#TutoringTuesday Deductive Vs. Inductive Structure

When organizing an essay, you can either be traditional or subtle — deductive or inductive. What’s the difference? Deductive organization involves stating your thesis (or claim) at the end of your first (introduction) paragraph and supporting it throughout the body paragraphs. Inductive organization, on the other hand, asks a question at the end of your introduction and subtly leads your reader to understand your claim by the time you state it in your conclusion. The former is obviously much more traditional, but the latter allows a subtle approach to convincing your reader to come to the same conclusion as you. The content of your essay will determine which method works best. In the case of more sensitive topics, you may opt to use the inductive method to gently convince your reader of your side — or at least have them understand your side that much better.