How to Write a Discursive Essay – Guide with Tips, Template, Examples

How to Write a Discursive Essay – Straightforward Tutorial from Talented Authors

Dealing with academic writing projects can bring with it a series of difficulties concerned with the diversity of essay types and their intricacies. Academic writing standards of content structuring and text formatting are changing. You may face the need to create different types of essay writing, such as an argumentative essay, an opinion essay, etc. New paper types arise causing obstacles for authors to complete assignments efficiently and independently. You should constantly hone your writing mastery to keep afloat in this endless cycle of various written projects.

Professors assign learners with papers to examine their level of subject material internalization. Even if there is not a correct solution to or position on the issue, you should involve your critical thinking to form your stand on the situation. Awareness of the purpose of your writing assists you with generating creative ideas without any writing blocks.

Discursive essay writing is a comparatively fresh approach to handling writing assignments. That is because “how to write a good discursive essay” requests are common among learners. Such writing technique does not limit the author’s imagination. Instead, it welcomes your creativity and imagination while forming an opinion on the matter. Entrusted with this paper type and have never heard of it before? It is time for you to widen your knowledge and figure out what an upscale discursive essay is!

What Is a Discursive Essay – A Thorough Interpretation

The phrase “everything new is long forgotten old” has much in common with discursive paper writing, which is a subtype of the persuasive essay but with some new peculiarities. It is an innovative approach that some learners should have dreamed of all the time. Let’s focus on what its paramount intricacy is:

• A discursive essay does not limit an author on the number of perspectives they can take to persuade the reader and voice a well-reasoned personal opinion.
• Students may explore a variety of essay topics and strike a balance between varying perspectives on the subject with the help of supporting evidence.
• An author can go far beyond the summary of main points and statistic figures to create a step-by-step analysis of the chosen topic.

You should not take a unified analytical position on the given topic. There are controversial discursive essay topics, where persuading a reader to take your point of view equals being untruthful with yourself. It proves challenging to form a single opinion on the issue, especially when a situation is multifaceted in its nature and effects.

If you’re discussing the effectiveness of cloud storage systems, you realize all the upsides and risks of such technology. Subsequently, you cannot state with 100% certainty that this is undoubtedly the most significant accomplishment of humankind, with unprecedented benefits and no downsides. A discursive essay fixes this contradiction, granting more flexibility in statements and allowing you to present both sides and provide evidence for your position.

When Should You Write a Discursive Essay?

These assignments are often given at college or university to teach students to support their statements and arguments. Discourse is the complexity of features, perspectives, and visions of the studied subject, and a learner needs to master revealing them in their entirety. Thus, when students are asked to write this paper, they are sure to get a better idea of how to voice the author’s opinion, how to choose one perspective over the other, and how to exemplify good academic skills at every stage of composition.

How to Start a Discursive Essay? Vital Writing Tips

Savvy authors recommend learners stick to the below instructions while performing discursive papers for the first time. Although even if you possess practical knowledge of such an assignment type, the hints will come in handy and bear fruit when you learn how to compose exemplary papers.

1. When you are asked to complete such an assignment, you need to study the issue from diverse perspectives without limiting yourself to leave some room for ambiguity.
2. As you’re writing, take a position on the subject considering its positive and negative aspects. If you believe that a situation has favorable effects, you can dwell solely on optimistic assumptions.
3. Draft an outline for your paper. It’s similar to a roadmap, so it will assist you to stay focused and not to miss the main idea throughout the paper.

You can plan your work by writing down some notes while investigating the subject. When you surf the Internet to extract relevant material from various databases, websites, journals, reports, and other information sources, you can gradually generate brilliant ideas.

Figure Out How to Structure a Discursive Essay
Organizing your work is critical for conveying the main message of your writing. A well-structured paper looks upscale and worthy of a decent grade. When all the paragraphs are arranged consistently, you can easily navigate your thoughts. The scheme of a discursive essay may seem typical without any obvious distinctions.

