Strong and weak opinions on the news and media

Strong and weak opinions on the news and media
Choose and read out a sentence below that you agree with, using one of the expressions
in brackets if that makes the sentence more exactly match your opinion. The different
options change the meaning and don’t go together, so choose carefully. See if your
partner(s) agree with your opinion, discuss as long as you like, then do the same with your
partner(s) choice of sentences below.
 (I’m not sure but) I (do/ really) think that news organisations in this country should do

more real investigative reporting.

 In my (honest/ humble) opinion, too much coverage is given to natural disasters.

 I (really) don’t (really) think that tabloids and gossip mags care about how true their

news stories are.

 I (really) don’t (really) agree with the idea that people who leak government documents

are heroes of free speech.

 I (completely/ more or less/ mostly/ partially/ partly) agree with giving more protection

to whistleblowers.

 I (firmly/ strongly) beli(iiiiiii)eve that the right-wing media represent the interests of their

rich owners and their rich friends.

 I’d (definitely/ probably) say that most columnists are just trying to get paid and so of-

ten don’t really care about what they write.

 A (clear/ huge/ major/ possible/ potential) benefit of controlling the paparazzi more

would be the media wasting less time on celebrity gossip.

 Public broadcasters (definitely/ probably/ really) should ignore conspiracy theories and

conspiracy theorists.

 It’s (extremely/ incredibly/ fairly/ really/ very) important for national broadcasters (in -

cluding commercial broadcasters) to be balanced and/ or unbiased.

 In my (extensive/ limited/ own personal/ personal) experience, the comments BTL (=

below the line) are usually more informative than what the journalist has written.

 I have (always/ occasionally/ sometimes) found that local newspapers avoid controver -

sial stories such as scandals involving important local people.

 The decline of newspapers will (certainly/ definitely/ probably) lead to more fake news.

 I’m (absolutely/ fairly) certain that newspapers will disappear in the next twenty years.

p. 1

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Write stronger and weaker forms of the given expressions in the columns below.

Weaker opinions

Stronger opinions

I think…

In my opinion,…

I don’t think that…

I don’t agree that/ with…

I agree that/ with…

I believe…

I’d say that…

A benefit of… would be…

… should…

It’s important for… to…

In my experience,…

I have found that…

… will lead to…

I’m certain that…

p. 2

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Key words for making opinions stronger and weaker
Use the mixed words below to help with the task above. Some words can be used in more
than one place.
 absolutely
 always
 certainly
 clear
 completely
 definitely
 do
 extensive
 extremely
 fairly
 firmly
 honest
 huge
 humble
 I’m not sure but
 iiiiiii
 incredibly
 limited
 major
 more or less
 mostly
 occasionally
 own personal
 personal
 possible
 potential
 probably
 really
 sometimes
 strongly
 very

Use the first sheet with the opinions to check that you have matched the key words to the
correct boxes above, double-check that you have put them in the right column, then check
with the answer key below.

Give and discuss other opinions on the news and media using the language in the boxes
below.

Give and discuss other opinions on current affairs and the media using the key words
above, ticking them off as you use them.

p. 3

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Other answers may be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

Weaker opinions

Stronger opinions

I’m not sure but I think…

I think…

I do think…/ I really think…

In my humble opinion,…

In my opinion,…

In my honest opinion,…

I don’t really think that…

I don’t think that…

I really don’t think that…

I don’t really agree…

I don’t agree that/ with…

I really don’t agree that…

I more or less agree that…/

I mostly agree that…

I agree that/ with…

I completely agree…

I beliiiiiiiieve…

I believe…

I firmly believe…/ I strongly

believe…

I’d probably say that…

I’d say…

I’d definitely say that…

A possible/ potential benefit

of… would be…

A benefit of… would be…

A clear/ huge/ major benefit

of… would be…

… probably should…

… should…

… definitely should…/ …

really should…

It’s fairly important

It’s important for… to…

It’s extremely/ incredibly/

really/ very important

In my limited/ own personal/

personal experience,…

In my experience,…

In my extensive experience,

…

I have occasionally/

sometimes found that…

I have found that…

I have always found that…

…will probably lead to…

… will lead to…

… will certainly/ definitely

lead to…

I’m fairly certain that…

I’m certain that…

I’m absolutely certain that…

p. 4

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Give strong and weak opinions on topics from below or using words below, then respond
to your partner’s strong or weak agreement or disagreement.
 (un)bias(ed) – balance
 breaking news/ rolling news/ the 24-hour news cycle
 (national/ public/ public service/ commercial) broadcasters
 broadsheet newspapers – tabloid newspapers
 (coverage of) business and economics
 cancel culture
 censorship
 citizen journalists/ bloggers
 (BTL/ below the line) comments
 conspiracy theories/ conspiracy theorists
 (coverage of) (organised/ violent/ white collar) crime and law
 parts of the paper (columns, editorials, front, back, headlines, captions, crossword,

etc)

 fake news/ misinformation
 freedom of information/ freedom of speech (leaks, whistleblowers, etc)
 (celebrity) gossip
 hate speech
 health news/ health scares
 (coverage of) international news/ foreign news/ overseas news
 investigative news/ scoops
 keeping up with the (latest/ breaking) news/ staying well-informed
 left-wing news sources – right-wing news sources
 (news/ gossip/ scandal) mags/ magazines
 (mainstream/ alternative) media
 (coverage of) natural disasters
 negative/ positive things about newspapers/ broadcasters/ journalism/ TV news
 online influencers
 ownership of media organisations
 paparazzi
 (news/ true crime) podcasts
 (coverage of) (local/ domestic/ international) politics
 (coverage of) (local/ national) politicians (prime minister, MPs, local councillors, etc)
 privacy/ data protection
 (talk/ local/ speech/ AM/ FM/ satellite/ pirate) radio (station)
 (coverage of) (financial/ sexual/ political) scandals
 (coverage of) science and technology
 sensationalism/ alarmism/ scaremongering (health scares, etc)
 social media
 sports pages/ back pages
 switching off
 (cable/ satellite/ 24-hour news/ terrestrial) television
 (un)trustworthy

p. 5

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021