One of the key components of the GCSE or A-Level English exams is writing a discursive essay – a task that requires not only a good understanding of the material but also the ability to logically argue and express thoughts clearly. A well-written essay is a chance to earn valuable marks that can impact your final exam results. If you're currently preparing for your exams and wondering how to write the perfect discursive essay step by step, we've got great news for you! With the AI Essay Writer on LUMILA, you can easily draft your work using artificial intelligence. Use the tool below to simplify the writing process and ensure your essay meets all exam requirements. Wondering how to write a discursive essay for your exams? We cover it step by step in this guide.
Why use an AI Essay Writer?
Using an AI Essay Writer, like the one available on LUMILA, offers many benefits, especially for students who need support in organising their thoughts and creating a logical text structure. The main advantage of such a tool is the faster preparation of an initial draft. The AI Essay Writer allows for the quick generation of a basic version of the text, which is particularly useful when time is limited, and the topic seems complex. This way, students don't waste time pondering the essay structure but receive a ready plan that they can then develop and adapt to their needs.
One of the greatest benefits of the AI Essay Writer is that it can serve as inspiration for your own ideas. Although the generated text is merely a draft, it can often suggest interesting approaches to the topic, highlight compelling arguments, or help find relevant literary examples. This tool not only assists in the technical organisation of the work but also stimulates creativity by suggesting which themes can be expanded. It's a fantastic starting point for further work – allowing students to focus on expanding arguments, analysing literary texts, and adding their own reflections.
With the AI Essay Writer, it's also possible to generate an initial draft, which can later be tailored to your needs. Students have complete freedom to modify the content – they can add their own arguments, expand literary examples, introduce historical or biographical contexts. The tool acts as an assistant that makes starting easier, but it's the author who decides how their work will ultimately look. This flexibility means that even students who struggle with beginning their work can easily create a solid foundation upon which to build their essay.
How to Write a Discursive Essay for GCSE/A-Level Exams Step by Step:
a. Introduction
The introduction of a discursive essay is a crucial part that sets the stage for your reader and points the direction of your entire work. A well-crafted introduction not only captures interest but also shows that the writer can clearly define the issue and lay the groundwork for further arguments. At this stage, you should outline the main issue that will be developed in the following sections and present your opinion on the topic, which is your thesis or hypothesis that you intend to defend.
Start your introduction by introducing the issue or topic presented in the exam question. It's essential to immediately place the issue in the right context – this could be historical, social, cultural, or literary, depending on the topic. Understanding the context allows for a deeper insight into the issue and provides an opportunity for more accurate and thoughtful argument development. In literature topics, the context might involve the era in which the work was created, the author's worldview, or events that could have influenced the content. Such an approach adds credibility to your work and demonstrates to the examiner that you have a broad understanding of the topics discussed.
After providing the context, the key step in writing the introduction is taking a stance, which means formulating a thesis or posing a hypothesis. A thesis is a clear, assertive opinion on the topic that you will argue for in the essay. A hypothesis, in contrast, is a question or assumption that requires verification – in this case, your task will be to prove whether the hypothesis is true or false. Whether you choose a thesis or hypothesis depends on the nature of the topic. However, remember that regardless of the choice, your essay should be logical and consistent, with each sentence leading to the defence or refutation of the stated position.
To construct a good introduction, it's helpful to use phrases that not only facilitate starting the essay but also give it the right tone. Examples of such phrases include:
• “In light of the issues presented in the topic…”
• “I believe that…”
• “Nowadays, the question increasingly arises as to…”
• “In my opinion…”
• “One cannot disagree with the statement that…”
These phrases help clearly formulate the thesis and introduce the topic, giving your essay coherence from the very beginning. The introduction should not be too long, but it must clearly present the problem, the author's position, and the basic assumptions that will be developed in the essay.
