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Essay writing - 02.01.2023

Discursive Essay: Your Definitive Guide That Teaches Everything

Your college journey exposes you to different types of papers, including discursive essays. This critical writing provides your readers with a balanced argument on an issue supported by evidence. Excellent discursive writing needs critical thinking and sound, valid ideas that acknowledge and analyze your arguments from both sides. You must argue for and against a topic to write a discursive essay that appeals to your audience’s reason.

When handling discursive essay topics, you must avoid personal opinions and emotions. Your paper may make tentative conclusions based on evidence. However, your assignment’s primary goal is to inform your readers of the principal arguments and let them make their independent conclusions.

This post delves into more details about this assignment. It defines discursive writing, shows you how to write a discursive essay, discusses the main types of discursive essays, and much more. Remain on this page to learn more. 

Discursive Essay: Definition

Defining a discursive essay is critical to success when handling discursive essay topics. This section defines discursive writing and shows how discursive essays differ from other assignments like argumentative essays. In short, a discursive paper is an academic task that discusses a specific topic. This assignment offers a reliable and unbiased assessment of the assigned topic. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should remain neutral in your approach.

Discursive writing differs from an argumentative essay in several ways. Just as the name implies, an argumentative essay argues a clear stand on a matter. An argumentative essay’s points fortify your chosen position on a topic to convince readers to buy into it. Therefore, a discursive essay FAQ and answers differ slightly from those of argumentative essays. You must also compose this paper using facts and research reports to address the two sides of the issue you are handling.

Types of Discursive Essay

Discursive writing comes in three main types. This section explores these forms of discursive papers in depth.

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  • Opinion Essays 

An opinion essay is a form of discursive writing that requires you to present your opinion in the introductory paragraph. You must clearly present your stand and follow it with reasons and supporting examples. Additionally, this paper contains opposing arguments that precede its conclusion. You should explain to your audience why the idea is compelling. The paper also needs to summarize or restate your opinion in conclusion.

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  • For and Against Essays

This essay gives readers a comprehensive debate on a topic using opposing viewpoints. You must discuss each point objectively and describe it in detail. Its opening paragraphs unveil the issue you are considering. The body paragraphs provide justifiable examples, reasons, and arguments. You have to state your opinion in the conclusion in the most balanced manner.

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  • Essays Suggesting Solutions to Problems

This type of discursive writing discusses challenges and proposes key solutions. Its opening paragraph clearly states a problem and analyzes its causes and implications. The paper’s body suggests a possible remedy and outlines the expected ramifications. You also have to summarize your opinion in the concluding part.

Parts of an Excellent Discursive Essay

Discursive writing has three main parts comprising a perfect discursive essay structure. These sections are the discursive essay introduction, body, and conclusion. More details follow in the next paragraphs.  

Discursive Essay Introduction

A discursive essay introduction is your paper’s opening point. When tackling discursive essay topics, ensure you start with a hook that draws and keeps your readers’ attention and interest. This hook can be a quote from an authority your readers trust, a relevant stat, or balanced humor.

Additionally, your introduction should briefly explain the problem you are handling. Here, you are free to use quotations and rhetorical questions. This opening section must also show your readers the two sides of your debate and summarize it. Remember to include your thesis statement here to give your readers a strategic roadmap of where you intend to take them.

Main Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs are essential to your discursive essay structure. Excellent discursive essay examples contain body paragraphs that argue your main points and defend your thesis statement. When handling this discursive writing section, pay attention to the following:

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  1. Avoid Prejudice

Avoid all forms of prejudice in your discursive writing by assessing all the dimensions related to your topic. Leave your feelings out of this essay.

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  • Construct Your Arguments Carefully

When handling your paper’s body, provide each argument in a separate paragraph. This way, you will be better positioned to keep your discursive writing distinct and easy to understand. Also, remember to support every idea with factual evidence and relevant examples.

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  • Write It Alternatively

You must write your body paragraphs alternatively. That means your introductory paragraph should support the assignment’s argument. The second one must present a counterargument. This way, you make your essay appear well-researched and documented. It shows your audience that you know the two sides of the coin and aren’t biased. Besides, this approach demonstrates your neutrality and tolerance toward opposing ideas. 

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  1. Include Topic Sentences and Evidence

When introducing any paragraph, summarize that argument as a topic sentence. This sentence helps the reader understand what the section will address. Next, follow it with evidence to show you aren’t cooking facts.

Conclusion

When discussing discursive essay topics, your conclusion should provide your readers with a safe landing. This discursive writing section must show the reader that you have successfully achieved what you promised to do in the discursive essay introduction. It also needs to summarize the main ideas you used to defend your thesis statement.

This part of your discursive writing must also restate your thesis statement to show the reader why it matters. Your conclusions should be tentative in their for or against forms, allowing readers to decide what point is more believable.  

Three Pillars of Successful Discursive Writing

Your discursive essay writing can improve if you approach it correctly. This part examines three main pillars of the discursive essay writing technique.

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  • Write on a Controversial Topic

You can spice up your discursive writing if you write a discursive essay on a controversial topic. All excellent discursive essay examples draw value from your chosen subject. The reason is that your professor requires you to prove that you can approach highly emotional subjects rationally and objectively.

