How to write a reasoning essay

What is the difference between writing and writing-reasoning? What is the peculiarity of an essay-reasoning, and how to write it correctly? In this and not only will we try to figure it out in the article.

Feature of a reasoning essay

To begin with, let’s figure out what is meant by reasoning essay. Different sources give different definitions, so I’ll try to combine them into one.

Reasoning essay involves a logical and consistent presentation of your thoughts on a particular issue or problem. In logic, evidence and arguments are used, based on which certain conclusions are drawn. Statements and endings are part of the structure of reason, which I will discuss later.

Your task is to find and describe the causes of various phenomena, using the thesis (any statement) and arguments (why you think so or not). The idea is at the beginning, and that is what needs to be proved using arguments.

Interestingly, your work may be based on a statement (that the thesis presented is correct) or a refutation (proof that the idea is false). As evidence tools, you can use straight facts or arguments from the opposite, relying on personal experience or films, give examples from life or literature.

What is checked?

Before starting  a reasoning essay, it is essential to think about what the teacher wants from you. And he, asking to write an essay, tests your skills:

• Perceive and understand unfamiliar information;
• Analyze the author’s position;
• Analyze the form of the text and the way it is presented;
• Express your point of view;
• Use the wealth and ability of language to formulate your position;
• Work with spelling and syntactic forms.

Focus on these requirements in preparing for an essay-reasoning: they will help avoid difficulties and surprises while writing an essay.

The structure of a reasoning essay

An essay-reasoning is written according to a particular scheme. It consists of:

• As a rule, it is small and serves to smoothly approach the essay’s main problem (question or quote).
• It is located immediately after the introduction and is the starting point in the reasoning – the statement about which we will discuss in the text;
• The main thing is that they are evidence-based and convincing.

As an argument in an essay-reasoning, you can use:

• Historical fact;
• Statistics data;
• Episodes and plot of a literary work;
• Statements by people with authority in the field.

More than half of the entire volume of the essay is devoted to argumentation. Based on experience, the most optimal number of arguments is 3;

• It should follow from the thesis, but not repeat it, but develop it. The conclusion is broader than the idea.

The structure is conventionally divided into three parts: introduction, central part, and conclusion.

Introduction to a reasoning essay

As I already wrote, you can use a question or quote for the introduction. They should smoothly lead to the main problem of the composition. If it is difficult to find a suitable selection or question, write about the topic’s relevance and the importance of talking about it. It is good to introduce a digression into the history of the problem, examples from various printed and oral sources, etc.

The main part

Here we arm ourselves with arguments and prove our point of view: the reader must conclude that your reasoning is correct. How can this be achieved? Use introductory words and phrases, remarkable sentence linking constructions, and many examples.

The volume of the central part is ⅔ of the entire composition.

Conclusion in the essay-reasoning

In the final part, you need to summarize the above. Key points can be repeated as needed, but with some generalization added to them. Alternatively, you can share your impressions of the described problem.

What conditions must be met in an essay-reasoning

Pay attention to 4 essential conditions – features of the essay-reasoning – that you must fulfill for it to be highly appreciated:

• Compliance with the thesis with the topic of the essay.
• Strong arguments.
• Logically related parts of the work.
• A well-formulated conclusion.

Test your arguments for consistency using the fundamental laws of logic.

Speech clichés for writing-reasoning

For you to grasp the logic, I have chosen two examples for you for each part of the work:

• Many have thought more than once that …
• The main problem faced by society is …
• This article discusses …
• The author draws attention to …
• The author’s position is expressed in …
• In the article, the author focuses on …
• I agree with the author in …
• I do not quite understand the author’s position …
• At first…
• In this way…

Seven important points

Things to consider when working on an essay-reasoning:

• Approach writing like creative work. Ultimately, you create an entirely new product, albeit based on different products (original text and other texts);
• Pay attention to the topic of the essay. Especially when you choose it yourself. The issue should be clear to you and set the course of reasoning;
• Correctly formulate the problem of reasoning. An original and paradoxical situation is the key to success;
• Pay attention to describing the idea. The quality of the arguments depends on how accurately it is expressed;
• Choose the best arguments. I do not doubt that you can find many opinions, but among them, you need to choose the most indisputable and robust;
• Work out the structure of the essay. The correct format is the key to a high score;
• Develop critical sentences and words. This will help you present good and valid arguments in your reasoning.

To see how all the requirements are taken into account in practice, Click Here.