How to Write a Diagnostic Essay: Meaning and Topics Example

Are you frightened about the prospect of writing a diagnostic essay because you do not know where to begin? There is no need to panic because these essays test whether you possess specific skills and your existing knowledge on a particular subject.

This article will analyze everything you need to know about diagnostic essays so you won’t have to worry about them anymore.

Also Read: Good Titles for Essays about Yourself: 31 Personal Essay Topics

What is a Diagnostic Essay?

A diagnostic test is assigned on a known topic to help professors and instructors evaluate the level of knowledge and skills that students possess on different topics.

These essays can sometimes be challenging because to achieve their purpose, strict deadlines must be imposed with not much time for students to spend on the work.

This implies that there is no time for research in these essays because instructors assume that you already know the topics tested.

How to Write a Diagnostic Essay?

To write a diagnostic essay, you must avoid many errors because there may be insufficient time for corrections. Therefore, always choose the correct structure and avoid grammatical mistakes because there may be no time for rewriting or additional editing.

To write a good diagnostic essay, you will need to follow the following steps.

Step 1: Choose a Topic

Professors usually provide the topic you will write about because they want to be specific about what they test. However, in cases where the topics are not offered, and you are asked to choose one from what you have learned, always ensure that you choose one that you can write quickly to avoid the need to research.

If you do not know which topic to choose, seek help as soon as possible to avoid wasting time.

Step 2: Create an Outline

When writing diagnostic essays, it is important that you make a rough draft of how you want your essay to look. This draft will help you organize ideas so that when you start writing the essay, you do it easily and fast.

The assumption that creating an outline when writing a diagnostic essay with minimal time allocation is wasteful is not true because it helps avoid timewasting.

The strong ideas you think of first should be noted in the outline to avoid forgetting them.

Step 3: Write the Introduction

The essay should begin with a strong statement, fact, or shocking stat to immediately grab the attention of the reader.

This sentence also sets the tone for the rest of the essay, so you must choose it well.

The next sentences in the introduction should always showcase what you will be talking about in your diagnostic essay. To conclude this paragraph, develop a thesis statement that carries the whole meaning of your essay.

If you do not know how to come up with a good thesis statement, then you should train yourself to do so because it is one of the most important parts of a diagnostic statement.

Step 4: Write the Body Paragraphs

Diagnostic essays are not usually long essays. This implies that you will only use a few body paragraphs. In these paragraphs, you include all the points that support your thesis, with each section taking its own.

The points should start the paragraph with the topic sentence. The topic sentence serves as the paragraph’s thesis statement because it is a short summary of the whole paragraph.

The topic sentence should then be followed by explanatory sentences to offer support. Here, you can include quotes and phrases you know about, but you must always ensure that you reference them to avoid plagiarism. 

The last sentence of the paragraph should link the paragraph to the next.

Step 5: Write the Conclusion

Begin the conclusion by rewording the thesis statement in the introduction paragraph. The sentences that follow should not state any new ideas.

Instead, they should summarize all your body paragraphs. End the essay using a constructive note that will make the reader feel satisfied with what they have read.

A conclusion should always be short. It should take at most 10% of your total word count.

Step 6: Proofread your Essay

After concluding the essay, always ensure that you read it all while correcting all the mistakes that you may have made.

Check whether the punctuation is okay and if there are no grammatical mistakes. After reading and correcting, read it again to be sure that you will submit clean work and gain confidence that the feedback from your professor will be positive.

Also Read: Is a Person a Primary or Secondary Source of Research?

Examples of Diagnostic Essay Topics

The following are topics that you can practice writing diagnostic essays with:

How have nursing theories influenced your view on the discipline, and how do you foresee your future personal input in the field?

How has the differential association perspective changed your view on criminality, and how do you think it applies in today’s world?

In your view, what are the disadvantages of distance learning education compared to the standard educational methods?

Does social media use in companies today contribute to more losses and cases of misconduct?

In your view, do some famous people take advantage of their followership to influence opinions and undermine others?

Does the airing of transparent news on the media in television networks show that the era of media bias is a thing of the past?

With many success stories in the field of aviation coming into the limelight in recent years, which one can you credit with having much influence on your selection of this course?

With more traditional activities being swept away by modern technology, do you think hunting still has a place in modern society?

Do you agree with the almost universal take that religious conflicts and political conflicts have no correlation, or is this just a worldly bias?

As a psychological expert, can you attest to the claims that depression is contributing to the death of people in society today because they have no one to talk to?

Should the modern curriculum be changed to tackle the widespread unemployment in the country?

Shed more light and provide opinion on the notion that political affiliations should be used to determine the competence of candidates during elections.

As a blogger, can you now refer to yourself as an online journalist?

Is it true that social media is a toxic place people can use to judge others regardless of their different real-life personalities?

Access the issues that have resulted from online learning and compare them to the benefits to decide whether it should be permanently adopted in schools.

Are PDFs and audiobooks replacing print books for the modern student?

Is there any justification for most European countries to question Qatar’s moral and cultural standards for people traveling to watch the World Cup?

In the business world, a good leader is as important as good employees to the success of any task.

What is your opinion on gender bias, an issue that has threatened not to leave the workplace even in the 21st century?

Is mediation the best way to end political differences?

Best Help to Write an Academic Diagnostic Assignment

The best help you can receive to write an academic diagnostic assignment is learning to write one yourself.

The first help that you should seek if you do not know how to write one is more research on these essays. Besides, practice essay reading to increase your knowledge. Know what it is and how it is written and put that into practice.

Do not have anybody write it for you if you cannot do it yourself. Most of these essays are issued as sit-in tests and not take-away assignments. This is why it is very important that you know how to write one.

If you have no time to effectively write one that is issued as an assignment, find help from essay writing services online.

There are online tutors who are always ready to complete your work at a price. You get back your paper urgently because the tutors are experienced and will work on your paper perfectly and swiftly.

All you will be required to do is place the order and wait for your paper to be sent to you. Online writing companies offer help 24/7, and your help and questions will be fully answered.

Also Read: Is an Essay Formal or Informal: Characteristics of Each

How Long is a Diagnostic Essay?

Most diagnostic essays are not required to be long. The aim of the instructor is to test your knowledge on a particular topic.

The shortest ones usually have an instruction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Students can complete this task in an hour or less.

Also, most of them are given during class and are not expected to be long because time is limited. The length of these essays increases depending on the broadness of the topic being tested and what the instructor needs you to write.