How to Write an Essay

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This article was co-written by Christopher Taylor, PhD. Christopher Taylor is an assistant professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

This article has been viewed 18,867 times.

High school and college students are required to write explanatory essays. Every essay must have a thesis statement. The thesis statement is your main point and is presented as a summary sentence. Writing a thesis involves answering the main problem and finding information to support the thesis.

Table of Contents

Understand the topic

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Identify the topic. Be sure of the essay’s genre, length, format, topic, purpose, and structure. Whether assigned a specific topic or a general topic, the first step is to derive the topic of the essay that the thesis statement can answer. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Think about the topic of the essay. What were you asked to write about? Next, take that topic as a question you can answer. ^{[2] X Research Source}
For example, if you were asked to write an essay explaining the benefits of wearing a seat belt in a car, use that as a question you can answer.
Your topic will be: “What are the benefits of wearing a seat belt?”
The answer is the opening part of the thesis statement.

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Focus on the topic to be deployed. A good thesis should provide a concise point of view regarding the topic of the essay. Is your essay in the category of proof, explanation, commentary, contrast analysis, or work analysis? ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Knowing the type of essay you’re writing will help you build a good thesis. Whether it’s an essay on the second world war or on the Great Gatsby, your thesis statement should have the same attribute.
A good thesis statement should answer your question. That is the interpretation of the topic. It must aim to make a controversial statement.
The thesis statement must also express the main idea that can develop in all parts of the essay.

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Consider what you want to say about the topic. What is your opinion? Develop a perspective that excites you.

Whether the topic is broad like “The Great Gasby” or more specific like the benefits of wearing a seat belt, you need to separate and explain it clearly.
Reduce the topic to a point that you can argue with. For example, if your topic is about the benefits of wearing a seat belt, you will have many angles to consider. You can take a broader approach and decide to talk about the reduction in fatal crashes thanks to seat belt regulation. Or, you could be more specific and discuss seat belt laws in the back seat. Your argument here is that seat belts save lives.
You can also choose the opposite view. Your argument might be that wearing seat belts doesn’t offer any new benefits. However, this view may be more difficult to prove on a large scale. There’s a lot of information going against you, so maybe you need to be more specific. You might consider making the argument that seat belting does not increase safety in time X. You can find a lot of information about the advantages of other more advanced safety measures. many seat belts.
If the topic is broader, like the essay on “The Great Gasby,” you will have to find an angle to argue. Perhaps after reading the book, you will be interested in how consumerism and the hubris of money led to the Great Depression.
Adjust the level of detail of the subject according to the length of the paper. If you have a lot of paper to write on, you should talk more about the topic, but if you don’t have a lot of paper, you need to be more specific.

Information gathering and brainstorming

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Gather several sources to support your argument. Before you waste time writing your thesis statement and then struggle to fill in the arguments that support your point, gather some resources that will give you enough information to write about.

If you decide to argue that rear seat belts should be fastened, you need to find sources of safety and accident statistics. Find articles and facts that prove both sides.
If the topic of consumerism and the arrogance of money described in “The Great Gatsby” is the path to the Great Depression, you should do more research to see if others share the same view. like you. See more articles and similar topics about the Great Gatsby’s true stories about the Great Depression.

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Write a “draft” sentence. Remember that it should be a complete sentence, with a subject and predicate, and not a question or statement of your purpose (“In this essay, I will…)

Once you have enough information to support your thesis, go back to the sentences you just wrote to see if changes are needed. Maybe the information you just learned gives you a new perspective.
Earlier you had the sentence “Passengers in the back seat of a car must always wear seat belts”, but you may realize that this sentence does not meet the requirements of the thesis. Despite your solid point of view, you haven’t fully answered this question.
Question: “What are the benefits of wearing a seat belt?” still need to be answered. Review your research to find some specific statistics that back up your statement.

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Make sure your answer overcomes the “So what?” challenge. It should not be merely a statement, but also include evidence to support your opinion. You need to give the reader a hint about the answer. ^{[4] X Trusted Source University of North Carpina Writing Center Go to Source}

The sentence “Backseat passengers must always wear seat belts” conveys your opinion, but it doesn’t provide an argument that people can really argue with.
The thesis statement should specifically answer “why” or “what” questions. “Since X percent of unfastened rear seat passengers are thrown off and seriously injured in car accidents, rear seat passengers must always wear seat belts” is a more rigorous thesis because it answer the question “why”.
This principle also applies to the work analysis essay. “The arrogance of money and the polarization between the aristocracy and the emerging rich portrayed in The Great Gatsby led to the Great Depression” does not really give the author’s interpretation. this literary work. Think of the sentence, “The fear of the inverted class system and the pursuit of the American dream described in “The Great Gatsby” which led to the age of consumerism and the extremes that caused it. great crisis”. This sentence defines your position more clearly. It also overcame the “so what?” challenge. because you have made a point of view that can be argued, thereby giving the expression of the work.

