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  • Writer's picturePhoton Editing
    • May 7
    • 5 min read

Discursive Essays

by Photon Editing

Written with the assistance of the International Writing Community including authors in areas such as, but not limited to, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, research papers, critics, reviewers, and professional editors.


The first thing anyone will think when they see the words 'discursive essay' are, "What the heck is that?" Don't worry. We all have that thought. Most adults have never heard of them! This is why we created this little information guide for students about discursive essays, what they are, what they are used for, and how to write them. Besides, it turns out a lot of school-provided examples aren't actually relevant . . . Go figure.


So, let's begin!






WHAT IS A DISCURSIVE ESSAY?

A Discursive Essay is a type of essay used to provide the reader with multiple different perspectives on an overall topic. The writer does so in an impersonal, critical and objective way in order to keep their opinion out of it so the reader is able to come to their own conclusion instead of being told exactly which argument to agree with and why.










BUT WAIT! ISN'T THAT A PERSUASIVE ESSAY?

No, it’s not! A persuasive essay is used to show the reader one specific viewpoint on a certain topic and convince them on why that viewpoint is the ‘correct’ one. A discursive essay provides more than one answer and doesn’t try to push only one answer as the ‘correct’ answer.









WHAT DO I INCLUDE IN A DISCURSIVE ESSAY?

You must include your research, evidence and examples. In this way, a discursive essay is much the same as all the others you’ve had to write up until now. The important thing  is that you must provide evidence and examples for both sides of your argument. 

Remember, for whatever topic you decide on for each body paragraph, you must be able to provide both points and counterpoints for the one topic, as well as any relevant evidence and examples. It does sound like a lot more work, and it is, but this is one of the ways you can keep your discursive essay well-balance for the reader.





WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF DISCURSIVE ESSAYS?

  • Editorial, debate and opinion pieces

  • NEWS

  • TEDTalks

  • Speeches

  • Lectures

  • Magazine articles


Discursive writing is a lot more common than we are led to believe! It can be harder to spot when in forms we don’t consider to be in the ‘traditional essay’ format.







HOW DO I WRITE A DISCURSIVE ESSAY?

Writing a discursive essay is essentially the same as any other essay. You must have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. But while the layout is the same and there are a lot of similarities to other essays you have written, there are a few differences.


INTRODUCTION

  • Introduce your overall subject

  • Introduce your talking points

  • Remember your thesis statement!


BODY

  • Topic sentence

  • Explanation / Evidence [this is for both your point and counterpoint]

  • Link back to the essay and/or to the topic of the next paragraph


Remember: The overall paragraph structure will change depending on the format your school requires you to use!


CONCLUSION

  • What have you discussed?

  • Make sure to draw conclusions using BOTH sides of the argument

  • Restate the thesis statement

  • Leave it open-ended so the reader is encouraged to think about what they have read









REMEMBER TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

  • Pick your topic

  • Do your research

  • Remember to question things

  • Decide on your thesis statement

  • Decide on your main talking points, remembering that they must be ones you can find evidence both in support and against. 

  • Find evidence that both sides

  • Plan out your response









IF ALL THIS IS THE CASE, WHY DOES NESA TELL ME TO MAKE IT PERSONALISED AND OPINIONATED?

The way sites on the internet explain discursive essays and the way NESA explain them are quite different. This is the main thing that causes mass amounts of confusion for teachers and students. After all, the last thing we can expect is for NESA to do something that makes sense! That in itself will be strange!




When NESA asks you to make your discursive essay personalised and opinionated, they aren’t actually saying what it looks like they are. Instead of saying, “Yes, you can have an opinion! Yes, you can be personalised!”, they are saying something more like this:


  • You can use personalisation in your writing voice (this is what makes it seem ‘informal’ and ‘unessay-like’

  • You can use more figurative language techniques to make it more provocative and engaging

  • You can use real life and personal examples

  • You can write in first person

  • Your writing can be more free-flowing



SO, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT FROM ALL THIS?

  • Discursive essays are used to provide multiple perspectives into one subject

  • Discursive essays are done in a way that allows the reader to make up their own mind at the end as they have been provided with more than one answer

  • We still need evidence and examples for our points

  • For subject points, there must be counterpoints for those same subjects. If you can only show one side, then it’s not balanced

  • Discursive essays are surprisingly common

  • While a discursive essay has the same structure as any other (intro, body, conclusion), the actual makeup of the paragraphs can be quite different because of the information needed

  • Discursive essays can be informal and personalised so long as they aren’t trying to push one specific position onto the reader. That turns it persuasive

  • We can use examples from our own experiences

  • We can use examples from our own experiences

  • We can use first person perspective when writing, but this can be a bit weird for high school essays

  • Our writing can be more free-flowing and we can use more language techniques than in a ‘normal’ essay

  • NESA has once again confused everyone with their explanations

 


REFERENCES

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