1. Introduction.
2. Main paragraphs.
3. Conclusion.
4. References.

However, the content of the structural elements of a discursive paper has some intricacies. The opening statements should be devoted to explanations of the topic context smoothly passing into the formulation of the problem. The next few sentences should express your stand on the subject. It may be an obvious statement of the general meaning without hinting at your specific findings.

The major feature of discursive writing lies in the body paragraphs where you can unleash your ideas and provide both positive, negative, and even neutral perspectives on the paper matter. This peculiarity makes discursive papers the favorite writing assignments for learners with creative imagination and rational thought.

When you write a conclusion, you should blend statements about the research relevance and your diverse stances on the issue. Keep it to one paragraph and don’t simply summarize the content. The closing wrap-up should consist of a suggestive idea expanding the reader’s reflections beyond your paper.

Don’t forget that your paper should be customized to your specific needs. It implies you can reveal a topic backing your arguments up with cases from your routine life or study experience. It is up to you how to explain your choice of the concrete point of view, but it should be clear and justified.

Discursive Guide Checklist

To ensure you follow good academic standards, check your paper against these excellence criteria:

How to End a Discursive Essay: Working Ideas

There are a few points you should pay attention to when finishing your writing work. Such instructions apply to most academic papers, and even seasoned specialists adhere to them.

• Proofread a piece.
• Examine the text for uniqueness.
• Ensure that your thesis statement is in line with the main body and a conclusion.
• Check your writing for spelling, grammar, and typos.
• Ensure the paper’s flow is consistent with your train of thought.
• Edit the inaccuracies.

If you aim to gain an A+ grade for your paper, your piece should be authentic, customized to the task description, and formatted appropriately, include captivating statements, and provide added value to a reader.

What Is a Powerful Hook for a Discursive Essay?

You can make up a hook in the introductory paragraph, revealing your main idea in the paper, although it is not a mandatory structural element. It may involve a real case from your life or be at least slightly connected to it. The more intriguing the case you cover, the more the reader gets curious about your thoughts.

A hook may contain figures, quotations, your real-life story, or another piece of information able to draw the reader’s attention instantly. The success of your work may be determined by this interest-capturing statement. However, mind that this sentence should be relevant to the paper’s core idea.

The Variety of Types of Discursive Essay to Familiarize with

Based on the focus of your writing someone can distinguish a few types of discursive papers. So before wondering how to write a discursive essay in history, you should determine what version of presenting arguments you select for your paper.

• Perspective-driven writing stipulates that you reveal a topic from numerous perspectives while holding your own opinion.
• Problem-solving discursive essay is about seeking the most effective way out of the problem and researching its upsides and downsides.
• Literary discursive paper provides a discussion about your attitude to diverse approaches to the interpretation of any literary work.
• Cause and effect writing implies considering various scenarios of the development of the events.

You may also face such versions of discursive writing as comparative, argumentative, and others. The guidelines for preparing a top-notch paper apply to each of its types.

Focus on the Discursive Essay Format While Writing

There are such widely used formatting styles as APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Turabian, and others. The choice of the text arranging style depends solely on the standards of your educational institution and specific project description. While adhering to the proper paper format you should consider such points as:

• Title and reference page formatting.
• Arranging in-text citations.
• Correct division of the text into sections and paragraphs.
• Opting for the appropriate font size and style, text spacing, and page layout.

Ensure the above points are met and consistent with your assignment instructions. Paper formatting influences the text’s readability and attractiveness.

Peculiarities of Discursive Essay Introduction

Although an introduction is the primary paper part, savvy authors work on this paragraph after preparing other text sections. Such an approach is justified by the aspiration of making all the paragraphs coherent and logical. As the perspectives on the matter may change during the task performance and the availability of pertinent data may be limited, crafting the opening sentences at the end of the writing process is a viable option. Commonly, the introduction involves such elements as:

• Overview of the subject with emphasis on the cruciality of its in-depth study.
• A relevant hook to support the context and add intrigue.
• Reasons for your interest in diving deeper into the issue.
• Your primary thoughts on the matter, including numerous research angles.

