A discursive essay explores an idea from more than one angle, in a personal voice, and lets the reader think alongside you instead of steering them to one view. To write one for HSC English, start from a specific moment or observation, turn the idea over at least once, choose your words on purpose, and finish somewhere you didn't start.
The hard part is what you leave out. Years of essay writing train you to state a thesis and prove it, so plenty of "discursive" pieces are persuasive essays with an anecdote on top. I've taught English, and as a History teacher I mark thesis-and-proof essays all year. Everything here about the exam comes from NESA's documents, quoted and dated.
What NESA means by discursive
NESA's English Advanced and English Standard syllabuses (2017) define it in their glossary:
discursive texts: Texts whose primary focus is to explore an idea or variety of topics. These texts involve the discussion of an idea(s) or opinion(s) without the direct intention of persuading the reader, listener or viewer to adopt any single point of view. Discursive texts can be humorous or serious in tone and can have a formal or informal register. They include texts such as feature articles, creative nonfiction, blogs, personal essays, documentaries and speeches.
The same glossary describes persuasive texts as "texts whose primary purpose is to put forward a point of view and persuade a reader, viewer or listener", and lists "student essays" among them. So your Module A and B essays are, by NESA's definition, persuasive. In English Advanced, Module B rewards an interpretation you argue and prove (see the Module B rubric, decoded). Discursive writing keeps the personal perspective and drops the proof.
Discursive doesn't mean no opinion: NESA's Module C FAQ says it "Explores an issue or an idea and may suggest a position or point of view". You can land somewhere; you just don't campaign for it.
Where discursive writing shows up in the HSC
Module C: The Craft of Writing is Section III of Paper 2 in English Advanced and English Standard, worth 20 marks. The 2025 papers said to "Allow about 40 minutes for this section". The current exam specifications for both courses say:
There will be one question. The question may contain up to two parts. The question will require an imaginative, discursive, persuasive, informative or reflective response. The question may require students to reflect on one or more of their prescribed texts. This question may include a stimulus and/or unseen texts.
If you're sitting the 2026 HSC, English Advanced Paper 2 and English Standard Paper 2 are both on Wednesday 14 October, 9.25 am to 11.30 am.
Discursive isn't always on offer
In 2025, Module C asked:
- English Advanced: part (a), "Craft an imaginative piece of writing which incorporates the provided image as the focus of your narrative" (12 marks); part (b), "Explain how you have incorporated the provided image to shape meaning in your narrative, making close reference to your specific language choices in part (a)" (8 marks).
- English Standard: "Using the stimulus above, craft an imaginative or discursive piece of writing that captures the richness of a fond memory" (20 marks, one part).
In 2024, Advanced asked for "a discursive or persuasive piece of writing", and Standard for an imaginative piece plus 5 marks on a device "inspired by ONE of the prescribed texts in Module C". In 2023, both offered imaginative or discursive writing, and Advanced added 8 marks for justifying your stylistic choices.
So across those 6 questions, discursive was an option in 4, and a part about your own writing choices appeared in 3. That's not a pattern to bank on: practise more than one form, and practise explaining your choices.
What the markers rewarded
The 2025 Standard question is the latest to offer discursive writing. Its top band (17 to 20 marks) read:
Composes a highly engaging imaginative or discursive piece of writing that effectively uses the stimulus
Crafts language skilfully to capture the richness of a fond memory
Demonstrates highly effective control of language and structure appropriate to audience, purpose, context and selected form
NESA's feedback asked students to improve by "responding to all parts of the question and aspects of the stimulus, for example, fond memory, senses, richness, comfort" and "establishing a strong purpose in their writing that aligns to the question". In 2024, better Advanced responses could "develop their own ideas with insightful use of the stimulus to persuade or enlighten their audience". If you choose discursive, enlightening is the job.
Which syllabus you're on
The 2026 HSC is on the 2017 syllabuses. If you're sitting the HSC in 2027 or later, you're on the new English Advanced or English Standard 11-12 Syllabus (2024), with Year 12 teaching from Term 4 2026. Module C becomes the focus area The craft of writing, still Paper 2 Section III for 20 marks, and its question will require "an imaginative, discursive, persuasive and/or reflective response". NESA's sample papers note it "does not include prescribed texts". The skills here carry straight over.
What makes discursive writing work
NESA's Module C FAQ (updated May 2024) lists typical features of discursive writing. These 5 do most of the work.
