discursive essay about art

How to Write a Discursive Essay: Tips to Succeed & Examples

So, you need to accomplish your discursive essay writing. The typical questions most students ask are: How do you write it? What is discursive essay?

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A discursive essay is an academic paper that involves a discussion on a particular topic. It is usually assigned to college students. You may be required to write a paper wherein you have to do one of the following:

• argue for the issue or against it;
• present your points of view on both sides;
• provide your unprejudiced opinion on that matter.

Don’t panic!

Check out the tips from  Custom-writing.org  experts below. They will assist you in discursive writing and encourage you to examine essay examples. Moreover, in this article, you’ll also learn about different types of discursive essay, and its introduction, main body, and conclusion structure.

• ❓ What Is It?
• 🏁 Main Types

Introduction

• Basic Don’Ts
• ✏️ Frequent Questions

❓ What Is a Discursive Essay?

First of all, let’s figure out what the discursive essay is.

You may think it’s similar to the argumentative essay. Yes, but there’s a difference between them in the structure and purpose of these two types of assignments:

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We will take a detailed look at how to structure a discursive essay later, and now let’s find out what are the types of this assignment.

Keep reading!

🏁 Discursive Essay: Main Types

You have to think more critically and more in-depth when reviewing all viewpoints and aspects of discursive writing. Check these three main types of essay writing:

• Opinion Essay  requires the author’s opinion on an issue which is stated in the introductory paragraph. It should be clearly presented and followed by reasons and supporting examples. Also, this essay paper should contain an opposing argument that comes before the conclusion. The writer must explain to readers why the mentioned argument is considered to be unconvincing. The writer’s opinion should be restated/summarized in the conclusion.
• For and Against Essay  provides readers with a thorough debate on the topic with the help of opposing points of view. Each point should be discussed objectively and described in details. The introductory paragraph puts the issue under consideration. The main body of this essay paper should present examples, reasons, and arguments supported by justifications. The author’s own opinion with balanced reflections on the topic should be stated only in conclusion.
• Essay Suggesting Solution to a Problem  discusses problems and finds the main solutions. The introduction paragraph explicitly declares a problem and analyses its causes and consequences. The main body of the essay should offer some suggestions for a possible solution to the problem and potential state consequences or expected results. In conclusion, author’s opinion should be distinctly summarized.

📑 How to Write a Discursive Essay

Well, it’s time to talk about the structure of a discursive essay. Like most of the assignments, a discursive paper starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion:

The first question you may ask is how to start a discursive essay introduction. Simple!

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• Give your readers a hook – something that would sound interesting to them.
• Provide a short explanation of the problem. You may use quotations, as well as rhetorical questions.
• Show your readers both sides of the arguments and sum up.

You may be wondering…

Is there something I should avoid in my discursive essay introduction?

Yes. No stereotypes and generalizations, please!

The next step under formal essay writing you should take is to compose the body.

There are a few points you should remember:

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• First and foremost: stay unprejudiced . Assess all of the aspects of an issue. Leave your feelings behind or for another essay type.
• Second: build your argumentation . If you have several arguments for your viewpoint—provide them in separate paragraphs. This will help you to keep your essay comprehensible and distinct. Don’t forget to submit supporting evidence.
• Third: write the body of an essay in an alternate manner. What does it mean? If your first paragraph supports the paper’s argument, then in the second paragraph you should write something in the opposite of it. Such a combination of supporting and opposite paragraphs will make your essay look apparent, and well researched. Besides, it will help you to remain neutral.
• Fourth: include topic sentences and evidence . Write a summary of the argument at the beginning of the paragraph. It will allow the reader to easier understand what the paragraph is about. Provide evidence to show that you’re not making the facts up.

Well, you’ve almost finished your writing. Now you should focus on the last section. Keep reading, and you will learn how to write a conclusion for a discursive essay.

• In the last section, you should summarize your article including the main points, specified in the body paragraphs.
• You may also logically express your opinion. Remember: it should resonate with your evidence stated in the body paragraphs.
• Don’t repeat findings, just summarize them.

Keep it short. Your conclusion length should not exceed one paragraph.

👍 Do’s and Don’ts

Do you want more discursive essay writing tips? Fine! Just check them below:

Basic Do’s of a Discursive Essay

• Write in formal, impersonal style.
• Introduce each point in a separate paragraph
• Use topic sentences for each paragraph
• Write well-developed paragraphs
• Give reasons and examples for each point
• Use sequencing
• Use linking words and phrases
• Make references to other sources and make sure that you follow proper citation style
• Identify used sources

Basic Don’Ts of a Discursive Essay

• Don’t use short forms, like I’ll, don’t, they’ve
• Don’t use informal/colloquial language, for example: old as the hills, ain’t, gonna, etc.
• Don’t use very emotional language, since it might make your discursive article look prejudiced
• Don’t use over-generalizations. Extending the features of some elements from a group more than it is reasonable will lead to generous and inaccurate conclusions.
• Don’t express your personal opinion too insistently
• Don’t refer to statistics without proper referencing (check our citation guides )
• Don’t use personal examples, leave it for a personal experience essay

Well, now you know what discursive essay means, what are its main types, and how to structure it.

Discursive Essay Topics

• Discussion of risk factors that impact human health.  
• Discuss the necessity of understanding cultural heritage to provide efficient health care.  
• Analyze different opinions on withdrawing patients’ treatment. 
• Examine different views on the Civil War . 
• Discuss what hostile emotional states are and how they impact human life.  
• Discuss the meaning of metaphors used by Virgil in Aeneid . 
• Describe different opinions on telehealth in nursing homes. 
• The ethicality of stem cell technology. 
• Explore the effectiveness of motivational interviewing . 
• Discuss how people present themselves online . 
• Discuss the reasons for Coca-Cola’s marketing success.      
• Analyze the food safety issues and the ways to improve the situation.  
• Examine the essential meaning of sleep for people’s physical and mental health.  
• Explore various complications of working with groups . 
• Discussion of the modern issues with virtue ethics . 
• Describe different views on the definition of love . 
• Give the for and against arguments considering food security technologies .  
• Discuss how the concept of the American dream is presented in the film The Great Gatsby .  
• Analyze the influence of family problems on children and suggest ways to improve the situation.  
• Present the various points of view on the ethical concepts of Buddhism . 
• Examine the attitudes towards the problem of homelessness and the suggested ways of its solution.   
• Explore different opinions on the American revolution and its consequences.  
• Discuss various policies and views around the globe on abortion . 
• Discussion of the history of food foraging in different communities.  
• Multiple thoughts on civility on the Internet . 
• Analyze arguments on the effectiveness of hand sanitizers . 
• Discuss the importance of visual aids in learning. 
• Present and evaluate the theories of international development . 
• Discuss how to prevent the spread of the West Nile Virus (WNV). 
• Is embracing renewable energy sources beneficial for both environment and the global economy?    
• Examine the correctness of the statement that the ideology of pleasure is the foundation of social activism .  
• Discussion of the ethical dilemma of population control.  
• Discuss the ethics of experimental studies .  
• Analyze the topic of gun violence and gun control laws.  
• Explore the reasons for opioid crises in the US.  
• Give arguments for and against random drug testing . 
• Discuss the problem of endangered species . 
• Express your opinion on the necessity of parents to be included in children’s education . 
• Present your attitude towards working in a bureaucratic organization . 
• Discuss the issue of the nursing shortage and suggest a solution.  
• Give different viewpoints on the definition of beauty .  
• Analyze the problem of police misconduct . 
• Discuss the description of violence of African people in literature . 
• Examine the views on Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory . 
• Describe the various opinions on mysticism and express your attitude towards it.  
• Discuss the diverse standpoints on spirituality . 
• Is nature protection an urgent problem?  
• Analyze different ideas on physical privacy at work . 
• Discussion on the Jewish heritage in nursing. 
• Examine the views on the meaning of life .  

Good luck with your discussions and discursive essays! Be sure to check out the articles on our blog for more academic wisdom. By the way, on the Custom-Writing website, you may find the best essay topics for your academic writing.

And don’t forget to share your opinion in the comments below.

You might also be interested in:

• Friendship Essay: Writing Guide & Topic Ideas about Friendship
• Teamwork Essay: Quick Guide on How to Write a Good Paper
• Compare and Contrast Essay Writing Tips and Examples
• Transportation Essay: Writing Tips and Brilliant Topics

✏️ Discursive Essay FAQ

There is no one definitely correct answer to this question. Like any other essay, the text should have a clear structure with an introduction, body, and conclusion. The most important thing is that the overall book needs to be cohesive, persuasive, and exciting to read.

An example of a step by step guide is:

1. Take a closer look at the topic, think about the points to cover.

2. Choose the most relevant points and compose the Body of the essay.

3. Add an appropriate Introduction and Conclusion.

To write a good conclusion, you need to have the rest of the essay finished. Does the body of your essay present well-structured points? Great, then see what you can conclude based on that. If possible, make a connection between the introduction and the conclusion.

To ensure that your essay has a perfect structure, start with creating an outline. Based on such a plan, you can present your points step by step. Your text should have a relevant introduction, several points in the main body (with examples), and a logical conclusion.

🔗 References

• Writing an Opinion Essay: Grace Fleming, ThoughtCo
• How to Write a Good Argumentative Essay: Easy Step-by-Step Guide: Master Class
• Ending the Essay: Conclusions: Harvard College Writing Center
• Academic Writing Style: University of Southern California
• Cite Your Sources: Library Guides at University of California, Santa Cruz
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How to Write a Discursive Essay: Awesome Guide and Template

Interesting fact: Did you know that the term "discursive" is derived from the Latin word "discursus," which means to run about or to traverse? This reflects the nature of a discursive essay, as it involves exploring various perspectives, moving through different points of view, and presenting a comprehensive discussion on a given topic.

In this article, you will find out about a discursive essay definition, learn the difference between a discourse and an argumentative essay, gain practical how-to tips, and check out a discursive essay example.  

What Is a Discursive Essay

A discursive essay definition is a type of formal writing that presents a balanced analysis of a particular topic. Unlike an argumentative essay, which takes a firm stance on a single perspective and seeks to persuade the reader to adopt that viewpoint, a discursive essay explores multiple sides of an issue. 

The goal of a discursive essay is to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject, presenting different arguments, counterarguments, and perspectives in a structured and organized manner.

This type of essay encourages critical thinking and reasoned discourse. It typically includes an introduction that outlines the topic and sets the stage for the discussion, followed by a series of body paragraphs that delve into various aspects of the issue. The essay may also address counterarguments and opposing viewpoints. 

Finally, a discursive essay concludes by summarizing the key points and often leaves room for the reader to form their own informed opinion on the matter. This form of writing is commonly assigned in academic settings, allowing students to demonstrate their ability to analyze complex topics and present a well-reasoned exploration of diverse viewpoints. In case you find this type of composition too difficult, just say, ‘ write my paper ,’ and professional writers will take care of it. 

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Difference Between a Discursive Essay and an Argumentative

The main difference between discursive essays and argumentative lies in their overall purpose and approach to presenting information.

• Discursive: The primary purpose of a discursive essay is to explore and discuss various perspectives on a given topic. How to write a discursive essay is about providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter by presenting different arguments, opinions, and viewpoints without necessarily advocating for a specific stance.
• Argumentative: In contrast, an argumentative essay is designed to persuade the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint or take a specific action. It presents a clear and focused argument in favor of the writer's position, often addressing and refuting opposing views.

Tone and Language:

• Discursive: The tone of a discursive essay is generally more balanced and objective. It allows for a more open exploration of ideas, and the language used is often neutral and formal.
• Argumentative: An argumentative essay tends to have a more assertive tone. The language is focused on presenting a compelling case from the writer's perspective, and there may be a sense of conviction in the presentation of evidence and reasoning.
• Discursive Essay: A discursive essay typically follows a more flexible structure. It may present multiple points of view in separate sections, allowing for a free-flowing exploration of the topic.
• Argumentative Essay: When learning how to write an argumentative essay, students usually follow a more rigid structure, with a clear introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs that present evidence and arguments, and a conclusion that reinforces the writer's stance.

Conclusion:

• Discursive Essay: The conclusion of a discursive essay often summarizes the main points discussed and may leave room for the reader to form their own opinion on the matter.
• Argumentative Essay: The conclusion of an argumentative essay reinforces the writer's position and may include a call to action or a clear statement of the desired outcome.

While both types of essays involve critical thinking and analysis, the key distinction lies in their ultimate goals and how they approach the presentation of information. 

Types of Discursive Essay

Before writing a discursive essay, keep in mind that they can be categorized into different types based on their specific purposes and structures. Here are some common types of discursive essays:

Opinion Essays:

• Purpose: Expressing and supporting personal opinions on a given topic.
• Structure: The essay presents the writer's viewpoint and provides supporting evidence, examples, and arguments. It may also address counterarguments to strengthen the overall discussion.

Problem-Solution Essays:

• Purpose: Identifying a specific problem and proposing effective solutions.
• Structure: The essay introduces the problem, discusses its causes and effects, and presents possible solutions. It often concludes with a recommendation or call to action.

Compare and Contrast Essays:

• Purpose: Analyzing similarities and differences between two or more perspectives, ideas, or approaches.
• Structure: The essay outlines the key points of each perspective, highlighting similarities and differences. A balanced analysis is provided to give the reader a comprehensive understanding.

Cause and Effect Essays:

• Purpose: Exploring the causes and effects of a particular phenomenon or issue.
• Structure: The essay identifies the primary causes and examines their effects or vice versa. It may delve into the chain of events and their implications.

Argumentative Essays:

• Purpose: Presenting a strong argument in favor of a specific viewpoint.
• Structure: The essay establishes a clear thesis statement, provides evidence and reasoning to support the argument, and addresses opposing views. It aims to persuade the reader to adopt the writer's perspective.

Pro-Con Essays:

• Purpose: Evaluating the pros and cons of a given issue.
• Structure: The essay presents the positive aspects (pros) and negative aspects (cons) of the topic. It aims to provide a balanced assessment and may conclude with a recommendation or a summary of the most compelling points.

Exploratory Essays:

• Purpose: Investigating and discussing a topic without necessarily advocating for a specific position.
• Structure: The essay explores various aspects of the topic, presenting different perspectives and allowing the reader to form their own conclusions. It often reflects a process of inquiry and discovery.

These types of discursive essays offer different approaches to presenting information, and the choice of type depends on the specific goals of the essay and the preferences of the writer.

How to Write a Discursive Essay

Unlike other forms of essay writing, a discursive essay demands a unique set of skills, inviting writers to navigate through diverse perspectives, present contrasting viewpoints, and weave a tapestry of balanced arguments. 

You can order custom essay right now to save time to get ready to delve into the art of crafting a compelling discursive essay, unraveling the intricacies of structure, language, and critical analysis. Whether you're a seasoned essayist or a novice in the realm of formal writing, this exploration promises to equip you with the tools needed to articulate your thoughts effectively and engage your audience in thoughtful discourse. 

Discursive Essay Format

The format of a discursive essay plays a crucial role in ensuring a clear, well-organized, and persuasive presentation of multiple perspectives on a given topic. Here is a typical discursive essay structure:

1. Introduction:

• Hook: Begin with a captivating hook or attention-grabbing statement to engage the reader's interest.
• Contextualization: Provide a brief overview of the topic and its relevance, setting the stage for the discussion.
• Thesis Statement: Clearly state the main argument or the purpose of the essay. In a discursive essay, the thesis often reflects the idea that the essay will explore multiple viewpoints without necessarily taking a firm stance.

2. Body Paragraphs:

• Topic Sentences: Start each body paragraph with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main point or argument.
• Presentation of Arguments: Devote individual paragraphs to different aspects of the topic, presenting various arguments, perspectives, or evidence. Ensure a logical flow between paragraphs.
• Address Counterarguments: Acknowledge and address opposing viewpoints to strengthen the overall credibility of your essay.
• Supporting Evidence: Provide examples, statistics, quotations, or other forms of evidence to bolster each argument.

3. Transitions:

• Logical Transitions: Use transitional phrases and words to ensure a smooth and logical flow between paragraphs and ideas. This helps readers follow your line of reasoning.

4. Conclusion:

• Restate Thesis: Summarize the main argument or purpose of the essay without introducing new information.
• Brief Recap: Provide a concise recap of the key points discussed in the body paragraphs.
• Closing Thoughts: Offer some closing thoughts or reflections on the significance of the topic. You may also leave room for the reader to consider their own stance.

5. Language and Style:

• Formal Tone: Maintain a formal and objective tone throughout the essay.
• Clarity and Coherence: Ensure that your ideas are presented clearly and that there is coherence in your argumentation.
• Varied Sentence Structure: Use a variety of sentence structures to enhance readability and engagement.

6. References (if applicable):

• Citations: If you use external sources, cite them appropriately according to the citation style required (e.g., APA, MLA).

Remember, flexibility exists within this format, and the specifics may vary based on the assignment requirements or personal writing preferences. Tailor the structure to suit the demands of your discourse and the expectations of your audience.

Introduction

A discursive essay introduction serves as the gateway to a thought-provoking exploration of diverse perspectives on a given topic. Here's how to structure an effective discursive essay introduction:

• Begin with a compelling hook that captures the reader's attention. This could be a striking statistic, a thought-provoking quote, a relevant anecdote, or a rhetorical question. 
• Offer a brief context or background information about the topic. This helps orient the reader and sets the stage for the discussion to follow. 
• Clearly state the purpose of the essay. This often involves indicating that the essay will explore various perspectives on the topic without necessarily advocating for a specific stance. 
• Provide a brief overview of the different aspects or arguments that will be explored in the essay. 
• Conclude the introduction with a clear and concise thesis statement. 

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Writing a discursive essay involves crafting the body of your discursive essay. The number of paragraphs in the body should correspond to the arguments presented, with an additional paragraph dedicated to the opposing viewpoint if you choose to disclose both sides of the argument. If you opt for this approach, alternate the order of the body paragraphs—supporting arguments followed by counterarguments.

Each body paragraph in your discursive essay should focus on a distinct idea. Begin the paragraph with the main idea, provide a concise summary of the argument, and incorporate supporting evidence from reputable sources.

In the concluding paragraph of the body, present potential opposing arguments and counter them. Approach this section as if engaging in a debate, strategically dismantling opposing viewpoints.

While composing the body of a discursive essay, maintain a cohesive narrative. Although individual paragraphs address different arguments, refrain from titling each paragraph—aim for a seamless flow throughout the essay. Express your personal opinions exclusively in the conclusion.

Key guidelines for writing the body of a discursive essay:

• Remain Unbiased: Prioritize objectivity. Evaluate all facets of the issue, leaving personal sentiments aside.
• Build Your Argumentation: If you have multiple arguments supporting your viewpoint, present them in separate, well-structured paragraphs. Provide supporting evidence to enhance clarity and credibility.
• Use an Alternate Writing Style: Present opposing viewpoints in an alternating manner. This means that if the first paragraph supports the main argument, the second should present an opposing perspective. This method enhances clarity and research depth and ensures neutrality.
• Include Topic Sentences and Evidence: Commence each paragraph with a topic sentence summarizing the argument. This aids reader comprehension. Substantiate your claims with evidence, reinforcing the credibility of your discourse.

By adhering to these principles, you can construct a coherent and well-supported body for your discursive essay.

Conclusion 

Writing an effective conclusion is crucial to leaving a lasting impression on your reader. Here are some tips to guide you in crafting a compelling and impactful conclusion:

• Begin your conclusion by summarizing the key points discussed in the body of the essay. 
• Remind the reader of your thesis statement, emphasizing the primary purpose of your discursive essay. 
• Address the broader significance or implications of the topic. 
• Explain why the issue is relevant and underscore the importance of considering multiple perspectives in understanding its complexity.
• Reiterate the balanced nature of your essay. Emphasize that you have explored various viewpoints and arguments without necessarily taking a firm stance.
• Reinforce the idea that your goal was to present a comprehensive analysis.
• If applicable, suggest possible recommendations or solutions based on the insights gained from the essay.
• Encourage the reader to reflect on the topic independently. 
• Pose open-ended questions or invite them to consider the implications of the arguments presented. 
• Resist the temptation to introduce new information or arguments in the conclusion.
• Keep the tone of your conclusion professional and thoughtful. 
• Conclude your essay with a strong, memorable closing statement.
• Carefully review your conclusion to ensure clarity and coherence. Edit for grammar, punctuation, and overall writing quality to present a polished final product.

By incorporating these tips into your discursive essay conclusion, you can effectively summarize your arguments, leave a lasting impression, and prompt thoughtful reflection from your readers. Consider using our term paper writing service if you have to deal with a larger assignment that requires more time and effort.

Yays and Nays of Writing Discourse Essays

In learning how to write a discursive essay, certain do's and don'ts serve as guiding principles throughout the writing process. By adhering to these guidelines, writers can navigate the complexities of presenting arguments, counterarguments, and nuanced analyses, ensuring the essay resonates with clarity and persuasiveness.

• Conduct thorough research on the topic to ensure a well-informed discussion.
• Present multiple perspectives on the issue, exploring various arguments and viewpoints.
• Maintain a balanced and neutral tone. Present arguments objectively without expressing personal bias.
• Structure your essay logically with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Use paragraphs to organize your ideas effectively.
• Topic Sentences:
• Include clear topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph to guide the reader through your arguments.
• Support your arguments with credible evidence from reputable sources to enhance the credibility of your essay.
• Use transitional words and phrases to ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs and ideas.
• Engage in critical analysis. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different arguments and viewpoints.
• Recap key points in the conclusion, summarizing the main arguments and perspectives discussed in the essay.
• Carefully proofread your essay to correct any grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.
• Don't express personal opinions in the body of the essay. Save personal commentary for the conclusion.
• Don't introduce new information or arguments in the conclusion. This section should summarize and reflect on existing content.
• Don't use overly emotional or subjective language. Maintain a professional and objective tone throughout.
• Don't rely on personal opinions without sufficient research. Ensure that your arguments are supported by credible evidence.
• Don't have an ambiguous or unclear thesis statement. Clearly state the purpose of your essay in the introduction.
• Don't ignore counterarguments. Acknowledge and address opposing viewpoints to strengthen your overall argument.
• Don't use overly complex language if it doesn't add to the clarity of your arguments. Strive for clarity and simplicity in your writing.
• Don't present ideas in a disorganized manner. Ensure that there is a logical flow between paragraphs and ideas.
• Don't excessively repeat the same points. Present a variety of arguments and perspectives to keep the essay engaging.
• Don't ignore the guidelines provided for the essay assignment. Follow any specific instructions or requirements given by your instructor or institution.

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Discursive Essay Examples

Discursive essay topics.