Remember, a strong introduction not only lays the foundation for the rest of the essay but also grabs the examiner's attention and shows that the author has a clear vision of the topic, can think logically, and knows how to lead the argumentation.
b. Essay Plan and Preparing an Outline
Preparing an outline is a critical step in the essay-writing process, allowing you to organise your thoughts, plan the structure, and select appropriate arguments. A well-prepared plan makes the writing process more thoughtful and coherent, increasing your chances of earning high marks. A basic tool to use at this stage is a draft, where you can jot down initial ideas for the introduction, development, and conclusion of the essay.
The importance of the draft when working on an essay cannot be overstated. In a draft, you can note down thoughts that arise while reading the topic or analysing literary texts. It's a place to sketch the essay, ponder the main assumptions, and try out different approaches to the topic. Writing down initial ideas helps avoid mental chaos and ensures that the work will have a logical structure, and you won't miss any important arguments. Moreover, a draft allows you to test various ways to start the essay or formulate the thesis, helping you choose the most convincing version.
An outline should be a clear sketch of the entire essay. Here's what a well-prepared outline should include:
1. Initial ideas for thesis or hypothesis:
• Initially, consider what position you want to take on the problem posed in the topic. The thesis should be clear and unambiguous, while the hypothesis – if you choose it – should provoke further reflection. You might consider several possible approaches and choose the one you find most interesting and defensible.
• For example, if the topic concerns the role of literature in shaping moral attitudes, the thesis might be: “Literature, through the creation of morally expressive characters, plays a crucial role in shaping human values and attitudes.” Alternatively, the hypothesis might take the form of a question: “Does literature really influence an individual's moral attitudes?”
2. Arguments and literary examples:
• The next step is to gather arguments that will help defend the thesis or prove the hypothesis. Each argument should be backed by literary examples. For GCSE/A-Level exams, it's required to reference at least one mandatory reading and another literary work. At this stage, consider which literary texts best illustrate your arguments.
• An example might be referencing Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" as a mandatory reading, where you can analyse Pip's character in the context of moral dilemmas, and another literary work, such as "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, as an excellent example of literature influencing moral attitudes through the exploration of guilt and redemption.
3. Contexts worth referring to:
• The syllabus may require referencing at least two contexts in the essay. Reserve space in the outline to consider which historical, cultural, biographical, or philosophical contexts you might refer to in order to enrich your argumentation.
• For example, discussing the moral dilemmas of literary characters, you might reference the historical context of the Victorian era, which promoted social advancement, or a biographical context, examining how Dickens' personal experiences influenced the creation of characters in "Great Expectations".
4. Ideas for insightful thoughts or interesting phrases:
• In the outline, also note down various interesting expressions and phrases that will enrich the language of the essay and make it more engaging for the reader. Initial ideas for summarising thoughts or clearly expressing a stance can be useful even at the planning stage. Insightful remarks and interesting reflections lend originality to the work, which might be appreciated by the examiner.
• For instance, if your topic is about the significance of literature in an individual's life, you might introduce a reflection on the timelessness of literary archetypes: “Literature not only mirrors reality but also creates universal patterns that help readers understand themselves and the world around them.”
A well-thought-out outline not only facilitates writing but also allows for quicker identification of any gaps in the argumentation. It helps you control whether your arguments lead to conclusions consistent with the thesis and whether you use appropriate literary examples and contexts. Creating such a draft is an investment in the effectiveness and coherence of the final text.
c. Development
The development is the most important part of the essay, where the topic is discussed in detail. Here, the author can present their arguments, supported by literary examples and references to contexts. For effective development, each argument should address a different aspect of the problem, allowing for a solid, multi-faceted analysis.
Formulating arguments is a crucial step in the development. Each argument should be clearly outlined and relate to one aspect of the thesis or hypothesis. It's important that the arguments are logically connected and form a thought process leading to the defence of the main position. Each argument should be supported by examples from literature that confirm the assumptions. Ideally, each argument addresses a different aspect of the problem – one might concern psychological motivations of a character, another moral choices, and a third the broader socio-historical context. Such a multi-faceted analysis allows for a deeper understanding of the problem and shows that the author can view the issue from different perspectives.
