Academic Discussion Essay: Guide to Writing and Formatting
Essays are a daily part of a typical student’s life – and they constitute much of their nightmares. Most students find writing essays a hard nut to crack; not every student does, though. With just the right information, you can be one of the students who find writing essays easy – or at least simple.
Discussion essays are common essay forms that require examining both sides of a situation and concluding with the side you favor. In other words, discussion essays are referred to as discussion for or against essays. If you need a guide on how to write a discussion essay, keep reading.
What Does Discuss Mean in an Essay?
“Discuss” in an essay are question or statement essay prompts that require in-depth research to give an equally in-depth answer. The answer should take into account all the areas of the debate, which may regard an argument or a research paper. Discussing requires serious reasoning skills to effectively provide answers readers can easily understand. It entails giving a detailed examination of an essay topic, which may include various perspectives of other scholars. “Discuss” in essays also means that you clearly state your position once you’re done debating and should be based on the evidence you provided.
Standard Discussion Essay Structure
Academic discussion essays typically follow a standard structure, although it may vary according to topic and length. Discussion essays have certain components in common, including general statements and thesis statements which are contained in all good discussion essay introductions. A good discussion paper format will follow the pattern below:
- Introduction: The discussion essay introduction will include general statements introducing readers to what the essay is about. In the thesis and general statements, you will state your position and give relevant definitions where necessary.
- Body: A discussion essay’s body paragraph will contain arguments for or against the topic. Important ideas of the essay should come first and will contain one or more paragraphs, depending on the essay length.
- Conclusion: The discussion essay conclusion summarizes the entire essay; it gives the reader a recap and reminder of the main ideas. It may also include the writer’s opinion – what the essay writer believes to have the strongest evidence. The conclusion may also include recommendations, suggesting solutions using the shreds of evidence discussed in the essay.
Expert Tips on How to Start a Discussion Essay
A good discussion essay gets the attention of its readers from the first word. An academic essay’s introduction is its most essential part; it presents your argument and gives your audience what to expect. A good introduction mainly focuses on catching the readers’ attention, providing a background for the topic, and presenting an essay’s central point: the thesis. Below are four helpful tips to guide your discussion essay writing:
- Get your audience hooked from the introduction; avoid long sentences and start with catchy and clear but concise sentences.
- Give your audience a background to the essay’s subject; help them understand the context of your topic and argument.
- Go on to state your thesis in one or two sentences that sum up all the arguments.
- Outline and map out your essay’s structure; it gives your audience an idea of how the argument will go.
- Read your discussion essay and give a professional or someone better at writing than you are to eliminate essay-demeaning errors.
How to Choose Discussion Essay Topics
Every good essay starts with choosing a good, appropriate topic. However, what makes a topic ‘good’ for essay writing depends on the writer. Below are tips to make choosing discussion essay topics easy:
- Ensure you have an interest in whatever topic you choose for your discussion essay.
- Only choose a discussion essay topic with sufficient information that is easily accessible.
- Consult previously-written similar scholarly discussion essays for inspiration. You can begin by searching for where to look for a discussion essay example.
- Avoid choosing a lengthy topic: the shorter it is, the better.
- A good discussion essay topic will give an audience a fair idea of the essay.
In conclusion, when writing your discussion essay, note that the facts and opinions are distinct and should be separated. The internet has made things more convenient for the world, and for writing distinction-worthy discussion essays is easy.
