How to Write a Band 6 Discursive Writing Piece for HSC English Module C
Just heard about the term discursive writing from HSC English for Module C?
Whether you’re an expert or beginner at discursive writing, we’re here to help secure a Band 6 for Module C! We’ll break down exactly what discursive writing involves and how to produce a Band 6 discursive writing piece.
Keen to know more? Then keep scrolling!
What is Discursive Writing? What’s in a HSC Discursive Writing Question? How to Write a Discursive Text How to Structure Your Discursive Writing Tips for Discursive Writing Features Should You Memorise Your Discursive Writing Piece for Module C? Discursive Writing Examples Discursive Writing Example Prompt
Click to download your own copy of our Discursive Writing guide!
What is Discursive Writing?
Discursive writing definition.
NESA defines discursive writing as including: Texts whose primary focus is to explore an idea or variety of topics. These texts involve the discussion of an idea(s) or opinion(s) without the direct intention of persuading the reader, listener or viewer to adopt any single point of view. Discursive texts can be humorous or serious in tone and can have a formal or informal register.
In this article, we’ll be giving you the lowdown on all types of discursive writing.
This encompasses forms such as creative non-fiction, travel blogs, discussion essays, speeches, personal essays and much more!
Discursive Writing for HSC
The purpose behind discursive writing is for you to engage in a deeply relatable, thought-provoking discussion by exploring multiple perspectives on a topic. It is not argumentative nor is it imaginative.
One style of writing you may not be so familiar with in HSC English Module C: The Craft of writing is discursive writing.
Common to both Advanced and Standard English, this module assesses a student’s ability to craft effective pieces of writing in relation to a given audience and purpose.
Unlike the other modules, the focus here is not as much on what you’ve written but more so a combination of what you’ve written and how you’ve written it.
The module takes up approximately 20 hours of course time. It will be assessed in one section in English Paper 2 in the HSC external examination block held in October, through one question containing up to two parts.
Discursive Writing is a new text type to appear on the syllabus in Module C. Let’s take a quick look at a part of the rubric for this module:
Excerpt of Module C in HSC English Syllabus from NESA
Modes of Writing
From this, we can see that within this module, you will be required to write in four different text types:
Imaginative: This type of writing often takes the form of a narrative and requires you to combine plot, setting and character to craft a short story.
Discursive: We’ll be diving into what exactly this style of writing entails in this guide!
Persuasive: This writing style aims for you to convince the reader of a particular argument or idea. It can be written in the form of an academic essay, personal essay or speech.
Informative: When writing an informative piece, you’ll be informing the reader of a particular topic — these are most commonly written as reports, explanations or descriptions.
For more on the different text types explored in Module C, check out our article !
What’s in a HSC Discursive Writing Question?
Here’s an example from NESA’s HSC English 2019 sample paper of a discursive writing question:
As you can see, Section III of the HSC exam paper focusses upon Module C: The Craft of Writing.
The question may ask you to write a persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing piece about a significant idea you have explored in your prescribed text whilst also using a stimulus.
Let’s take a look at another discursive writing question:
The exam question for this section may also be split into part (a) and part (b) — but don’t freak out!
Part (a) will require you to write an imaginative, discursive or persuasive writing piece using the stimulus provided, as well as one technique or stylistic feature used in your prescribed text.
Part (b) involves a reflective statement which will require you to explain how your prescribed text influenced your imaginative, discursive or persuasive writing piece in part (a).
In part (b) you may also be required to explain the literary or stylistic devices you employed in your writing.
Differences Between A Regular Persuasive Essay and Discursive Writing
Scratching your head at what you should do differently for your discursive writing, check out the key differences below!
| Discursive | Persuasive | |
|---|---|---|
| To engage in a thought-provoking discussion by exploring multiple perspectives on a topic. | To argue a single perspective. | |
| Includes an introduction, body and a conclusion. Varied number of paragraphs and paragraph length – you have a bit of freedom here. | Includes an introduction, body and a conclusion. Usually 3-4 body paragraphs, sometimes more. Body paragraphs typically follow a strict PEEL structure and paragraphs are of similar length. | |
| Try to strike a balance between formal and informal. You’re writing for an educated audience, yes, but you want your tone to also reflect who you are as a person – so hopefully something a little more friendly and open. | Formal, academic language. Don't write how you would talk. | |
| Go for it. | Generally avoided unless the question lends itself well to first person (e.g. something asking you to ). | |
| Include it, but you don’t need to conduct the literary analysis you would do in an essay. | Included throughout body paragraphs and analysed following a particular structure (PEEL). | |
| Welcomed. | Only include it if it’s part of a quote you’re analysing. |
Pros and Cons of Discursive Writing
To get some extra knowledge on the form, here is a good list of the pros and cons for discursive writing!
