Deductive essays. Deductive essay example.

Deduction is a process of stating a recognized fact, assumption or principle and then supporting it through specific observations, reaching a conclusion in the end.

Deduction is very often used in writing academic papers because it is a good method of estimating the academic progress of students in different subjects. The main task of a college writer is to explore and explain. The common form of such writing is a deductive essay. Its key feature is that it shows students’ ability to work with provided information and come to logical conclusions, which represent a complete piece of information.

A deductive essay should be structured according to the process of deductive argumentation. This argumentation should be based on ideas and thoughts that could lead students to a logical conclusion. The main goal of deductive reasoning in academic writing is to use the appropriate circumstances which assist in developing a definite assumption. Students should consider a number of factors regarding the issue discussed in their assignment. It is important to estimate these factors thoroughly.

A deductive essay begins with an introduction and a thesis. Then the thesis is explored in several paragraphs and after that the essay concludes with a paragraph, which reflects on the thesis. There are some steps to be taken when writing a deductive essay:

• A deductive essay starts with an introduction, which states the topic and thesis.
• In the first paragraph a set of premises is described (initial information or clues, used as a basis for argumentation).
• In the second paragraph the evidence is presented (a piece of information, analyzed to bring it into correlation with premises).
• The analysis leads to a deductive conclusion: a balance of the evidence against the premises.
• The final paragraph includes the restated thesis and the deductive conclusion.

Important peculiarities of a deductive essay are clarity and sharp focus. The paragraphs should be clearly organized, analyzing one specific issue, providing details and explaining why such deductive conclusion is made. The arguments should be strong and well organized, otherwise the conclusion would be strained and forced. In other words, the conclusion is weak without supporting your point.

Topics for deductive essays can often be comparative, e. g. Democracy and Autocracy or Love and Habit. In this case it’s significant not to mix up two types of writing, because the importance here is not in whether the democracy and autocracy are similar or different, but in the argumentation of why the democracy excludes autocracy or vice versa.

The conclusion should represent what a writer wants his reader to understand by the end of the essay. A good conclusion should not prevent from further exploration of the topic, but reflect on the supported thesis and focus on some important undercurrent that has arisen from the body of the text. The conclusion brings the reader back to the prime statements of the essay to review them with greater detail.

In the end, accurate arguments lead to accurate conclusion, false points lead to false results. So, the key feature in writing a deductive essay and using deductive logic is accuracy and care.