Discursive Writing

There are two basic types of discursive writing; persuasive and argumentative. It's important to distinguish the difference to be able to tailor your writing to the chosen audience.

Describes a writing that asks you to investigate a particular topic; to gather, read and evaluate the evidence provided; and to present a position on your topic based on the evidence gathered.

The structure of a discursive essay is held together with a thesis statement which outlines your argument/your position on the topic. The key aim of a discursive essay is to convince the reader the argument that you're presenting is a valid one and is complete.

In preparing your essay you need to take into account:

• You need to argue for the issue or against it;
• You need to present your point/s of view on both sides;
• You need to provide your unprejudiced opinion on that matter.

The Purpose of your writing is to:

• To provide a reliable and unbiased assessment of an issue. Nevertheless, your discursive writing does not have to be completely neutral. You should write it using the facts and research reports to present both sides of the issue.

It’s structure is its style is more impersonal and formal in comparison with other assignment types:
Start with an introduction to the topic.

Discuss each essay question in a single paragraph.

Begin each paragraph with a powerful issue sentence.

Use paragraphs with one point usually followed by a counterpoint paragraph, (which is a form of the persuasive writing style of writing). The writer needs to take a strong position on an issue and then discuss the opposing points of view.

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