Discursive Essay
Essays

What is a Discursive Essay and How Do You Write One?

In our daily life, we talk about many things and investigate them. This investigation is done to collect the relevant evidence. The whole work aims to prove if your point of view is right or wrong. In written form, this process is named discursive writing. In the discursive essay, you are supposed to convince your audience of your claim with the proper support of evidence. Composed by an essay writing services UK expert, this article sheds light on the types and tips for writing an effective discursive essay.

A Quick Explanation

Many people consider it an argumentative essay, but both are different. The style of discursive and argumentative essays differs in structure and purpose. In the discursive essay, you must describe supporting and opposing evidence related to your topic. In simple words, you can say that this essay type is an unbiased one.

On the other hand, an argumentative essay is also a collection and analysis of evidence, but here you need to remain biased for the topic of discussion. That is how both essay types differ from each other.

Discursive Essay Types

The three main types of discursive writing are as follows,

  • Opinion Essay

The first type is termed an opinion essay. You do analysis and collect all the relevant evidence. But here you are supposed to add your opinion too. Whatever it is, you are free to mention your opinion in the conclusion section.

  • For and Against Essay

In the second discursive essay type, you need to discuss based on facts and figures only. It is termed as the ‘for and against essay type.’ Here you have to address the problem with evidence and its correct explanation. You need to explain supporting and opposing evidence to help the reader make a moral decision.

  • Suggestion Essay

In the suggestion-type essay, the main difference is that the explaining body is all about valuable suggestions. Based on all the discussed recommendations, the conclusion is designed.

Tips for Writing an Effective Discursive Essay

The writing techniques are about structure. The basic structure is the same as follows,

  • Introduction
  • Explaining body
  • Conclusion

But the subpart of each section differs from other writing types. Let’s discuss in detail how this structure differs from other ones.

Introduction

The best way to start a discursive essay is to either;

  • add famous quotations to your problem statement. Or
  • you can add some relevant hook sentences. This will help you grab the attention of the reader.
  • You can also go for a topic sentence instead of a hook sentence. Furthermore, it can also be the definition of your topic.

So, you must select the best way to start your essay. This selection is based on the type of topic of discussion.

After the right start, you must create a scenario for the reader. This scenario can be in the form of an example or some stat related to the topic. The best approach is to create a problem that needs to be addressed later. In the introduction, do not forget to explain your designed situation.

So, here is the central aspect of the introduction. After mentioning the problem, you must explain the scenario’s two sides. The first side is the supporting one for your argument. While the second side is the opposing one. Remember that you do not have to discuss things from a general perspective. That is the difference between discursive essays and other essay types.

Explaining Body

In the explaining body, you have to structure your arguments in a well-mannered way. Suppose you have three arguments that are in support of your topic. For three arguments, you have to add six paragraphs. The first Paragraph is about argument number one. At the start of the Paragraph, you briefly explain the scenario. This practice is adopted to make your steps clear for the reader. When you are done with the explanation of argument number one, now you have to start working on the second Paragraph. This second Paragraph is the opposing explanation of your first argument. Let’s make it clear in simple form as follows,

  • First Paragraph: argument number one and its explanation with evidence
  • Second Paragraph: something opposite to argument number one
  • Third Paragraph: argument number two and its description with evidence
  • Fourth Paragraph: something opposite to argument number two
  • Fifth Paragraph: argument number three and its explanation with evidence
  • Sixth Paragraph: something opposite to argument number three

That is how your number of paragraphs is designed based on the number of arguments.

Expert Tip;

Like in book writing, you must care for credible information in the discursive essay. You have to collect evidence from credible sources. This is the only way to portray yourself as a good writer. Inaccurate information puts a very bad impression on the audience. Especially when your audience is from some senior sector, you must ensure credibility when writing a discursive essay like your advisor, university staff, job holders, or authorities from the industrial level.

Check Credibility:

The easy way to check the source’s credibility is through reviews about it. You can either check the credibility of the writer or the website. For a website, you can check its ranking and review section. By doing so, you can see how much worth that website has in the market. On the other hand, you can check a writer’s credibility by looking at his past work. You can also judge credibility based on the number of publications of any writer. The more number of publication a writer has, the more reliable he is.

Conclusion

Here is the final part of your discursive essay. In conclusion, you have to clarify that you will summarize things. The repetition of already discussed content is not summarization at all. In summary, keep the sequence of explaining the body. Otherwise, your conclusion would not make sense. Also, do not forget to cite the whole document. Proper citation with a righteous style matters a lot, and it is one of the good practices adopted by experts and qualified writers.