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Read the thesis statement again to see if it answers the questions above. Remember that the thesis statement must include words that state your topic and opinion and should not be rambling.

It’s good to have a specific thesis, but sometimes your sentences get jumbled up when you’re trying to get everything you want to say. Don’t forget that the thesis statement is an introduction with a single sentence that outlines the body of the essay.
You don’t have to include all the details that will be covered in your thesis. It needs to give a coherent overview.
If your first question is “What are the benefits of wearing a seat belt?” read your current thesis statement to see if it answers that question. “Since X percent of unfastened backseat passengers are thrown out and seriously injured in car accidents, rear seat passengers must wear seat belts at all times.” This question does not exactly answer the above question, so you have to correct it again.
The question “What are the practical consequences regarding the themes presented in the Great Gatsby?” Answered in the present sentence: “The fear of class inversion and the pursuit of the American dream is described in “The Great Gatsby” which led to the age of consumerism and attitudes pole caused the great crisis”. However, you can still edit it to be tighter.

Completing the thesis statement

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Make sure your thesis is not too general or just a personal opinion. Although the thesis should state your personal opinion, it still needs to state a rigorously contested opinion. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

A thesis is a statement that others may have and developed in the essay to explain why you hold that opinion.
Double-check to make sure your thesis states the argument to the heart of the question.
Revisioning the seat belt thesis to: “Adding seat belt legislation would provide safety benefits by reducing car accident deaths” would better answer the question your first.

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Strike a balance between being too vague and too specific in your thesis. A sentence that is too broad and vague requires several pages of explanations to make sense. On the other hand, an idea that is too specific is not a strong enough argument or provides enough evidence to support it.

Although the sentence: “The fear of an inverted class system and the pursuit of the American dream is described in “The Great Gatsby” which led to the age of consumerism and the extremes that have caused it. Great Depression” answers your question, but it’s a bit broad.
The sentence “The wealth disparity among the American aristocracy and the pursuit of the American dream embodied in “The Great Gatsby” illustrates the parallels with consumer society and the real-world extremes that lead to it. to the Great Depression” narrowed down specific themes in the work and compared these fictional themes to the real world.
This is also an example of a thesis statement that can be split into two sentences.

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Remember that your thesis must match the topic. Once you’ve gathered the evidence, edited it, and come to a definite point of view, read the essay again. Make sure you can write an essay with a thesis statement that meets the requirements of the topic.

If the assignment asks you to discuss the benefits of wearing a seat belt, you need to re-read the essay and ask yourself if it meets the standards.
In your thesis, “Adding seat belt legislation would provide safety benefits by reducing car accident deaths,” you made a controversial point.
This sentence is specific because you’ve narrowed the topic down to one particular aspect, the safety of seat belts. And you also gave your answer to your argument about the benefits of seat belts.

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Make sure the essay is able to accurately explain your opinion to support the thesis. If you did your research to arrive at that thesis, you should have enough evidence to support your claim in the essay. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Before you start writing, you need to make sure that all the criteria are met. Did you answer the question? Do you make a point that others can challenge or refute? Is your thesis specific enough? Does it overcome the question “so what?” and “how and why” not?
If your thesis doesn’t meet those requirements, take a break, then go back and edit it. Sometimes taking a step back, you can get a new, better perspective.
When writing your essay, stick to your thesis and outline, but don’t think you have to force your essay to fit the thesis statement. If you feel you need to correct your thesis statement while writing your essay, do so.

Advice

The thesis can be placed in the first sentence of a short essay (2-3 paragraphs), but it is usually the last sentence in the introduction.
Remember to stick to your point throughout the passage and not stray off topic.
Look for good thesis statements in textbooks, notebooks, or essay “practice rooms”.
Sometimes a thesis needs two sentences, but you should try to wrap it up in one sentence. It may be a bit long, but it’s generally accepted.
Remember that the thesis is not the question: “Will the entire population of Europe support Europe?” It’s not a thesis, it’s a question the thesis must answer.
Try to include in your essay the reasons, reasons, arguments, etc. that you will develop in the essay.
In the conclusion or last sentence of your essay, make sure you contrast it with the thesis, but in slightly different language. Don’t simply repeat the thesis statement.
Ask your teacher to help you review your thesis statement and be ready to rewrite it even after you’ve finished your essay if your arguments have changed slightly.

Warning

Remember not to copy sentences on the internet. Plagiarism is illegal and could get you expelled from school. Teachers can easily go online and check for plagiarism.

Steps

Understand the topic

Information gathering and brainstorming

Completing the thesis statement

Advice

Warning

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