Writing a discursive essay on a compelling topic holds immense importance as it allows individuals to engage in a nuanced exploration of diverse perspectives. A well-chosen subject encourages critical thinking and deepens one's understanding of complex issues, fostering intellectual growth. 

The process of exploring a good topic enhances research skills as writers delve into varied viewpoints and gather evidence to support their arguments. Moreover, such essays contribute to the broader academic discourse, encouraging readers to contemplate different facets of a subject and form informed opinions.

• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment.
• Should Social Media Platforms Regulate Content for Misinformation?
• Exploring the Ethics of Cloning in Contemporary Science.
• Universal Basic Income: A Solution for Economic Inequality?
• The Role of Technology in Shaping Modern Education.
• Nuclear Energy: Sustainable Solution or Environmental Risk?
• The Effects of Video Games on Adolescent Behavior.
• Cybersecurity Threats in the Digital Age: Balancing Privacy and Security.
• Debunking Common Myths Surrounding Climate Change.
• The Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
• Online Education vs. Traditional Classroom Learning.
• The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Consumer Behavior.
• The Ethics of Animal Testing in Medical Research.
• Universal Healthcare: Addressing Gaps in Healthcare Systems.
• The Role of Government in Regulating Cryptocurrencies.
• The Influence of Advertising on Body Image and Self-Esteem.
• Renewable Energy Sources: A Viable Alternative to Fossil Fuels?
• The Implications of Space Exploration on Earth's Resources.
• Is Censorship Justified in the Arts and Entertainment Industry?
• Examining the Impact of Globalization on Cultural Identity.
• The Morality of Capital Punishment in the 21st Century.
• Should Genetic Engineering be Used for Human Enhancement?
• Social Media and Its Influence on Political Discourse.
• Balancing Environmental Conservation with Economic Development.
• The Role of Gender in the Workplace: Achieving Equality.
• Exploring the Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment.
• The Benefits and Risks of Autonomous Vehicles.
• The Influence of Media on Perceptions of Beauty.
• Legalization of Marijuana: Addressing Medical and Social Implications.
• The Impact of Antibiotic Resistance on Global Health.
• The Pros and Cons of a Cashless Society.
• Exploring the Relationship Between Technology and Mental Health.
• The Role of Government Surveillance in Ensuring National Security.
• Addressing the Digital Divide: Ensuring Access to Technology for All.
• The Impact of Social Media on Political Activism.
• The Ethics of Animal Rights and Welfare.
• Nuclear Disarmament: Necessity or Utopian Ideal?
• The Effects of Income Inequality on Societal Well-being.
• The Role of Education in Combating Systemic Racism.
• The Influence of Pop Culture on Society's Values and Norms.
• Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Creative Industries.
• The Pros and Cons of Mandatory Vaccination Policies.
• The Role of Women in Leadership Positions: Breaking the Glass Ceiling.
• Internet Privacy: Balancing Personal Security and Data Collection.
• The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.
• The Morality of Animal Agriculture and Factory Farming.
• The Rise of Online Learning Platforms: Transforming Education.
• Addressing the Digital Gender Gap in STEM Fields.
• The Impact of Global Tourism on Local Cultures and Environments.
• Exploring the Implications of 3D Printing Technology in Various Industries.

By the way, we have another great collection of narrative essay topics to get your creative juices flowing.

Wrapping Up

Throughout this guide, you have acquired valuable insights into the art of crafting compelling arguments and presenting diverse perspectives. By delving into the nuances of topic selection, structuring, and incorporating evidence, you could hone your critical thinking skills and sharpen your ability to engage in informed discourse. 

This guide serves as a roadmap, offering not just a set of rules but a toolkit to empower students in their academic journey. As you embark on future writing endeavors, armed with the knowledge gained here, you can confidently navigate the challenges of constructing well-reasoned, balanced discursive essays that contribute meaningfully to academic discourse and foster a deeper understanding of complex issues. If you want to continue your academic learning journey right now, we suggest that you read about the IEEE format next.

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26 Planning a Discursive Essay

Discursive essay – description.

A discursive essay is a form of critical essay that attempts to provide the reader with a balanced argument on a topic, supported by evidence. It requires critical thinking, as well as sound and valid arguments (see Chapter 25) that acknowledge and analyse arguments both for and against any given topic, plus discursive essay writing appeals to reason, not emotions or opinions. While it may draw some tentative conclusions, based on evidence, the main aim of a discursive essay is to inform the reader of the key arguments and allow them to arrive at their own conclusion.

The writer needs to research the topic thoroughly to present more than one perspective and should check their own biases and assumptions through critical reflection (see Chapter 30).

Unlike persuasive writing, the writer does not need to have knowledge of the audience, though should write using academic tone and language (see Chapter 20).

Choose Your Topic Carefully

A basic guide to choosing an assignment topic is available in Chapter 23, however choosing a topic for a discursive essay means considering more than one perspective. Not only do you need to find information about the topic via academic sources, you need to be able to construct a worthwhile discussion, moving from idea to idea. Therefore, more forward planning is required. The following are decisions that need to be considered when choosing a discursive essay topic:

• These will become the controlling ideas for your three body paragraphs (some essays may require more). Each controlling idea will need arguments both for and against.
• For example, if my topic is “renewable energy” and my three main (controlling) ideas are “cost”, “storage”, “environmental impact”, then I will need to consider arguments both for and against each of these three concepts. I will also need to have good academic sources with examples or evidence to support my claim and counter claim for each controlling idea (More about this in Chapter 27).
• Am I able to write a thesis statement about this topic based on the available research? In other words, do my own ideas align with the available research, or am I going to be struggling to support my own ideas due to a lack of academic sources or research? You need to be smart about your topic choice. Do not make it harder than it has to be. Writing a discursive essay is challenging enough without struggling to find appropriate sources.
• For example, perhaps I find a great academic journal article about the uptake of solar panel installation in suburban Australia and how this household decision is cost-effective long-term, locally stored, and has minimal, even beneficial environmental impact due to the lowering of carbon emissions. Seems too good to be true, yet it is perfect for my assignment. I would have to then find arguments AGAINST everything in the article that supports transitioning suburbs to solar power. I would have to challenge the cost-effectiveness, the storage, and the environmental impact study. Now, all of a sudden my task just became much more challenging.
• There may be vast numbers of journal articles written about your topic, but consider how relevant they may be to your tentative thesis statement. It takes a great deal of time to search for appropriate academic sources. Do you have a good internet connection at home or will you need to spend some quality time at the library? Setting time aside to complete your essay research is crucial for success.

It is only through complete forward planning about the shape and content of your essay that you may be able to choose the topic that best suits your interests, academic ability and time management. Consider how you will approach the overall project, not only the next step.

Research Your Topic

When completing a library search for online peer reviewed journal articles, do not forget to use Boolean Operators to refine or narrow your search field. Standard Boolean Operators are (capitalized) AND, OR and NOT. While using OR will expand your search, AND and NOT will reduce the scope of your search. For example, if I want information on ageism and care giving, but I only want it to relate to the elderly, I might use the following to search a database: ageism AND care NOT children. Remember to keep track of your search strings (like the one just used) and then you’ll know what worked and what didn’t as you come and go from your academic research.

The UQ Library provides an excellent step-by-step guide to searching databases:

Searching in databases – Library – University of Queensland (uq.edu.au)

Did you know that you can also link the UQ Library to Google Scholar? This link tells you how:

Google Scholar – Library – University of Queensland (uq.edu.au)

Write the Thesis Statement

The concept of a thesis statement was introduced in Chapter 21. The information below relates specifically to a discursive essay thesis statement.

As noted in the introduction to this chapter, the discursive essay should not take a stance and therefore the thesis statement must also impartially indicate more than one perspective. The goal is to present both sides of an argument equally and allow the reader to make an informed and well-reasoned choice after providing supporting evidence for each side of the argument.

Sample thesis statements: Solar energy is a cost -effective solution to burning fossil fuels for electricity , however lower income families cannot afford the installation costs .

Some studies indicate that teacher comments written in red may have no effect on students’ emotions , however other studies suggest that seeing red ink on papers could cause some students unnecessary stress. [1]

According to social justice principles, education should be available to all , yet historically, the intellectually and physically impaired may have been exempt from participation due to their supposed inability to learn. [2]

This is where your pros and cons list comes into play. For each pro, or positive statement you make, about your topic, create an equivalent con, or negative statement and this will enable you to arrive at two opposing assertions – the claim and counter claim.

While there may be multiple arguments or perspectives related to your essay topic, it is important that you match each claim with a counter-claim. This applies to the thesis statement and each supporting argument within the body paragraphs of the essay.

It is not just a matter of agreeing or disagreeing. A neutral tone is crucial. Do not include positive or negative leading statements, such as “It is undeniable that…” or “One should not accept the view that…”. You are NOT attempting to persuade the reader to choose one viewpoint over another.

Leading statements / language will be discussed further, in class, within term three of the Academic English course.

Thesis Structure:

• Note the two sides (indicated in green and orange)
• Note the use of tentative language: “Some studies”, “may have”, “could cause”, “some students”
• As the thesis is yet to be discussed in-depth, and you are not an expert in the field, do not use definitive language
• The statement is also one sentence, with a “pivot point” in the middle, with a comma and signposting to indicate a contradictory perspective (in black). Other examples include, nevertheless, though, although, regardless, yet, albeit. DO NOT use the word “but” as it lacks academic tone. Some signposts (e.g., although, though, while) may be placed at the start of the two clauses rather than in the middle – just remember the comma, for example, “While some studies suggest solar energy is cost-effective, other critical research questions its affordability.”
• Also note that it is based on preliminary research and not opinion: “some studies”, “other studies”, “according to social justice principles”, “critical research”.

Claims and Counter Claims

NOTE: Please do not confuse the words ‘claim’ and ‘counter-claim’ with moral or value judgements about right/wrong, good/bad, successful/unsuccessful, or the like. The term ‘claim’ simply refers to the first position or argument you put forward (whether for or against), and ‘counter-claim’ is the alternate position or argument.

In a discursive essay the goal is to present both sides equally and then draw some tentative conclusions based on the evidence presented.

• To formulate your claims and counter claims, write a list of pros and cons.
• For each pro there should be a corresponding con.
• Three sets of pros and cons will be required for your discursive essay. One set for each body paragraph. These become your claims and counter claims.
• For a longer essay, you would need further claims and counter claims.
• Some instructors prefer students to keep the pros and cons in the same order across the body paragraphs. Each paragraph would then have a pro followed by a con or else a con followed by a pro. The order should align with your thesis; if the thesis gives a pro view of the topic followed by a negative view (con) then the paragraphs should also start with the pro and follow with the con, or else vice versa. If not aligned and consistent, the reader may easily become confused as the argument proceeds. Ask your teacher if this is a requirement for your assessment.

Use previous chapters to explore your chosen topic through concept mapping (Chapter 18) and essay outlining (Chapter 19), with one variance; you must include your proposed claims and counter claims in your proposed paragraph structures. What follows is a generic model for a discursive essay. The following Chapter 27 will examine this in further details.

Sample Discursive Essay Outline 

The paragraphs are continuous; the dot-points are only meant to indicate content.

Introduction

• Thesis statement
• Essay outline (including 3 controlling ideas)

Body Paragraphs X 3 (Elaboration and evidence will be more than one sentence, though the topic, claim and counter claim should be succinct)

• T opic sentence, including 1/3 controlling ideas (the topic remains the same throughout the entire essay; it is the controlling idea that changes)
• A claim/assertion about the controlling idea
• E laboration – more information about the claim
• E vidence -academic research (Don’t forget to tell the reader how / why the evidence supports the claim. Be explicit in your E valuation rather than assuming the connection is obvious to the reader)
• A counter claim (remember it must be COUNTER to the claim you made, not about something different)
• E laboration – more information about the counter claim
• E vidence – academic research (Don’t forget to tell the reader how / why the evidence supports the claim. Be explicit in your E valuation rather than assuming the connection is obvious to the reader)
• Concluding sentence – L inks back to the topic and/or the next controlling idea in the following paragraph

Mirror the introduction. The essay outline should have stated the plan for the essay – “This essay will discuss…”, therefore the conclusion should identify that this has been fulfilled, “This essay has discussed…”, plus summarise the controlling ideas and key arguments. ONLY draw tentative conclusions BOTH for and against, allowing the reader to make up their own mind about the topic. Also remember to re-state the thesis in the conclusion. If it is part of the marking criteria, you should also include a recommendation or prediction about the future use or cost/benefit of the chosen topic/concept.

A word of warning, many students fall into the generic realm of stating that there should be further research on their topic or in the field of study. This is a gross statement of the obvious as all academia is ongoing. Try to be more practical with your recommendations and also think about who would instigate them and where the funding might come from.

This chapter gives an overview of what a discursive essay is and a few things to consider when choosing your topic. It also provides a generic outline for a discursive essay structure. The following chapter examines the structure in further detail.

• Inez, S. M. (2018, September 10). What is a discursive essay, and how do you write a good one? Kibin. ↵
• Hale, A., & Basides, H. (2013). The keys to academic English. Palgrave ↵

researched, reliable, written by academics and published by reputable publishers; often, but not always peer reviewed

assertion, maintain as fact

The term ‘claim’ simply refers to the first position or argument you put forward (whether for or against), and ‘counter-claim’ is the alternate position or argument.

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write a Good Discursive Essay?

05 June, 2020

7 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

What does a discursive essay mean? We have an answer to this and many other questions in our article. Welcome to the world of ideal essay writing. Ever wanted to build buzz for your text? We know you do. And we also know how you can do that with minimum effort and little diligence. So forget about your trivial academic essays - they are not as exciting as a discursive one. Ready to dive in?

What is Discursive Writing?

For all those who wanted to know the discursive essay meaning, here it is: a discursive essay is a writing piece, in which the focal element is devoted to an argument. That is, discursive writing presupposes developing a statement that ignites active discussions. After this essay, readers should be motivated to express their own opinions regarding the topic. Discursive essays have much in common with argumentative and persuasive papers, but these are not to be confused. Despite some similarities, discursive writing is a separate type of work that has its specific features and nuances. What we do want you to remember about discursive essays is that you need to concentrate on the power of thought rather than factology and pieces of evidence. In short, your mind is the only tool required to persuade and interest others on the topic you choose.

Discursive Essay Format

Now that we’ve figured out what is discursive writing, it’s time to focus more on the “skeleton” of discursive essay. Like any other piece of writing, discursive essays have clear requirements that help to glue their elements into a coherent paper. By the way, there are many writing services available which can help you present an excellent academic essay. So if you need professional assistance with your task, check them out. But if you want to do it yourself, you can simply take any discursive essay example from the web and use it as a starting point for your paper.

As for the discursive structure itself, you need to start your essay with an introduction in the first place. Create a lead-in that’ll spark the reader’s interest and make them genuinely responsive to the topic. Also, make sure that your introduction is neither small nor extensive. Stick to the optimal amount of words that’ll be sufficient for readers to get the general idea of your essay.

Another essential aspect of an effective intro is your opinion. It’s worthy of note that some discursive essays might require no particular stance on the topic. In situations like this, wait until the end of an essay comes, and only then share your personal view on the matter. This way, readers will understand the neutral tone throughout the piece, shape their own thoughts about it, and later decide whether to agree with yours or not.

In the paragraphs that follow, you’ll need to accentuate on the argumentation. There’s no room for vague and unarticulate expressions at this point. Quite the contrary – you need to unfold your statements consecutively, in a couple of paragraphs, to depict the entire image of your stance for or against the topic. And don’t forget to link your discursive text to supporting evidence.

The last section is the conclusion. Your finishing remarks should clearly articulate your position toward this or that issue, with a close connection to the main ideas in the essay body.

Discursive Essay Thesis

To construct a good thesis for your discursive essay, you’ll need to describe the general stance your work will argue. Here, it’s important to back up the thesis statement with points. These are the opinions that support your thesis and allow to create an affirmative structure for the entire paper.

Discursive Essay Linking Words

The points you use while writing a discursive essay need to flow smoothly so that readers could see a logical organization of the work. For this, you can use transition words that’ll make your paper easily readable and crisp. For example, if you want to list some points, opt for such words as firstly, to begin with, secondly, lastly, finally, etc. If you wish to point at advantages or disadvantages, consider using these transitions: the main/greatest/ first advantage of… is …, another positive side is…, an additional drawback is, another negative aspect of…is…

How to Write an Introduction for a Discursive Essay?

The introductory part is the critical aspect of creating a good discursive essay. In this section, specific attention should centralize on what your topic is all about. Therefore, it needs to be presented with clarity, be informative, and attention-grabbing. How to make your intro sentence for discursive essay memorable? You can start with a spicy anecdote to add humor to discussion. Another powerful way for hooking readers is stating a quote or opinion of experts and famous influencers. This will add to the credibility of your statements, making readers more motivated to read your work.

How to Write a Discursive Essay Conclusion?

Your discursive essay ending is the climax of your argument, a final link that organically locks up a chain of previously described points. This part is devoted to the restatement of the main arguments that sum up your attitude to the topic. And just like with introduction, the conclusion should leave a trace in readers’ minds. To achieve this result, your closing paragraph should include a call to action, warning or any other food for thought that will encourage people to ponder on the issue and make relevant conclusions.

Discursive Essay Topics

The ideas for discursive papers are so versatile that it’s hard to compile all of them in one list. For such list will extend to kilometers. However, we’ve collected some of them for you to facilitate your work on this task. So here are some discursive essay examples you can use any time:

As you understand now, discursive writing definition and discursive essay definition are not as scary as they seem from the first glance. Even though the art of this type of paper is hard to master, over time, you’ll notice significant progress. All you need for this is practice and a little bit of patience to understand the subtle nuances of this task and develop the skill of writing confidently. And if you ever wondered what is an essay, a team of professional academic essay writers can give a helping hand and provide you with a top-notch paper.

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How to Write a Discursive Essay: Tips, Examples, and Structure

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Mastering the Art of Writing a Discursive Essay

Table of contents.

Introduction

Understanding Discursive Essays

Discursive essay writing tips, discursive essay structure, examples of discursive essays, picking the right discursive essay topics, discursive essay format, crafting a strong discursive essay outline, writing an effective discursive essay introduction, nailing the discursive essay conclusion.

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on how to write a discursive essay effectively. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of essay or want to improve your skills, you’ve come to the right place! This guide will cover How to Write a Discursive Essay , examples, and strategies to help you craft a compelling discursive essay.

Are you ready to master this art of writing ? This article will explain a discursive essay and explore various aspects such as writing tips, structure, examples, and format. So, let’s dive right in and unveil the key elements of an impressive discursive essay.

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of writing a discursive essay , let’s take a moment to understand its nature and purpose. A discursive essay presents a balanced argument on a particular topic by exploring different perspectives. It requires the writer to consider different viewpoints, present evidence, and critically analyze the subject matter.

Writing a discursive essay can be challenging, but you can excel in this art form with the right approach. Here are some valuable tips that will help you write a discursive essay effectively:

• Choose an Engaging Topic: Select a topic that is interesting and relevant to your audience. This will make the essay more engaging and enjoyable to read.
• Thorough Research: Gather extensive information from reliable sources to support your arguments and counterarguments.
• Plan and Outline: Take the time to plan and create an outline before diving into the writing process. This will help you organize your thoughts and arguments effectively.
• Clear Introduction: Start with a concise introduction that provides context and grabs the reader’s attention. Clearly state your thesis or main argument.
• Well-structured Paragraphs: Divide your essay into paragraphs that focus on specific points. Each paragraph should present a new idea or support a previous one.
• Logical Flow: Maintain a logical flow using transitional words and phrases that connect your ideas and paragraphs smoothly.
• Balance Your Arguments: Ensure a balance in presenting the pros and cons of each perspective. This will demonstrate your fairness and critical thinking skills.
• Support with Evidence: Provide evidence, facts, and examples to support your claims and make your arguments more persuasive.
• Use Clear Language: Avoid jargon and overly complex language. Opt for clear, concise, and precise language that is easy for readers to comprehend.
• Proofread and Edit: Always revise, proofread, and edit your essay to ensure clarity, coherence, and proper grammar usage.

Following these tips, you’ll be well-equipped to write an impressive discursive essay that effectively presents your arguments and engages your readers.

A well-structured discursive essay enhances readability and ensures that your arguments are coherent. Here’s a suggested structure that you can follow:

• Hook the reader with an attention-grabbing statement or anecdote.
• Introduce the topic and provide background information.
• Present your thesis statement or main argument.
• Start each paragraph with a topic sentence introducing a new argument or perspective.
• Provide evidence, examples, and supporting details to justify your claims.
• Address counterarguments and present rebuttals, showing your ability to consider different viewpoints.
• Use transitional words to maintain a smooth flow between paragraphs.
• Summarize the main points discussed in the essay.
• Restate your thesis statement while considering the arguments presented.
• End with a thought-provoking statement or call to action.

By adhering to this structure, your discursive essay will be well-organized and easy for readers to follow.

To gain a better understanding of how discursive essays are written, let’s explore a couple of examples:

Example 1: The Impact of Social Media

Introduction: The growing influence of social media in society.

Main Body: Discussing the positive and negative aspects of social media on communication, mental health, privacy, and relationships.

Conclusion: Weighing the overall impact of social media and proposing ways to harness its strengths and mitigate its drawbacks.

Example 2: The Pros and Cons of School Uniforms

Introduction: Introducing the debate on school uniforms.

Main Body: Exploring the arguments supporting school uniforms (such as fostering discipline and equality) and arguments against them (such as limiting self-expression).

Conclusion: Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of school uniforms and suggesting potential compromises.

These examples illustrate how discursive essays analyze various perspectives on a topic while maintaining a balanced approach.

Choosing an engaging and relevant topic is crucial to capturing your readers’ attention. Here are some popular discursive essay topics to consider:

• Is social media beneficial or detrimental to society?
• Should the death penalty be abolished worldwide?
• Are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) safe for consumption?
• Should recreational marijuana use be legalized?
• Are video games responsible for the rise in violence among youth?

When selecting a topic, ensure it is captivating, allows for multiple viewpoints, and is backed by sufficient research material.

While there is flexibility in formatting a discursive essay, adhering to a standard format enhances clarity and readability. Consider following this general format:

• Font type and size: Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri with a 12-point font size.
• Line spacing: Double-spaced throughout the essay.
• Page margins: 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Title page: Include the essay title, your name, course name, instructor’s name, and submission date (if applicable).
• Header: Insert a header with your last name and page number (top-right corner).

A consistent format will make your essay more professional and easier to navigate.