More than one angle
Discursive writing "Approaches a topic from different angles and explores themes and issues in a style that balances personal observations with different perspectives". Each section should stand somewhere new: your experience, someone else's, a wider view, the opposite case. If every paragraph agrees with the last, you're arguing.
A personal, reflective voice
NESA's list says discursive writing "Uses personal anecdotes and may have a conversational tone". Elsewhere the FAQ says students should be advised to develop "a personal voice to express their perspective/ideas confidently". Confident isn't certain: a discursive voice can say "I'm not sure" and mean it.
Anecdotes that do some thinking
Another feature on the list: it "Begins with an event, an anecdote or relevant quote that is then used to explore an idea". Note "then used". An anecdote that never comes back is decoration; a good one returns and means something different the second time.
A shape that moves
The FAQ's list ends with "Resolution may be reflective or open-ended", and its exam advice says students "are not required to adhere to specific features of a type of text". There's no set structure. Some shapes that work:
- The return: open on a moment, move out into the idea, come back to the moment changed.
- The turn: start with the obvious view, then turn it over.
- Sections: 3 or 4 short sections, each from a different angle, with white space doing the linking.
Pick the one that suits your idea, not the safest one.
Language chosen on purpose
The Advanced Module C rubric talks about "language to convey ideas and emotions with power and precision", and in 2024 markers asked for "the appropriate modality and register for the type of text they write". "Perhaps", "I suspect" and "maybe" sound weak in a persuasive essay; in discursive writing they show someone thinking. Save firm modality for moments you've earned.
A worked example: two openings
The prompt and both openings are samples I wrote for this guide. They're not from a NESA paper, and they're not student work.
Craft a discursive piece of writing that explores the value of being bad at something.
The persuasive version (sample)
Nowadays, people are too scared of failure. Being bad at something is valuable because it builds resilience, teaches humility and makes us more creative. Firstly, when we are bad at something, we learn to keep going even when it is hard. Many successful people failed many times before they succeeded. Clearly, everyone should try something they are bad at, because failure is the key to success.
The thesis and 3 reasons arrive in sentence 2, fixing the shape. "Firstly" announces body paragraphs built like a TEEL paragraph, each proving a reason. "Many successful people" is a gap where an observation should be. "Clearly" and "everyone should" add high modality and a call to action: persuasion.
The discursive version (sample)
The fourth lemon tart collapsed like the first three: a slow sigh in the middle, then a crack running to the edge like a river on a map. It tasted fine. It just looked like something that had given up.
I've noticed something odd. I'm happier on the afternoons it fails than on the ones I spend doing things I'm already good at. Maybe that's stubbornness. Or maybe being bad at something is one of the few times nobody expects anything of me, including me, and that feels a lot like freedom.
Then again, freedom is easy to praise from a kitchen. Being bad at maths in front of 28 classmates doesn't feel free. It feels like being watched. So perhaps the value was never in being bad, but in who's watching.
What it's doing:
- It opens on a moment, not a claim. An event, used to explore an idea.
- The idea arrives as an observation, with honest modality. "I've noticed something odd", then "Maybe", "Or maybe", "perhaps": a view forming, not announced.
- It turns. The third paragraph takes the other side seriously and changes the question.
- The language is chosen. The simile, the tart that "had given up", and the short sentences slow the reader down.
Check your piece
- Could someone sum it up as "X is good, for 3 reasons"? Then it's persuasive.
- Do I look at the idea from at least 2 genuinely different angles?
- Does my anecdote or observation come back and do some thinking?
- Does my ending sit somewhere different from my opening?
- Is my modality honest: tentative where I'm unsure, firm where I've earned it?
- Have I answered every part of the question, including any part (b), and used the stimulus?
Teaching this skill? Share this with your class.
Frequently asked questions
What is a discursive essay?
Writing that explores an idea from several angles without trying to win the reader over. NESA's syllabus glossary describes discursive texts as discussing ideas "without the direct intention of persuading the reader, listener or viewer to adopt any single point of view".
Does a discursive essay need a conclusion?
It needs an ending, but not a summary. NESA's Module C FAQ lists "Resolution may be reflective or open-ended" as a typical feature, and notes that some exam questions ask for only "an opening, ending or fragment".
Discursive vs persuasive: what's the difference?
Purpose. In NESA's glossary, a persuasive text's "primary purpose is to put forward a point of view and persuade", while discursive writing explores an idea and "may suggest a position or point of view" without campaigning for it.
Can you use first person in a discursive essay?
Yes. NESA's Module C FAQ says discursive writing "Primarily uses first person although third person can also be used" and often "Uses personal anecdotes".