How to Write a Deductive Essay
What is deductive essay?
Every person who has heard about the great detective Sherlock Holmes is familiar with his well-known deductive method. “The deductive method is useful in a detective job,” you may say, “but what is deductive essay, and how does it connect to deduction at all?” This section is aimed at helping you to understand and complete the task of writing a high-quality deductive essay.
A deductive essay is a tool for evaluating students’ knowledge and encouraging their logical thinking and improving their skills in finding information and structuring it. The deductive essay is a type of academic writing that shows the author’s ability to use reasonable assumptions to reach a logical conclusion on various topics.
The key characteristic of an excellent deductive essay definition is clarity and focus. In other words, each paragraph should focus on a single aspect or point with the use of details and examples to lead to a specific conclusion.
In this type of essay, the organization of paragraphs is highly important. In fact, the structure reflects the traditional construction of deductive reasoning – from general to specific. Speaking more academically, this concept is the conviction that a person can give a reasonable assumption to one particular situation in the case of having enough clues or descriptions of circumstances – in other words, information about the subject. Every student is familiar with deductive reasoning from the college course on logic, where a conclusion based on two statements should be proposed. To make it more clear, let’s take a look at an example:
Statement 1: All cats are animals.
Statement 2: Kitty is a cat.
Conclusion: A Kitty is an animal.
This exercise allows understanding of the logic behind deductive reasoning.
Without a doubt, you still can have the feeling that writing deductive essays goes beyond your capabilities. I want to reassure you – there is no need to be afraid if you think that you do not have the deductive type of thinking. To follow this style of essay means that within your paper, you take identified factors, compare them with the familiar or general knowledge, and add them in the form of a conclusion.
These requirements find their reflection in the structure of the deductive essay, which as well as parts of deductive reasonings, consists of a premise, evidence, and a conclusion. In our example, Statement 1 was a premise, while evidence is described by the second sentence. That is why, in using such an analogy, you will be able to write an excellent deductive essay.
Deductive essay writing structure
Introduction
As always, the first part introduces the topic to the readers and states the main ideas and thesis.
The first part also provides the set of premises – facts, ideas, clues, and information from common knowledge that in the result will help to arrive at a conclusion.
Remember! There can be more than one premise for one argument, so you should list them all. In addition, there is the thought that in a deductive essay, the author can avoid the typical thesis statements, as in the majority of cases, the thesis will be the conclusion.
Main body
After you have completed the conclusion, we move to the main body. This part focuses on the pieces of evidence that can be defined as described and analyzed facts or pieces of information which are determined by the premises. Such evidence collection is the proof on which the author can rely, such as personal experience, expert testimony, and statistics. However, do not forget that such pieces should seem logical for the audience as well as from your personal point of view.
In the case of writing deductive essays, you are working not with the idea as a whole but with its parts. This means that each paragraph should reflect a single part of the idea. If you complete this task successfully, the body will be the part of the essay where the main idea is proven or expanded upon; therefore, the logic of deductive reasoning will be sustained.
Do not overload your paper with pieces of evidence – usually, three paragraphs, each of which is devoted to a single idea, are enough to express thoughts and prove the conclusion. Also remember to use several types of evidence, such as personal experience and evidence from a scientific article.
Conclusion
Finally, the last part presents the conclusion formulated by taking into account the premises and evidence. This section shows the final step, where you drive to a certain position after the complete analysis. Remember that the conclusion in a deductive essay should be unambiguous and clearly formulated.
The final paragraph of the essay on deductive reasoning should contain the thesis and the deductive conclusion.
This type of reasoning may have several potential conclusions. However, it is important to choose the one most logical and appropriate among the variety. Once again, it is essential to discuss the single conclusion. Otherwise, the essay would lose focus and have a persuasive impact on future readers.
Stages of writing a deductive essay
The process of writing the deductive essay can be divided into several stages: thinking, planning, writing, checking, and correction.
So, the first stage involves thinking, which starts with the choice of the topic. If you are limited by the requirements of the professor, you can focus on thinking about the information that should be used and the general concept of the future work.