Before writing your discursive essay, creating an outline that organizes your thoughts and arguments effectively is essential. Here’s a sample outline to help you get started:

I. Introduction

B. Background information

C. Thesis statement

II. Main Body

A. Argument 1

1. Supporting evidence

2. Examples

B. Argument 2

C. Argument 3

1 . Supporting evidence

2 . Examples

III. Counterarguments and Rebuttals

A. Counterargument 1

1 . Rebuttal evidence

B. Counterargument 2

C . Counterargument 3

IV. Conclusion

A. Summary of main points

B . Restating the thesis statement

C. Call to action or thought-provoking statement

By structuring your ideas in an outline, you’ll have a clear roadmap for your essay, ensuring that your arguments flow logically.

The introduction of your discursive essay plays a vital role in capturing your reader’s attention and setting the tone for the essay. Here’s how you can make your introduction compelling:

Start With an Engaging Hook: Begin with a captivating opening sentence, such as a surprising statistic, an intriguing question, or a compelling anecdote related to your topic.

Provide Necessary Background Information: Briefly explain the topic and its relevance to the reader.

Present Your Thesis Statement: Clearly state your main argument or thesis, which will guide your essay’s direction and focus.

You’ll establish a strong foundation for your discursive essay by crafting an engaging and informative introduction.

The conclusion of your discursive essay should effectively summarize your main points and leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here’s how you can achieve this:

Summarize the Main Points: Briefly recap the key arguments and perspectives discussed in the essay.

Restate Your Thesis Statement: Reiterate your main argument while considering the various perspectives.

Call to Action or Thought-Provoking Statement: End your essay with a compelling statement or encourage readers to explore the topic further, sparking discussion and reflection.

By crafting a powerful conclusion, you’ll leave a lasting impact on your readers, ensuring they walk away with a clear understanding of your essay’s message.

Congratulations! You’ve now comprehensively understood how to write a discursive essay effectively. Remember to choose an engaging topic, conduct thorough research, create a clear structure, and present balanced arguments while considering different perspectives. Following these guidelines and incorporating our tips, you’ll be well-equipped to craft a compelling discursive essay.

So, start writing your discursive essay following our comprehensive guide. Unlock your writing potential and captivate your readers with an impressive discursive essay that showcases your analytical skills and ability to present compelling arguments. Happy writing!

Frequently Asked Questions About “How to Write a Discursive Essay Effectively”

What is a discursive essay, and how does it differ from other types of essays.

A discursive essay explores a particular topic by presenting different perspectives and arguments. It differs from other essays, emphasizing balanced, unbiased discussion rather than a single, strong stance.

How should I choose a topic for my discursive essay?

Select a topic that allows for multiple viewpoints and has room for discussion. Controversial issues or topics with various opinions work well, providing ample material for exploration.

What is the typical structure of a discursive essay?

A discursive essay typically has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction sets the stage, the body paragraphs present different viewpoints, and the conclusion summarizes the key points and your stance.

Is it necessary to choose a side in a discursive essay?

While you don’t have to take a definite side, you should present a balanced view. However, some essay prompts may ask you to argue for or against a particular position.

How do I start the introduction of a discursive essay?

Begin with a hook to capture the reader’s attention, provide background information, and clearly state the issue you will discuss. End the introduction with a thesis statement that outlines your approach.

Should I use formal language in a discursive essay?

Yes, maintain a formal and objective tone. Avoid using first-person pronouns and aim for clarity and precision in your language.

How many viewpoints should I include in the body paragraphs?

Include at least two or three well-developed viewpoints. Ensure that each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect or argument related to the topic.

How do I transition between paragraphs in a discursive essay?

Use transitional phrases to move smoothly from one idea to the next. This helps maintain a logical flow and coherence in your essay.

Can I include personal opinions in a discursive essay?

While you can present your opinions, remaining objective and supporting your views with evidence is crucial. The emphasis should be on presenting a well-rounded discussion rather than expressing personal bias.

How do I conclude a discursive essay effectively?

Summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs, restate your thesis nuancedly, and offer a closing thought or call to action. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion.

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2013, Diversitate Culturală și Limbaje de Specialitate

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The book will appeal to the growing number of scholars working in, and students needing to investigate, the field of literary linguistics, or stylistics. Thus it is meant for both specialists and non-specialists. The intended readership more particularly includes: our students of English linguistic stylistics at the University of Bologna’s Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature (in all 3 of our MA programs), for whom it would be required reading with strongly recommended purchase (approximate numbers yearly: 60). Many of the authors also assure me that the volume will be adopted in stylistics courses they periodically teach. The papers in the volume are on a wide variety of aspects of the language-literature connection, and approach it from a variety of perspectives. All include theoretical considerations and practical applications. Indeed, one of the book’s principle aims is to provide a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the linguistic study of literature, all of them firmly rooted in specific contexts of culture. This it does by hosting papers from scholars working within various grammatical and discursive frameworks, including SFL, pragmatics, corpus linguistics, ethnolinguistics, cultural and translation studies. It also aims at providing illustrative instances of the kind of work currently being done by researchers working in various parts of the academic world, (Europe, Australia, and Africa). Inclusion of a wide range of literary genres and world literatures is a further goal. To this end, the papers deal with, for example: Shakespeare’s plays; modern Austrian authors writing in German, such as Thomas Bernhard, Elfriede Jelinek, Marlene Streeruwitz; Perrault’s Histoires et contes du temps passé and their translations by Angela Carter; the Spanish poets of the Generación del ‘50; Malaysian-Singaporean poets in English; Anglo-American Modernist poets (Frost, Stevens, Pound and D.H. Lawrence) and novelists (Woolf and Conrad); contemporary short stories by Marina Warner and Turkish-German narrative by Feridun Zamoğlu; The Gospel of St. John and Harry Potter. The main message of the volume is that, as Hasan has so succinctly put it, […] in verbal art the role of language is central. Here language is not as clothing to the body; it IS the body.” (1985/1989: 91), and that, as a result, any true ‘appraisal’ of the meanings of the literature text must address that language, with reference to the text’s specific ‘context of creation’. A further message is that, though all the contributors to the volume acknowledge this basic premise, there are a variety of linguistic theories and practices at our disposal for probing the language of verbal art. Separate introductions to each of the contributions will seek to guide above all the non-specialist reader by describing, contrasting and comparing the diverse frameworks that the volume comprises. For a similar purpose, a general introduction diachronically traces key moments in the development of the study of the language of literature seen as socio-cultural practice.

Bagh-e Nazar

Bagh-e Nazar Journal

Problem Statement: The exhibition statement is one of the linguistic modes separate from the work, which, along with the visual mode of the works in contemporary art exhibitions, forms a multimodal discourse. Linguistic and visual modes interact in the form of a single discourse to achieve a unified goal. Statements today are an important part of the process of creating, reading, or shaping exhibitions, especially in situations where conceptual implications outweigh aesthetic meanings. Therefore, one of the new issues in contemporary art is the function of exhibition texts and notes and their relation to the visual mode of artistic discourse. What is the function of these texts? What is the relationship between this part of the language mode and the visual mode in the exhibition and how are their roles related to the functions of the statements? Research objective: The purpose of the present article is to examine and classify the additive relationships of the linguistic mode to the visual mode in contemporary Iranian painting. Research method: This article pays attention to the main function of statements through a qualitative study and to this purpose, we examined solo painting exhibitions in the Gallery of Free Designers in the period of 2006-2016. The theoretical framework of multimodal discourse analysis was used to extract and classify linguistic (statements) and visual relations in the fabric of contemporary painting. Conclusion: An effective statement can enhance the image by adding details or enhance it through elaboration, and most importantly, it can extend the visual mode. These additive relations conceptualize the visual mode, which is one of the most important functions of the statement a s a linguisti c mode and moves towards an integrated communication and interdisciplinary formulation that is the result of the process of mode relations.

Nadežda Silaški

The Polish Journal of Aesthetics

Pascal Unbehaun

Pseudo-profound language is a stylistic means in many different contexts, like advertising, politics, economics, or even science. Contemporary visual art is notoriously known for its variant: artspeak. We develop a syntactical analysis and show how artspeak is constructed. We point out that it is "evocative" bullshit in that it aims at contextualizing art with traditional art myths (i.e., artists are, among other adjectives, autonomous, critical, or free). Furthermore, we argue that artspeak should be regarded as a particular type of bullshit as it features a unique relation to truth.

Rita Niblack

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How to Write a Discursive Essay: Effective Guide

Table of contents

• 1 What Is a Discursive Essay?
• 2.1 Argumentative
• 2.2 Descriptive
• 2.3 Narrative
• 4 Helpful Tips: How to Write a Good Discursive Essay?
• 5.1 How to Start a Discursive Essay?
• 5.2 How to Develop the Discursive Essay Body?
• 5.3 How to End a Discursive Essay?
• 6.1 What to Do When Writing a Discursive Essay?
• 6.2 What Not to Do When Writing a Discursive Essay?

If you’re pursuing a university degree, writing various assignments is unavoidable. Like it or not, you’ll have to draft at least a few every semester. Among other paper types, teachers favor discursive essays to encourage students to express a neutral standpoint regarding a given issue.

Moreover, this academic piece tests whether you possess polished writing and critical thinking skills. Besides your opinion, you’d also have to provide reliable evidence as a backup for your claim. Hence, a decent discursive essay requires thorough research and preparation.

But what should you pay attention to when writing the first draft ? Is pure talent enough, or are there other elements that make a successful manuscript? Below, we unravel the path to an A+ paper!

What Is a Discursive Essay?

A discursive essay aims to elaborate on a given topic in a balanced way. The subject matter is often a dilemma or issue, so there are usually two or three possible solutions. Hence, the ideal piece must include all sides of the problem and present objective and all-encompassing evidence about the topic.

The writer must maintain an impersonal style to avoid polarizing things and being biased. Many students hire a custom essay writing service because they either take one side or impose their views on the matter. As a result, they end up with an argumentative paper, which is entirely different.

The primary purpose of a discursive essay is to unveil the truth by exploring various topic-related arguments. Therefore, proper research, pondering the issue, and thinking critically, are critical aspects of the writing process.

Discursive Essay vs. Other Types of Essay

Though you might easily confuse discursive writing with other articles, the differences are striking. Let’s see what sets them apart and define their bordering points.​​

Argumentative

Both kinds of papers come from the same family. They discuss a topic by revealing facts and supporting them with examples. The main difference is that in argumentative works, one standpoint prevails. Though they list and acknowledge all arguments, the emphasis revolves around one point.

Ideally, argumentative writing  aims to persuade the audience to adopt a position. The writer presents the claims in a way that convinces the reader to pick a side. Conversely, the discursive essay explains the facts objectively but never urges the reader to shift views.

Descriptive

The purpose of a descriptive essay is to convey a picture for the readers to imagine. To this end, the author uses versatile adjectives and adverbs that help deliver the initial message. Moreover, comparisons, contrasts, and sensory figures of speech are inevitable if you want to create an eye-catching piece.

In contrast, discursive essays provide hard facts free of metaphors, idioms, and similes. The underlying purpose is to inform the readers and not engage their senses with flowery words. When you need to describe information in more detail, the descriptions should be as short and accurate as possible but never overly decorative.

​​Storytelling requires you to conceptualize a narration . In this case, your account can be informal and include descriptive writing elements. Since you have to hook the interest of the audience, the introduction and conclusion must be attention-grabbing and thought-provoking.

These papers follow a structure that usually involves a twist or unexpected events. Besides telling a story, you can also use this style for writing a character analysis essay for college. The smoother your retelling technique, the more successful your work will be.

With discursive essays, the primary focus is on facts and evidence. Hence, avoid weaving a tale because you might easily stray from the central idea. As a result, you can lose your target and omit the critical data you’re trying to present.

Discursive Essay Format

As with any academic work, you must write in a specific outline . To some extent, this venture resembles thematic essay writing because you’re elaborating on a concrete topic and including a clearly-defined thesis statement.

The typical structure of a discursive essay doesn’t differ much from that of other academic papers. It is usually a five or six-paragraph work that includes an introduction, three or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Here’s what a standard structure should look like :

• Introductory paragraph
• Argument 1 with supporting evidence
• Argument 2 with supporting evidence
• Argument 3 with supporting evidence
• Paragraph with opposing views or counterarguments

Helpful Tips: How to Write a Good Discursive Essay?

Though you might follow the layout presented above and get all your standpoints in order, there are a few minor aspects you mustn’t neglect. Pay attention to the following:

• Start each passage with a topic sentence that describes the most significant point.
• Spend a few days drafting and finalizing your work; doing articles overnight is a no-go.
• Don’t give a loud voice to your standpoint.
• Use formal language that is impersonal. In short, white in third person speech.
• Avoid copying content but rephrase what you found with your own words. You can use a free online paraphrasing tool to help you write a plagiarism-free piece.
• Allow yourself enough time to edit and proofread your work in the end.
• Communicate only fair aspects, but don’t overgeneralize or use clichés.
• Convey your points in an alternate manner if your mentor allows this format.
• Try the SEA method. S stands for making a statement, E for giving examples or evidence to support your claim, and A for applying theory in real life.

Writing a discursive essay can be challenging, but with the help of PapersOwl and its cheap essay writers , you can create a well-structured, argumentative essay in no time. Our writers have the skills and experience to craft an essay that will help you make your point effectively.

How to Write a Discursive Essay?

Before you sit down and start brainstorming ideas, read a few samples online. This way, you’ll get the hang of the writing process and what each paragraph must include. Most importantly, stay unprejudiced and leave your feelings behind. Instead, concentrate on building and supporting your argumentation.

How to Start a Discursive Essay?

While the introduction is usually a fraction of the final work, it is critical. In it, you catch the reader’s attention and present your topic. Hence, ensure you make it as engaging and enlightening as possible. Moreover, the length of this part should be about 10% of the entire assignment.

The discursive essay introduction should contain a few sentences that compress the general idea. Hence, brevity and conciseness are your best shot at delivering the relevance of your subject matter to the public.

How to Develop the Discursive Essay Body?

Once finished, use the introduction to define the core of the body paragraphs. If you have difficulties, order a professional service to write your essay for money and pick your writer, depending on the topic’s complexity.

However, if you decide to proceed with the discursive essay yourself, put maximum effort into the opening paragraph. It’s advisable to give the strongest arguments first and then continue with the other standpoints. Also, don’t mix different points in a single paragraph but elaborate on one position at a given time.

Finally, take time to brainstorm and present your counterarguments. All statements must be objective and show your impartiality on the matter. When developing the body paragraphs, cite credible references like journals, statistics, and other supporting evidence.

How to End a Discursive Essay?

You must write a conclusion as the final paragraph of your manuscript. Similar to the introduction, this part aims to frame the central idea in simple words. So, if you wonder how to write a discursive essay conclusion, summarize all points stated and give an impartial opinion.

In addition, restate the mentioned arguments only and never introduce new information. Last, it would be ideal if your summary encourages future discussion among the audience. Your recommendations and predictions on the topic should also stimulate further research.

Do’s and Don’ts of a Discursive Essay

Here are some essay writing tips worth considering for a perfect outcome. The same ideas are relevant for writing a poetry essay with ease for university. Tick each hack when reviewing your final copy.

What to Do When Writing a Discursive Essay?

• Different arguments go in separate paragraphs.
• Write well-developed ideas supported by examples.
• Give reasons for every position.
• Use the sequencing method.
• Maintain a balanced style.
• Include linking words and phrases to enhance reading and flow of thought.
• Identify the sources you use by following a proper citation style.

What Not to Do When Writing a Discursive Essay?

• Avoid abbreviated forms and contractions, such as I’d, won’t, and you’re.
• Never include informal and colloquial language like ain’t, gonna, or as good as gold.
• Your topic will be specific so forget about generalizations because they lead away from accuracy and reliability. You might end up with arbitrary conclusions that will spoil the overall impression.
• Emotional language is off-limits because it often signposts prejudice.
• Steer away from personal examples because this means you’re taking a side.
• Don’t insist on one standpoint at the cost of others.
• Avoid stats you cannot prove or reference.
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How to Write a Discursive Essay

November 17, 2023

A discursive essay is a type of academic writing that presents both sides of an argument or issue. Unlike an argumentative essay where you take a clear stance and defend it, a discursive essay allows you to explore different perspectives and provide an objective analysis. It requires careful research, critical thinking, and the ability to present logical arguments in a structured manner.

In a discursive essay, you are expected to examine the topic thoroughly, present evidence and examples to support your points, and address counterarguments to demonstrate a balanced understanding of the issue. The purpose is not to persuade the reader to take a particular side, but rather to present a comprehensive view of the topic. By mastering the art of writing a discursive essay, you can effectively convey complex ideas and contribute to meaningful discussions on various subjects.

What’s different about writing a discursive essay

Writing a discursive essay differs from other types of essays in several ways. Here are some key differences to consider when approaching this particular form of academic writing:

• Explores multiple perspectives: Unlike an argumentative essay, a discursive essay examines different viewpoints on a given topic. It requires you to gather information, analyze various arguments, and present a balanced view.
• Structured presentation: A discursive essay follows a clear structure that helps organize your thoughts and arguments. It typically consists of an introduction, several body paragraphs discussing different arguments, and a conclusion.
• Impartiality and objectivity: While other essays may require you to take a stance or defend a particular position, a discursive essay aims for objectivity. You should present arguments and evidence without bias and demonstrate a fair understanding of each viewpoint.
• Importance of research: Good research is essential for a discursive essay. You should gather information from reliable sources, consider various perspectives, and present evidence to support your ideas.
• Addressing counterarguments: In a discursive essay, it is crucial to acknowledge and address counterarguments. By doing so, you show a comprehensive understanding of the topic and strengthen your own argument.
• Use of transitions: To maintain coherence and provide a smooth flow of ideas, appropriate transitions should be used to link paragraphs and signal shifts between arguments.

By recognizing these key differences and adapting your writing style accordingly, you can effectively write a discursive essay that engages the reader and presents a well-rounded discussion of the topic.

Step-by-Step Discursive Essay Writing Guide

Selecting a topic.

Selecting a topic for a discursive essay is a crucial first step in the writing process. Here are some considerations to help you choose an appropriate and engaging topic:

• Relevance: Select a topic that is relevant and holds significance in the current context. It should be something that sparks interest and discussion among readers.
• Controversy: Look for topics that have multiple perspectives and controversial viewpoints. This will allow you to explore different arguments and present a balanced analysis.
• Research opportunities: Choose a topic that offers ample research opportunities. This ensures that you have access to reliable sources and enough material to support your arguments.
• Personal interest: It is easier to write about a topic that you are genuinely interested in. Consider your own passion and areas of expertise when selecting a subject for your essay.
• Scope and depth: Ensure that the chosen topic is neither too broad nor too narrow. It should provide enough scope for thorough analysis and discussion within the word limit of your essay.

Remember, the topic sets the foundation for your discursive essay. Take time to consider these factors and select a topic that aligns with your interests, research capabilities, and the potential to present a well-rounded discussion.

Possible Discursive Essay Topics:

• The impact of social media on society.
• Should euthanasia be legalized?
• Pros and cons of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
• The influence of technology on human interactions.
• Is homeschooling more beneficial than traditional schooling?
• The effects of climate change on the environment.
• Should animal testing be banned?
• The advantages and disadvantages of globalization.
• The ethics of capital punishment.
• The legalization of marijuana: pros and cons.

Write the Thesis Statement

The thesis statement in a discursive essay serves as the central argument or main claim that sets the tone for the entire essay. It typically appears in the introductory paragraph and guides the reader’s understanding of the essay’s purpose and direction. Here are some key points to consider when crafting an effective thesis statement for a discursive essay:

• Clear stance: The thesis statement should clearly express your position or viewpoint on the topic. It should present a concise statement that reflects your overall argument or analysis.
• Controversy: The thesis statement should highlight the controversy or debate surrounding the topic. It should indicate that there are multiple perspectives to be explored and that you will discuss them in a balanced manner.
• Specificity: The thesis statement should not be too vague or general. It should address a specific aspect of the topic that you will focus on in your essay.
• Clarity: The thesis statement should be clear and easy to understand. It should provide a clear sense of direction for the reader, indicating the main points that will be discussed in the essay.
• Strong and compelling: The thesis statement should be strong and compelling, capturing the attention of the reader. It should be a statement that provokes thoughtful analysis and discussion.

By considering these factors, you can develop a thesis statement that effectively sets the tone for your discursive essay and captures the essence of your argument or analysis.

Conducting Research

Conducting thorough research is a critical step in writing a discursive essay. Here are some essential tips to help you effectively gather information and sources:

• Define your research question: Clearly define the question or issue you want to explore in your essay. This will guide your research and help you stay focused.
• Use a variety of sources: Gather information from a diverse range of sources, such as books, scholarly articles, reputable websites, and academic journals. This will ensure a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of the topic.
• Evaluate the credibility of sources: Assess the reliability and credibility of each source before including it in your essay. Consider factors such as author credentials, publication date, peer-reviewed status, and the reputation of the source.
• Take organized notes: As you read and review your sources, take organized notes to keep track of key points, quotes, and references. This will make it easier to cite sources accurately later.
• Analyze and synthesize information: Analyze the information you have gathered and synthesize it into coherent arguments. Identify common themes, patterns, and conflicting viewpoints that will form the basis of your essay.
• Address counterarguments: Remember to consider and address counterarguments in your research. Engaging with opposing viewpoints will strengthen your arguments and demonstrate a well-rounded understanding of the topic.

By following these research strategies, you can gather reliable and varied sources to support your discursive essay, ensuring a balanced and well-informed discussion of the topic.

Writing the Introduction

The introduction sets the tone and direction for a discursive essay, providing context and background information on the topic. Here are some key elements to include when writing the introduction to a discursive essay:

• Grab the reader’s attention: Use a hook or attention-grabbing statement to draw the reader in and generate interest in the topic.
• Introduce the topic: Clearly state the topic and provide some background information to contextualize the issue.
• Define key terms: Define any key terms related to the topic that may be unfamiliar to the reader.
• Present the thesis statement: Clearly state your main argument or claim, which sets the tone for the rest of the essay.
• Outline the structure: Briefly outline the main points or arguments that will be addressed in the essay.
• Write in a discursive style: Use a discursive style of writing in the introduction that presents multiple viewpoints on the topic.

By including these elements, you can craft an effective introduction to your discursive essay that engages the reader, establishes the context for the topic, and clearly presents your thesis statement. Remember to present a balanced analysis of multiple viewpoints, maintaining the discursive style of the essay.

