Yes, it's somewhat informal. Whether it is appropriate depends on the tone of the rest of your essay. In the United States, opinion pieces, op-eds, and magazine articles are often written in a conversational tone that is halfway between formal written English and spoken English. For example, an article in the magazine "Esquire," about U.S. senator John McCain, the writer says: "McCain’s temper is surely one reason he has often cut a lonely figure on the Hill. But Weaver has a different take on it. 'I don’t think it’s because of the outbursts. I think it’s because of his principles.'" If your essay is informal, if you are writing it like a personal letter to the reader, then it is fine. But, to be on the safe side, it would be better to stick to the words you suggest--opinion, point of view, perspective--because they are fine both in a formal or an informal piece. By the way, I _think_ the literal origin of the phrase is from the movies. We "take a picture," and in the movies, a continuous filmed sequence is "a take." A director might ask for "another take" in order to get a slightly different performance or a slightly different camera angle on the scene.