Diagnostic Essay: What Is It and How Do You Write One?

A diagnostic essay is one of the types of composition many students are unfamiliar with. Students tend to encounter this paper at the beginning of their program, and it might be intimidating. But a diagnostic essay becomes easy once you understand what should be done. This text aims to help you understand a diagnostic composition and how to craft one.

Diagnostic Essay Meaning: What Does It Entail?

What’s a diagnostic essay? It is an essay students write to showcase their writing ability and knowledge level. Many college instructors assign their students an essay on a specific topic or prompt at the beginning of a college program. You would have limited time to complete and submit this paper, so it requires you to think and work fast. The essay is their way of assessing their students’ abilities.

Think of it like going to a doctor for a random checkup, receiving a medical exam, and learning how to improve your health. The essay will not be graded but will help the instructor identify a student’s strengths and weaknesses. Writing a diagnostic essay does not require you to have read specific material or done some specific research, so your preparation is limited.

Once you submit it, the instructor will analyze it and provide feedback on things such as:

• Grammar
• Formatting
• Style

The information instructors gather from the diagnostic essay can help them plan their curriculum based on their students’ abilities.

Accepted Diagnostic Essay Format and Structure

Because the time for writing is restricted, it’s important to know the correct diagnostic essay format so you won’t waste too much time refining the paper. Diagnostic essays follow a simple five-paragraph structure consisting of the following:

• An intro
• Body section
• An outro

How to Start Your Diagnostic Essay: The Intro

Your essay’s introduction is crucial because it provides the first impression for any reader. When you start strong, the reader will be more motivated to read your work instead of skimming it. You can start with an interesting statistic or a quote for your diagnostic essay.

From there, briefly introduce the subject matter you aim to discuss. Don’t go into too much detail because you’ll cover it all in your body paragraphs. The last sentence of your introduction is your thesis statement, where you present your main argument and provide a call to action for the readers.

Body Segment

The body paragraphs of your college diagnostic essay should contain your arguments and explanations. Ideally, you should aim to discuss one main idea in each paragraph. The body paragraphs should start with a topic sentence, which acts like your paragraph’s thesis statement by summarizing what you’ll discuss in that paragraph.

Any argument you provide in the body section should be backed up by statistics, data, or info from personal experiences. Finally, try to improve the flow of your diagnostic essay by using transition words to link the paragraphs.

Outro

The outro summarizes everything you have been discussing and is the final section of your article. You sum up all the chief assertions you have presented in the body segment. Start by restating and rephrasing the thesis statement and then highlighting the arguments you brought up in the body paragraphs. The closing paragraph should not contain any new points, just those you discussed in the earlier sections.

Formatting Correctly

Is there a specific diagnostic essay format you should use? Yes. The format your instructor specifies. The lecturer might give you some instructions, including the word count, time limit, and others, to help you construct your desired essay. Stick to these instructions, and you’ll be fine.

Depending on what your instructor wants, there are different formats to use, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago. Formatting is often a problem for students and is the reason why one might buy essay or spend hours online looking for an example of a diagnostic essay. The format dictates elements such as font type and size, indentations, and the use of quotations. Your instructor should specify the format to use, but you should also know the format your school uses in case they don’t. Aside from the format, you should pay attention to the rules of grammar and syntax, and spelling. They play a big part in determining how well you score in the essay.

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Write a Diagnostic Essay

Writing a diagnostic essay is much easier when you understand the required structure and format. We’ve gone further and created steps you can follow to make this process easier and compose a quality article.

Read the Prompt and Understand the Instructions Provided

Mostly, a diagnostic essay comes with instructions that tell you what the professor wants you to submit. Read all the specifications to understand what kind of composition you’ll write and the requirements to fulfill. You might find requirements like page count, number of sources, tone, and deadline. Read them all, and if some guidelines seem unfamiliar, consult your instructor for clarification.

Pick a Manageable and Good Topic

Depending on your college diagnostic essay, you can answer the prompt or select your own topic. Your topic can make a major difference in the quality of the paper you will write. Several things should be considered when picking a topic. First, your topic needs to be something you are interested in to ensure you put enough effort into creating a good diagnostic essay.

Consider also the size of your topic. When choosing between various diagnostic essay topics, you can try to identify the topic that will fulfill your word count without going too far over it. It means you should have a topic that is not too wide or too narrow. Reduce the scope of broad topics and avoid narrow topics.

You should also avoid overly complex topics. Choosing a difficult topic won’t impress your instructor unless you properly do it justice. Since your time is limited, choose a topic you are comfortable pursuing and one that won’t cause you problems and waste your time.

Finally, as you comb through the various diagnostic essay topics, identify the ones that fulfill your instructor’s requirements.

Outline Your Essay

The outline is a crucial part of writing a diagnostic essay. It acts as a foundation on which you’ll build the rest of the essay. Having an essay outline means having a list of your essay’s different sections and the main points you intend to include within these sections.

A diagnostic essay outline saves you time in writing and ensures your work is well organized. You’ll also be less likely to stray from your main ideas when using an outline for reference, and creating an outline save time in writing because you’ll only have to flesh out the points you listed.

Start Writing

After creating your diagnostic essay outline, you should be ready to start writing. Start with a strong introduction that tells the reader what you aim to discuss and why it is relevant. From there, create a strong thesis statement about your topic that properly reflects your position on the issue in question. The body paragraphs would properly address each point with the help of evidence or logic. After you’re done, sum it all up in the conclusion paragraph.

The writing stage tends to cause students problems, so one might ask, “Should I pay someone to write my paper?” However, remember this essay is often not graded, so feel free to express yourself in writing. Your essay does not have to be perfect on the first draft, so don’t waste too much time choosing the perfect words or phrases. You’ll have time to improve on it.

Proofread Your Essay

Once you’re done writing, it is time to edit your work. Proofreading involves reading your essay carefully and eliminating any mistakes you find. It also entails identifying any areas of your essay that you can improve. Proofread a diagnostic essay multiple times, improving the quality until satisfied with the result. The number of times you proofread depends on the time you have left from writing, so plan your time well.

Closing Remarks

Your diagnostic essay gives the instructor a clear picture of where you stand as a student. Depending on the course, instructors sometimes assign diagnostic essays to gauge your knowledge in a particular subject, writing skills, or both. The essay is important as it helps teachers determine whether some students are eligible for particular services like tutoring. The above guide should be helpful in writing a diagnostic essay worth scoring high marks.