The authors designed an assignment for a writing class for late-secondary and early-college students, one with a central goal of giving students the opportunity to engage with a controversial topic by identifying and representing views other than their own. The authors called it a "not my opinion" assignment, and they piloted it in a first-year composition classroom of twelve student writers over the course of three one-hour classes. According to the authors, the assignment helped to move students away from forming and defending their own view as the sole aim of engaging with a controversial topic. Instead, the students explored issues by focusing their attention on questions and others' perspectives.