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| - Has the capacity to be incredibly personal; you can write and explore your own genuine thoughts, opinions and life experiences rather than those that simply look good in an essay. - The intended writing style is one that reflects your own personal voice - not as an author of a story or as an essayist, but your voice as a person. This means that you have the freedom to write both formally and informally, figuratively and factually. It’s up to you! - You can leave it open-ended. | - The amount of freedom you have in this text type can be intimidating. It’s hard to know whether or not you’re doing it right! - This text type is relatively new in the syllabus so you may not have had as much practice in writing it as you would have had with the other types. - I anticipate that, like imaginative writing, this one will also be marked rather subjectively. |
At Art of Smart Education our expert English Tutors can support you with Discursive Writing with tailored tutoring in your home or online.
How to Write a Discursive Text
While there is no single formula or “quick fix” to get a Band 6, there are certain steps you can take to increase your chances!
That said, you won’t jump from a Band 2 to a Band 6 overnight so be prepared to invest time and effort to achieve a Band 6-level result, or as close to it as you can get.
Discursive writing can be tricky. Our tutors here at Art of Smart can help you boost your marks with expert tips and tricks! Check out the K-12 English support we can provide in Parramatta , and all across Sydney!
Use the Discursive Writing Syllabus to Your Advantage
Let’s start by revisiting the marking criteria for Module C: The Craft of Writing:
- Craft language to address the demands of the question.
- Use language appropriate to audience, purpose and context to deliberately shape meaning.
So, how might these criteria apply to a discursive piece of writing?
| Criterion | How can I address this? |
|---|---|
| This requires you to use language in a way that addresses what the question is asking you to do, so a good place to start is by breaking down the question itself. Ensure you have read the question carefully. , underlining all key words. Only move on from reading over the question once you are 100% sure you understand it inside out. | |
| In a discursive piece of writing, you’ll be expected to write using your own personal voice – not your voice as the author of a story, or your voice as an essayist – your voice as a person. This is what your reader will be expecting and thus, this is what you should aim for to achieve. Momentarily forget everything you know about regular essay writing and let your own voice flow through onto the page, in a way that is authentically you. |
How to Start Your Discursive Piece
This will ultimately depend on the question so ensure you read it carefully.
Likely, you will be asked to explore a key idea or concern from one of your prescribed texts — either from Module C or another module.
You may take this literally, exploring the idea as it is presented in the prescribed text or instead, you can think laterally and consider how this idea applies to the real world, occasionally bringing in the text — or a related text — as examples.
Note that many of the key ideas and concerns encountered in your prescribed texts are quite broad and malleable , so you can twist them in any way you want.
Tip: Manipulate the Question As the focus here is on unleashing your own personal voice as a writer, it helps to be writing about something you a) are genuinely interested in and b) know a bit about. Manipulate the question as is necessary. Example You might decide to write about power — as it is a key concern in the prescribed text for the Common Module, Nineteen Eighty Four (Orwell) . Power lends itself quite easily to politics but what if you don’t want to talk about politics? Instead, you might write about the psychological power of manipulation or the importance of individual empowerment. As the marking criteria for Module C explicitly ask for language crafted to “address the demands of the question” , it is imperative that whatever you do end up writing about is something that can be related to the question — by both yourself and your marker.
Discursive Writing Examples
Here are some of our favourite pieces of discursive writing!
- Immigrating to English by Ocean Vuong
- Slouching Towards Bethelehem by Joan Didion
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- Upstream by Mary Oliver
You can also trawl through newspapers, magazines and blogs for great examples of discursive writing:
- The Economist
- Time Magazine
- National Geographic
- The Conversation
- The Atlantic
Tip : Also check out TED talks , many of which take on a discursive style and all of which are available to view online for free . Most talks uploaded on TED’s official site also have a transcript so you can not only follow along, but also take note of how the speaker uses language to create meaning. Check out the 20 Most-Watched TED Talks !