Presenting Arguments and Counterarguments

Presenting arguments and counterarguments is a crucial aspect of writing a discursive essay. Here are some strategies to effectively structure and present your arguments and counterarguments:

• Identify key arguments: Begin by identifying the main arguments or perspectives related to the topic. These arguments will form the basis of your essay and provide a framework for your analysis.
• Develop supporting evidence: Gather relevant evidence, examples, statistics, or expert opinions to support each argument. This evidence should be well-researched and credible to strengthen your claims.
• Present arguments in a logical order: Organize your arguments in a logical and coherent manner. You can choose to present each argument separately, dedicating individual paragraphs to each one or use a point-counterpoint approach where you counter each argument with a counterargument.
• Address counterarguments: Acknowledge and include counterarguments in your essay to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Refute counterarguments by presenting contrasting evidence or providing a persuasive rebuttal.
• Provide balanced analysis: While presenting arguments and counterarguments, ensure a balanced analysis that gives due weight to each viewpoint. Avoid bias and strive for objectivity by presenting evidence from various perspectives.
• Use transition words and phrases: Utilize appropriate transition words and phrases to guide the reader through the presentation of arguments and counterarguments. Examples include “on the one hand,” “however,” “in contrast,” “nevertheless,” etc.

By following these strategies, you can effectively present arguments and counterarguments in your discursive essay, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the topic and engaging the reader in a thoughtful analysis.

Writing the Body Paragraphs

When writing the body paragraphs of a discursive essay, it’s important to present a balanced and well-structured analysis of the topic. Here are some key strategies to consider:

• Organize your paragraphs: Each body paragraph should focus on a single argument or idea. Start with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main point of the paragraph.
• Provide evidence and examples: Support your arguments with evidence, facts, statistics, or examples from credible sources. This will enhance the validity and persuasiveness of your arguments.
• Use logical reasoning: Present clear and coherent reasoning to connect your evidence with your main argument. Use logic and critical thinking to explain the relevance and significance of your evidence.
• Consider opposing viewpoints: Acknowledge potential counterarguments and address them within your body paragraphs. Refute counterarguments using logical and evidence-based reasoning.
• Use paragraphs for different viewpoints: If you’re discussing multiple perspectives or arguments within the same essay, dedicate separate paragraphs to each viewpoint. Clearly indicate transitions between paragraphs to maintain a coherent flow.
• Include topic sentences and transitions: Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that clearly states the main idea. Use transitional words and phrases to guide the reader smoothly from one paragraph to the next.

Remember, in a discursive essay, the body paragraphs should explore various arguments and perspectives related to the topic, providing a balanced analysis and supporting evidence. By following these strategies, you can construct well-organized and compelling body paragraphs for your discursive essay.

Incorporating Evidence and Examples

Effectively incorporating evidence and examples is crucial in a discursive essay to support your arguments and strengthen your analysis. Here are some strategies to consider when integrating evidence:

• Choose credible sources: Gather evidence from reputable and reliable sources such as scholarly articles, books, authoritative websites, or academic journals. This ensures the validity and credibility of the evidence.
• Use a variety of evidence: Draw from a range of sources to provide a well-rounded perspective on the topic. This can include facts, statistics, expert opinions, case studies, or historical examples.
• Provide context: When presenting evidence, provide context to help the reader understand its significance. Explain the relevance of the evidence to your argument and how it supports your main points.
• Analyze and interpret evidence: Avoid simply regurgitating evidence. Instead, analyze and interpret it, explaining how it supports your argument and contributes to your overall analysis.
• Quote and paraphrase effectively: When using direct quotes, ensure they are relevant and support your argument. Use accurate paraphrasing to summarize and restate ideas from your sources.
• Cite your sources correctly: Properly cite your sources using a citation style appropriate for your academic field, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. This gives credit to the original authors and avoids plagiarism.

By incorporating evidence and examples effectively, you can provide a solid foundation for your arguments in a discursive essay, enhancing your credibility and persuasiveness.

Addressing Counterarguments

Addressing counterarguments is an essential component of a discursive essay as it demonstrates critical thinking and strengthens your overall argument. Here are some strategies to effectively address counterarguments:

• Identify counterarguments: Identify the main counterarguments or opposing viewpoints related to your topic. This shows that you have considered different perspectives on the issue.
• Understand the counterarguments: Thoroughly analyze and understand the counterarguments before addressing them. This will help you develop a strong response based on evidence and reasoning.
• Refute the counterarguments: Present a persuasive rebuttal to counterarguments by providing evidence or logical reasoning that challenges or disproves them.
• Anticipate objections: Address potential objections or criticisms that readers might have. Proactively refute these objections by providing additional evidence or presenting alternative perspectives.
• Acknowledge validity: Recognize the validity of certain counterarguments or aspects of opposing viewpoints. This demonstrates fairness and strengthens your overall argument by showing that you have carefully considered all sides.
• Use transitional phrases: Use transitional phrases such as “however,” “although,” or “on the other hand,” to seamlessly introduce counterarguments and your responses.

By effectively addressing counterarguments, you can strengthen your own argument and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Engaging with opposing viewpoints in a fair and persuasive manner enhances the overall credibility and impact of your discursive essay.

Concluding the Discursive Essay

Concluding your discursive essay is an opportunity to summarize your main points and leave a lasting impression on the reader. Here are some strategies to effectively conclude your essay:

• Restate your thesis statement: Begin your conclusion by restating your thesis statement in a concise and clear manner. This reminds the reader of your main argument and reinforces its significance.
• Summarize your main points: Provide a brief summary of the main points you discussed in the body paragraphs. This helps to reinforce the key arguments and evidence presented throughout the essay.
• Emphasize the significance of your argument: Highlight the importance and relevance of your argument in relation to the broader context or real-world implications. This helps to leave a lasting impact on the reader.
• Address counterarguments: Briefly acknowledge the counterarguments you addressed in the essay and reiterate why your main argument is stronger or more compelling.
• Offer a final thought or call to action: Conclude your essay by offering a final thought, reflection, or call to action that encourages the reader to further consider the topic or take action.
• Provide closure: End your conclusion by providing a sense of closure to the essay. This can be achieved by offering a conclusive statement or returning to an anecdote or example mentioned earlier in the essay.

By following these strategies, you can effectively conclude your discursive essay, leaving a strong and memorable impression on the reader while summarizing the key points and reinforcing the significance of your argument.

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How To Write Discursive Essays

• Essay Writing Lower Secondary

1. What is a Discursive Essay?

A discursive essay is an essay which involves a discussion. You’re encouraged to examine different perspectives on the issue so that the discussion you provide is a balanced one! You are on the right track if your essay sheds light on the issue by looking at it from different viewpoints.

But before you go on reading… You might want to download a pdf copy of this article as it is quite long!

Click the blue download button, enter your email, and the pdf file will be delivered to your inbox! (Remember to check spam!)

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2. How do I Identify a Discursive Essay Topic?

Let’s take a look at some of the discursive essay topics from past year papers:

2021 O-Level: “Young people are changing the world for the better.” What is your opinion?

• 2019 O-Level: “Most young people today are obsessed with fame and imitating celebrities.” What are your views?

In recent years, “What is your opinion?” and “What are your views?” are common signposts used to indicate a discursive essay topic. However, there are also instances where such questions are not used. Consider:

• 2012 O-Level: People all over the world are living longer. What are the advantages and disadvantages of their increased life expectancy?
• 2010 O-Level: What important lessons in life are learned away from school?

So note that the question can still indicate discursive writing even when it does not contain “What is your opinion?” or “What are your views?”

3. What is the Difference Between a Discursive Essay, an Argumentative Essay and an Expository Essay?

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s look at the differences in requirements for a discursive and an argumentative essay.

Argumentative: you are required to take an explicit stand on the issue. Your essay is structured in a manner that argues towards this stand. When writing an argumentative essay, your goal is to persuade, to convince the reader to be in support of your stand.

Discursive: you are not required to take an explicit stand on the issue. In other words, you do not need to pick a side. You may choose to pick a side; that’s perfectly fine! Just note that the goal here is not to persuade or to convince; it is to provide the reader with a balanced discussion by examining the issue from various viewpoints.

Now that you’ve learnt how to identify a discursive question and gotten a better idea of what it requires, let’s look at how to plan a discursive essay.

4. How do I Approach or Structure a Discursive Essay?

Some essays require  a binary approach , meaning to say you tackle the issue by addressing the positive and the negative aspects of the question at hand. 

Here is how you can plan your body paragraphs for such topics:

Now, it’s your turn! Try planning an outline for the following topics:

• 2017 O-Level: It is often said that people
• are too concerned with getting things and spending money. What is your opinion? 

On the other hand, there are topics which are not suited for such a binary approach. Consider questions such as:

• Give 3 x features (1 per body paragraph)
• Give 3 x important lessons (1 per body paragraph)

5. How do I Brainstorm Ideas for a Discursive Essay to Achieve a Balanced Discussion?

Give yourself 10 minutes to do a proper planning. It’s useful to approach the issue at hand by exploring its significance and relevance in different spheres and domains : Education, Ethics or Morals, Technology, Law etc.

Instead of giving 3 different points from an education perspective, why not broaden your scope and look at the issue from not just an educational perspective, but also a technological perspective and an ethical perspective?

This is what makes for a matured, holistic response. 

Let’s use the following topic as an example:

If you run out of ideas, you can also examine two sides of a coin in a single domain. For example, you’ll see that in the example, that for the technological sphere, there are instances of youths making and  not changing the world for the better.  

Now that the brainstorming is done, let’s put pen to paper and start writing!

6. How do I Write an Introduction for a Discursive Essay?

• Share an insight or observation regarding the issue. Why is this issue worth discussing? What are the implications of the issue? You can also use 5W1H questions to help you generate ideas.
• Define your scope of discussion and if needed, define the keywords in the topic by setting out what is meant by, for instance, “young people” and “for the better”.

You can ask yourself these questions to help you with your intro:

• Who are “young people”?
• In which domains are youths making significant impact?
• Why do some people believe that they are making the world a better place?
• Why do other people not trust youth to positively impact the world?
• What is my thesis?

Simply answer these questions + include your thesis. Voila, you have a solid introduction!

7. How do I Write the Body Paragraphs for a Discursive Essay?

Students, you must have heard of the PEEL method by now. We introduce the POINT in the first sentence, ELABORATE on the point, then substantiate with EVIDENCE or EXAMPLES , and finally, we round it all off by LINKING back to the point.

It sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

Each body paragraph should only discuss one main idea , and only one! Introduce the main idea in your topic sentence (the first sentence of your body paragraph), not after you’ve given your example or when you’re wrapping up the paragraph.

A good topic sentence is straightforward and clear .

Here is an example of a coherent and concise topic sentence:  

• In the sphere of education, youth activists are making positive changes by advocating to make education available to girls in less developed societies.

After you have crafted your topic sentence, it’s time to elaborate on your main point. A well-developed body paragraph elaborates by delving deeper into the main point and substantiating with relevant examples or evidence.

For our point on “education”, consider asking and answering the following questions:

• Education imparts knowledge and skills to girls, which then grants more employment opportunities. In turn, they break free from the poverty cycle.
• Don’t stop here! Make sure to link back to the idea of “making the world a better place”.
• This means lower poverty rates in the world and society also benefits from the contributions that the girls go on to make in the workforce.

Important Reminders:

a. Your essay  must not be example-driven ! It must always be point-driven. 

b. Remember to make the link from your examples/ evidence back to your topic sentence. This illustrates the relevance and strength of your evidence and reinforces your main point. 

For our example, a coherent body paragraph could look like this: 

8. How to Write a Conclusion for a Discursive Essay?

Many students just reiterate the points in conclusion. But that is… you guessed it, boring. Last impression lasts!   You want to provide an insight to this issue to demonstrate your maturity of thought. Apart from summarising your points, link your conclusion back to the introduction so that your essay comes a full circle. You can also use a quote or thought-provoking question for readers to make their own conclusion.

Students, this is how you tackle a discursive essay. Try applying these tips to one of the topics above!

Visit other related articles on Writing Samurai:

How to write argumentative essays.

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• 9 Tips for English Summary Writing
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• How to Write a Discursive Essay: Structure & Tips

Effective communication is a cornerstone of academic success, and mastering discursive essays is a crucial step in this journey. Essays for your English class, like discursive essays, are not just academic exercises but opportunities to enhance your analytical and persuasive skills.

In this guide, we’ll explore the intricacies of crafting compelling discursive essays, providing insights and practical tips to help you navigate how to write a discursive essay successfully. Let’s embark on the journey of honing your ability to present balanced viewpoints and articulate your thoughts with clarity and precision.

What is a Discursive Essay?

Discursive essays are versatile, allowing you to argue for or against a topic or present a balanced view. These essays, integral to English classes, foster critical thinking by exploring various perspectives. They come in different forms, such as opinion essays, for and against essays, or essays proposing solutions to problems. Understanding the nature and purpose of discursive essays is crucial for excelling in your English class.

Discursive Essay Structure

The structure of a discursive essay is straightforward but essential. It has a snappy introduction, persuasive body paragraph and a cohesive conclusion.

In the introduction, set the stage by clearly stating your stance or indicating a balanced view. The body paragraphs are the core, where arguments are built, each paragraph dedicated to a specific aspect of the topic. Finally, the conclusion summarises key points and may include your final position. This structure ensures coherence and clarity.

How to Write an Introduction for a Discursive Essay

The introduction is your chance to captivate readers. Avoid cliches and generalisations; instead, consider opening with a thought-provoking question, a relevant quote, or a surprising statistic.

For example, if your essay is on the impact of technology on education, you might start with, “In an era dominated by screens, is traditional education becoming obsolete?”

Clearly state your stance or intention to present a balanced view.

For instance, “In this essay, we will explore both sides of the debate regarding the influence of technology on education, ultimately arriving at a nuanced perspective.”

How to Write the Body for a Discursive Essay

The body is where your arguments unfold. Divide it into paragraphs, each focused on a specific point. Provide evidence from reputable sources to support your claims. To maintain a smooth transition between paragraphs, use connectives like ‘equally,’ ‘similarly,’ or ‘on the contrary.’ If you’re discussing the positive impact of technology on education, a transition could be, “Similarly, the accessibility of online resources has revolutionised the learning experience.”

How to Write a Conclusion for a Discursive Essay

The conclusion is not a mere repetition but a synthesis of your main findings. Recap key points and, depending on the essay type, state your final position. Express your personal opinion logically, aligning it with the evidence presented in the body. For example, “While technology offers unprecedented opportunities, a balanced approach that preserves the essence of traditional education is vital.”

Discursive Essay Writing Tips

• Utilise connectives: Use words like ‘however,’ ‘in contrast,’ or ‘conversely’ for smooth transitions between opposing viewpoints. For instance, “While some argue for the benefits of online learning, others vehemently oppose it. However, a nuanced perspective considers both sides.”
• Formal language: Maintain a formal tone. Avoid colloquial expressions; instead, opt for academic language. For instance, replace “kids” with “children” and “a lot” with “numerous.”
• Persuasive techniques: Experiment with persuasive writing techniques. For instance, if discussing environmental issues, use vivid imagery like “the lush greenery replaced by concrete jungles” to evoke a strong visual impact.

Need More Help With How to Write a Discursive Essay? A Team Tuition Can Help!

For personalised guidance and support in mastering discursive essays, consider reaching out to A Team Tuition. Our English academic personal trainers offer valuable insights and assistance tailored to your specific needs.

Whether forming study groups, seeking your teacher’s guidance, or opting for private tutoring and mentoring through A Team Tuition, these avenues can elevate your essay writing skills.

Remember, mastering discursive essays is not just about academic achievement; it’s a lifelong skill that enhances your ability to think critically and communicate effectively. Take the first step toward academic excellence – contact A Team Tuition to schedule your first session and unlock your full potential. Happy writing!

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Article Contents

1. politically discursive art, 2. the problem of parity, 3. the pre-eminence of the objective style, 4. plurality of rhetorical modes, 5. political art in context, 6. artworks and arguments.

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Art as Political Discourse

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Vid Simoniti, Art as Political Discourse, The British Journal of Aesthetics , Volume 61, Issue 4, October 2021, Pages 559–574, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesthj/ayab018

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Much art is committed to political causes. However, does art contribute something unique to political discourse, or does it merely reflect the insights of political science and political philosophy? Here I argue for indispensability of art to political discourse by building on the debate about artistic cognitivism, the view that art is a source of knowledge. Different artforms, I suggest, make available specific epistemic resources, which allow audiences to overcome epistemic obstacles that obtain in a given ideological situation. My goal is to offer a general model for identifying cognitive advantages for artworks belonging to distinct artforms and genres (e.g. satire, visibility-raising artworks, caricatures, and so on), in a way that can account for each artwork’s historical and cultural specificity. More speculatively, however, my account also comments on the ancient struggle between philosophy and the arts as competing modes of persuasion, and expands our notion of legitimate political discourse to include a greater plurality of discursive genres.

Gerhard Richter’s portrait of his uncle wearing a Nazi uniform, Uncle Rudi (1965), addresses the subject of intergenerational guilt in Germany; Margaret Atwood’s novel The handmaid’s tale ( 1985 ) critiques patriarchal oppression through a story set in a dystopian future society; Public Enemy’s hip-hop album Fear of a Black Planet ( 1990 ) tackles institutional racism in the USA; Jasmila Žbanić’s film Esma’s Secret (2006) narrates the story of a rape survivor raising her child, broaching this difficult subject in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars. We can categorize such works as politically discursive art, in the sense that they are recognizably about a political issue: audiences receive such works as contributions to a debate in the public sphere. While in the first half of the twentieth century, the very idea of political content in art had to be defended—for example, in W. E. B. Du Bois’ defence of anti-racist art ( Du Bois, 1926 ) or in Walter Benjamin’s defence of ‘tendentious art’ and the role of the author as ‘producer’ ( Benjamin, 1934 /1999)—in our own time, art has become an undeniably political forum. From TV series to hip-hop albums, from feminist ‘craftivism’ to environmentalist land art, the artist’s licence to display overt political tendencies through her work is hardly in doubt.

Nevertheless, what role such politically discursive art performs may be questioned. For example, should we say that Atwood’s novel merely reflects feminist criticism of patriarchal society, or does it add something to that criticism in a way that a feminist theorist might? Fear of a Black Planet may motivate one to notice the racism experienced in the United States, but does it itself contribute to political discourse about racism in a way that a manifesto might? The question I propose to address, accordingly, is this: can politically discursive art contribute something distinct to political debate on specific topics, or does it simply rehearse positions arrived at in other disciplines?

Before we tackle the question, a brief methodological note is in order. The background to my enquiry will be ideas of deliberative democracy: broadly speaking, the thought that political debate takes place within a public sphere, within which different modes of communication are available to participants. The key question for theorists of public reason in deliberative democracy—such as John Rawls, Amy Gutmann and Jürgen Habermas—is what deliberative norms will ensure outcomes that are both fairly arrived at and are likely to be correct. To establish art’s contribution to discourse, I therefore suggest that we compare political art with argument-driven forms of public debate, which are typically presented as ideal within a well-ordered public discourse. Admittedly, some readers will find this set-up as already too optimistic about the merits of deliberative democracy. Indeed, the connection between art and politics has been much more readily studied within critical theory traditions such as the Frankfurt school and poststructuralism, which begin with a radical scepticism of the public sphere—viewing it as already deeply compromised by unequal power relations and false consciousness—and then posit art as a kind of counterweight to that sphere (the work of Theodor Adorno is perhaps most representative here). To put my cards on the table: the picture I build here will, by contrast, allow for considerable faith in the public sphere in modern democracies, although I hope the relationship between my position and some of the valid worries traditionally expressed in critical theory will become clearer later in the paper.

I begin the investigation by pointing to a related view in contemporary aesthetics—cognitivism about art—in order to formulate the problem of parity between art and non-art discourse. I delineate my view—that art yields discursive knowledge—from views that it yields experiential or practical knowledge. Then, in Section 3, I will offer a case against parity in the political context. Making use of John Rawls’ and Jürgen Habermas’ accounts of public reason, I will construct an argument for the pre-eminence of the objective style of political discourse. In Section 4, I will resist that case, arguing that there are instances where the very attempt to inhabit the objective style may leave us worse off epistemically and that, in those cases, political art can be epistemically superior. I illustrate my argument with two examples in Section 5, before addressing objections in Section 6.

Artistic cognitivism is the claim that art makes available non-trivial knowledge, in a way that is particular to it as art. Several philosophers have argued for cognitivism by pointing out an overlap between artistic and systematic forms of justification: works of art, just like systematic discourse, can provide thought experiments ( Camp, 2009 ), can offer examples of virtue and vice ( Carroll, 2002 ), can encourage inductive reasoning from examples to general conclusions ( Putnam, 1978 ), can appeal to emotions to motivate arguments ( Nanay, 2013 ) and can clarify concepts by offering particular applications for them ( John, 1998 ). We might designate these philosophical efforts as formulating an ‘argument from overlap’: art is a source of knowledge, because artistic devices overlap with methods that we, as philosophers, already recognize as conducive to knowledge. This may be easily translated into a political context. Atwood’s The handmaid’s tale (1985) may be thought of as a carefully constructed thought experiment of a life lived under extreme misogyny; Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet (1990) may be said to conceptually clarify the concept ‘systemic racism’ by giving clear examples of it. By using such legitimate devices of political discourse, each artwork thereby furthers our understanding of the political issues it tackles.

So, art clearly can contribute to political discourse. However, the initial problem that artistic cognitivism sought to address, chiefly in the 1990s and 2000s, was the question of whether art could yield any valuable knowledge at all ( Lamarque and Olsen, 1994 , pp. 324ff, 68, 84–5, 402ff). With that worry by now largely laid to rest, a further problem arises: the problem of epistemic parity between art and non-artistic disciplines. Consider this analogy. You are having a drunken late-night conversation about politics with a particularly brilliant friend. Even though that conversation does not conform to the rigours of academic discourse, it is presumably possible to learn much from it. While desultory and digressive, the conversation might still contain valid argumentation and truthful assertions, even singular moments of inspiration. Still, it is also true that you would have acquired the relevant knowledge more efficiently were your friend not inebriated and could have organized her thoughts more systematically. The worry now is that art is just like your brilliant, drunken friend: overlap does not guarantee parity. Since non-art political discourse has only one aim (to deepen our understanding of political issues), it can absorb any mechanism found in art (such as detailed thought experiments or emotionally forceful examples) and apply them exactly as needed without getting distracted with other aims (such as plot pacing in fiction, or rhyme in hip hop). While the arts may do well, and even very well , at progressing knowledge, there remains a possibility that the arts will always be worse at securing knowledge than theoretical disciplines. This is the problem of parity.

