Frame the issue, give each side a full paragraph, add a complication, then land your view. Fairness earns marks.
What the form asks for
Discursive writing is one of the composition options on the IGCSE and International GCSE English writing paper. You take a question people disagree about, set out the reasonable positions, weigh them and reach a view you have clearly earned.
It is the task that most rewards a fair-minded writer. The reader should see a mind thinking, not shouting.
This is also why it is hard. You must stay open to more than one side, yet the essay must still have a shape. Otherwise it becomes a list: “some people think this, others think that”.
A five-part structure
Use this shape and adapt it to the question.
- Frame the question. Show why the issue is arguable and why sensible people disagree. Do not give your conclusion yet.
- Develop the first position fully. Give its strongest case, as if you believed it. A weak, silly version fools nobody.
- Develop the opposing position with equal care. This is where you earn your fairness. Weak counter-arguments make the essay feel rigged.
- Add a complication. Introduce a point that neither side fully explains, such as an exception or a hidden cost. This lifts a strong essay above an average one.
- Land a considered view. Say where the argument is heaviest, and be honest about what remains unsolved.
Linking words matter as much as paragraphs. Words such as however, even so, granted and on balance show the reader that you are turning the question over.
A worked plan
This question and plan are our own, written for teaching.
Question: Should students be allowed to use their phones freely during the school day?
- Frame: a phone is both the most useful and the most distracting thing many students own, which is why the question is hard.
- First position (freedom): phones help learning, safety and independence. Banning them treats capable young people as if they cannot cope.
- Opposing position (restriction): constant access breaks attention and increases comparison and exclusion. School is one of the few places left to practise focus.
- Complication: the problem may not be the phone but the lack of taught habits. A ban only delays a lesson students must learn later.
- Considered view: on balance, clear limits are better than a total ban, because the goal is self-control, not forced absence.
The plan does show the writer’s view. But it reaches that view only after taking the other side seriously. Explore, complicate, then land: that order makes the conclusion feel earned.
This is easier to improve with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own recent work.
Common mistakes
- A hidden argument. The student writes a one-sided essay and gives the other view one dismissive sentence. Examiners notice this quickly.
- A shapeless list. Position follows position with no development and no linking, so the essay never builds.
- No conclusion. The student explores well, then stops, or hedges so much that no view appears.
- Wrong tone. Discursive writing needs a calm, thoughtful voice. Some students slip into the heat of persuasion, which belongs to a different task.
- No concrete reasoning. You do not need statistics, but you do need examples, consequences or cases. Writing that stays abstract feels weightless, however balanced it is.
How to practise
Start with the middle, not the whole essay. Choose a question people argue about and write the two opposing positions, each in one strong paragraph.
Argue each as if you meant it. Most students under-train this.
Then practise linking sentences alone. Take a paragraph that argues one side and write the single sentence that turns to the other side.
Finally, write full essays against the clock. Reread and ask: could a reader tell which side I favour before the conclusion? If yes, the balance broke too early.
Where students usually get stuck
The usual problem is personal. One student slides into persuasion, another never reaches a conclusion, and a third writes fairly but never adds a complication.
In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers read your actual essays, find your pattern and build a short drill around it. This is part of writing-paper focus teaching in First Language English.
Tuition starts from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial and bring a recent essay, so the teacher who would continue can show you where to strengthen the balance and shape.
What to read or try next
Study the annotated model response for a discursive essay, then try the practice tasks. Then compare it with how to structure an argumentative essay.