How to Structure Your Discursive Writing
While discursive writing is not wedded to a formal structure, it helps to plan things out before you start writing. This can help to avoid confusion or a lack of clarity in your writing.
You’ll want to follow a logical, sequential structure:
Introduction – Catch your reader’s attention and introduce them to your topic – whether explicitly or implicitly.
Body – Several paragraphs in which you explore your topic in greater detail. These can be of varying lengths and the number of paragraphs is up to you.
Conclusion – Sum up your discussion and end on a reflective, thought-provoking note.
Planning your response beforehand — even if it’s some dot points crammed into the corner of the page — allows you to think deeply about how to best organise and present your ideas. For each paragraph, plan what its focus will be and which pieces of evidence you will include.
What Can You Include As Evidence in Discursive Writing?
Evidence is crucial in a discursive response as it adds legitimacy to your discussion and helps to build authenticity.
You may include, but are not limited to, the following types of evidence:
- Textual examples from prescribed texts
- Textual examples from related texts
- Personal anecdotes
- Historical events (careful not to write a history essay though!)
- References to popular culture
Do I Have to Analyse the Textual Evidence?
You can but you are not required to. This entirely depends on the nature of the question and how you prefer to answer it.
If you want your response to be focussed on texts, then some analysis may be helpful.
If you’re focussing on broader ideas or phenomena however, perhaps ease up on the techniques for now.
Tips for Discursive Writing Features
You might be thinking: Module C seems all a bit… unstructured ?
Ironically, if you think that, you’re on the right train of thought! You’ve actually understood the form excellently. It’s natural to find discursive writing a little unfamiliar, considering you’re much more used to writing in a highly-structured essay style.
Discursive writing is deliberately exploratory and personal in nature. Great discursive writer Annie Dillard sums up the form well, noting that discursive writing has “ a structure that arises from the materials and best contains them ”. The discursive writing style is highly personal and effectively you can dictate your own structure.
However, don’t let this freak you out! You can in fact use the vagueness of this form to your advantage.
Tip #1: Make your Personal Voice Engaging
Authors use literary techniques for a reason. They provide an interesting, more meaningful way of getting ideas across than just stating things outright.
Consider this example from our old mate, William Shakespeare:
“I will speak daggers to her but use none” (Hamlet, Hamlet , Act 3 Scene 2) Cool, right? Shakespeare uses a great metaphor of daggers to convey the sharp hostility Hamlet plans to convey in speaking to his mother. Can’t get enough of it. Let’s consider the same line without any techniques : I’ll speak rudely to her but I won’t actually do anything to physically harm her.
Look, it gets the meaning across and it’s nice and direct but let’s be real — it’s boring. The daggers metaphor captures our imagination and gets us thinking whereas the rewritten, metaphor-less line simply tells us what Hamlet is planning to do, no more.
Slightly random Hamlet analysis aside, techniques such as metaphors will help bring your writing voice to life — and will sure as heck engage your reader, if used correctly.
Tip #2: Use Good Techniques in Discursive Writing
When reading your prescribed texts, take note of techniques you personally find meaningful. Not just the techniques your teacher tells you to find meaningful but ones that you actually like yourself.
Experiment with these techniques in your own writing. Loved the dagger metaphor we learnt about from Hamlet just now? Have a go at writing your own metaphor to describe the way someone speaks to another . And so on, and so forth.
Don’t just focus on your prescribed texts either. If you’re keen on a Band 6 for HSC English, you should already be engaging in regular wide reading. As you do this, take note of any cool techniques you happen upon, and have a go at creating your own.
Here’s the absolute minimum set of techniques you should be including your discursive writing: Varying sentence structure: write like you’re a human, not a robot! Tone : depending on the formality or informality of the piece, the ultimate aim is to get them so immersed that they don’t feel like they’re reading at all! Nuance: Add in some information that goes against your argument, then disprove it — this actually makes the reader trust your opinion! Here are some fancier techniques you can include to secure that Band 6: A running symbol: especially in more creative pieces, this reminds the reader of your point of view. The symbol should evolve as your point of view evolves Hero’s Journey: to get your reader rooting for your side, implement the hero’s journey. Write your piece as if you’re telling a story: add a call to adventure, challenges and a transformation in your discursive writing! Imagery : Want your reader to feel like they’re not reading? Get them imagining the physical surroundings of your discursive text!
You’ll likely already be doing something similar to this in your classwork for Module C.