In choosing how we deal with the problem of parity, the cognitivist about art encounters an interesting fork in the road. The first option is to propose that there exist special kinds of knowledge, which art is especially good at securing. Some philosophers have put forward the idea that art offers experiential insights (e.g. Gaut, 2007 , pp. 141–202; Green, 2010 ; Walton 1990 , pp. 25–30, 34–35, 95, 211), or that art yields practical moral wisdom (e.g. Carroll, 2002 ; Gaut, 2007 , pp. 163ff; Nussbaum, 1990 , pp. 148–67). Now, the exact nature of these claims varies from philosopher to philosopher, and some of them can be interpreted as also leaning towards the ‘overlap’ claims mentioned above. But the important point is this: insofar as one insists that experiential and practical knowledge arrived at through art are truly distinct from the more propositional knowledge pursued by argumentation, then it is easy to overcome the problem of parity. Art then reigns over its own realm of non-propositional, non-paraphrasable insight (cf. Nussbaum, 1990 , pp. 4–5), while systematic intellectual disciplines are left confined to their own domain.

To insist on a clear distinction between different domains of knowledge, however, strikes me as unsuitable for the politically discursive artworks. Politically discursive works broach a thesis, a point or a subject that is clearly legible from the purview of other disciplines (it is for this reason that these works have been disparagingly called ‘tendentious’ or even ‘didactic’ works of art). Art criticism around Richter’s Uncle Rudi routinely points to the subject of intergenerational guilt in Germany, and the reception of Atwood’s The handmaid’s tale points towards a critique of patriarchal relations. But such subjects are fully debatable through political science or philosophy. Therefore, if artworks make genuine contribution to our understanding of such subjects, their contribution cannot be of a radically different kind, and must be interrogable by systematic disciplines.

For this reason, I propose to take a different path, and to insist that political art and systematic disciplines are after knowledge of the same kind . The kind of knowledge in question will, to a large degree, be propositional (it will include statements about how the world is, or how it ought to be), but we need not get too caught up in the propositional-practical-experiential distinction, sometimes imported into philosophy of art from analytic epistemology. Two other clarifications are more important. First, by invoking the term ‘knowledge’ in the political context, I mean to assume that some epistemic progress can be made in the realm of politics, although this allows that there may be areas of uncertainty that we shall never fully settle (we may never know what a perfect society looks like, but we now know that feudalism is not it). Secondly, a contrast seems to obtain between discursive propositional knowledge, such as knowledge about the nature of tolerance, and mundane propositional knowledge, such as knowing that ‘it is raining outside’. We can obtain mundane propositional knowledge simply from perception or from testimony. Discursive knowledge , by contrast, is a matter of more complex processes of justification. A subject can be said to have understood more , say, about the nature of patriarchy, if she has considered a greater number of theories and facts, and worked through her conceptual schemas. The knowledge we are after is arrived at by more intellectually exerting routes than simply looking through the window or asking the teacher.

Against this background, we must push our analysis of art further than the 'argument of overlap' did. The task is to address the problem of parity anew, to show that art is not a second-best path to knowledge, and to do so without invoking a distinct sphere of knowledge. In other words, we are back in the midst of Plato’s ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy in Plato’s original formulation, that is, their quarrel over the same domain—the domain of politics—where what matters is truth, justice and careful thinking (cf. Plato, 2000 , X 607b5–6).

In the analogy above, art corresponded to the intoxicated friend. But that correspondence is not in fact an obvious one. Why should the drunken friend not be, say, political philosophy or political science ?

The anti-art assumption seems to be a natural one to make from within philosophy itself. Especially in analytic philosophy, we have come to value a certain measured style that comprises perspicacious structuring of arguments, clear signposting, definite conclusions, systematic presentation of evidence, elimination of the author’s distinct voice and autobiography, lack of flourishes and digressions, avoidance of ambiguity, and other such stylistic properties. We may call such a style the ‘objective style’ of discourse. We find one manifesto-like defence of it in Timothy Williamson’s Philosophy of Philosoph y:

We need the unglamorous virtue of patience to read and write philosophy that is as perspicuously structured as the difficulty of the subject requires, and the austerity to be dissatisfied with appealing prose that does not meet those standards. The fear of boring oneself or one’s readers is a great enemy of truth. ( Williamson, 2007 , p. 288)

Following this line of reasoning, art would almost certainly count among the enemies of truth; after all, few artists set out to bore their audiences. However, it is not yet clear what exactly might justify our preference for the objective style when we speak of political discourse. After all, discourse that is so boring and unglamorous that nobody has the patience to engage with it would hardly convince anybody. To mount an argument in favour of the objective style, we need to reflect on the proper procedure of acquiring knowledge through a political debate. A suitable philosophical portrait of such a process may be borrowed from democratic discourse theory in its original form; here I shall draw on two best-known exponents, John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas.

While following different political programmes, both Rawls and Habermas have defended the notion of public reason: the idea that the legitimacy of political rules depends not simply on the agreement of actual citizens, but on what would be agreed by suitably idealized rational subjects. For Rawls, only ‘reasonable’ subjects form the constituency of public reason. These are the subjects who can temporarily bracket their own interests, position, substantive opinions or religious views, as suggested by the veil of ignorance of Rawls’ ‘original position’ ( Rawls, 1997 , pp. 769–73; Rawls, 2005 , pp. 22–23, 47–59). Habermas’ early theory of communicative rationality similarly stipulates that those engaging in public argumentation must assume an ‘ideal speech situation’ ( Habermas, 1970 ; for elaboration, see Brand, 1990 , pp. 11, 19–24, 28–29). Here, subjects do not seek to coerce each other’s opinions (what Habermas calls ‘strategic action’) but jointly aim to find inherently good solutions (‘communicative action’) ( Habermas, 1984 , pp. 87–88, 94–96). As with Rawls’ reasonable subjects, the participants in an ideal speech situation weigh different political options impartially, such that ‘the structure of [the participants’] communication rules out all external or internal coercion other than the force of the better argument‘ ( Habermas, 1990 , pp. 88–89). Neither Rawls nor Habermas is primarily concerned with the question of what rhetorical style should be employed under the idealized conditions of political discourse they describe. And yet, the picture they paint tends towards the objective style.

In Political Liberalism, for example, Rawls suggests that reasonable subjects ought to abide by the duty of civility to one another—that is, be willing to explain how their political preferences derive from impartial concerns ( Rawls, 2005 , pp. 217). He also introduces the requirement that they should do so in an accessible way ( Rawls, 2005 , p. 162n28), and elsewhere calls for ‘public occasions of orderly and serious discussion of fundamental questions and issues of public policy’ ( Rawls, 1997 , p. 772, my emphasis). Rawls gives the measured and impartial style in which the Justices of the Supreme Court should ideally give their opinions as an exemplar (2005, pp. 235ff). Habermas, comparably, insists that all forms of public reason be free of the attempt to manipulate the other party, and should in principle be justifiable in the ideal speech situation of giving reasons and yielding to better arguments: ‘Even the most fleeting of speech-act offers, the most conventional yes/no responses, rely on potential reasons’. ( Habermas, 1996 , p. 19; cited in Allen, 2012 , p. 356) For this reason, as one commentator noted, Habermas demands that speakers in the ideal situation should avoid insincerity, self-contradiction and inconsistent use of terms and irony ( Panagia, 2004 , pp. 832–33).

What is here stipulated is a certain match between idealized political subjects and the manner of their deliberations. Reasonable participants in public discourse, as we saw, have a duty to expurgate idiosyncratic epistemic obstacles: their individual biases, their desire for dominating others, and so forth. They affirm this commitment to reasonableness by addressing themselves only to those epistemic obstacles that are indelible and shared: obstacles such as the inherent difficulty of the arguments involved, the unavailability of evidence or the vagueness of shared concepts (these are what Rawls calls the ‘burdens of judgment’; Rawls, 2005 , pp. 56–57). For such obstacles, the objective style of reasoning will be best-suited. The objective style separates the speaker’s idiosyncratic position from the content of her arguments and, by eliminating such features as wilful self-contradiction or lack of seriousness, the objective style is also the most accessible—that is, easiest for other reasonable participants to follow.

This rationalist picture of public reason is, it ought to be noted, no longer as dominant in political theory as when Rawls and Habermas first formulated it. Some proponents of deliberative democracy have become more open to forms of communication that go beyond argumentation, especially when considering the real, rather than idealized, conditions of democratic deliberation ( Polletta and Gardner, 2018 ). The case I intend to formulate for political art is broadly aligned with such developments. That being said, the rationalist model is still at the core of democratic deliberation theory (cf. Goodin, 2018 ) and, even in its expanded format, provides a foil for artistic forms. Art does not fit snugly with its demands: ruminative paintings about guilt do not even offer clear-cut conclusions, and hip-hop albums do not abide by the ‘duty of civility’. So, let us, for now, distil the rationalist model of public reason into an argument for the pre-eminence of the objective genre, and consider the implications such an argument has for works of political art.

The first premise of the argument here is that, at the commencement of any political enquiry, reasonable subjects should aspire to the idealized condition of speech. They should try to reduce their individual epistemic obstacles as much as possible: bracket their biases, but also brace themselves against boredom and distraction. What degree of idealization we should expect of real-life participants can be debated (cf. Vallier, 2018 , §2.4); however, it seems clear that the subjects should aspire to be as impartial and public-minded as possible. Let us call such an aspirational state—the state with the fewest possible epistemic obstacles—the state of discursive rationality. Importantly, the first premise need not stipulate that participants in public discourse should ever actually achieve that state, merely that it is something we should aspire towards. And that seems self-evident: the state with the fewest epistemic obstacles is the one we should aspire towards.

The second premise is that the objective genre is best-suited to a subject in the state of discursive rationality. This also seems plausible. By perspicuously structuring arguments and impartially laying out evidence, the objective style is directed precisely at the remaining, indelible obstacles of any enquiry. The objective style makes no concessions to laziness, or to biases, or to being easily distracted, or indeed to the propensity to be moved by anything other than the force of the better argument. The various features typical of the arts, such as plot pacing, concerns with rhythm or creation of thoughtful aporias, on the other hand, are not directed at the indelible epistemic obstacles—namely, the difficulty of arguments or unavailability of evidence. Precisely those devices that separate art from objective discourse are, then, at best superfluous and at worst distracting.

What follows from these premises—that we should aspire to discursive rationality, and that the objective style is best-suited to that state—is a certain elite position for the objective genre. The reasonable subject and the objective style of discourse are a good fit; they are the model enquirer and the model medium of any intellectual investigation. It may be observed that, in reality, the rhetorical styles in public debates are a lot more mixed (there are, for example, more subjective forms of journalism and more personal modes of public address). But the compass of epistemic prestige in political discourse will point towards the stylistically objective elements, just as Williamson suggests for philosophy in general. There is, then, no parity between objective political discourse (philosophy, political science, serious journalism, and so on) and the arts.

Still, this argument does not imply that the proper attitude of the philosopher towards the arts should be one of disparagement; rather, it should be a kind of patronizing encouragement. The arts, as we saw, overlap with other forms of public discourse. They may therefore serve those public discussants who, due to some circumstantial weakness or disadvantage, cannot quite aspire to the state of discursive rationality (cf. Polletta and Gardner, 2018 , pp. 72–3). For somebody easily bored, for example, Atwood’s gripping narrative in The handmaid’s tale may be a useful introduction to ideas about anti-patriarchy. For somebody daunted by the turgid texts on social justice, rap albums may provide a more engaging way to think through oppressions of racism. Equally, we might say that introductions to philosophy (but not serious texts) may take a literary form, such as Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s world (1991) or Timothy Williamson’s own Tetralogue (2015). The arts may, then, play a sort of didactic, kindergartenly handmaiden to philosophy. For discursive knowledge of the highest kind, we must still ascend to the clear-sighted industriousness of the objective style.

Our aim now is to defuse the argument for the pre-eminence of the objective genre. I propose that we take no issue with the second premise: that the objective genre is best-suited to subjects who have already arrived at the state of discursive rationality. I like to imagine such subjects as the souls in Dante’s Paradiso, the non-omniscient but ideally rational beings, who would probably have little use for political art of any sort. I propose that we dislodge the first premise instead and claim that aspiring towards the state of discursive rationality—bracketing one’s biases and so forth—is not always the epistemically best thing to do at the commencement of an enquiry. This may seem counterintuitive, but there is an important ambiguity at work here. If we conceive of ‘aspiration’ as merely ‘the desire to be in’, then we ought to agree with the first premise: the state with the fewest epistemic obstacles is the epistemically most desirable. However, if we conceive of ‘aspiration’ as ‘an attempt to inhabit’, then the premise becomes less obviously appealing. We must ask, in other words, whether, for people like ourselves, there might not obtain situations where the effort of hoisting ourselves up to that exalted position would backfire, create new epistemic obstacles or fail to dispel the ones that exist. We will have to fill in some details here. Who are ‘people like ourselves’? What sorts of beings might stumble and scratch their knees when reaching for the highest echelons of rationality?

Recent social epistemology has pointed out various ways in which epistemic obstacles form part of our social background: injustice may be woven into publicly available concepts ( Fricker, 2007 , pp. 18–27), into our sense of identity ( Stanley, 2015 , pp. 196–201; elaborating on Stebbing 1939 , p. 33), and may be inherent in psychological attitudes like closed-mindedness or dogmatism ( Cassam, 2019 , Chapters 2–4). If we accept that such obstacles are pervasive and recalcitrant, there is a genuine question as to whether taking a deep breath, pointing them out, ‘bracketing them’, and then proceeding with the rigorous objective style is always the optimal way for their overcoming.

To see what I have in mind, consider a few examples; these are gathered from philosophical and political science literature. Political scientists Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler have reported on the ‘backfire effect’ in political persuasion ( Nyhan and Reifler, 2010 ). This occurs when a participant in a debate is offered evidence that contradicts her preferred belief; curiously, offering such new evidence can backfire in the sense that the participant then doubles down on her belief rather than revises it in accordance with the new data. Nyhan and Reifler observed this effect in the context of the Second Gulf War, when pro-war subjects, who believed in the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq, were presented with evidence to the contrary. Afterwards, the subjects curiously reported a higher certainty in the existence of WMDs ( Nyhan and Reifler, 2010 , pp. 314–15; analogous findings were established on the left of the ideological spectrum as well). What is curious for our purposes in that the corrective evidence in these experiments was invariably presented in the objective style: as impartial, factual news reports. And yet, such calm, evidence-driven counter-arguments have led the subjects to hold even tighter onto their beliefs, when we would expect them to lower their credence, or for it at least not to change.

To give a different case of how the objective style of discourse may fail us, consider Robin McKenna’s (2019) recent exploration of subjects’ weakened ability to obtain new justified beliefs, when these beliefs are consistent with the subject’s ideological position. For example, McKenna argues that subjects who identify with liberal and environmentalist values are less critical of studies that support the existence of climate change. While climate change, of course, exists, not all reports on all aspects of it will be factually correct, and liberal-environmentalist audiences are more likely to go along, uncritically, with such faulty studies. As a result, we seem less capable of obtaining new knowledge on issues we politically identify with, even if our views happen to be broadly correct ( McKenna, 2019 , pp. 758, 763–65; analogous cases can be found elsewhere on the political spectrum). Again, it seems, the objective, scientific presentation of evidence by itself provides no additional help to our critical faculties. When strong political commitments are in place, it seems that we are only too happy to be led down the route that gets us to the desired conclusion—without applying due critical pressure on the way.

In all these cases we find what Adrian Piper has called the state of ‘pseudo-rationality’: the semblance of rational coherence that we inhabit to justify the beliefs we are committed to ( Piper, 2013 , pp. 289–96, 312–16). Piper’s point, as I understand it, is that such subjects need not engage in deliberate sophistry; they do not merely cynically use arguments to further a point they do not believe in, as Habermas at some point suggested ( Habermas, 1984 , pp. 295ff). In fact, the subjects might quite sincerely attempt to bracket their biases and reason impartially; it is only that by doing so, they still weigh evidence or apply focus in a biased way. Our adherence to the objective style may be perfectly well-meaning, but this does not guarantee that our epistemic processes will proceed impeccably.

If one acknowledges such cases, the crucial question becomes: what, if anything, might help? What would snap a person out of their state of pseudo-rationality? As the examples given above demonstrate, simply trying harder, and more doggedly pursuing rational argumentation, will not always work. In those cases, we might speculate, an interlocutor’s sarcastic remark may make us see that we have sacrificed truth to argumentative rigour. Or, perhaps, a joke, or, a plaintive tone of voice, or, alternatively, creating some healthy ruckus, slamming the table, saying, ‘come on now, I know you are smart, but look at the facts!’. What— if anything —will lead to epistemic progress and acknowledgement of the facts will depend on the specific dynamics of the situation. Anybody who has engaged in protracted intellectual gymnastics over a heated political issue—or even in a debate over whose turn it is to do the dishes—will be, I take it, familiar with this phenomenon to an extent. For a given epistemic obstacle to be noted and overcome, what sometimes needs to happen is a shift from the objective style into another rhetorical mode.

At this juncture, it may be helpful to again acknowledge that great schism in twentieth-century Western political theory: between those who have extolled rational deliberation as the best tool for political emancipation, and those who have treated the objective style itself as irredeemably corrupted by power relations. Rawls and Habermas, as well as most first-generation analytic political philosophers, may be counted within the first camp; ideology-critical traditions, from Theodor Adorno and Jacques Derrida to Judith Butler, within the second. While I do not mean the present paper to spill into the intractable territory of this rift, it is worth pointing out that our discussion at this point allows for a middle path between these extremes: a pluralist position. Sometimes , a sincere aspiration to discursive rationality and the objective style will offer the best available means to overcome social epistemic obstacles. But that need not be universally the case. To dislodge the argument for the pre-eminence of the objective style, we need not do anything as ambitious (and counterproductive) as deconstruct all instances of objective-style thinking. Our criticism of the objective style can confine itself, more modestly but also more precisely, to isolated cases— those where objective-style thinking fails epistemically.

This, I suggest, is the chink in the armour of objective style through which we can address the problem of parity. Attempting to inhabit the state of discursive rationality is not always a good idea. This claim, it strikes me, is modest enough; but if it is true, we still need to take a few more steps to secure parity between artistic and objective genres. We need to demonstrate a sort of match: show that precisely in those cases where objective style fails, artistic devices can help overcome epistemic obstacles. That, if you like, is the general model. But to secure parity with any particular genre of art, or indeed any particular work of art, the discussion must now become more piecemeal and responsive to culturally specific contexts; philosophy must here join hands with history of the arts and art criticism. I will merely offer two, necessarily brief and schematic, illustrations.

To illustrate how parity may be achieved, I will use two examples of politically discursive art belonging to the recent Anglophone popular culture. Due to the United States' status as the global cultural hegemon, these examples do not require much of an introduction, which in a brief philosophical paper will have to be accepted as a somewhat unpleasant advantage of US hegemony. I should also say at the outset that I do not take these to be necessarily the most accomplished works of political art. Indeed, some of their very discernible faults will allow us to show how art participates in the public attempt at reaching discursive knowledge, but may (just like discourse in the objective style) both contribute to and detract from it.

Consider first the satirical works that were popular in the 2000s, such as Borat (2006) and Brüno (2009) created by Sacha Baron-Cohen, or South Park (1997 –) and Team America (2004) by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. These works have an excessive, grotesque, Rabelaisian quality to them. Just as François Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel disparaged all strata of the sixteenth-century society through grossness and absurdity, these modern satires mercilessly lacerate a variety of political positions and characters. They denigrate both the ideals that their liberal audiences perceive as ‘bad’ (domestic and imperialist forms of US chauvinism), and those they may perceive as ‘good’ (environmentalism, multiculturalism, pacifism). For example, Team America derides US hawkish foreign policy—personified in the disastrously bumbling ‘world police’ taskforce—but it also lampoons the idealist, pacifist option, represented by a gang of dumb Hollywood actors. The primary target of Borat, meanwhile, is certainly the casual chauvinism of some Americans, whose openly expressed xenophobic reactions are shown in the film’s final cut. However, I depart from the interpretations that see Borat as unequivocally subversive of xenophobia (for such an analysis, see Zupančič, 2008 , p. 33). The depiction of the film’s protagonist as promiscuous and crude also channels stereotypes about third-world immigrants, and the film, I think, therefore is also at odds with a more liberal sentiment, which would censor such depictions as offensive. In short, these satires are decidedly non-partisan (and perhaps non-partisan to a fault); instead of picking a side, they denigrate all political positions that dominated the public sphere at the time of their making.

I shall not attempt a more detailed description of such neo-Rabelaisian satires, although one could certainly chart their relationship to other established genres of satire (e.g. Horatian, Juvenalian, Menippean, Dryden-esque and so forth) or to other subversive comedies (cf. Griffin, 1994 ; Zupančič, 2008 ). For now, let us isolate just one artistic feature common to these works: the indiscriminate disparagement of opposing political positions. This feature is not something that we typically find in works written in the objective style, nor can we imagine it being easily imported into it. The objective style generally seeks to put forward one position at the expense of another and to do so respectfully. So, what could be gained epistemically by such an artistic device, by such a flurry of low blows?

The epistemic benefit of neo-Rabelaisian satire should be understood against the specific background of a polarized political space. As we saw in the previous section, subjects who strongly identify with a given position may find the objective style less suitable for the critical revision of their beliefs. Objective-style corrections may backfire, while objective-style confirmations may be accepted uncritically. Whenever such a highly polarized political situation obtains any loosening of the subject’s identification with her political camp may become epistemically useful. Neo-Rabelaisian satire, at its best, achieves just that. Within the world of Team America, the liberal viewer finds it just as uncomfortable to identify with the sanctimonious Hollywood actors as she does with the mindless military interventionists. Borat is perhaps something of a limit case, because here even the political beliefs that are foundational to democracy—such as the belief that xenophobic stereotypes are a bad thing—are temporarily suspended in the portrayal of the protagonist. Now, at a wrong place, at a wrong time, in the wrong hands, this may certainly result in dangerous cynicism, but, at an appropriate moment, neo-Rabelaisian satire can aim at something that the objective-style discourse has trouble with: it can weaken the subject’s over-confidence in their own position. By temporarily softening our attachment to any of the contestant positions in the public sphere, this form of satire can recalibrate the critical capacity needed for the proper processing of arguments and evidence.