The opposite case is a situation when you are limited only by the overall theme of the course or the type of essay. Don’t worry if you get stuck at this stage. Try to look at the problem from a different angle instead. If the topic is not given from the outside, you are free to choose anything you like: what concerns you personally, what you are familiar with, or maybe it is something socially significant. In the deductive essay definition, topics are often dualistic, so you can choose the position you like the most – it will help you to make the essay more meaningful and profound. Please note that by the end of the stage of thinking, you should have in mind the central idea and the points that can be used for its support.
The next stage is planning. In this particular type of essay, the process of creating an outline can be divided into the preparation of the deductive outline and the complete text outline. The first represents the logical structure of the proof of the central idea. The creation of the second outline is similar to any type of essay writing, where the structure of the future paper is composed.
The writing stage can be divided into two sub-stages for convenience. At the end of the first step, you will create the complete rough draft and polish it to complete the final version of your paper. The process of polishing should be concentrated on paragraph development and ensuring sentence variety.
The fourth stage is checking for mistakes in both logic and grammar. Make sure you pay attention to the logic of your paper, as it is a vital part of a deductive essay.
Finally, the last step is the correction of the paper. In fact, this step is the easiest one, but do not forget the basic principle of checking the essay, no matter the type – read the final version several times. Just keep in mind that your paper should be easy to read and understand, and, of course, as a deductive type of paper, it should prove the central idea.
Authority tips on writing a deductive essay
Guidelines and tightening your deductive essay
We have prepared a list of topic examples that will come in handy or point out the worthy direction of thinking.
- International Immigrants and Freedom
- Democracy Versus Communism
- Terrorism Knows No Borders
- The Harm of a Lie Versus the Harm of Truth
You can find more topic suggestions in our new book “Essay Becomes Easy. Part II,” now available on Amazon. Make sure you check them, as they are outstanding!
Mistakes to avoid while writing a deductive essay
Whether you already have a ready draft of your paper or you are just starting to write, check this list of the most common mistakes so that you can eliminate or avoid them:
- Confusing the different types of essay writing, such as expository and deductive styles.
- Ignoring the logical structure within each paragraph.
- Mixing premises with evidence.
- Describing the different variants of conclusions.
- Overloading the essay with excessive information.
- Confusing inductive and deductive methods of reasoning.
Deductive reasoning essay writing checklist
It’s time for a final check before submitting – answer the following questions as you go through your essay to ensure you got everything right.
- Does the essay reveal the topic that was clarified using deductive reasoning?
- Does the essay contain the premise, pieces of evidence that prove the central idea, and the conclusion that is followed from the reasoning?
- Will the logic be understandable to the potential audience?
- Does the essay contain enough evidence to verify the conclusion?
- Within each paragraph, have you moved from abstract to concrete ideas?
- Do the paragraphs together have unity and coherence?
- Is there variety in the type and length of sentences?
- Was the vocabulary used appropriately due to personal knowledge and for potential readers?
Now you are ready to write the best essay using deductive reasoning.
Deductive essay sample
Writing a deductive reasoning essay is not an easy task. Such an essay requires comprehensive research and the presence of analytical thinking. If you have never written an analytical essay, you should start by studying the material. Our other guides, such as creating an impressive essay introduction, can serve as a good information base. A strong move is traditionally considered to be the study of samples.
You can use the samples written by professionals as a reference for your essay and a reference sample or a source of inspiration. Next, we bring to your attention one of the samples, which was written by EssayShark. Here, you can order similar samples on any other topic.
Role of the Bible in the World’s History
Throughout the history of man, many cultures and religions have tried to explain the world around them and create stories that help society. Some stories are fables, great gods existing on Earth. However, some stories may seem to have some truth behind them, the city of Jericho existing. The Bible has a variety of stories that some believe as fact, some believe as stories, and some believe as nonsense. Whatever someone might believe about the Bible or religion, there are parts and stories that are truly based on scientific and historical data.
First, in the old testament, we have the story of the city of Jericho. Joshua 6:1-2, “Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.’” The area of Jericho was first excavated in 1868 with the first exciting findings in the 1907-1909 excavation by Selling and Watzinger. Kathleen Kenyon continued the study and excavation of the area noting that walls existed around the city and have fallen. There is some speculation about how the walls fell but there was destruction that had occurred supporting the story in the Bible.