If you don’t know your techniques well, check out our handy dandy glossary !
Tip #3: Writing in First Person is Recommended
You can write in first or third person for discursive writing however first person is recommended as it allows you to craft a much more authentic and engaging personal voice.
Think of discursive writing almost as an extended, slightly-more-structured stream of consciousness. You’re exploring and bouncing between your thoughts on a particular topic, and doing so through a voice that is inherently and unashamedly yours.
While third person is not necessarily wrong , it runs the risk of your discursive writing reading more like a persuasive essay.
Tip #4: Get Personalised Feedback on Your Work
Even if you’re following the best advice on how to write a piece of discursive writing, it’s likely that you’ll struggle to accurately reflect on the quality of your work. You’ve probably heard this before: “HSC English is super subjective.” To a certain extent, this is true!
That’s why we recommend getting personalised guidance from an HSC English tutor who knows the syllabus inside and out. They can point you in the right direction and decipher your teacher’s feedback with you! That way, you’ll be able to move forward knowing that you’re doing the right things.
Should You Memorise Your Discursive Writing Piece for Module C?
In previous HSC exams, it was common practice for students to write and perfect a creative writing story, memorise that story word for word, and use it in the exam — adapting when necessary — in the hopes of a Band 6.
It seems to be heading this way with the imaginative writing component of Craft of Writing, with many students already writing and revising a story to be kept as their “safety net”.
While this can have benefits for imaginative writing, it might not play out so well for discursive writing.
The fluidity of discursive writing means that your structure and content are likely to depend almost entirely on what’s asked in the question. As you can’t predict the question, logically it is also difficult to pre-prepare a response.
Rather than rote-learning a discursive piece, it is much wiser to instead practise a range of different Module C questions using a discursive form. Have your teacher — or a tutor — read over your discursive writings and either rewrite them using their feedback, or write new responses, keeping the feedback in mind (or you can also do both).
After all, you might not even be asked to write discursively in the exam! All that time spent memorising for nothing… (same goes for imaginative writing, just sayin’…)
If you’ve already been on the lookout for practice questions, you can find a bunch in this article !
Discursive Writing Example Prompt
Now that you’re a little more familiar with discursive writing, here’s a practice question:
“I pay no attention to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of discursive writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C.
Have a go at this question and get feedback from your HSC English teacher and/or tutor.
And in the meantime — you can have a look at our monster list of Module C practice questions so you can practise your discursive writing!
Looking for some extra help with discursive writing in Module C for HSC English?
We have an incredible team of hsc english tutors and mentors who are current hsc syllabus experts.
We can help you master discursive writing and ace your upcoming HSC English assessments with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home, online or at one of our state of the art campuses in Hornsby or the Hills!
Feel confident tackling Module C with personalised tutoring support in Mosman or HSC English support in Hurstville !
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How To Write A Band 6 Module C Discursive Essay (New Syllabus)
The discursive essay is a new component of Module C: The Craft of Writing. In this article, we explain what a discursive essay is and give you a step-by-step process for writing one.
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Do you know what a discursive essay is? Do you know how it’s different from a persuasive essay? What does “discursive” even mean? If you’re asking yourself these questions, you’re not alone. But don’t worry! In this post, we’ll explain what a discursive essay is and how to write one worthy of a Band 6.
In this article, we discuss:
- What’s a discursive essay
- Why write Discursive essays
- What’s different about writing discursive essays
- How to plan a discursive essay
- How to write a discursive essay, step-by-step
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What’s a discursive essay?
A discursive essay is a type of writing that explores multiple perspectives on a topic.
NESA defines discursive texts as:
Texts whose primary focus is to explore an idea or variety of topics. These texts involve the discussion of an idea(s) or opinion(s) without the direct intention of persuading the reader, listener or viewer to adopt any single point of view. Discursive texts can be humorous or serious in tone and can have a formal or informal register.
NESA adds that discursive essays can also include the following features:
- Explores an issue or an idea and may suggest a position or point of view
- Approaches a topic from different angles and explores themes and issues in a style that balances personal observations with different perspectives
- Uses personal anecdotes and may have a conversational tone
- Primarily uses first person although third person can also be used
- Uses figurative language or may be more factual
- Draws upon real-life experiences and/or draws from wide reading
- Uses engaging imagery and language features
- Begins with an event, an anecdote or a relevant quote that is then used to explore an idea
- Resolution may be reflective or open-ended
The discursive essays you produce will need to discuss ideas in this way.