For my second (and quite different) example, consider what we may call visibility-raising artworks: works that foreground the experience of oppressed and culturally underrepresented social groups. The recent television series Pose (2018 –) is one such work. The series is set in the ballroom subculture of the late 1980s New York, which was largely run by LGBTQ and gender-non-conforming people of colour. If we think about what epistemic obstacles visibility-raising artworks are up against, one uncontroversial proposal would be: essentialization. This we may define as a tendency to explain somebody’s entire person—their motives, emotions, capabilities and ethos—by reference to a type they are perceived as belonging to. Overtly negative stereotypes are a clear case of essentialization, but essentialization may also inhere in subtler forms of xenophobia; for example, stereotypes that attribute a seemingly positive property, such as a Black person’s ‘sense of rhythm’ or a gay man’s ‘artistic sense’ (cf. Piper, 2013 , pp. 438–39). Edward Said describes this phenomenon succinctly in his study of Orientalism:

[In an Orientalist mindset,] [w]e are to assume that if an Arab feels joy, if he is sad at the death of his child or parent, if he has a sense of the injustices of political tyranny, then those experiences are necessarily subordinate to the sheer, unadorned, and persistent fact of being an Arab. ( Said, 1978 , p. 230)

As an epistemic obstacle, essentialization can lead to various false beliefs about other persons, indeed, with dire political consequences. Adrian Piper describes such essentialization as xenophobia; as she puts it, xenophobia ‘reduces the complex singularity of the other’s properties to an oversimplified but conceptually manageable subset’. ( Piper, 2013 , p. 422).

Objective-style discourse certainly has a role to play in overcoming essentialization, by, for example, showing that stereotypes are empirically groundless. Nevertheless, we may suggest that objective discourse, in its very structure, makes it hard to contemplate individuals in their distinctiveness. Objective discourse must posit abstract groups even as it calls for those group’s emancipation. Therefore, even if one were to well-meaningly say that ‘LGBTQ individuals have faced challenges of such-and-such nature … ’ one already predisposes the listener to view each individual’s singular nature as primarily understood through their membership of that group. Of course, one may attempt to ameliorate that effect by various qualifications within objective discourse (‘ some LGBTQ people have tended to … ’). Note, however, that a format like the television series does not have the problem of positing groups with essential characteristics built into its structure, like the objective style does. In a TV series, we simply follow the fate of individual characters, and are not given a set of theses about them as a social group.

That is not to say that every television series is wonderfully good at this; earlier episodes of Pose are, I believe, less successful at dispelling essentialization. These involve several clichéd, soap-opera storylines, such as the mentor-student rivalry of Blanca and Elektra, so that the only salient feature in an otherwise predictable situation remains the social type of the protagonists. However, as the series progresses, characters increasingly emerge in their individuality. Blanca’s reaction to her HIV diagnosis is particularly complex, evolving from despair, to a sense of purpose and often-employed gallows humour. All this makes Blanca, as played by Mj Rodriguez, stand out as an individual, whose actions the audience cannot simply reduce to that of a ‘typical’ transwoman. If essentialization is an epistemic obstacle that prevents us from obtaining discursive knowledge about other persons (cf. Piper 2013 , pp. 421ff), then the long narrative format of the contemporary TV series, when intelligently employed, carries certain specific advantages over the objective-style discourse about minoritarian subjects.

These examples fill in, I hope, the general from of the argument for parity between politically discursive art and objective-style discourse. In each case, the argument does not require us to represent some kinds of knowledge as exclusive to art alone (the ‘unparaphrasable knowledge’ path); nor does it require a full takedown of the objective style (the critical theory path). Instead, we need to point at specific situations where the objective discourse fails us, where it becomes haunted by spectres of pseudo-rationality, of which dogmatism and essentialization are but two. Whenever this happens, it is to art that we can look for possible corrections.

There are a few objections that will hopefully bring my position into sharper relief. Firstly, one might object that there is no necessary link between the artworks I have discussed and their epistemic benefits. Surely, it is possible to imagine an objective-style article that successfully convinces the audiences to be more critical of their own position (my first example) or to behold persons in their singular nature (my second). Indeed, that is true. However, as we saw at the outset of this paper, it seems patently wrong to think that any epistemic shift can be achieved exclusively through either art or through objective discourse. Such exclusivity cannot obtain because objective and artistic discourses overlap. Works of art may sometimes point to general trends or facts, and works written in the objective style may sometimes incorporate satirical turns of phrase, detailed descriptions and so forth. The question here is what epistemic obstacles and benefits tend to inhabit different rhetorical modes. The arts can overcome forms of pseudo-rationality that the objective style suffers from, just as, undoubtedly, the objective style can excise epistemic obstacles that it would be more arduous to remove through the arts.

Another objection may point to the epistemic weaknesses of the individual artworks I have described. Artworks, of course, can create epistemic obstacles as well as offer resources. For example, while the neo-Rabelaisian satires may invigorate our critical capacities, as I suggested, one could certainly protest that they can also weaken our critical capacities with their use of crude stereotypes. With regards to my other example, Pose, I have suggested the series removes the epistemic obstacle of essentialization. But one may protest that I have unduly privileged the epistemic interests of the hegemonic (white, heteronormative) audience when I should have also considered the epistemic interests of the people represented in the series. The epistemic needs of an oppressed group may be quite different from those of the mainstream; as Paul C. Taylor has argued in Black Aesthetics, for example, a positive self-understanding of an oppressed group might depend on creating opportunities for authenticity and belonging, as much as on battling stereotypes and essentialization ( Taylor, 2017 , pp. 132–52).

Such polemical points strengthen, rather than weaken, the case for the cognitive value of political art. Criticisms of specific artworks on epistemic grounds may be justified, but we ought to think of such criticism as analogous to objections and counter-arguments that any philosophical essay is likely to invite as well. Discursive knowledge is rarely settled conclusively in a single contribution, and its goal is not a state of dogmatic certainty that would admit no further objection or thought. Artworks (just as works of objective-style discourse) show themselves to be a part of the cognitive enterprise precisely in virtue of inviting objections or re-interpretations.

Such discursive responses to artworks can be offered through art criticism, but also through the development of artistic forms themselves. For example, certain recent television series perform a similar loosening on their audience’s strongly held, ‘right-on’ beliefs as neo-Rabelaisian satires did in the early 2000s, but they do so by creating morally unsettling, flawed protagonists, rather than by employing crude stereotypes (I here have in mind works like Michaela Cole’s brilliant television series I May Destroy You (2020) ). There is cognitive progress here, in the sense that art now avoids artistic devices, which, on reflection, we think left us epistemically worse off, or unduly muddled the public debate. The correction here is analogous to, say, a shift in the concepts we use in the objective style, or to a shift in arguments we offer.

If artworks can be thought of, in this way, as engaging in a common polemic, this also helps to clarify the difference between attributing discursive knowledge to artworks, as I have done, as opposed to claiming distinctly experiential or practical domains of knowledge for art (see Section 2 above). It seems unlikely to me that the artworks I have discussed impart significant experiential or practical knowledge. For example, we do not go up to victims of political oppression and say ‘I know how it must feel; I have read many novels about oppression’, nor do we consult artworks in preparation for some distinctly practical challenge. If you also find such claims counterintuitive, then it may come as a relief that the current position does not imply them. There is no claim here that some distinct know-how or wisdom is acquired, nor that artworks are substitutes for lived experience. Artworks are simply contributions to a public debate. Those that are best at it will leave their audiences with beliefs better attuned to how the world is, in ways that would not have been possible had those audiences engaged in the objective-style debate alone.

We ought to think, then, of serious political art as much more tightly interlaced with our ‘non-art’ ways of thinking about the world. To achieve a parity between these ways of thinking, I have suggested, we must show how pseudo-rationality rises up in one rhetorical style, and is then met by countermeasures in another. This is the general model; more fine-grained accounts would demonstrate how this works for specific artistic genres or even specific artworks or movements. Acquiring discursive knowledge in a politically changing world is a dynamic process, which requires shifts from objective to artistic registers and back again; indeed, it requires constant reinvention of rhetorical and artistic modes. But while this means that the objective style of enquiry is displaced from its preeminent place in democratic deliberation, philosophers ought not to feel too despondent about it. Public discourse requires a plurality of communicative styles: not a hierarchical procession with the objective style at the helm, but a concert of rhetorical modes that all have distinctive roles to play.

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• Published: 31 October 2017

The visual essay and the place of artistic research in the humanities

• Remco Roes 1 &
• Kris Pint 1  

Palgrave Communications volume  3 , Article number:  8 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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What could be the place of artistic research in current contemporary scholarship in the humanities? The following essay addresses this question while using as a case study a collaborative artistic project undertaken by two artists, Remco Roes (Belgium) and Alis Garlick (Australia). We argue that the recent integration of arts into academia requires a hybrid discourse, which has to be distinguished both from the artwork itself and from more conventional forms of academic research. This hybrid discourse explores the whole continuum of possible ways to address our existential relationship with the environment: ranging from aesthetic, multi-sensorial, associative, affective, spatial and visual modes of ‘knowledge’ to more discursive, analytical, contextualised ones. Here, we set out to defend the visual essay as a useful tool to explore the non-conceptual, yet meaningful bodily aspects of human culture, both in the still developing field of artistic research and in more established fields of research. It is a genre that enables us to articulate this knowledge, as a transformative process of meaning-making, supplementing other modes of inquiry in the humanities.

Introduction

In Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description (2011), Tim Ingold defines anthropology as ‘a sustained and disciplined inquiry into the conditions and potentials of human life’ (Ingold, 2011 , p. 9). For Ingold, artistic practice plays a crucial part in this inquiry. He considers art not merely as a potential object of historical, sociological or ethnographic research, but also as a valuable form of anthropological inquiry itself, providing supplementary methods to understand what it is ‘to be human’.

In a similar vein, Mark Johnson’s The meaning of the body: aesthetics of human understanding (2007) offers a revaluation of art ‘as an essential mode of human engagement with and understanding of the world’ (Johnson, 2007 , p. 10). Johnson argues that art is a useful epistemological instrument because of its ability to intensify the ordinary experience of our environment. Images Footnote 1 are the expression of our on-going, complex relation with an inner and outer environment. In the process of making images of our environment, different bodily experiences, like affects, emotions, feelings and movements are mobilised in the creation of meaning. As Johnson argues, this happens in every process of meaning-making, which is always based on ‘deep-seated bodily sources of human meaning that go beyond the merely conceptual and propositional’ (Ibid., p. 11). The specificity of art simply resides in the fact that it actively engages with those non-conceptual, non-propositional forms of ‘making sense’ of our environment. Art is thus able to take into account (and to explore) many other different meaningful aspects of our human relationship with the environment and thus provide us with a supplementary form of knowledge. Hence Ingold’s remark in the introduction of Making: anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture (2013): ‘Could certain practices of art, for example, suggest new ways of doing anthropology? If there are similarities between the ways in which artists and anthropologists study the world, then could we not regard the artwork as a result of something like an anthropological study, rather than as an object of such study? […] could works of art not be regarded as forms of anthropology, albeit ‘written’ in non-verbal media?’ (Ingold, 2013 , p. 8, italics in original).

And yet we would hesitate to unreservedly answer yes to these rhetorical questions. For instance, it is true that one can consider the works of Francis Bacon as an anthropological study of violence and fear, or the works of John Cage as a study in indeterminacy and chance. But while they can indeed be seen as explorations of the ‘conditions and potentials of human life’, the artworks themselves do not make this knowledge explicit. What is lacking here is the logos of anthropology, logos in the sense of discourse, a line of reasoning. Therefore, while we agree with Ingold and Johnson, the problem remains how to explicate and communicate the knowledge that is contained within works of art, how to make it discursive ? How to articulate artistic practice as an alternative, yet valid form of scholarly research?

Here, we believe that a clear distinction between art and artistic research is necessary. The artistic imaginary is a reaction to the environment in which the artist finds himself: this reaction does not have to be conscious and deliberate. The artist has every right to shrug his shoulders when he is asked for the ‘meaning’ of his work, to provide a ‘discourse’. He can simply reply: ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I do not want to know’, as a refusal to engage with the step of articulating what his work might be exploring. Likewise, the beholder or the reader of a work of art does not need to learn from it to appreciate it. No doubt, he may have gained some understanding about ‘human existence’ after reading a novel or visiting an exhibition, but without the need to spell out this knowledge or to further explore it.

In contrast, artistic research as a specific, inquisitive mode of dealing with the environment requires an explicit articulation of what is at stake, the formulation of a specific problem that determines the focus of the research. ‘Problem’ is used here in the neutral, etymological sense of the word: something ‘thrown forward’, a ‘hindrance, obstacle’ (cf. probleima , Liddell-Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon). A body-in-an-environment finds something thrown before him or her, an issue that grabs the attention. A problem is something that urges us to explore a field of experiences, the ‘potentials of human life’ that are opened up by a work of art. It is often only retroactively, during a second, reflective phase of the artistic research, that a formulation of a problem becomes possible, by a selection of elements that strikes one as meaningful (again, in the sense Johnson defines meaningful, thus including bodily perceptions, movements, affects, feelings as meaningful elements of human understanding of reality). This process opens up, to borrow a term used by Aby Warburg, a ‘Denkraum’ (cf. Gombrich, 1986 , p. 224): it creates a critical distance from the environment, including the environment of the artwork itself: this ‘space for thought’ allows one to consciously explore a specific problem. Consciously here does not equal cerebral: the problem is explored not only in its intellectual, but also in its sensual and emotional, affective aspects. It is projected along different lines in this virtual Denkraum , lines that cross and influence each other: an existential line turns into a line of form and composition; a conceptual line merges into a narrative line, a technical line echoes an autobiographical line. There is no strict hierarchy in the different ‘emanations’ of a problem. These are just different lines contained within the work that interact with each other, and the problem can ‘move’ from one line to another, develop and transform itself along these lines, comparable perhaps to the way a melody develops itself when it is transposed to a different musical scale, a different musical instrument, or even to a different musical genre. But, however, abstract or technical one formulates a problem, following Johnson we argue that a problem is always a translation of a basic existential problem, emerging from a specific environment. We fully agree with Johnson when he argues that ‘philosophy becomes relevant to human life only by reconnecting with, and grounding itself in, bodily dimensions of human meaning and value. Philosophy needs a visceral connection to lived experience’ (Johnson, 2007 , p. 263). The same goes for artistic research. It too finds its relevance in the ‘visceral connection’ with a specific body, a specific situation.

Words are one way of disclosing this lived experience, but within the context of an artistic practice one can hardly ignore the potential for images to provide us with an equally valuable account. In fact, they may even prove most suited to establish the kind of space that comes close to this multi-threaded, embodied Denkraum . In order to illustrate this, we would like to present a case study, a short visual ‘essay’ (however, since the scope of four spreads offers only limited space, it is better to consider it as the image-equivalent of a short research note).

Case study: step by step reading of a visual essay

The images (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) form a short visual essay based on a collaborative artistic project 'Exercises of the man (v)' that Remco Roes and Alis Garlick realised for the Situation Symposium at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne in 2014. One of the conceptual premises of the project was the communication of two physical ‘sites’ through digital media. Roes—located in Belgium—would communicate with Garlick—in Australia—about an installation that was to be realised at the physical location of the exhibition in Melbourne. Their attempts to communicate (about) the site were conducted via e-mail messages, Skype-chats and video conversations. The focus of these conversations increasingly distanced itself from the empty exhibition space of the Design Hub and instead came to include coincidental spaces (and objects) that happened to be close at hand during the 3-month working period leading up to the exhibition. The focus of the project thus shifted from attempting to communicate a particular space towards attempting to communicate the more general experience of being in(side) a space. The project led to the production of a series of small in-situ installations, a large series of video’s and images, a book with a selection of these images as well as texts from the conversations, and the final exhibition in which artefacts that were found during the collaborative process were exhibited. A step by step reading of the visual argument contained within images of this project illustrates how a visual essay can function as a tool for disclosing/articulating/communicating the kind of embodied thinking that occurs within an artistic practice or practice-based research.

Figure 1 shows (albeit in reduced form) a field of photographs and video stills that summarises the project without emphasising any particular aspect. Each of the Figs. 2 – 5 isolate different parts of this same field in an attempt to construct/disclose a form of visual argument (that was already contained within the work). In the final part of this essay we will provide an illustration of how such visual sequences can be possibly ‘read’.

First image of the visual essay. Remco Roes and Alis Garlick, as copyright holders, permit the publication of this image under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Second image of the visual essay. Remco Roes and Alis Garlick, as copyright holders, permit the publication of this image under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Third image of the visual essay. Remco Roes and Alis Garlick, as copyright holders, permit the publication of this image under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Fourth image of the visual essay. Remco Roes and Alis Garlick, as copyright holders, permit the publication of this image under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Fifth image of the visual essay. Remco Roes and Alis Garlick, as copyright holders, permit the publication of this image under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Figure 1 is a remnant of the first step that was taken in the creation of the series of images: significant, meaningful elements in the work of art are brought together. At first, we quite simply start by looking at what is represented in the pictures, and how they are presented to us. This act of looking almost inevitably turns these images into a sequence, an argument. Conditioned by the dominant linearity of writing, including images (for instance in a comic book) one ‘reads’ the images from left to right, one goes from the first spread to the last. Just like one could say that a musical theme or a plot ‘develops’, the series of images seem to ‘develop’ the problem, gradually revealing its complexity. The dominance of this viewing code is not to be ignored, but is of course supplemented by the more ‘holistic’ nature of visual perception (cf. the notion of ‘Gestalt’ in the psychology of perception). So unlike a ‘classic’ argumentation, the discursive sequence is traversed by resonance, by non-linearity, by correspondences between elements both in a single image and between the images in their specific positioning within the essay. These correspondences reveal the synaesthetic nature of every process of meaning-making: ‘The meaning of something is its relations, actual and potential, to other qualities, things, events, and experiences. In pragmatist lingo, the meaning of something is a matter of how it connects to what has gone before and what it entails for present or future experiences and actions’ (Johnson, 2007 , p. 265). The images operate in a similar way, by bringing together different actions, affects, feelings and perceptions into a complex constellation of meaningful elements that parallel each other and create a field of resonance. These connections occur between different elements that ‘disturb’ the logical linearity of the discourse, for instance by the repetition of a specific element (the blue/yellow opposition, or the repetition of a specific diagonal angle).

Confronted with these images, we are now able to delineate more precisely the problem they express. In a generic sense we could formulate it as follows: how to communicate with someone who does not share my existential space, but is nonetheless visually and acoustically present? What are the implications of the kind of technology that makes such communication possible, for the first time in human history? How does it influence our perception and experience of space, of materiality, of presence?

Artistic research into this problem explores the different ways of meaning-making that this new existential space offers, revealing the different conditions and possibilities of this new spatiality. But it has to be stressed that this exploration of the problem happens on different lines, ranging from the kinaesthetic perception to the emotional and affective response to these spaces and images. It would, thus, be wrong to reduce these experiences to a conceptual framework. In their actions, Roes and Garlick do not ‘make a statement’: they quite simply experiment with what their bodies can do in such a hybrid space, ‘wandering’ in this field of meaningful experiences, this Denkraum , that is ‘opened up’: which meaningful clusters of sensations, affects, feelings, spatial and kinaesthetic qualities emerge in such a specific existential space?

In what follows, we want to focus on some of these meaningful clusters. As such, these comments are not part of the visual essay itself. One could compare them to ‘reading remarks’, a short elaboration on what strikes one as relevant. These comments also do not try to ‘crack the code’ of the visual material, as if they were merely a visual and/or spatial rebus to be solved once and for all (‘ x stands for y’ ). They rather attempt to engage in a dialogue with the images, a dialogue that of course does not claim to be definitive or exhaustive.

The constellation itself generates a sense of ‘lacking’: we see that there are two characters intensely collaborating and interacting with each other, while never sharing the same space. They are performing, or watching the other perform: drawing a line (imaginary or physically), pulling, wrapping, unpacking, watching, framing, balancing. The small arrangements, constructions or compositions that are made as a result of these activities are all very fragile, shaky and their purpose remains unclear. Interaction with the other occurs only virtually, based on the manipulation of small objects and fragments, located in different places. One of the few materials that eventually gets physically exported to the other side, is a kind of large plastic cover. Again, one should not ‘read’ the picture of Roes with this plastic wrapped around his head as an expression, a ‘symbol’ of individual isolation, of being wrapped up in something. It is simply the experience of a head that disappears (as a head appears and disappears on a computer screen when it gets disconnected), and the experience of a head that is covered up: does it feel like choking, or does it provide a sense of shelter, protection?

A different ‘line’ operates simultaneously in the same image: that of a man standing on a double grid: the grid of the wet street tiles and an alternative, oblique grid of colourful yellow elements, a grid which is clearly temporal, as only the grid of the tiles will remain. These images are contrasted with the (obviously staged) moment when the plastic arrives at ‘the other side’: the claustrophobia is now replaced with the openness of the horizon, the presence of an open seascape: it gives a synaesthetic sense of a fresh breeze that seems lacking in the other images.

In this case, the contrast between the different spaces is very clear, but in other images we also see an effort to unite these different spaces. The problem can now be reformulated, as it moves to another line: how to demarcate a shared space that is both actual and virtual (with a ribbon, the positioning of a computer screen?), how to communicate with each other, not only with words or body language, but also with small artefacts, ‘meaningless’ junk? What is the ‘common ground’ on which to walk, to exchange things—connecting, lining up with the other? And here, the layout of the images (into a spread) adds an extra dimension to the original work of art. The relation between the different bodies does now not only take place in different spaces, but also in different fields of representation: there is the space of the spread, the photographed space and in the photographs, the other space opened up by the computer screen, and the interaction between these levels. We see this in the Fig. 3 where Garlick’s legs are projected on the floor, framed by two plastic beakers: her black legging echoing with the shadows of a chair or a tripod. This visual ‘rhyme’ within the image reveals how a virtual presence interferes with what is present.

The problem, which can be expressed in this fundamental opposition between presence/absence, also resonates with other recurring oppositions that rhythmically structure these images. The images are filled with blue/yellow elements: blue lines of tape, a blue plexi form, yellow traces of paint, yellow objects that are used in the video’s, but the two tones are also conjured up by the white balance difference between daylight and artificial light. The blue/yellow opposition, in turn, connects with other meaningful oppositions, like—obviously—male/female, or the same oppositional set of clothes: black trousers/white shirt, grey scale images versus full colour, or the shadow and the bright sunlight, which finds itself in another opposition with the cold electric light of a computer screen (this of course also refers to the different time zones, another crucial aspect of digital communication: we do not only not share the same place, we also do not share the same time).

Yet the images also invite us to explore certain formal and compositional elements that keep recurring. The second image, for example, emphasises the importance placed in the project upon the connecting of lines, literally of lining up. Within this image the direction and angle of these lines is ‘explained’ by the presence of the two bodies, the makers with their roles of tape in hand. But upon re-reading the other spreads through this lens of ‘connecting lines’ we see that this compositional element starts to attain its own visual logic. Where the lines in image 2 are literally used as devices to connect two (visual) realities, they free themselves from this restricted context in the other images and show us the influence of circumstance and context in allowing for the successful establishing of such a connection.