Another biblical story that has historical evidence is the great flood. Genesis 7:10, “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.” It is documented in various historical texts that a great flood did occur in the Mesopotamian area. Both Sumerian and Akkadian cultures have historical texts that reference a great flood in ancient times. While the floods did not occur over the entire Earth, during the time the floods occurred the area that flooded probably seemed like the entire world. Mallowan reflects on the embellishments of the story in his paper Noah’s Flood Reconsidered: “As with all legend, time has carried with exaggeration and embellishment. Indeed the Sumerian version is in one respect more modest than the later one.” It is evident that the story of the great flood is very much true.
The last story to discuss is the existence of Jesus Christ. The figure Jesus Christ was the start of the Christian religion, and much of the New Testament is about the life of Jesus Christ. In addition to the New Testament, there are other non-Christian records that mention Jesus. Ernest Burton mentions in his paper that the existence of Jesus was mentioned in various non-Christian texts and names four in particular. Josephus was a Jewish historian that mentioned Jesus Christ in his text. Another historian from Rome also mentioned Jesus in texts. In addition to the Gospels of the Bible, there are other historical texts to prove that Jesus was a real person.
Many cultures and religions have stories that are passed down and sometimes written down. The Bible is one of the most published books reaching every continent. Some believe the book as truth, some see it as fables, some as nonsense. Regardless of someone’s belief of the Bible, some of the stories can absolutely be proven to be true based on historical data that is outside the realm of Christianity. Only three of the stories from the Bible were shown as historically accurate; however, if one was to take a closer look at other stories in the Bible they could also be proven with historical facts. While many can see stories as fiction, myths, or fables, in the end, there might be a little truth behind these stories.
Works Cited
Burton, Ernest. “Sources of the Life of Jesus Outside the Gospels.” The Biblical World, no. 1, University of Chicago Press, Jan. 1900, pp. 26–35. Crossref, doi:10.1086/472588.
Kenyon, K. M. (1954). Excavations at Jericho. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 84(1/2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.2307/2844004.
Mallowan, M. E. L. “Noah’s Flood Reconsidered.” Iraq, no. 2, JSTOR, 1964, p. 62. Crossref, doi:10.2307/4199766.
The Archaeologist. “Ancient Jericho: The First Walled City In History.” The Archaeologist, The Archaeologist, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/ancient-jericho-the-first-walled-city-in-history.
Tushingham, A. Douglas. “Excavations at Old Testament Jericho.” The Biblical Archaeologist, no. 3, University of Chicago Press, Sept. 1953, pp. 46–67. Crossref, doi:10.2307/3209347.
How to write a deductive essay video guide
Writing a deductive reasoning essay is hard. If you are reading this article, you should already understand that you have taken on a complex and challenging task. In order to facilitate the process of perception of information and help you achieve academic success in record time, we have recorded a short and informative video guide.
Where to order a deductive reasoning essay
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Frequently asked questions about deductive essay writing
How do you write a deductive essay?
A deductive essay is one of the many essays, but it stands out in one particular way. A deductive essay makes its argument through reason, specifically by using the process of logical deduction. To write a deductive reasoning essay, you methodically consider the topic and statements made, and draw your own more general conclusions. The subject can be anything – from a look at the day’s headlines to your personal opinion on a social issue – with one essential element: it must offer multiple perspectives on a topic.
What is deductive reasoning?
Deductive reasoning is a type of deduction in which the premises provide strong evidence for the truth of the conclusion. Deductive reasoning is not always concerned with establishing factual conclusions about the real world. For example, a past or future event with every causal factor in place cannot be considered unlikely or uncertain because its cause-and-effect relationships are so well-established that they are beyond refutation. So, if you know all of the causes that result in an event and also know that there are no other causes that could interfere with those causes, then you know that there is no other way for the event to occur except for the way it has in the past.
How do you use deductive reasoning in an essay?
Writing a deductive reasoning essay may seem tricky, but it is just like writing any other essay. All you need to do is write an argument with a specific claim supported by evidence. The evidence for deductive essays must be logic-based instead of subjective or experiential. Deductive reasoning is taking several facts or observations and moving from them to a logical conclusion. It is common to use deductive reasoning in an essay to show that your argument is correct.
How do you know if an essay is inductive or deductive?
Deductive and inductive arguments are similar in one important way; they both have a conclusion and a premise. In inductive arguments, the assumption is an observation or a fact, while in deductive arguments, the premise is a general principle.
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