Also, choosing a controversial topic for your discursive essay shows your sense of originality and daring to venture into uncharted waters. By discussing common themes, you prove to your readers that you don’t want to play it safe. Only ensure you are thoroughly familiar with the topic, so you don’t get stuck for lack of evidence and facts to defend your thesis.

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  • Write a Strong Thesis Statement

Drafting a compelling thesis also bolsters your discursive writing. You should develop a thesis that narrows your view on a broad challenge. Don’t use obvious statements, and avoid those that are hard to debate.

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  • Research Thoroughly

You should also research your discursive writing thoroughly to succeed and score high marks. Dig through various information sources. Spend enough time gathering the supporting evidence. Ensure that your sources are highly authoritative and credible. Remember, your research material is like the raw materials you use to construct a house. Weak, sub-standard building materials will produce a weak house, and vice versa. So, pay special attention to this matter because limited technical knowledge can cause severe blunders in your discursive essay writing.

The DOs and DON’Ts of Discursive Writing

Just like in an argumentative essay, you must adhere to some dos and don’ts to produce high-quality discursive writing. This section examines the top things to avoid and embrace to write a discursive essay that fetches excellent grades.

The Do’s

  • Here are the dos to remember when writing discursive essays.
  • Always use separate paragraphs in all your discursive writing assignments.
  • Just like argumentative essays, use your paper’s introductory paragraph well and include your thesis statement there.
  • All excellent discursive essay examples must use the second paragraph to explain how you intend to present your arguments and offer readers a ‘roadmap’ to locate these points easily.
  • All body paragraphs should contain cogent arguments as you discuss your topic in detail.
  • Include one idea in each paragraph to avoid confusing your readers.
  • Your conclusion must wrap everything up nicely.
  • Use a formal, impersonal tone and style.
  • Utilize topic sentences to introduce all your paragraphs
  • Draft well-developed paragraphs.
  • Support all your points with reasons and examples.
  • Utilize appropriate connecting words and phrases.
  • Reference other sources using proper citation styles.

The Don’ts

Below are some things you shouldn’t do or include in your discursive writing. Don’t:

  • Utilize short forms, like I’ve, don’t, or we’ve.
  • Use informal or slang language like wanna or gonna in discursive writing.
  • Utilize very emotional language to avoid making your discursive writing sound biased.
  • Express your personal opinion reservedly in your discursive writing.
  • Refer to stats without proper referencing, just like in an argumentative essay.
  • Use personal examples in your discursive writing.
  • Slant your comments to favor your opinion.

Tips for Writing a Great Discursive Essay

Do you want tips to enable you to write a discursive essay with flying colors? Here are some actionable hacks to supercharge your future discursive essays.

Draft Your Thesis Carefully

You should draft your thesis statement carefully because it will affect your entire paper. This short statement is your essay’s guidepost that directs your readers. It lets them know which stand you have taken on a given issue. When writing on discursive essay topics, keep it neutral. Don’t include any explicitly negative or positive expressions in your thesis. Remember, these aren’t argumentative essays in which you debate to make readers choose one position over another.

Mind Your Claims and Counterclaims

Perfect discursive essay examples should have claims and counterclaims. Your claim is simply the first argument or position you want to present for or against a topic. The counterclaim is its alternate position. Since this essay focuses on presenting two sides of the same coin, you only need to make tentative conclusions. When submitting your claims and counterclaims, mind the following:

  • Write a list of pros and cons to help you formulate your arguments and counterarguments.
  • For every pro, always have a corresponding con.
  • Your discursive paper will need three sets of pros and cons to fit all the body paragraphs.

Plan Your Essay

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Thus, planning is critical to your discursive writing. When writing, plan when to write each section. For instance, you can wait to compose your paper’s introduction last after knowing what should go where. Simple planning helps you approach your essay in an orderly fashion.

Consider Your Essay’s Structure

Considering your essay structure is essential for succeeding in discursive essay topics. Proper structuring infuses orderly and logical flow into all your thoughts and idea. You should outline your work to organize your thoughts. This way, you have an easy writing time. Also, it helps readers navigate your essay easily without getting lost or confused.

Use the SEA Technique

You can spice your essay using the SEA presentation technique. This method lets you make statements, give examples to support your claims, and then show applications of the theories’ relevance in real life.

Discursive Essay Topics to Inspire You

Here are a few sample discursive essay topics to supercharge your future assignments.

  • SPF product boom and its hidden consequences.
  • The impact of heavy blankets on mental and physical health.
  • Should online education replace traditional classrooms?
  • What are the potential threats of deepfake technology?
  • Should genetic engineering be banned?
  • Are there better alternatives to traditional classrooms?
  • How does excessive school noise affect students’ academic performance?
  • Is it right to have beauty contests in learning institutions?
  • Does too much homework promote intellectual dishonesty among students?
  • How can colleges stem plagiarism amon
  • g students?

Conclusion

There you go with everything you need to know about discursive writing. We also provided discursive essay topics to inspire your future writing. The ball is in your court, so use these resources to enhance your writing. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need personalized help with your academic work.

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