An essential element of the development is reference to literature. In the GCSE/A-Level exam, it is required to refer to at least two literary works – one from the mandatory reading list and another chosen literary work. These references should be precise and well-considered, and the literary examples must directly support the arguments. For instance, if the topic concerns moral choices of literary characters, you might refer to Pip from "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, who struggles with ethical dilemmas arising from his desires and social reality. As a second reading, you could cite "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, where the moral struggles of the main character, Rodion Raskolnikov, are a key theme.
Each literary argument should also be supported by appropriate contexts – these could be historical, biographical, philosophical, or cultural contexts. For example, when analysing Pip, you might refer to the historical context of the Victorian era, which promoted social progress. In analysing Raskolnikov, you might incorporate philosophical context, such as ideas of nihilism or the superman concept, which are crucial for understanding his internal dilemmas. These contexts enrich the analysis and demonstrate a deeper understanding of the works discussed.
To ensure the development is clear and logically constructed, use helpful phrases that make it easier for the reader to follow the author's thought process. Here are examples of such phrases:
• “Firstly…” – introduces the first argument that opens the discussion on the topic.
• “It should be noted that…” – highlights the importance of an argument and draws attention to key issues.
• “For example…” – introduces specific literary examples that support the argumentation.
• “It is also worth noting that…” – allows for the introduction of additional context or another aspect of the problem.
• “Furthermore…” – signals that the author continues the argument, expanding on the previous thought.
• “Based on this, it can be concluded that…” – leads to summarising the argument and its connection to the thesis.
These phrases help give the essay a logical structure and flow. Each argument should end with a brief summary that clearly shows how the conclusions from that argument support the main thesis of the essay.
It's also important for the argumentation to be multi-dimensional, meaning each issue should be analysed from various perspectives. For example, when discussing the moral choices of a literary character, consider it not only from a personal perspective (what decisions the character makes) but also from a social perspective (what are the consequences of their choices for others) and a philosophical perspective (what ethical ideas can be applied to their actions).
The development is the longest and most demanding part of the essay, which determines its substantive value. For it to be effective, each argument must be precisely formulated, well-supported by literary examples, and placed in appropriate contexts. Logical and coherent development is the foundation of any good essay and significantly influences the assessment of the work in the exam.
d. Conclusion
The conclusion of the essay is a crucial part because it provides the reader with the final conclusions drawn from the entire work. This is the moment when the author must concisely and clearly summarise the arguments presented in the development and draw an overall conclusion. It's important that the conclusion is not just a repetition of earlier theses but shows how all arguments lead to one coherent conclusion that answers the thesis or hypothesis posed in the introduction.
When writing the conclusion, use helpful phrases that give the speech a more formal and logical character, such as:
• “In conclusion, it must be stated that…”
• “In light of the arguments presented, one cannot disagree with the thesis that…”
• “Ultimately, all the examples given prove that…”
Such phrases not only help smoothly introduce the conclusions but also show that the author consciously builds the structure of the work and guides the argumentation towards a conclusion.
A brief reflection in the conclusion can enrich the entire essay. It should address an aspect of the problem not previously discussed in detail in the development but which arises from the topic at hand. This reflection can be general, social, moral, or philosophical in nature, depending on the subject matter. The purpose of the reflection is not to introduce a new argument but to show that the issue discussed in the essay has broader significance and prompts thoughts beyond the scope of the specific work.
For example, if the essay topic was an analysis of the moral choices of literary characters, a reflection in the conclusion might concern the overall impact of literature on shaping moral attitudes in society: “Literature, through universal motifs and characters, not only reflects reality but also teaches us how to face our own moral dilemmas. It is worth considering what role books play today in the lives of young people who seek role models to emulate.”
The conclusion should be
