THEMATIC ESSAY

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What to do Before Writing a Thesis Statement Before writing a thesis statement, the writer must be aware of his or her audience and purpose. Unclear thesis statements emanate from the minds of writers with an unclear purpose. Teach students how to write effective thesis statements by teaching the following:

  • You must begin with a topic question. If your instructor has assigned an essay question to answer, this step has been done for you. If you are doing a research paper, take time to come up with a good topic question.
  • You must form an opinion and state it clearly. Do not be wishy-washy.
  • Be sure you have approached your evidence fairly, without bias.
  • Consider both sides of a controversial issue.
  • Once you've established the topic question, a clear position, and objectivity, you're ready to write a thesis statement.
What is a Thesis Statement Students have heard the term thesis statement hundreds of times by the time they reach high school, yet have only a vague understanding of what one is. Your first responsibility is to teach them what a thesis statement is:

  • A thesis statement presents your opinions or thoughts on a subject or an issue. You cannot write an essay without one.
  • A thesis statement must contain a subject + an opinion.
  • A thesis statement answers the topic question (the one you created or the one presented to you by the instructor).
TIP: A thesis statement should never contain the following: in my opinion, I think, I believe, etc. However, it may be helpful for students to begin their thesis statement rough draft with in my opinion, I believe, or I thinkto make sure they are expressing their thoughts or opinion on a specific subject or issue. When writing the final thesis statement, simply eliminate those phrases

Writing a Good Thesis Statement When teaching thesis statements it is important to demonstrate the difference between writing a thesis statement and writing a good thesis statement. These instructions will help you teach the latter:

  • A good thesis statement is short and simple: it should be no longer than one sentence, regardless of essay length.
    • Good Example: Success is a result of doing the right things consistently.
    • Bad Example: In a world full of success gurus and books about success, it becomes ever so more important to delineate the one trait that ultimately determines success: doing the right things consistently.
  • A good thesis statement is limited to one main idea.
    • Good example: The key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal.
    • Bad example: The key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal, which is also the key to successfully running a business and coaching a football team.
  • A good thesis statement is a declarative sentence with no qualifiers (might, maybe, perhaps, etc.):
    • Good example: Lebron James' ability to score, pass, and rebound make him the league's most valuable player.
    • Bad example: Does Lebron James' ability to score, pass, and rebound make him the league's most valuable player?
    • Bad Example: Lebron James' ability to score, pass, and rebound just might make him the league's most valuable player.