
what you
mean)... I imply, entail,
take your
point (= I argue, reason, dispute, contend,
accept what
you're deny, reject, refute
saying)
acknowledge, admit, concede, grant
make the/my point , prove the/my point
(= to prove that sthg is true by arguing agree, endorse, support
about it
comment, remark, observe, note, report,
make out a case for .. put the case for (=
to state strong arguments for or against emphasize, highlight,
sthg.)
compare , add, illustrate, respond
  We are going to tackle the
question of ...
raise (a question, difficulty), pose (a
problem)  

propose, plan, set up, establish It is often said ... It is often

asserted ... It is often
try to, seek to, endeavour to, attempt to claimed that ...

  It would be universally
acknowledged that ...
follow from, be decuded from, be clear
from, [es desprén de...] It is a truism ... It is a
commonplace ... It is a
drive home, hammer home well-known fact that ...

  It is often the case that ...

I am perfectly aware that .. For the great majority of

people, ...
It eludes me ... it escapes me ...
The public in general tends
details have escaped my notice to believe that ...

  A problem that is often

debated nowadays is that
From Atkins, Beryl T., with H. Lewis, of ....
and Francisco Ariza, "Language in Use:
A Grammar of Communication in Nowadays everyone
Spanish and English," Collins Spanish- agrees that ...
English English-Spanish Dictionary by
Colim Smith, 2nd edition (London: The issue of ... has been
Collins, 1988; Barcelona: Grijalbo, 1988) raised

  There is a wide variety of

opinions about ...
The broad outline of the essay
There is a widespread
Introductory remarks attitude nowadays that

The aim/purpose of this  

essay is ... to answer a
crucial question It would be naïve to
suppose that ...
This paper/essay/report
deals with
 It would hardly be an What should be
exaggeration to say that ... established at the very
outset is that ...
There are several aspects
to the problem/ issue of ... First of all, let us
consider ... To start with,
  let us consider

  I propose to consider
first ...
A useful starting point for
this study is ... Let us begin with [the
social aspect of ] ...
What we are mainly
concerned with here is ... Let us start/begin by
considering/ trying/raising
One of the most striking the question
features/aspects of this
problem/issue/topic/questi Our starting point is ...
on ...
 
A number of key issues
arise from this statement It may be well to note ...

What this question boils It is worthy of remark

down to is ... that ...

  I believe it can be said that

...
This statement/point needs
to be examined in the light The other side of the argument
of
On the other hand, it is
This statement merits observable ...
closer examination
It may be asserted,
  however, that

Developing / Starting the argument Another way of looking at

this question
The first thing that needs
to be said [about the topic However, it is open to
under consideration ] is question whether
that ...
Paradoxical though it may
seem, ...
   All in all, we must
acknowledge that ...
Let us now go on to
consider Ultimately, then,

It is now time to discuss The most

sensible/satisfactory
The other side of the coin conclusion we can come to
is that is that ...

  The only possible

conclusion to be drawn
The balanced view from all this is that ...

we can reconcile these two The conclusion to which

apparently contradictory this analysis leads to is that
viewpoints ...

If one weighs the pros and The inevitable/inescapable

cons (of the case), the conclusion
argument for ... is hard to
sustain To put the whole matter in
a nutshell ...
It must be acknowledged
that  

There is much to be said Constructing a paragraph

on both sides of this
question. On balance [On Ordering various elements within it
reflection], however, the
arguments for .. have most Sentence connectors: In
to recommend them the first place, ... First of
all, ... First, ... ... Second...
From all this it follows that Third... Next... Last /
Finally
In the final analysis
On the one hand, ....; on
  the ohter, ...

In conclusion As fas as the ... is

concerned, / As regards, ..
To sum up, ... To As for ... one may observe
summarize, To conclude ...
In conclusion ... This bring us to the
question of whether
All this goes to show ...
 We should first turn our If I understand the writer
attention to ... rightly,

More importan(ly), ... The writer claims/ asserts /

Most important(ly)..... holds ...
Above all ...
The writer gives us to
Adding, understand that ...

Sentence connectors: Also, Introducing an example

Besides, Moreover,
Furthermore, In addition, Sentence connectors: for
Added to that, example, ... for instance ...

Another important fact ... such as...

is ... An additional fact
is ... ..., e.g. ...

Similarly, Take the case of ...