A reader forms the first impression of your work mostly based on the introduction. If your opening paragraph contains a compelling hook and convinces the target audience of the expediency of your research, you have more likelihood of success. Your aim should be to raise awareness of the subject from the very first words.

Discursive Essay Conclusion: Final Thoughts with Coherent Statements

Reinventing the wheel in the closing text section has no point. You can almost rewrite the core points in your paper to create a conclusion. However, it should be unique and not consist of direct quotes from the paper text.

Another critical nuance is coherence between the opening, body, and closing paragraphs that you should trace throughout the article. If you indicate two arguments and two counterarguments in the main text section, for instance, you should remember them in the conclusion. Routinely, the logic of presenting the statements in the closing paragraph is like one applied in the introduction.

Your stances on the topic are not the only components to be included in the closing paragraph. As you start a paper by stressing the relevance of your study, you emphasize the significance of your findings to the target audience. Then, you should proceed with your analyzed points and make up a final sentence about the cruciality of further topic investigation or any open-ended statement.

Check Out a Discursive Essay Example for the Intensive Training

Theoretical knowledge of the instructions for writing a decent discursive essay is only half the battle. An illustrative example of the paper with a consistent guide will contribute to your reasoning for this essay type. The logic of ideas presentation for a discursive paper with a topic about the way the Internet altered society’s routine may look as follows:

1. The introduction starts by providing the context of Internet technologies and their application in both routine life and professional development of individuals. You can generate a hook to raise more awareness of the issue and highlight its topicality. Other sentences should be devoted to the core idea of your writing. A viable option will be to indicate that the effectiveness of the Internet in numerous niches is undoubtful while there are some risks for society.
2. The main text section should comprise arguments and counterarguments, which numbers should correlate with each other. It implies if you prepare two statements with the huge perks of the Internet, you should supply coherent opposing viewpoints. For instance, you can instantly seek relevant information on the web and complete numerous assignments without leaving home. However, it proves tricky to hide anything since data drain is commonplace on the Internet. Furthermore, the fewer people move, the more health problems they face.
3. The final part should involve a concise analysis based on the findings of all the arguments and opposing viewpoints. Moreover, it is crucial to provide some suggestions about the potential options for fixing the dilemma of Internet use and leave some room for reflection on the issue.

The deeper you dive into the specs of discursive paper writing, the more rapidly you can handle such assignments without any further assistance. Having theoretical instructions and a practical example at your fingertips you can easily plan and draft your work to prepare an authentic discursive essay worthy of an A+ grade. Stick to the fruitful hints from specialists with proven huge practical backgrounds and create upscale papers customized to the assignment instructions!

FAQ

What is a discursive essay?

This academic task presupposes a close analysis of the assigned subject from multiple perspectives, with the identification of its nuances and the presentation of valuable insights of your examination. Readers of your text should obtain a clear, complete image of the topic.

When would you write a discursive essay?

This assignment is given to students with a goal to teach them to present their ideas and evaluations in a balanced way. Instead of convincing the audience of some position or point, writers of this essay have to study the topic in its full complexity and attempt to present a more complete view thereof.

What are the different kinds of discursive essays?

You may be assigned to an opinion, cause-and-effect, exploratory, problem-solution, and compare-and-contrast essay of the discursive type at your studies. Each of them has some writing nuances that depend on the ultimate purpose of composition (deciphering the differences and similarities, examining the effects of some actions and processes, or shaping an evidence-based opinion).

What is the Difference Between a Discursive and Argumentative Essay?

Unlike an argumentative piece, which aims to advocate one point, a discursive paper is primarily non-judgmental. It aims at deepening the reader’s understanding of the subject and focuses on the assessment of its characteristics and features instead of driving the readers to accept a particular attitude or opinion.

What are the 2 Types of Discursive Writing?

These papers may be divided into two categories in terms of their persuasiveness. If the writer tries to convince the readers of one point, it belongs to persuasive writing overall. If the argument is more weighed, with counterarguments given enough attention to give a more comprehensive presentation of the subject, it belongs to the argumentative type.