How to Write a Discussion Essay

Rija24 · October 3, 2020, 7:59am

How to write a discussion essay?

Known as the argumentative essay also, discussion essay provides an opportunity to write a binary argument having the points for and against a particular issue. These essays conclude in the writer providing his/her own opinion and deciding on which side he/she is. Always remember that a discussion essay is like a “discussion” between two people, one speaking in the favor of a topic and one against it so you cannot provide one side of a topic in your essay. You generally state facts and opinions in the essay and keep a separation between the two. If you are stating a fact then you need to make sure to summarize it and provide the citations for a website, following any format for example citing a website in MLA.

For writing a discussion essay, you need to keep follow these steps:

The most crucial part is the organization of the thoughts. Plan and organize what you want to write.
The major technique which is useful in writing is the “brainstorming”. Just jot down all the thoughts that appear in your mind. Always choose a topic that interests you and others, so that you may have a train of thoughts and writing would be easy for you.
You can also collect information from different sites and sources. For that you need to do a little research. Keep on making a track of all the sites that you are using and add them in the references at the end to avoid plagiarism.
Create a draft of the essay, after you have jotted down the main points and have a mind set that what you want to write. The draft will contain a rough idea that what your essay will look life. Divide the essay in proper introduction, main body and concluding paragraphs. The draft will be helpful for you as it will tell you about your mistakes and how can you improve the essay.
After that, you can check that whether the first draft is capable of being submitted or you need to create a second one that will be your original version and in case you need to submit it, then organize it accordingly.

The Introduction:

The introduction is the important part because if the reader likes it and it appeals to his mind, only then he will precede reading, so make sure you write a very catchy introduction. Begin it by stating some interesting facts or in case of an experience then quoting interesting examples.
The sentences should be in a transition manner. Just provide a neutral discussion about the topic that you have chosen.
In the introduction, you need to present the topic sentence or the thesis statement. If you want to know the rule of writing thesis statement then it is always specific, so that it can wrap up the whole idea. So make sure you write an accurate one.

The Main Body:

The best technique for organizing the main body is to make ensure that 1 paragraph presents 1 idea. For that idea, provide as much justifications and arguments as you can. Clarify each and everything properly so that the reader might not be left in any doubt.
As it is a discussion essay and you have to present arguments I the favor as well as against, so organize the body according to that. Draw the contrasts between the contradictory ideas and show how they are in opposition to each other. It depends upon you that you present the binary arguments in the single paragraph or write it in different ones.
Your essay always needs to be cohesive, where every idea is connected to the other. You should never present random thoughts and create confusion in the reader’s minds. Organize the body in a manner that one idea leads to another.

The conclusion:

The conclusion is also an interesting part as you summarize what you have stated earlier. So its your duty to summarize in a way that no point is left unaddressed.
It should also proof that the thesis statement you presented earlier has been justified. The essay should be an explanation to the thesis statement and your conclusion should explain that.
Some people think that the conclusion can be easily written by re-stating the introduction. However, this is not the case. It is like reaching to a final decision after stating all the arguments. So you need to summarize the whole essay.

In the end, just proof read your essay to avoid the mistakes and to ensure that it makes sense. Check that all the ideas are inter-connected and are easy to be understood by the readers.

The table shows an overall idea as how the structure is ought to be:

Component	The Purpose	Part of essay
General statements	To introduce the reader to the main topic or the thesis statement of the essay.	Introduction
Position	To give the general opinion of the writer.
Definition(s) (optional)	To provide an explanation for any technical words to the reader.
Thesis	To wrap up the whole discussion in one line.
Arguments for	To provide the positive side of any issue. It can be distributed in different paragraphs where one idea is connected to the other.	Main body
Arguments against	Likewise to the positive factors, provide the negative factors. The purpose is to provide an extensive outlook of the ideas.
Summary	To wrap up the whole discussion, providing an evidence that what strong points have been introduced in the essay.	Conclusion
Opinion & Recommendations	To give your opinion and provide the recommendations to the reader as to what actions can be taken for the future and what is the best solution in case of a problem.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How many paragraphs shall a discussion essay contain?

This is not restricted in any way. Some requirements such as given an exam in IELTS will limit you to write 5 paragraphs but other than that you can write more. It depends upon how you are presenting your ideas and how much data you need to present the arguments.

Q: What is a discussion in an essay?

The discussion term is applied to these essays as they provide multiple arguments on a topic. You need to give arguments that are debatable and are mostly seen surrounding a topic. So the discussion means that you need to go in-depth for a topic.

Q: How do you make a discussion essay interesting?

Writing a discussion requires effort. You can make it interesting by not presenting the random ideas and sticking to what is important. Try to be accurate and to the point. Justify every idea clearly and precisely. Choose a topic that is universal and that will grab many people’s attentions.