Writing a deductive essay is like playing a game of Clue. The person has different concepts with a set of specific clues and now must make an assumption as to what is happening. In the game of Clue the players know the different rooms (settings), knows the different players (the characters in the game of clue), knows the circumstances (such as the weapons in the game of Clue), and then they must make an assumption as to what has happened. The players in the game of Clue keep making assumptions until the game is over. Deductive essays take the individual factors, weighs these against what they know, and then makes the assumption. The three parts to a deductive essay are premises (the argument), evidence (information available), and conclusion (the assumption).
Deductive essays play an important role in evaluating the knowledge level of students in different courses. Writing this type of essay is like playing a game of Clue. The writer has various concepts with a set of specific circumstances (premises) and should make an assumption as to what is going on. Using deductive reasoning, an individual can solve a puzzle or identify a person if provided enough information.
In particular, deductive reasoning takes specific factors, weighs them against the existent knowledge about such things, and sums them up to come to a certain conclusion. The deductive reasoning consists of three parts:
- the PREMISE, which is a basic idea or belief that is used as the source for making conclusions. It is possible to have several PREMISES in an argument of the essay, depending on the chosen topic. It will give a background against which the rest logical progression of the essay will be evaluated.
- the EVIDENCE, which is the information the writer had before. It can be a story he is analyzing or something he has observed. Usually it is formed of information that is available. It can be an article, or any other piece of information. This evidence will work as a link between premise and conclusion of the essay.
- the CONCLUSION which is the final analysis of the situation, based on balancing PREMISES with EVIDENCE. It puts together previous two parts and proves the premise.
Here an easy example of the following:
General Principle: specific symptoms occur only in Hepatitis B.
Particular Instance: These sick children show exactly the same symptoms.
Conclusion: These sick children probably have Hepatitis B.
A high-quality deductive essay is clear and focused. Every its paragraph is focused on a specific aspect or a specific point, using aspects, details and examples to make to a particular conclusion. The most important factor is supporting the conclusion, meaning that a conclusion without supporting point is weak.
Deductive thinking shows reasoning from the general to the particular (from major to minor, from cause to effect). This thinking is responsible for choosing the most likely and logical path. That is why a deductive essay needs to point out the most reasonable conclusion formed on the original information. Every paragraph of the essay should focus on a particular issue or fact, studding it in detail and finally, setting a logical and sound conclusion. The writer should remember that all deductive chains should be thoroughly considered before the final conclusion is made.
