Opinion pieces: How to know you’re off topic and how to get back on topic.
Students sometimes struggle to see the difference between expanding on their topic and being off topic, especially in opinion pieces. They make the mistake of thinking that an opinion can’t be wrong and some even try to deceive their readers by making a controversial or even hateful statement and then saying it is an opinion (it’s just my opinion that women are terrible drivers, why are you getting so mad?) The poor grades they receive as a result are often met with shock, sometimes hostility.