But, don’t worry— it’s actually a lot more fun than it sounds.
Let’s see why.
Why do I need to learn how to write “discursive essays”?
The 2019 English Syllabus for the HSC has substantially changed Module C.
Instead of just analysing texts and writing essays, the new Module C: The Craft of Writing is aimed at helping you become a better writer.
To do this, they’ve developed a Module that requires you to write in a variety of different modes:
- Imaginative : Imaginative writing is creative writing. For example, writing a creative piece such as a short story or creative reimagining.
- Persuasive : Persuasive writing persuades somebody of an idea or position. Most of the essays you produce for High School are persuasive essays.
- Informative : Informative writing tries to inform people of facts and data. This may mean a report, but it could also include types of writing such as popular science or travel writing.
- Discursive : Discursive writing explores an idea from several perspectives. It can be humorous or serious in tone.
By teaching you to write in a variety of modes, NESA aims to make you a more confident and competent communicator.
This approach to writing will broaden your writing skills so they’re practical even outside of High School and the HSC.
What’s different about writing a discursive essay?
There are both stylistic and structural differences between a discursive and a persuasive essay.
Most essays that you write in High School ask you to take a position on something and argue for it. Essentially, you’re being asked to persuade a reader of something – a theme, idea, or an idea’s connection to context.
In contrast, discursive essays don’t require you to take a particular position on something.
When you write a discursive essay, you can explore your topic from a few different perspectives. This gives you the opportunity to explore the pros and cons and also see what others might think on the topic.
Discursive essays are also less rigid and formal than the standard persuasive essay you’re asked to write in other Modules. In a discursive essay, you can develop your own voice and style.
The following table shows the differences in forms:
| Table: Comparison of Discursive and Persuasive Essays | ||
| Detail | Discursive Essay | Persuasive Essay |
| Register of language | A mix of formal and informal languages with occasional colloquialisms | Formal |
| Style and tone | Aim for an educated audience, but the tone and style can be friendly and more openly subjective | Academic, objective, and intellectual |
| Use of first-person pronouns | First-person pronouns are fine | First person pronouns should be used cautiously and judiciously |
| Use of figurative devices | Should be used throughout | Not recommended |
| Use of evidence and examples | Yes, but not in a T.E.E.L or P.E.E.L format | Yes, consistently and in a particular format |
| Structure | Requires an introduction, conclusion, and paragraphing. Paragraph length can vary. There is no definitive scaffold. | Introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion. Formal structure appropriate to the Module. Consistent paragraph length throughout. |
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So, does my opinion count?
When you’re writing an essay, your opinion always counts. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a detailed persuasive essay for Module B or a discursive piece as part of a Module C assessment, your ideas and opinions are crucial.
However, when you write a persuasive essay, there is the assumption that it is your voice and your opinion. So, teachers often say not to use personal pronouns because adding a stronger element of your personal voice will make your writing seem too subjective and, therefore, not as persuasive.
Personal pronouns in persuasive essays are also often seen as being tautological (saying something twice, which some see as a stylistic fault).
In contrast, in a discursive essay, you can take a more personal approach. For example, including personal anecdotes and your own strong voice can help add depth and insight to the perspectives you discuss.
What style should I take in a discursive essay?
Discursive essays are stylistically different to persuasive essays. They can be serious or they can be humorous.
They’re not a new style of writing – discursive essays were a very common form of writing during the Renaissance and Early Modern Period.
Mary Wollstonecraft, Charles Lamb, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Samuel Johnson, GK Chesterton, and Michel de Montaigne were all famous essayists in their time who wrote discursive texts as well as persuasive ones.
Over time, the discursive essay became less common than the persuasive essay. In our context, discursive writing is becoming more common again. Contemporary writers such as Zadie Smith, Helen Garner, John D’Agata, and Ta-Nesi Coates all have discursive essays among their work.
You’ll find examples of discursive writing in publications like:
- The Atlantic
- The New Yorker
- The Economist
- The Guardian
- Time Magazine
- Mother Jones
Do I need to analyse evidence in a discursive essay?
You’ll need to provide evidence in your discursive essays, but not in the same sense as your persuasive writing.
The idea is to explore ideas or a variety of topics. To do this, you’ll have to present some evidence. But this won’t necessarily include literary analysis (although it might if you so choose).
