Structuring Your Discursive Essay
Structure - Overview
When structuring your discursive essay it will be helpful to organise it into the following sections:
1. Introduction
2. Body
a) Arguments supporting your stance
i. Argument 1, supported by evidence.
ii. Argument 2, supported by evidence.
and so on…
b) Arguments opposing your stance
i. Argument 1, which you should then refute.
ii. Argument 1, which you should then refute.
and so on…
3. Conclusion
Introduction
The introductory paragraph of your essay should make the following clear to your reader:
a) The issue that you will be discussing in your essay.
b) Your stance on that issue.
In addition to this, the opening of your essay should capture the reader’s attention, making them interested in the subject you are writing them and (hopefully) encouraging them to read on.
Here are some ways in which you can capture your reader’s attention:
1. Provocative
“It is difficult to comprehend why countries still permit capital punishment.”
2. Balanced
“Capital punishment is a subject which has the world divided.”
3. Quotation
“Anton Pavlovich Checkov, a Russian playwright and author, once said: ‘The government is not God. It does not have the right to take away that which it can’t return even if it wants to.’ ”
4. Illustration
“On a depressing, murky winter morning, a petrified young man is quietly escorted from his prison cell. The chains which bind his ankles clatter and clang on the bare cement floors. His knees are weak. His heart is pounding. He is thinking about his mother, his sister, his baby girl. He is tied to the chair. He is prayed upon by a solemn stranger. He is pumped full of electricity until his body can take no more. He is pronounced dead. What if he was innocent? This is the reality of capital punishment.”
5. Anecdote
“I have always detested capital punishment since I was almost physically sick while watching a film of someone being put to death by the electric chair.”
Body Section – Structuring your Arguments
When writing an Argumentative Essay, you should apply exactly the same principles as you use when writing a Critical Essay.
1. Make a Point / Introduce an Argument.
2. Provide Evidence to support that Point / Argument.
3. Explain how the Evidence you have provided supports your Point / Argument.
The only difference is that:
In a Critical Essay, you use contexualised quotations to support your points.
In a Discursive Essay, you can use a range of types of evidence to support your ideas:
· Quotations from experts
· Statistical evidence
· Real life examples
· And so on.
Body Section – Linking your Arguments
Any well-written piece of discursive writing will flow as one continuous piece, despite being made up of three or four different arguments.
One of the techniques which can help you to achieve this effectively is the use of linking vocabulary. These words are usually used at the beginning of a new paragraph but can also be used to link ideas within a paragraph.
Here are some examples:
1. To introduce a point:
It would seem; Many people believe; There are those who feel; The modern thinker; Current opinion is; It seems; It would appear…
2. Continuation of the same line of thought:
Firstly; Secondly; Furthermore; In addition; Likewise; Similarly; Also; Moreover…
3. To emphasise a point:
Indeed; Undoubtedly; Without doubt; Without question; It seems obvious; Of course; Unquestionably; Absolutely…
4. To re-direct an argument:
Despite this; Nevertheless; It would therefore seem; Conversely; Yet; On the other hand; However; Although; Otherwise; On the contrary…
5. To conclude a point:
Thus; Therefore; Consequently; Accordingly; Hence; In conclusion; In brief; As a result…
Concluding your Discursive Essay
The concluding paragraph of your essay should remind your reader of the following key pieces of information:
a) The issue that you discussed in your essay.
b) The stance you took on that issue.
c) The main arguments you raised in support of your stance (you don’t need to include any evidence this time).
d) The main arguments you raised against your stance (you don’t need to include any evidence this time), along with a brief reminder of how you refuted these arguments.
Similarly to your introductory paragraph, it is important to conclude your essay in a memorable way that leaves a lasting impression on your reader.
Some reference to ideas that you introduced in your introductory paragraph is often an effective way to do this, as it shows your reader that you have come full circle, and are now rounding off your essay.