In Fig. 3 , for instance, we see a collection of lines that have been isolated from the direct context of live communication. The way two parts of a line are manually aligned (in the split-screens in image 2) mirrors the way the images find their position on the page. However, we also see how the visual grammar of these lines of tape is expanded upon: barrier tape that demarcates a working area meets the curve of a small copper fragment on the floor of an installation, a crack in the wall follows the slanted angle of an assembled object, existing marks on the floor—as well as lines in the architecture—come into play. The photographs widen the scale and angle at which the line operates: the line becomes a conceptual form that is no longer merely material tape but also an immaterial graphical element that explores its own argument.

Figure 4 provides us with a pivotal point in this respect: the cables of the mouse, computer and charger introduce a certain fluidity and uncontrolled motion. Similarly, the erratic markings on the paper show that an author is only ever partially in control. The cracked line in the floor is the first line that is created by a negative space, by an absence. This resonates with the black-stained edges of the laser-cut objects, laid out on the desktop. This fourth image thus seems to transform the manifestation of the line yet again; from a simple connecting device into an instrument that is able to cut out shapes, a path that delineates a cut, as opposed to establishing a connection. The circle held up in image 4 is a perfect circular cut. This resonates with the laser-cut objects we see just above it on the desk, but also with the virtual cuts made in the Photoshop image on the right. We can clearly see how a circular cut remains present on the characteristic grey-white chessboard that is virtual emptiness. It is evident that these elements have more than just an aesthetic function in a visual argumentation. They are an integral part of the meaning-making process. They ‘transpose’ on a different level, i.e., the formal and compositional level, the central problem of absence and presence: it is the graphic form of the ‘cut’, as well as the act of cutting itself, that turns one into the other.

Concluding remarks

As we have already argued, within the frame of this comment piece, the scope of the visual essay we present here is inevitably limited. It should be considered as a small exercise in a specific genre of thinking and communicating with images that requires further development. Nonetheless, we hope to have demonstrated the potentialities of the visual essay as a form of meaning-making that allows the articulation of a form of embodied knowledge that supplements other modes of inquiry in the humanities. In this particular case, it allows for the integration of other meaningful, embodied and existential aspects of digital communication, unlikely to be ‘detected’ as such by an (auto)ethnographic, psychological or sociological framework.

The visual essay is an invitation to other researchers in the arts to create their own kind of visual essays in order to address their own work of art or that of others: they can consider their artistic research as a valuable contribution to the exploration of human existence that lies at the core of the humanities. But perhaps it can also inspire scholars in more ‘classical’ domains to introduce artistic research methods to their toolbox, as a way of taking into account the non-conceptual, yet meaningful bodily aspects of human life and human artefacts, this ‘visceral connection to lived experience’, as Johnson puts it.

Obviously, a visual essay runs the risk of being ‘shot by both sides’: artists may scorn the loss of artistic autonomy and ‘exploitation’ of the work of art in the service of scholarship, while academic scholars may be wary of the lack of conceptual and methodological clarity inherent in these artistic forms of embodied, synaesthetic meaning. The visual essay is indeed a bastard genre, the unlawful love (or perhaps more honestly: love/hate) child of academia and the arts. But precisely this hybrid, impure nature of the visual essay allows it to explore unknown ‘conditions and potentials of human life’, precisely because it combines imagination and knowledge. And while this combination may sound like an oxymoron within a scientific, positivistic paradigm, it may in fact indicate the revival, in a new context, of a very ancient alliance. Or as Giorgio Agamben formulates it in Infancy and history: on the destruction of experience (2007 [1978]): ‘Nothing can convey the extent of the change that has taken place in the meaning of experience so much as the resulting reversal of the status of the imagination. For Antiquity, the imagination, which is now expunged from knowledge as ‘unreal’, was the supreme medium of knowledge. As the intermediary between the senses and the intellect, enabling, in phantasy, the union between the sensible form and the potential intellect, it occupies in ancient and medieval culture exactly the same role that our culture assigns to experience. Far from being something unreal, the mundus imaginabilis has its full reality between the mundus sensibilis and the mundus intellegibilis , and is, indeed, the condition of their communication—that is to say, of knowledge’ (Agamben, 2007 , p. 27, italics in original).

And it is precisely this exploration of the mundus imaginabilis that should inspire us to understand artistic research as a valuable form of scholarship in the humanities.

We consider images as a broad category consisting of artefacts of the imagination, the creation of expressive ‘forms’. Images are thus not limited to visual images. For instance, the imagery used in a poem or novel, metaphors in philosophical treatises (‘image-thoughts’), actual sculptures or the imaginary space created by a performance or installation can also be considered as images, just like soundscapes, scenography, architecture.

Agamben G (2007) Infancy and history: on the destruction of experience [trans. L. Heron]. Verso, London/New York, NY

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Roes, R., Pint, K. The visual essay and the place of artistic research in the humanities. Palgrave Commun 3 , 8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-017-0004-5

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“Where Is the Public Discourse Around Art and Technology?”

By hrag vartanian.

Photo by Aram Jibilian

As the emerging field of art and technology continues to garner media attention, the critical dialogue around the work remains uneven and underdeveloped. While various academic programs profess to teach art writing, they continue to champion an old formula that has not evolved and has yet to incorporate the tools of 2st-century culture. And while artists and audiences adapt, the majority of journalists, critics included, have yet to embrace the same tools of photography, memes, audio, video, and multimedia. Foundations, academia, museums, and other institutions should embrace a broader notion of discourse driven by media and art professionals, and not only academics, dedicated to innovative approaches.

University art writing programs still privilege longform writing in an impersonal and analytic style that is largely unread by anyone but the faithful. This type of writing is reinforced by traditional writing prizes, foundation grants, and academic committees, which invalidate other forms of writing during hiring processes. This reliance on traditional print-like media, rather than more contemporary and digital forms, makes writing about these works appear staid, esoteric, and uninteresting to the general public.

While many more conventional contemporary artists have embraced the tools of technology, creators who fully integrate technology still face obstacles, one of which is a lack of art criticism and critical dialogue. Criticism serves as an arbiter of “taste,” appealing to the patron classes who buy art or visit art institutions. Today, that has shifted as audiences are more fluid and broad, encompassing a wide range of types and media consumption habits. Criticism’s slowness to adapt is exacerbated by the fact that many art market-focused or -supported print publications rely on academics and graduate students, while supplementing words almost exclusively with gallery- or museum-approved press images that show work in a noncritical light. These types of writers often idealize and romanticize art as something detached from its financial realities, while being uninformed about or uninterested in more underground and emerging forms that do not receive institutional support and approval, or challenge the orthodoxies of the field.

Online journals, even if they write extensively about art that embraces technology, have also been slow to embrace the challenge. As Charlotte Frost, Karen Elio, and Keiko Suzuki, authors of Art Criticism Online: A History , have pointed out in one of their more interesting insights, these online journals, which they curiously distinguish from blogs, “have become the establishment when it comes to art and cultural criticism. Partly this is because they have been cautious about the real benefits of web-based art discussion.”

That aversion is partly reinforced by the majority of accredited academic programs that devalue innovative forms of writing and discussion that are both accessible and public-facing. A variety of funding sources is required to encourage this while seeking a broad impact for the work. Art-focused foundations, such as Creative Capital, have attempted to support blogs and other online forums as part of their annual grants, but their funding has been limited and has either targeted small, localized projects that are clearly unsustainable or those that have reproduced the same exclusionary tactics and values of the commercial art world that is embraced by conventional arts institutions. One project, for instance, created a very long-form text-only blog with no hyperlinks, which has since been archived by Rhizome at the New Museum. Funders also often support graduate student projects, and thus reinforce the romanticized notions mentioned above. This is in contrast to more public-facing art writing projects, such as Artblog in Philadelphia and Art F City in New York, that need annual—and not one-time—support to continue efforts while sustaining themselves.

Conversations that influence society and the arts need to be sustained (and sustainable), embracing continuous and constant discourse that doesn’t lionize one-off supposedly “authoritative” articles that are more often read in grad seminars than by the public. Like technology itself, which permeates our lives, conversations that tackle art and technology need to be multifaceted, digital native, and changing, reflecting a thought process that evolves, reflects, absorbs, and synthesizes new information rather than relying solely on text-based analysis. This drip approach is what makes social media particularly well-suited to the constant stream of information many people now produce and consume, and is part of the reason social media continues to dominate information flow and networks today.

A lack of media and digital literacy is one of the obstacles, as many art writing and art programs do not support those forms of literacy. During a recent lecture at Chautauqua by Dr. Erika Wong , the U.K.-based scholar and artist pointed out that art programs often shun social media as an unreliable source rather than embracing and teaching it as part of a larger curriculum. Considering the recent role of social media in our politics and culture, this is concerning. An example of this disdain for social media was echoed by Johanna Burton — then New Museum’s Keith Haring director and curator of education and public engagement, and currently the director of the Wexner Center for the Arts. During a curatorial symposium in 2018, she shared that she has never engaged with social media and is not interested. This raises questions as to who those who shun social media are actually engaging and listening to other than the donors, curators, and administrators—who are almost all white and affluent in the United States—who dominate institutional settings.

One case study that may help illuminate the challenge is the way that critical discourse has treated the appearance of memes . While not traditionally seen as part of “contemporary art'' and culture, the emergence of memes, particularly in the 21st century, is now being embraced after years of being ignored by various elites in the mainstream. The 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign proved to many people that nontraditional media such as memes have political power.

Back in 2011, An Xiao Mina wrote about “ social media street art ” for Hyperallergic, which I edit. Riffing off the recent success of street art during the influential 2008 Obama presidential campaign, she noticed how users of the Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo wielded images during moments of national crisis (such as national or human-made disasters) as a form of artistic dissent. During the same period, contemporary artist Ai Weiwei was actively using memes to engage in creating subversive images that evaded official Chinese censors, often using sunflower seeds, “grass mud horse,” and even images of people holding their legs like rifles with the words “京城反恐系列” (Beijing anti-terrorism series). “Grass mud horse” is a Chinese meme and symbol for defiance on the internet.

Mina was also briefly at Ai Weiwei’s studio, and she found that the art community was largely unwelcoming of writing about this type of work, particularly since it had not reached art galleries and museums and was not being taught in colleges and universities. “In the early 2010s, it was hard for me to find art world venues to write about the phenomenon of memes as political expression in China, as much of the art world was focused on Ai’s traditional sculptural and video work,” she noted in an interview for this essay. “I was interested in exploring the internet, culture, and power and found early opportunities to do this in a limited number of art venues. I then began writing about this in civic technology spaces.”

Her experience mirrors many others’ experiences around critical dialogue and new forms of art that embrace technology outside of the strict confines of the academy. In the case of Ai Weiwei, the memes have now become crucial parts of our larger understanding of his oeuvre, but the language around this work is reduced to more traditional conversations rooted in older Western art historical forms and images rather than within a larger media and social discourse.

In 2019, Mina went on to write Memes to Movements: How the World's Most Viral Media Is Changing Social Protest and Power , which was widely praised by those in a post-2016 world as a way to understand memes. Writing in the Atlantic , Megan Garber characterized Mina as a “digital-culture scholar,” encapsulating work in a manner that echoes many of the artists and projects featured in this current National Endowment for the Arts report, Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium . Garber wrote, “Memes, participatory and productively remixable, tap into the deep desire for storytelling—and for story-receiving—that is such a profound part of being human.” In her book, Mina wrote, “memes allow us to more quickly develop the visual and verbal language around which movements organize.” This is of particular interest to the creators in the field of art and technology, who are fully engaged in innovative approaches that respond to new realities.

Mina began her career as an artist and an innovator in social media art—she was the first commissioned artist by the Brooklyn Museum for its 1st Fans Twitter feed—and an early adopter of crowd-sourced art, such as Kickstarter. But while she has found support at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and elsewhere, the art community has provided little support for her work. Many of these projects outlined in the report often receive press in non-art-focused publications. Most art publications, including many academic ones, focus on art market or art market-adjacent works that have established systems of circulation and commerce. This echoes their financial support structures, which can often be commercial art galleries and art foundations.

The lack of market and auction track records for most of the art being discussed in the National Endowment for the Arts’ report points to similar non-market dynamics, as these makers function outside the traditional commercial art market for various reasons. This lopsided ecosystem is certainly influenced by the current state of inequality in society, in which the wealthy institutions and companies dominate media attention through press agents and marketing departments pushing out related content, including art writing. The digital artists who succeed in the market-based gallery system are often engaged with artificial scarcity to maintain the aura of the art object and step away from the qualities that make the technology unique: its easy circulation and reproducibility.

While the commercial art system is not the only network in the art community, it tends to dominate art discourse because of its patronization of magazines through advertising and press trips, and because academics often contribute to their in-house publications and catalogues. There is a growing trend at major blue-chip art galleries to create in-house publications, such as Ursula at Hauser & Wirth and Gagosian at Gagosian gallery, that do not offer any negative reviews and support their sales priorities. A large number of writers for most of these art publications and catalogues are graduate students or academics, who often infuse their words with theoretical constructs that turn off general readers and laypeople, and raise serious questions about the independence of academia from the art market. These same people regularly appear at large corporate art fairs where sales dominate any other discourse, even if panels and talks offer an intellectual veneer to the brash commercialism of the event.

Similarly, art forms and practices such as networked photography, installations for festivals, and other projects that reject the traditional market model or system—which is often antagonistic to collectives and other non-traditional forms of art-making—suffer from the same issues. They have found support and traction in startups, corporations, or even universities (though rarely in art or art history departments). But the discourse in more traditional art media and scholarship channels doesn’t always situate the work in the dynamic history of art and technology without falling back on conventions that elevate the established canon that continues to underrepresent non-European, non-male, and non-object-based histories of art.

It is crucial that the art community expand the discourse not only to ensure that more diverse voices enter the field, but also to reflect the changing atmosphere in which art is being created. Art writers and critics must be engaged in art in order to accurately reflect the new waves of creators who often reject established forms to create new worlds that contain us all.

Hrag Vartanian is an editor, art critic, curator, and lecturer on contemporary art with an expertise on the intersection of art and politics. He is the editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic , which he co-founded in 2009 in response to changes in the art world, the publishing industry, and the distribution of information.

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The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Stellar Discursive Essay (With an Example)

Mar 30, 2024 | 0 comments

Mar 30, 2024 | Blog | 0 comments

A discursive essay requires the writer to present balanced arguments on a particular topic. This type of essay demands critical thinking and analytical skills to argue both sides of an issue effectively. Whether for a school assignment or a professional publication, mastering the art of writing a discursive essay is essential for any writer. In this article, we will discuss the key components of a discursive essay and provide tips on how to structure and write one effectively. From choosing a topic to researching and presenting arguments, we will guide you through crafting a well-rounded and persuasive discursive essay. By the end of this article, you will have the tools and knowledge needed to tackle this challenging form of writing confidently. So, let’s dive in and learn how to write a discursive essay that will impress your readers.

What is a Discursive Essay?

At its core, a discursive essay is an essay that investigates an issue, situation, or problem from differing points of view. It presents a balanced, multi-perspective overview, considering all major positions on the topic in a balanced way.

The overarching goal is to inform and explore – not to argue a one-sided case. Discursive essays demonstrate your ability to think critically and add nuance to complex issues by being open to opposing arguments and representing them fairly.

This open-minded approach is why these essays are valuable across many academic disciplines like philosophy, history, and the social sciences. Being able to weigh multiple sides develops crucial research and reasoning abilities.

Purpose of Writing Discursive Essays

There are several key reasons instructors assign writing such essays:

• To push you to think critically and see nuances in an issue rather than automatically taking an entrenched stance.
• Strengthen your persuasive writing abilities by forcing yourself to argue multiple positions, not just your personal beliefs.
• You must gather a thorough base of evidence and information from credible sources to enhance your research skills.
• To develop your logical reasoning abilities, you must address counterarguments and rebuttals in a clear, structured manner.

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Main Types of Discursive Essay Writing

Opinionated discursive writing : As the name suggests, these present the writer’s opinion or perspective on an issue while objectively considering other potential positions. The writer’s view remains at the core of the essay.

Argumentative Discursive Essays : These essays use factual evidence and logical reasoning to make a case for a particular stance on an issue. While other views may be mentioned, the purpose is to persuade the reader toward the writer’s position.

Solution Essays : These essays examine a problem or situation and propose one or more potential solutions, weighing the merits of each approach. The essay itself doesn’t argue for a single solution.

Descriptive discursive writing : This is a discursive essay type that vividly describes and analyzes a particular topic, event, or phenomenon from multiple perspectives. It aims to paint a detailed, multi-faceted picture of the subject matter, exploring various viewpoints and arguments objectively and balanced.

What is the Difference Between a Discursive Essay, an Argumentative Essay, and an Expository Essay?

You may think, “Don’t argumentative and discursive essays present different positions on a topic? What’s the real difference?”

It’s a fair question, so let’s clarify how discursive essays are distinct from argumentative and expository pieces:

Argumentative Essays aim to persuade the reader that one particular position is correct by presenting a clear thesis statement and building logical arguments supported by evidence to prove it. While they may acknowledge counterarguments, the ultimate goal is to convince the reader of the writer’s stance.

On the other hand, Expository Essays are entirely objective explanations of a topic, concept or process. They avoid persuasion or arguing with any one perspective. The purpose is solely to provide factual information to inform the reader.

A discursive essay sits between these two – it doesn’t persuade toward one viewpoint like an argumentative essay but doesn’t remain completely neutral like an expository piece. The goal is to provide an overview that gives equal, unbiased consideration to all major perspectives on an issue.

So, in summary:

• Argumentative : Persuades toward one perspective as the correct stance
• Expository : Objectively explains a topic without opinion
• Discursive : Comprehensively explores multiple perspectives in an unbiased way

With the theory out of the way, let’s learn how to write a good discursive essay!

📑 How to Write a Discursive Essay

There are several key phases in writing an effective discursive essay: choosing a topic, planning the structure, researching different perspectives, and putting it all together cohesively. Let’s break it down:

A. Choosing a Discursive Essay Topic

The first step is selecting an appropriate topic that allows you to offer a well-rounded, multi-perspective analysis. When choosing your topic, keep these tips in mind:

• Look for complex, nuanced issues with multiple established viewpoints and ample data available to research each side. Straightforward yes/no topics don’t allow much nuance.
• Pick topics that are relevant, interesting and have active public discourse. Issues being currently debated make for more engaging essays.
• Choose topics you can approach objectively and have the background knowledge to understand differing views.
• Do preliminary research to ensure sufficient scholarly sources are available to substantiate the various arguments and counterarguments.

Some potential good discursive essay topics could analyze complex societal issues like climate change policies, ethical use of new technologies, criminal justice reforms, or systemic inequalities. Just be sure the topic truly has multiple perspectives to explore.

Once you have identified your discursive essay topic, it’s time to start mapping your approach and structure.

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B. Planning Your Discursive Essay Structure

A solid essay plan ensures your discursive essay flows logically and gives equal attention to the various viewpoints. Generally, essays will follow this structure: a discursive essay:

Introduction Paragraph :

• An engaging hook statement to grab the reader’s interest
• Relevant background information to establish context on the topic
• A clear thesis statement that introduces the central question or issue

Body of the Essay :

• An  introductory sentence  that concisely states the viewpoint
• Supporting evidence from credible sources such as expert analysis, statistics, examples, etc.
• State the opposing argument fairly without misrepresenting it
• Use evidence to either dispute, qualify, or acknowledge its limitations
• Paragraphs can weave between presenting positions and counterarguments, but each new argument should have its own focused paragraph.

When writing the body, use transition words to connect paragraphs logically and indicate shifts between viewpoints. Words like “conversely,” “additionally,” and “however” keep the flow coherent.

Most importantly, the body of your essay needs to address all major perspectives related to your thesis in a neutral, impartial tone without favouring any one side. Your credibility hinges on representing each stance accurately.

Conclusion Paragraph :

• A summary reiterating the primary perspectives without repeating verbatim
• Your overall assessments and any potential resolutions you propose
• End on a thought-provoking note that refers back to the thesis and key points

With the core outline in place, you can start gathering the evidence, examples, data sources, and expert commentary to substantiate each position and counterargument within the  body paragraphs .

C. Researching for a Balanced Analysis

Thorough, wide-ranging research from credible, authoritative sources allows you to adequately explore all sides of an issue. When gathering source materials:

• Use a mix of scholarly journals, expert analyses, and trusted news sources with minimal bias
• Look for objective data and statistics to strengthen your points
• Please pay close attention to how experts qualify their perspectives and address potential critiques
• Take careful notes and organize your sources based on the position they support

In addition to conducting secondary research through written sources, consider:

• Interviewing people with first-hand experience related to your essay topic
• Examining societal debates by analyzing social media commentary
• Attending local community meetings or events that discuss the issues

The deeper and broader your research base, the more nuanced and fully developed your essay analysis can be.

As you start writing the body paragraphs, smartly integrate your evidence by:

• Paraphrasing key points from sources but also directly quoting pivotal statements
• Evaluating source credibility and potential conflicts of interest, not just accepting them unquestioningly
• Using footnotes or in-text citations to give proper attribution for all evidence

How do I Write the Introduction Paragraphs for a Discursive Essay?

The introduction is crucial as it sets the stage for your balanced argument on a topic. You don’t write a bland, generic opening. Instead, for a discursive essay, you must grab the reader’s attention with an interesting hook, such as a thought-provoking question, shocking fact, or vivid anecdote related to your topic.

Then, provide relevant background information to give context before clearly stating your thesis, introducing the main issue and outlining the different sides of the issue you’ll explore. Your thesis must be specifically focused and present an arguable, nuanced claim – not just a self-evident fact.

How do I Write the Body Paragraphs for a Discursive Essay?

The essay’s main body is where you systematically analyze the various perspectives and positions using logical reasoning and supporting evidence. Each new argument should be addressed in a separate paragraph with a clear topic sentence stating the claim.

Expand on that viewpoint using facts, examples or evidence, expert opinions, and analysis. Fully flesh out each position before introducing any counterarguments or rebuttals in the following paragraphs.

When representing the opposing argument, do so objectively. Don’t exaggerate or misrepresent the claims – identify a discursive essay’s different stances accurately first, then provide evidence challenging or qualifying that stance. Avoid dismissing counterarguments entirely.

Maintain an academic tone throughout – don’t write with excessive informal language or personal bias. Use transitional phrases between paragraphs to connect ideas logically.

How to Write a Conclusion for a Discursive Essay?

In concluding the essay, you don’t simply restate your original thesis from the introduction. Certainly summarize the key points made, but avoid redundancy.

More importantly, it offers a meaningful analysis that weighs the relative strengths and weaknesses of each perspective explored in the essay. If appropriate, propose potential solutions or resolutions for the issue at hand.

The conclusion is also where you can express insightful opinions if done judiciously. Just don’t introduce entirely new arguments or evidence.