You’re not going to be writing T.E.E.L or P.E.E.L paragraphs or listing techniques and effects (not that you should ever list technique and effect!).
Instead, you’ll be writing about ideas and maybe supporting these with quotations from other people, or anecdotes and reflections from your personal experience.
What structure should a discursive essay have?
In persuasive essays, you’ll draw on essay scaffolds depending on whether you’re discussing one or more texts and the Module you’re studying. You also want to ensure that your paragraphs are consistent in length and have explicit signposting – such, as topic sentences and linking sentences.
Discursive essays don’t have the same rigid structure or approach to signposting.
In a discursive essay, you may not be discussing texts, but rather ideas or things – for instance, an advertisement, political system, or a type of sneaker. This means that some paragraphs will need to be longer than others, depending on the aspect of the idea you’re discussing.
In addition, because a discursive essay will want you to discuss things from an objective point of view, but also include your anecdotal experiences, you may find that your anecdotes are shorter than your discussion of ideas.
While you will need to introduce your ideas in the introduction and at the start of each paragraph, you won’t need to have formal thesis statements and topic sentences. After all, you’re trying to be more conversational and less formal.
How do I plan and write a discursive essay?
Like any essay, you can follow a process to produce high-quality essays and make your life easier. Don’t worry, we’ve got a process we can use.
Let’s take a look at the steps Matrix students learn.
Writing a discursive essay, step-by-step
Now we’ll discuss how to write a discursive essay. This process has the following steps:
- Brainstorm your ideas
- Research and develop your ideas
- Plan your response
- Begin writing your introduction
- Write the body of your discussion
- Finish by writing a conclusion
- Reread and proofread your first draft
- Write a second draft based on your notes and edits
- Third draft and submit
When you write a persuasive essay, you are given a specific question. With a discursive essay, you may not have a question at all. Instead, your discursive tasks will have a variety of potential forms:
- A question : You are given a question and asked to answer it with a discussion of a topic or a variety of topics
- A topic : You are given a topic to explore
- A stimulus : You are given a stimulus – either a statement or image – and use that as the basis for your writing
Your discursive tasks may well be far more free-ranging than a persuasive essay.
Because of the nature of discursive essays, you won’t be analysing and unpacking a question like you would for a persuasive essay. instead, you’ll need to research and explore different ideas or subjects.
As with any essay, it is important that you take the time to research and plan your work first. This is especially true if you are writing on a topic for the first time. So, this is why we begin with planning and research.
Step 1: Brainstorm your ideas
Before you start doing anything, you need to consider what you know about the topic you need to discuss.
Your first step is to produce a mind-map that lists what you know about the topic. Mindmaps should list the aspects of the topic that you think are worth exploring or would be interesting to explore.
Your mindmap is important as it will give you the points that you need to explore and research.
Step 2: Research and develop your ideas
You’ve produced a brainstorm so that you’ve something to start from. Now you have unpacked some ideas, you need to develop these ideas. This will require you to do some research.
Fortunately, you have the power of the internet at your fingers. Look at your mindmap and start researching the topics or ideas you have noted down.
Wikipedia is a good place to start looking for information about subjects. But you can also look at videos on Youtube or check out news sites, such as the New York Times.
Make sure you try to use reputable sites. For example, a personal blog is not going to have the same level of trustworthiness as a major news site, a museum, or Wikipedia.
You want to start by looking at the broad topic you find interesting, and then pick two or three aspects to consider in detail.
Don’t let your research get too out of hand, you’re likely only going to be writing a 1000-1200 word response.
Some dos and don’ts:
- Do – Follow the ideas that interest you
- Don’t – Research too many different ideas
- Do – Research different perspectives on your topic
- Don’t – Settle for just one source
- Do – Make note of useful sources, examples, and quotations for your response
- Don’t – Skip out on doing research
- Do – Check the reputation of the website
- Don’t – Forget to make notes of examples and useful pieces of information, like quotations
Once you’ve researched your topic, you’re ready to start planning things.
Step 3: Plan your response
Even though a discursive essay lacks the formality of a persuasive response, you’re still going to need a logical structure.
This means you’ll need:
- An introduction that orientates your reader
- A body that has several paragraphs that explores your topic
- A conclusion that summarises your discussion
Planning is important because it will help you structure your introduction and develop your ideas. Your introduction should briefly introduce the topic and you’re talking about it.
