DISCURSIVE ESSAY
You attended a talk by the founder of the Book Appreciation Club, which was recently organised
during your school’s English Week. The following comment was made by the guest speaker:
Reading has a strong influence on academic success.
Write an essay expressing your opinion on the statement. Write at least 250 words.
INTRODUCTION BODY PARAGRAPHS CONCLUSION
• Introduce the topic. • Start with a topic sentence - • Reaffirm your
• State your opinion. provide a solution. opinion.
• Present a thesis • Elaborate your idea(s). • Restate the thesis
statement • Provide examples(s). Explain if statement.
necessary. • Call to action.
• Add a concluding / linking sentence
to reinforce the main point.
Now let’s look at a sample essay.
PARAGRAPHS SAMPLE ESSAY REMARK(S)
(if any)
INTRODUCTION Most students nowadays find reading boring and a
waste of their time. They would rather watch K- Introduce the topic.
dramas or play online games which they find more
pleasurable. These students fail to realise that State your opinion.
reading has a strong influence on academic
success. Reading allows them to gain new
Thesis statement
information, broaden their perspective and
improve their writing as well as comprehension
skills.
BODY 1 First and foremost, reading allows students to Topic sentence
obtain new information. With vast array of
reading materials available in bookstores and also Elaboration
on the Internet, students can choose any subject of
interest for their reading pleasure as well as to
increase their knowledge. Reading the
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newspapers, for example, enables students to Example
keep abreast of current issues and this can help
them to score higher marks in their essays during
examinations. This means that reading beyond the
classroom helps a person gain more knowledge Linking sentence/
which is important for academic success. concluding sentence
BODY 2 Next, students can broaden their perspective by Topic sentence
reading. When students read articles that express
opinions and viewpoints of others, they would be Elaboration
able to understand an issue from different
perspectives. They become more broadminded
and would be more inclined to think outside of the
box when faced with challenges. One example is
when engineering graduates are required to do a Example
project, they would get higher scores if they
approach the topic not only from the technical
aspects but also from the cultural and
environmental aspects. Thus, reading broadens
Linking sentence/
their thinking by providing students with different
concluding sentence
perspectives on a topic which shows itself in
maturity of thought and balanced perspectives.
BODY 3 Last but not least, reading helps students improve Topic sentence
their writing and comprehension skills. Reading
helps the brain to actively process information in Elaboration
order to comprehend what was written, as well as
improving recall of both content and new
vocabulary. This is extremely beneficial in
examinations. For instance, students who read
widely can score better than students who do not Example
enjoy reading because those who read more would
be able to understand and appreciate the reading
texts better, while absorbing and reusing effective
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phrases of vocabulary from what they have read
before. Therefore, reading can improve students’
understanding and writing skills, resulting in higher Linking sentence/
marks in their examinations. concluding sentence
CONCLUSION In conclusion, reading enables students to acquire Restate thesis
new knowledge, broaden their perspective and statement
improve their understanding and writing skills
resulting in greater success in their examinations.
Call for action
Students should make the effort to read as reading
has a strong influence on academic success.
Reading is definitely not a waste of time and
students should incorporate the reading habit in
their daily lives.
(Adapted from MUET Writing Companion, LEFTClick)
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