Finally, end with a thought-provoking closing statement that reveals deeper implications, leaves the reader with a call to action, or opens avenues for further discussion.

Writing Techniques for Effective Discursive Essays

With the overall structure and research in place, the focus now shifts to the execution – how you craft insightful analysis in a balanced, academic tone. Key techniques include:

Use Clear, Precise Language

• Avoid ambiguous wording or casual figures of speech
• Take care of defining terms, incredibly subjective or politicized concepts
• Use qualifiers like “could,” “may,” and “arguably” rather than overconfident absolutes
• Explain abstract ideas using concrete examples to illustrate your point

Apply a Formal, Objective Tone

• As the writer, avoid using first-person pronouns like “I” or “my.”
• Stick to the third-person point of view to maintain critical distance
• Don’t use colloquial phrasing, contractions, or idioms that make it too conversational
• Keep sentences clear and articulate rather than overly rhetorical

Substantiate All Claims

• Go beyond superficial surface-level statements – provide in-depth analysis
• Use facts, statistics, expert viewpoints, and specific examples as evidence
• If making an inferential statement, indicate where the logic comes from
• Consistently cite all sources using the specified style guide

Address Counterarguments

• Never dismiss counterarguments as inconsequential
• Thoroughly examine the reasoning behind opposing views in good faith
• Use concession phrases like “while it is true that…” to validate points first
• Offer counterpoints that don’t rely on logical fallacies or misrepresentations

Examples of Discursive Essays

To illustrate how all these components come together into an actual discursive essay, let’s quickly analyze an example:

This brief example illustrates how a discursive essay comprehensively lays out all the perspectives and key arguments around a complex issue like AI ethics. Each view is represented using objective language and substantiated by relevant evidence and expert viewpoints.

The conclusion doesn’t definitively “solve” the dilemma but provides analysis, allowing the reader to weigh the positions and acknowledge the nuances.

Concluding Thoughts on Discursive Essay Writing

After going through this guide, you should now feel more equipped to expertly know the discursive essay definition, the structure of a discursive essay, how to start a discursive essay introduction, and how to plan a discursive essay that meets the high standards. of this challenge. Crafting a strong discursive essay thesis statement and organizing your thoughts in an outlined manner allows you to build a nuanced, multi-perspective analysis methodically. While honing the skills required to produce top-tier discursive writing takes diligence and real-world practice, the long-term benefits of enhancing your critical thinking abilities and strengthening how you communicate complex, multifaceted ideas and arguments are immensely valuable.

Here are the key takeaways to conclude:

• Choose engaging, nuanced topics and take time to research multiple perspectives thoroughly
• Craft a clear introduction that establishes context and states the core issue
• Write the body organized into separate paragraphs, objectively presenting evidence for each stance
• Represent all views fairly while also articulating counterpoints and limitations
• End with a conclusion that summarizes the back-and-forth in objective analysis
• Always substantiate points and maintain formal, unbiased language appropriate for academic discourse 

✏️ Discursive Essay FAQ

What is a discursive essay format.

A discursive essay follows a specific structure that includes an introductory paragraph with a clear topic sentence, several paragraphs alternately presenting arguments, and a conclusion summarizing the main points.

How do you start discursive writing?

To start a discursive essay, begin with an introduction or the first paragraph that catches the reader’s attention and clearly explains the topic you will discuss.

What are examples of discursive writing?

Discursive writing can take various forms, such as opinion essays, writing that presents both sides of an argument, or essays that propose a solution to a problem.

What are the linking words in a discursive essay?

Linking words is essential for connecting ideas within a discursive essay. These words help structure your essay and make it cohesive. Commonly used linking words include “moreover,” “however,” “on the other hand,” and “therefore.

Through my engaging and informative blog posts, I aim to provide helpful tips on topics such as essay writing, research skills, and academic planning, empowering students to thrive in their academic pursuits.

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Tremaine Emory Refuses to Hide the Scars

Streetwear’s Black history raconteur survived Kanye, Supreme and a near-death experience. But can he survive the internet?

Credit... Nate Palmer for The New York Times

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By Jon Caramanica

• April 26, 2024 Updated 1:07 p.m. ET

Not long after Tremaine Emory resigned his position as Supreme’s creative director last summer, he came across an image of an old hoodie from the brand emblazoned with one of its familiar biting slogans: “Illegal business controls America.”

The hoodie is part of the Supreme canon, an embodiment of its middle-finger approach to appropriation, with its use of the signature Futura font lifted from Barbara Kruger; and its flirtation with hip-hop radicalism — the phrase comes from a Boogie Down Productions song.

With his fraught tenure at Supreme in the rear view, Mr. Emory began to see the hoodie in a different light. He’d been hired as its first Black creative director, but his tenure lasted less than a year and a half. He left the company citing structural racism in its ranks, in part spurred by how the company bungled a collaboration he’d secured with the firebrand artist Arthur Jafa.

Supreme, the foundational skate brand founded by James Jebbia, turns 30 this year, which means that it has been around long enough to sow the seeds of its own resistance.

“I respect the legacy,” Mr. Emory said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t question it.”

And so this week, as part of his own brand Denim Tears, Mr. Emory is releasing collaborative pieces with Mr. Jafa very similar to the ones that Supreme ultimately declined to release, owing to their raw and provocative commentary on Black trauma. And he remade the signature hoodie, in the original colors, using the same visual language and cheeky audacity but broadcasting a different message: “Systemic racism controls America.”

It’s a nod and a nudge. A wink and a slammed door. The Denim Tears-Jafa collaboration is, Mr. Emory said, “a dance between ideologies. This whole situation between me and James Jebbia and the Supreme C-suite helped result in this piece of fashion, art and design.”

It’s also a bristling and timely example of how Mr. Emory has, for the past few years, built upon familiar, almost taken-for-granted streetwear vehicles, imbuing them with layered and often unearthed meaning, centering and amplifying Black stories and perspectives that are often alluded to in this sector of the clothing world but rarely deeply explored.

Denim Tears, which began in 2019 as a fashion-art hybrid project, is at the forefront of a handful of rising post-Supreme streetwear concerns — Awake NY, Barriers and Born X Raised among them — not owned and operated by white people. It has been able to scale quickly thanks to collaborations with Levi’s, Converse, Our Legacy and Dior, and its Pan-African flag tweaks on Ralph Lauren designs of the 1990s. But it remains a nimble business, with a different approach to commercial risk than the more established brands that have turned streetwear into a multibillion-dollar industry and which often strategically utilize Black expression as an accent of cool.

Being a key part of this generational change in streetwear has put Mr. Emory in cross hairs at almost every turn, as a symbol of both transformation and representation. At Supreme, he found an insufficiently diverse staff who treated discourse about race like “pushing food around the plate. They didn’t want to eat the vegetables,” he said. The Jafa images he’d wanted to put on Supreme clothes and skateboards, which included depictions of lynching and the lash marks on the back of a former slave, caused discomfort internally and externally . And while leaving Supreme freed Mr. Emory to devote all of his work time to Denim Tears, his current collection, which takes visual inspiration from Black Southern food culture, has been met with online resistance.

All the while, he has been recovering from an October 2022 aortic aneurysm that landed him in the hospital for two-and-a-half months, and happened around the same time he was being attacked on social media by Ye (f.k.a. Kanye West), his former employer, for daring to publicly denounce his White Lives Matter-era antics. For Mr. Emory, whose natural disposition tends to the ruminative and patient, and who for much of the 2010s played creative consort to Mr. West and Frank Ocean, among others, while coming into his own as a clothing designer following the path laid out by his close friend Virgil Abloh, the attention has been dizzying and disorienting, though not quite destabilizing.

“It’s purgatory, ’cause you can’t do what you want to do as a Black man in America,” he said in early March of these tugs of war about who can steer Black storytelling in fashion, and to where. “You’re working with the confines of what white culture at large wants you to do, and also what Black culture at large expects of you.”

Rather than shy away from the hard conversations, though, Mr. Emory is leaning in. He was speaking at the still-spartan Denim Tears office on West Broadway in Manhattan, around the corner from his first permanent retail space, African Diaspora Goods, which sells his brand alongside a collection of 2,000 African art history books, which will eventually function as a kind of non-lending research library.

Denim Tears is currently best known for the cotton wreath motif that Mr. Emory began applying to vintage Levi’s jeans in 2020 — originally as a limited release that felt more like an artistic than sartorial intervention, and subsequently much more widely on jeans and caps and sweatsuits. The goal was discursive, to highlight the product of slave labor and make it manifest on the product itself. In the last year especially, the wreath has become one of the most recognizable, ubiquitous and now widely bootlegged logos in streetwear.

“That means that discourse spreads,” Mr. Emory said.

Part of Mr. Emory’s influence and power comes from how he brings these reference points into quotidian, easy-to-wear garments like jeans, hoodies and T-shirts. “It’s a beautifully utilitarian approach,” said the fashion designer Andre Walker, a close friend of Mr. Emory’s.

The title of the current Denim Tears collection is Kiss My Grits — what his mother (and many others in the South) used to say as a proxy for “kiss my Black ass.” Black food references thread the collection together across disparate design frameworks. The clothes include abstraction (a silk velour shirt and pants in the colors of the spices used to make fried chicken), pop art (watermelon wallets, green rind on the outside and red, seed-filled meat on the inside, made with Comme des Garçons); and baroque painting (a hoodie with a still life of various fruits). There are shirts done in a picnic-tablecloth pattern and necklaces made of chicken bones sealed in resin.

Mr. Emory’s use of this imagery walks a “beautiful tightrope of subtlety and obviousness,” Mr. Walker said.

These signifiers are drawn directly from Mr. Emory’s upbringing spending summers in rural Harlem, Ga. — the breakfast table at his mother’s home or his grandfather’s truck filled with watermelons (or his father’s stories of getting shot at by white farmers for stealing watermelons).

“That’s who I come from,” he said. “You know what I mean? So I don’t feel shame about no watermelon. It’s a part of my culture,” Mr. Emory said. “The same type of white folk that burnt down Tulsa, they turned that into a racial trope. And I’m not going for that.”

The chicken bones that are made into necklaces? They reference bone-throwing divination rituals, and also refer to how a young Mr. Emory would watch his father crack bones and suck out the marrow. It’s also a nod to Vivienne Westwood and the Let It Rock boutique, which sold clothes with chicken bones attached.

For Mr. Emory, though, the clothes are part of a long pattern of embedding personal narrative into his designs. The dusty red of an Asics collaboration he released in 2021 referred to the clay of Mr. Emory’s family funeral plot in Georgia. One of his earliest T-shirts, which he sold at pop-ups in New York, prominently featured a photo of his mother, who died in 2015. (And Mr. Emory has used Black cuisine as a trope before: The collection he released with Dior in 2022 featured a collard green motif.)

This time around, however, some of the online chatter from Black critics has been unsparing . “Part of why it’s polarizing is because people don’t see me as an artist,” Mr. Emory said. He sees his clothing in a tradition that includes David Hammons’s 1970s artworks that used spades, Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety,” the Sphinx-esque installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in 2014; and Spike Lee’s film “Bamboozled.”

“If people think I’m on some Stepin Fetchit, Black Sambo,” Mr. Emory said, “you’re really not paying attention.”

He added, “I’m making a pawn a king.”

Mr. Emory refers to these online critics as “the loud minority.” “If it was the loud majority, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to pay my staff. I wouldn’t be able to open a store. I wouldn’t be able to pay my expensive-ass health insurance.”

He has also been attacked for marrying a white woman. “I’ve been made fun of for dating a Black girl with natural hair, and I’ve lived long enough to be made fun of for marrying a white woman. I’ve seen both sides,” he noted, with a rare flash of exasperation. “James Baldwin dated white men and he’s the most prolific, most quoted Black thinker to ever live.”

Andee Emory McConnell, who Mr. Emory married in October, has watched him navigate the critiques up close. “It’s his soul coming out into the form of the pieces that he chooses to put out into the public,” she said. “And when someone comes for your soul, how can you not take that to heart?”

The Road to Recovery

Much of the conversation about Mr. Emory and his work mirrors the discourse about Mr. Abloh — alternately dragged and praised, sometimes by the same people — in the final years before his death in 2021. Mr. Abloh was the most visible Black designer in men's fashion, and his success opened up doors for a younger generation , but the persistent and often persnickety meta-narrative about his work was draining. That Mr. Emory is experiencing similar pushback during a period of time where he is still navigating his medical recovery — much as Mr. Abloh was, largely in secret — isn’t lost on him.

He was hospitalized for the aortic dissection eight months into his time at Supreme, a near-death experience that led to two induced comas, a fasciotomy on his left leg, pneumonia, blood sepsis, kidney failure and dialysis — all in the span of just a few weeks.

Mr. Jafa visited him in the hospital. “I said, ‘It’s not your time,’” he said. “You’re supposed to be here. We are not supposed to lose you the way we lost Virgil. You got more that you’re supposed to do.”

When Mr. Emory got home from the hospital, he couldn’t sleep with covers on, because the nerves in his legs were too sensitive. He left the hospital in a wheelchair, eventually graduated to a walker, and now walks slowly and deliberately, aided by a hiking stick. For shoes, he wears only Hokas, apart from the rare night out. Three times a week, in the sleek, minimalist, book-filled TriBeCa loft he and Ms. McConnell share, his physical therapist arrives for a private session.

Not all the hurt is physical, though. Mr. Abloh’s passing left a talent vacuum. “Because certain other people aren’t here,” Mr. Emory said grimly, “the target’s on my back.”

Mr. Emory’s close relationship with Mr. Abloh informed his development as a clothing designer. “V is the first person in my adult life who was like, ‘You’re an artist,’” he recalled. When Mr. Emory first showed him the image of the wreaths, Mr. Abloh said: “This is beautiful. Six months, you gonna have a Maybach.”

Mr. Emory laughed a little. “So I’m making good,” he said. “I didn’t buy the Maybach. I did this store.”

That store opened last month in the old Union space on Spring Street in SoHo, one of the foundational addresses in New York streetwear history. (In a rich coincidence, Mr. Jebbia was a founder of Union.)

The space was wholly redesigned by the artist Theaster Gates in an update of a design he’d first displayed at a 2019 exhibition at Regen Projects in Los Angeles in preparation for collaborating with Mr. Abloh on a possible store.

On the right wall, made of torched plywood over a steel frame, are Denim Tears clothes, hanging face out on lengths of pipe. On the left wall is the African art-book collection, which Mr. Emory bought for $150,000 from Arcana Books in Los Angeles, works its owners collected over four decades.

“A site of Black possibility” Mr. Gates called the shop. “We didn’t have the burden of the whole space being a retail store. It was like, ‘What if people came in and they were a little bit confused about what was happening here?’”

Productive confusion is Mr. Emory’s métier, and both his falling out with Supreme and the recent Denim Tears blowback turn in part on how the Black experience should be captured on clothing, especially clothing that may be bought and worn and displayed out in the world by people who haven’t lived that experience. Or, as one TikToker put it, “Can white people wear Denim Tears?”

For the record, Mr. Emory’s answer is yes: “If I see a little white kid wearing it, I’m like, fire. I wonder what the conversation is up in his crib. Maybe the conversation’s beautiful and the dad’s like, where’d you get that shirt? Can we look it up?” Or perhaps it goes another, equally revealing way: “Maybe the kid gets into an argument and realizes that even though he loves his dad, his dad’s a racist. And maybe the kid’s like, I never want to be like this part of him. Maybe that happened because of that conversation about the T-shirt.”

These are some of Mr. Emory’s crucial questions: Is there a distinction between a gallery and a T-shirt? How vast is the chasm between style and art? Are some images too unsettling to put on clothes? And should images that are so unsettling be looked at even more intently?

A Desire for Discourse About the Past and Present

“I think the reality is that Tremaine craves discourse,” said Anthony Specter, Mr. Emory’s close friend of more than a decade and business partner in Denim Tears. “Tremaine’s exit from Supreme, a lot of that revolved around the fact that there was no discourse. It wasn’t about someone attacking his idea. The most stressful part for him, the part that made him realize he couldn’t do his job, was that he wasn’t able to talk about it.”

Mr. Emory received the Supreme offer the week of Mr. Abloh’s death and began the job in February 2022. Mr. Abloh, he said, had warned him not to take it: “He said: ‘What would it take for you to culturally move that brand? Do you really want to extend that energy?’ And boy was my brother right.”

Mr. Emory had long been in the social orbit of Supreme, a now-big company — acquired by VF Corporation in 2020 for more than $2 billion — that still functions like a private party. His tenure there lasted only about 13 months, not counting the five and a half months he was on medical leave.

Despite having hired Mr. Emory as creative director — the first time the insular company had hired someone with that title — Mr. Jebbia remained a hovering presence, Mr. Emory said. Not long before Mr. Emory’s hospitalization, he and Mr. Jebbia had a face-off in a meeting over control.

“I had to really put my foot down with James,” Mr. Emory recalled. “I said, ‘Are we Miuccia and Raf? Because I wasn’t hired under that pretext. I was hired as you were stepping back.’” (Miuccia Prada hired Raf Simons as a co-creative director of Prada in 2020.)

Through a representative, Supreme declined to comment.

In creative meetings, Mr. Emory would sometimes be told a project he suggested, or had done at Denim Tears, was admirable but couldn’t work at Supreme. But Supreme has deployed the patina of Black radicalism previously, whether images of Martin Luther King Jr. or a Black hand extending a middle finger on T-shirts in collaboration with the hip-hop duo Dead Prez. It has featured umpteen rappers on shirts and played with imagery far less radical, like the presidential headshot of Barack Obama. It has also showcased provocative art, like Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ.”

But Mr. Emory found those engagements to be surface level: If the staff was unable to truly talk about the complexities of Black life and culture, then “why are you touching it at all?” he wondered.

Mr. Emory realized he hadn’t been brought in as a change agent. He recalled a meeting about whether to release a shirt featuring the controversial young rap superstar YoungBoy Never Broke Again, in which concerns about his criminal history were being weighed against his popularity on streaming services and among young people. The project was approved.

Mr. Emory recalls Mr. Jafa saying, “Does James listen to NBA YoungBoy?” Mr. Emory continued: “He wasn’t trolling James. What he was saying is, ‘If you listen to it, the lyrics are dark. The darkness isn’t far removed from how dark my work is.’ That’s what AJ was saying. Like, do they not see if you could do NBA YoungBoy, you can do me?”

Mr. Jafa had been one of Mr. Emory’s first calls when he arrived at Supreme. When Mr. Emory was still working for Mr. West, he’d brokered a meeting with Mr. Jafa, who’d used Mr. West’s music in his breakout 2016 video work “Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death”

For Supreme, they planned to collaborate on items using some of Mr. Jafa’s rawest imagery: including “LeRage,” featuring a Hulk-esque character depicted with hyperbolized cartoon art to underscore Black frustration; and “Ex-Slave Gordon,” an image of a free Black man showing the scars from whippings he’d suffered while in bondage.

“People always think if you are a Black visual artist, that your stuff is supposed to be in some ways relatable or palatable — I call it after-school special,” Mr. Jafa said. “I do what I want to do. I’m not interested in white folks telling me what to do. But neither am I interested in Black people telling me what to do.”

The clothing went through the usual channels for collaborations. Samples were produced. And then, silence. After a junior-level Black employee complained to Mr. Jebbia about the imagery, saying it belonged in a museum, not a skate shop, the collaboration was effectively shelved. No one spoke with Mr. Emory about the collaboration’s fate.

During a meeting discussing the work of the Black artist Lauren Halsey, Mr. Emory said he didn’t want to discuss working with Black artists until getting clarity about the Jafa collaboration. Soon after, he received a call from human resources, he said, saying they’d received a complaint that the meeting had been “emotional and racially charged.”

After his resignation, Mr. Emory and Mr. Jebbia had a frank and vulnerable four-hour conversation at Mr. Emory’s home. Mr. Emory said that Mr. Jebbia said that the reason he never talked to him about the Jafa collaboration, was “cause he knew I would change his mind.” At one point, Mr. Emory said, Mr. Jebbia had tears in his eyes.

“I’ll always respect him because he did things wrong in my opinion, but he looked me in my eyes and talked to me like a grown adult,” Mr. Emory said. “He apologized to my face. And he’s the only person in the company that did that.”

But after the Business of Fashion published an account of Mr. Emory’s exit framed in a way he found disingenuous, “I texted James just a picture of the ‘White Fragility’ book. I said, ‘I hope one day you read this book so you can really understand where I’m coming from. I don’t know if me and you will ever speak again. But regardless if we do, I hope you read this book.’” (Ms. McConnell, who had worked at Supreme as well, quit after that article’s release.)

In that same conversation, Mr. Emory said Mr. Jebbia expressed hope that Mr. Emory would consider returning to the position, but Mr. Emory declined.

“People, in interfacing with Tremaine, treat him with love and excitement and exuberance,” Ms. McConnell said. “And I think that maybe he’s learned, which could also probably be a little heartbreaking, that sometimes there’s things under that he needs to pay attention to.”

Mr. Emory concurred. “You’re hiring a guy that does Black Jesus with the cotton wreath on his head as your creative director. I felt like, ‘You’re a real one,’” he said. “And to have it go down like this, it makes me feel like I was wrong.”

Asked whether he’d consider taking a creative director role at another white-owned fashion brand, Mr. Emory wrestled with the question in both micro and macro form.

“If the people didn’t value Virgil being at Louis more than Off-White, maybe he wouldn’t have took the job,” he said.

“Hubris is a hell of a drug,” he continued. “I can be honest and say I work steadfastly on my validation index and focus on only finding validation from seeing a kid of any color wearing DT in the streets. But I don’t know. I don’t want to cap you down, man. I don’t know.”

For now, the freedom of Denim Tears is what soothes and sates Mr. Emory, whether it’s his ability to release the Jafa collaboration with no pushback — “Are we supposed to hide these scars and never look at these scars again?” — or his coming collection themed around Black jockeys, whose hidden history Mr. Emory’s father taught him about.

“Some people don’t give me grace that maybe I’m thinking hard,” he said, more resigned and frustrated than angry.

Ultimately, Mr. Emory and his critics agree that no version of the Black experience is universal. “My view is I can’t tell another Black person how to feel about their Black experience, because Black people aren’t a monolith,” he said, acknowledging that the uncomfortable discourse is, in many ways, key to his creative project.

“They have the right to unfollow me. They have the right to leave a comment. They have a right to not buy it, tell other people not to buy it. But what they can’t do is change what I’m gonna do.”

Jon Caramanica is a pop music critic for The Times and the host of the “Popcast” podcast. He also writes the men's Critical Shopper column for Styles. He previously worked for Vibe magazine, and has written for the Village Voice, Spin, XXL and more. More about Jon Caramanica

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