A Complete Guide on How to Write a Diagnostic Essay
When you start a course, you are often asked to write a diagnostic essay or a diagnostic composition. This assignment implies writing a piece in response to a question or prompt. It represents your writing abilities and skills, which makes it easier for your instructor or teacher to define your strengths and weaknesses.
As a rule, professors and teachers don’t grade such assignments, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put your effort into writing it as well as you can. This is a chance for you to show your logic, imagination, creativity, and writing skills, so don’t miss it.
What to Expect from a Diagnostic Essay?
A diagnostic essay isn’t much different from other types of essay assignments that you usually get. It has the same essay structure, which consists of the introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion part. It also should have a thesis statement and represent your opinion on the assigned or chosen topic.
Usually, when writing such an essay, you are limited in time (about one hour). So, you need to organize your time to be as productive as possible.
What Strategy to Choose when Writing a Diagnostic Essay?
Once your teacher or instructor assigns you with a topic of your essay, start thinking about your concept. Draft your thesis statement first and then build your outline based on the key points of your future essay. Also, make sure to manage your time and leave at least 5 minutes or so for editing and proofreading your essay in the end.
So, how can one write a diagnostic essay? Are there any rules that you need to stick to? Here, we have a complete guide that will help you to complete this assignment without struggling.
Step 1 – Choose the Topic
Some teachers prefer to let students choose the topic they want to write their essay on while others assign students with particular topics. They might ask you a question which you will have to reply to in the form of an essay.
For those who can choose the topic but don’t know which one to pick, we have prepared the list of diagnostic essay topics:
- The biggest challenges for modern students.
- Whose success story is an example for you?
- Is there a place for hunting in the modern world?
- Are there more issues with online studying than benefits?
- The problem of racial prejudice in student dorms.
- Will remote jobs prevail over in-office jobs in the future?
Step 2 – Create Your Thesis Statement
The majority of students face difficulties when it comes to creating a thesis statement for their essays. Though they need to create lots of statements for multiple essays which they write through the year, not many students can come up with a good idea for thesis statement right from the start.
However, in the case of a diagnostic essay, a thesis statement is a key point that should be written first as you won’t have too much time to think of it through your writing process as you will be very limited in time. So, make sure to create a thesis statement first; this way it will be easier for you to work on your essay.
If, for example, you have a topic that sounds like “Positive and negative influence of social media on socialization,” your thesis statement might be:
Though social media helps people communicate and connect in spite of long distances or cultural diversity, they become the main reason why social awkwardness is spreading among various social groups.
You might also create a rough draft of your thesis statement first if you are not sure about its final phrasing to come back to it after writing the body paragraphs.
Step 3 – Create an Outline
Someone would say that creating an outline when you have tight time limits is not obligatory, but it will actually help you organize and structure your thoughts. When you just start writing your essay, you might have a few worthy ideas on your mind that you might forget in the process. So, write any ideas or thoughts first, at least one per paragraph. Once you do that, you can start writing your essay.
Step 4 – Write an Introduction
Your introduction is what gives the first impression on your reader and affects the final opinion on it. The majority of essays that you create through your school years imply putting your thesis statement into the first paragraph so that to give an understanding of what your paper is about and what your opinion on the problem is. A diagnostic essay is not an exclusion.
Start your essay with a catchy sentence – a hook that attracts the attention of the reader and provides a reason to keep reading. For example, it might be a statistical fact or a quote that is relevant to the topic. Here are a few tips on how to start your essay with a hook sentence.
Step 5 – Write the Body Paragraphs
Commonly, short essays include three body paragraphs. They can include examples, facts, and quotes to support your opinion and claims as well as your thesis statement. The best way to write these paragraphs is to elaborate your opinion with the help of evidence from reliable sources, starting with the strongest argument first.
Start your paragraphs with topic sentences which provide a reader with an idea of what this paragraph is about. End your paragraphs with transition sentences as they smooth the jumps from one subject or idea to another.
Step 6 – Write the Conclusion Part
The conclusion is the part that summarizes all of your findings and restates your statement. It also gathers all of the facts and claims into one final thought that represents your opinion on the problematic or gives the final response to the question. You can paraphrase your thesis statement to include it in your conclusion part and also mention all the key findings of your essay. Don’t repeat your previous sentences – form them into one general summary of your text.
Step 7 – Proofread and Edit Your Essay
Once you have everything written, reread your essay, and make edits. It’s almost impossible to write an essay that won’t require any further editing, so make sure to manage your time and leave some time for this step.
Final Thoughts
A diagnostic paper is not as difficult as other types of essays, for example, an analytical essay, as it doesn’t require conducting any research. It will be beneficial to include some facts or data, but you are not obligated to. Moreover, you shouldn’t worry much as such essay won’t be graded. However, preparing for such an essay won’t hurt. You can even try pre-writing your essay in order to show the best results.