When you plan, you want to note down your ideas and think about how to best present them so a reader can understand the topics you are discussing. This means planning what you will discuss in each paragraph and what bits of evidence are going to best assist this.
You might think about structuring your body paragraphs like this 4 paragraph structure:
- Introduce and explain the topic or subject expanding on your introduction
- Present and explore a perspective on the issue you are exploring
- Explore a different perspective on the topic
- Present a personal anecdote about the topic
This scaffold isn’t rigid. You could quite easily switch around where you put your anecdote. Rather than exploring different perspectives in different paragraphs, you may want to contrast these views in the same paragraph. In a discursive essay, you have flexibility.
Make sure you write this plan down on paper and make some notes about what bits of evidence or quotations
Now you’ve planned everything, you’re in a position to start writing.
Don’t feel ready to write yet? Do you need to see an exemplary discursive essay to see what you should be doing?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read a sample response, here .
Step 4: Write your introduction
The introduction of a discursive responsive is different to other essays in that you don’t have a formal thesis statement and thematic framework.
Instead, you can ask questions to introduce the topic or you can use an anecdote to frame the topic. You also don’t need to lay out a roadmap of how your essay will unfold, so you can spend time explaining your interest in the topic.
Some effective ways to start discursive essays are:
- Ask a question – Questions force your audiences to consider what they know about a subject
- Use an anecdote – personal experience can develop an affinity with a reader because they can see how another human engages with an idea
- An example – Examples of things allow readers to develop a clear understanding of what the subject is and how they feel about it
The length of your introduction can vary widely. As you’re not trying to explain the structure of your argument, you can focus on introducing the topic in the manner you find most engaging
Step 5: Write the body of your discussion
This is where your planning comes in handy. When you’re writing the body of your discursive response, you want to think about the order of information your reader needs to make sense of your discussion. So, use your planning notes to structure your body paragraphs.
While you don’t need a topic sentence per se , you need to get to the subject of the paragraph within the first couple of sentences. You can vary the length of your paragraphs to suit the amount of material you want to discuss.
Some useful rules for writing your paragraphs:
- Use clear and direct language. For example, avoid the passive form
- Employ a conversational and accessible tone
- Use language suited to an educated audience
- Vary your sentence length
- Support your points with examples and quotations about your topic
- Employ rhetorical techniques and literary devices to convey your ideas ( check out our Essential Guide to English Techniques if you need inspiration )
- Utilise anecdotes to connect with your audience
- Include pop-culture and intertextual references that will help your reader follow your ideas
- “You” to refer to the reader or people in general
- “I” to introduce your perspectives and experiences
- When finishing one paragraph and moving to another, orient the reader. For example, “While that one perspective, that’s not the only perspective.”
Step 6: Write a conclusion
Your conclusion needs to summarise things. While you’re not trying to reassert your ideas a’ la the persuasive essay, you do need to tie things together.
You don’t need to follow the rigid formula of :
- Restate thesis
- Reiterate themes
- Make a statement about your experience of studying the Module
Instead, you need to tie together the various perspectives that you’ve looked at in your essay.
Remember, the point of a discursive essay is to explore a subject from different perspectives and not persuade of a single perspective.
Because of this, you want to take your reader back through the different perspectives you’ve encountered. Perhaps you might present the perspective on a matter you hold – for example, “Yes, I do prefer dark chocolate to white chocolate, but that doesn’t mean that white chocolate is not without its uses, benefits, or zealots.”
Once you’ve finished your conclusion…
Congratulations!
You’ve finished your first draft. Now you’re ready to proofread and edit it to produce a second draft.
Step 7: Reread and edit your first draft
Once you’ve completed your first draft, you want to put it aside for a couple of hours or a day or two before you reread and edit it. This will let you look at it with “fresh eyes”, meaning that you will have forgotten bits of what you’ve written. Fresh eyes will allow you to a bit more objective when proofing your first draft.
ideally, you want to print out your first draft, so you can annotate it as you go. But that is not always convenient and it’s certainly not environmentally friendly. Using track changes on a Word, Pages, or GoogleDoc will also work.
Do take the time to annotate and use track changes. You want to keep track of your changes and you may also have to demonstrate that you’ve employed an editing process for your teachers
To proofread and edit your response you want to do the following:
- Reread the essay
- Underline any sentences that don’t make sense
- Circle any pieces of grammar that are incorrect
- Check for proper comma and apostrophe usage
- Think about the order of the information you’ve presented. Ask yourself, “Does this make sense? Is this logical?” Don’t be afraid to make dramatic changes and consider rearranging the paragraphs or ideas in your response.