The alternative is ... To illustrate the truth of

ths
It should be mentioned in
passing that A single, but striking,
example of this ... is ...
One's own point of view
One instance is enought to
In/in my opinion, ... For show...
my part, ....
Several examples /
My own view of this is comments / considerations
that ... My personal may prove of service
opinion of this argument is
that ... This passage/statement
serves to illustrate
speaking personally
...can be illustrated with an
it seems to me, example

I maintain that ... Introducing a quotation or source

Someone else's point of view As Daiches remarks /

observes / states / claims /
According to the writer,
assert,
claim, hold,
 maintain, This passage serves to
declare, illustrate
believe,
think, write The mechanics of the argument

imply, Introducing a fact

suggest
It should be
argue, stressed/pointed out that ...
reason,
dispute, Indicating a supposition, toning down
contend, an argument

deny, reject, There might well be ...

refute
Let as assume / suppose /
acknowledg conjecture that
e, admit,
concede, One might
grant reasonably/justifiably
suppose
agree,
endorse It is not an overstatement
to say
comment,
remark, Expressing a certainty
observe,
note, report, It cannot be denied that ...ç
respond
It is obvious to everyone
emphasize, that ...
highlight,
points out, Few will dispute the claim
that ...
compare ,
add, It is undoubtedly true
illustrate that ...

According to ... It is evident / true /

certain / indisputable /
As pointed out in ... undeniable that ...

In the words of Daiches, It has been proved,

"..." therefore, that ...

Indicating doubt or uncertainty

 It is questionable I agree with her on ... but
whether ... It is unlikely not on ...
that
She says, rightly in my
...raises the whole question view, that ...
of [ ..planteja la qüestió
de ... ] Nothing could be more
true than ...
... sets a serious question
mark against ... ... makes an extremely
perspicacious remark
... casts a serious doubt about ...
on ...
... these criticism have
It remains to be seen some validity
(however) whether
Expressing disagreement
It is to be doubted whether
I want to raise some
It may well be that ... but objections / Some
is certainly questionable objections can be raised
against ...
but I wonder
whether I want to make some
reservations ..
but it is hard to be
sure ... refutes the claim that ...

It cannot be ruled out that It is hard to agree with ...

It would be dangerous to ...is totally inaccurate ... is

think that very far from the truth ... is
of very doubtful validity
It is as well to remind
ourselves ... is not worthy of our
attention
Conceding a point, expressing
agreement there is not the slightest
evidence to justify such a
We must acknowledge ... claim
We may agreee that
... should not go
It must be admitted / unchallenged
granted
I find it impossible to
accept / agree
Expressing disapproval It is no coincidence that ...

We cannot approve of It is necessary at this point

to consider
It is regrettable that ... It is
a pity that ... ... deserves special
consideration
Unfortunately,
... is particularly
It is difficult to see how interesting in that ...

Emphasizing particular points Introducing a restatement or

explanation
Moreover, it is significant
that ... indeed

It is well worth noting i.e. , / that is

that ... It is interesting to
note ... Making a correction, introducing an
opposite idea
It might be a good idea ..
Sentence connectors:
It is essential to realize that however, instead,
... nevertheless, nonetheless,
on the other hand, in
I wish to focus our contrast
attention on ..
Clause connectors: but,
Most important of all, yet; although, though, even
though, whereas, while
What is more, ...
in spite of of [noun] /
... and, what is even more despite of [noun]
important,
In fact,
Not only does [this
passage enlighten us], but It is rather a question of
it also ...
introducing an alternative
the point/trouble is not that
.. but rather that Sentence connectors:
otherwise, alternatively
Let us remember that .. Let
us be clear that Clause connectors: or; if ,
unless
It should not be forgotten..
Indicating the cause or reason Sentence connectors: In
contrast, on the contrary,
Clause connectors: for, in comparison, however,
because, since, as on the other hand

because of, as a result of, In contrast with

as a consequence of, due
to, On the one hand ....; on the
other,
Given that
different from, dissimilar,
it will certainly be due to unlike,

Indicating the consequences, the todiffer from, to compare

result, the effect with/to

Sentence connectors: Thus comparing

, therefore, consequently,
hence, accordingly, as a Sentence connectors:
result, as a consequence Similarly, Likewise, also,
too
the consequence of, the
reason for, that cause of, Clause connectors: and;
as, just as,
to result in, to cause, to
have an effect on, to affect just like, similar to, the
same as, both ... and, not
...which will lead to ... only .. but also

the result of ... will be

that ...

that is why

... which means that ...

it follows from this

reasoning that ...

... which seems to confirm

that ...

Contrasting