Discursive Essay Writing
Before you start writing your essay, you should do the following:
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Read essay title carefully. What exactly is it asking you to discuss? The pros and cons
of what……………………?
Write a list of generic introductory phrases and learn them off by heart.
Write a list of generic paragraph leaders and learn them off by heart.
Write a list of generic concluding phrases and learn them off by heart.
Write a list of generic idioms/proverbs and learn them off by heart.
Research/read about the topic in ENGLISH first so that you fully understand the topic,
its pros and the cons. You should be able to discuss it in your mother tongue first.
Research essay title via the Net, magazines, newspapers and books etc., remembering to
search for the pros and the cons – find TARGET LANGUAGE articles.
Collate your research/facts/figures into pros and cons and remember to keep a list of
where you got sources/quotes from, including names of authors, books/articles, dates,
chapters and page numbers. (This will help you later when you write you bibliography).
Write a list of vocabulary and structures relevant to the topic using your research
(minimum 1 side of A4, preferably more) and remember to include idioms/proverbs and
complex structures.
Write up your PLAN– this should be 1 FULL side of A4 and should include:
1. An introduction – tell the reader what you are going to discuss.
2. A main body – FIRST SECTION should be points of discussion for the
advantages and SECOND SECTION should be points of discussion for
disadvantages (or vice versa). BOTH sections should include hard fact and
figures to back up your points of discussion/argument. Sources/quotes should be
acknowledged in footnotes. Try to balance the argument by examining an equal
amount of advantages and disadvantages.
3. A conclusion – this should reflect upon your points of discussion and should
contain NO NEW INFORMATION. E.g. After having examined the pros and cons
of…..it is clear that there are advantages of…… as well as disadvantages, time will
tell if the pros will outweigh the cons of………
4. It is often easier to write the main body, then write the introduction and
conclusion last.
Then have your plan CHECKED by your teacher BEFORE you start to write up your final
version.
Write up your FINAL VERSION and remember to stick to the WORD LIMIT and write
it at the end of the essay. You will be penalised if you write too little or too much.
REMEMBER to write in paragraphs using paragraph leaders, acknowledge sources/quotes
in footnotes, use relevant vocabulary, idioms/proverbs, complex structures and have two
clear sides to the argument and answer the question! Introduction = tell them what you
are going to tell them, Main Body = then tell them, Conclusion = tell them what you just
told them!
Write up your BIBLIOGRAPHY – this should be in alphabetical order by AUTHOR and
divided into sub-headings e.g. Books, Magazines, Periodicals, Websites etc.
Finally, CHECK EVERY word you have written with a dictionary and your 501 verb book –
in particular, check spellings, genders, verb endings, singular and plurals, tenses and
adjectival endings. This is time consuming but will save you marks!
SELF ASSESSMENT - Mark your essay to the MARK SCHEME as per the specification
and award yourself a grade for each category. PEER ASSESSMENT – Ask your friend
to mark it and compare both grades with what your teacher grades you. IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT YOU BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE MARK SCHEME.
HAND IN your essay ON TIME to your teacher.
©MFL Sunderland 2005 AS