- Consider whether you find your essay convincing. Ask yourself, “Do I present ideas in a manner that shows my expertise and insight?”
- Think about where you could improve your writing by including a figurative device or rhetorical technique
- Make notes about what you think is effective about your writing
- Make notes about what you think could be more effective or insightful about your response
It’s important to be objective about your writing.
It’s often hard to separate ourselves and our feelings from the things that we produce.
This can make it hard to give an honest appraisal about what works and what doesn’t. Do your best to be as objective and critical about your work as you can.
You need to use these notes and edits to write a second draft.
Once you’ve finished proofing and editing your work you’re ready to write your second draft.
Step 8: Write a second draft based on your notes and edits
You really should write a second draft from the beginning rather than editing an existing document.
Rewriting sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? But it’ll be worth it.
Rewriting drafts from scratch will always improve the quality of the writing. Because you are not already working with sentences on a page but, rather, are rewriting them, you will be less inclined not to change them and make them better.
What do I mean?
Do you ever look at a sentence in a word document that you’re editing and say to yourself, “I know I should change that sentence, but I really like it so I’m going to make it work?”
You’re not alone if you do. But it’s a bad habit to get into.
Rewriting your second draft from a blank page will make you less inclined to hang onto sentences that may seem beautiful to you, but aren’t great at conveying your ideas. In addition, rewriting your essay will make it easier to include new rhetorical devices and literary techniques, rearrange things, and make large structural changes.
Don’t hesitate to use the drafting process as a way to experiment with your writing and make it better.
Step 9: 3rd draft and submission?
What do I do once I’ve got a second draft of my discursive essay?
If you must, you can submit your second draft. Ideally, though, you should try and get a second opinion.
How should you do this?
Maybe you can run it by a friend or family member. Matrix students get feedback from their teachers and workshop tutors to help them develop their second drafts. If you approach your schoolteacher politely, they might give you some feedback if the task allows for it.
The drafting process doesn’t have to finish with the 3rd or, even, the fourth draft. You should keep refining your work to make sure it is as good as it can possibly be. Band 6 results don’t just miraculously appear, they are developed over time.
Once you have a 3rd draft, you’re to SUBMIT!
Written by Matrix English Team
© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Module C: The Craft of Writing
As part of the English advanced and standard HSC course, you are required to create a creative/discursive/persuasive composition and reflection, contained in Module C of the rubric.
Course Content
Outcomes: By the end of this module, you will have significantly improved your creative, discursive, and persuasive writing skills. This module explores the structures and writing styles of each type of text, while also providing a base understanding of where to start writing if you are ever stuck. Additionally, upon completing this module, you will be able to clearly articulate Module C-type reflections in response to HSC English questions.
- How to Write a Creative Writing Piece
- How to Write a Discursive Writing Piece
- How to Write a Persuasive Writing Piece
- How to Write a Module C Reflection Statement
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VIDEO
COMMENTS
Step 1: Identify the overall argument of a piece. Step 2: Identify the types of arguments being made. Step 3: Identify persuasive techniques. Step 4: Write out your structure. Step 5: Show your engagement through your arguments. Step 6: Analyse your own work. How to Write a Persuasive Piece for the HSC.
Craft a compelling HSC English persuasive writing piece with our structural guide. Hook readers with a strong intro, organize arguments with supporting evidence, address counterarguments.
Use the Discursive Writing Syllabus to Your Advantage. Let’s start by revisiting the marking criteria for Module C: The Craft of Writing: Craft language to address the demands of the question. Use language appropriate to audience, purpose and context to deliberately shape meaning.
Read this guide to learn how to write an essay for Year 11 and 12. Writing practice essays is an essential part of getting Band 6 for English.
Don't know what a discursive essay is? Do you know what the differences between a discursive and persuasive essay are? Don't worry. In this article, we explain what discursive writing for Year 12 Module C: The Craft of Writing is and give you a step-by-step process for writing a discursive essay.
How to Write a Persuasive Writing Piece. How to Write a Module C Reflection Statement. Nail your HSC English Module C writing tasks with our comprehensive guide. You'll learn to craft engaging creative, discursive, and persuasive pieces, and write insightful reflections.