What's the ONE THING you want to say?

How to formulate a thesis statement

After the technical difficulties we encountered with The Golden Rule of Writing, I wanted to give you all another opportunity to see what happens behind The Gentle Editor’s paywall. If you enjoy this lesson, be sure to upgrade your subscription for more homework exercises and personalized feedback!

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“Have you formulated your thesis statement yet?”

I wiggled in my chair, pursing my lips as I stared at my thesis supervisor on the other end of the Zoom call. “Uh . . . Well, um . . .”

I’d reached the home stretch of my Master’s degree. Only two more courses—both dedicated to my thesis project—and I would finally be finished graduate school.

I’d spent the last year and a half gearing up for this point—writing creative essays, picking a topic, researching my genre of choice—but I was still clueless about how to summarize my capstone project in a single sentence.

Here I was, about to write a thesis, and I still had no . . . thesis.

My supervisor tilted his head. (This wasn’t his first rodeo.) “What’s the one thing you want to say with this project?” he asked.

If ever a lightbulb went off in my head, it was that moment. “We need a new Narnia,” I said, without missing a beat.

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Your thesis statement is the most important line in any composition you write, be it a Note, a blog post, or a memoir.

Merriam-Webster defines thesis as “a proposition to be proved” or “a position or proposition that a person . . . advances and offers to maintain by argument.”

A thesis is the blue arrow on your Google Maps app, showing you (and more importantly, your readers) which direction you’re heading. Without it, you’ll lose your audience.

How do you craft a thesis statement (when you’re not even sure where to start)?

When you’re drafting a research article or persuasive essay, it’s ideal to formulate your thesis statement in advance and then outline your supporting arguments in a logical succession.

That’s how I structured my devotional, “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?”:

Is Anything Too Hard for the LORD?

1. First, I quoted Genesis 21:1-2:

“Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.” (NIV)

2. Second, I presented my thesis:

“There is so much to unpack in this single verse, but we can’t fully appreciate it unless we situate it within its literary context.”

3. Third, I defended my proposition by highlighting three key points connected to the literary context surrounding this verse:

   1. God was gracious to Sarah despite her skepticism.

   2. God was gracious to Sarah despite her moral failure.

   3. God was gracious to Sarah despite Abraham’s cowardice.

Pro Tip: When drafting argumentative essays, outline your essay first. Write the #1 thing you want to say at the top of your page and then jot down your main arguments in bullet points, making sure each one builds upon the last.

But what about personal essays and more reflective forms of creative nonfiction?

Whether you’re writing a research paper about the benefits of beef tallow or an introspective essay on your childhood in rural Manitoba, it’s crucial to establish a thesis statement as the roadmap for your prose—even if you don’t state it explicitly in your opening paragraph.

An essay without a thesis is just a ramble.

But how do you formulate a "proposition” for an introspective essay?

This is the challenge I faced when drafting “Hello, My Name Is . . .” (one of my all-time favourite essays).

From the Archives: "Hello, My Name Is . . ."

When I sat down to write this essay, I had only two goals:

1. to explore the two-fold meaning of my Gaelic name, Allana

2. to explain why my name was a precious part of my identity

If you read “Hello, My Name Is . . .”, you won’t find a cutting-edge proposition typed in bold font at the top of the essay.

Nevertheless, there is a thesis woven into the story—and if I had to spell it out for you, it would be this: “My name is a precious part of my identity because it reminds me that I am God’s beloved child.”

Pro Tip: Whether you explicitly state your thesis in your opening paragraph or leave it “unspoken,” you should have a concrete proposition in your mind as you draft and revise your essa.

**One quick way to tell whether you’ve crafted a strong thesis is the “Here’s Why” test.**

If you can immediately follow your thesis with the clause “Here’s why: . . .” or “because . . .”, that’s a pretty good indicator that you’ve developed a solid proposition.

5 Tips for Formulating a Thesis

If you’re struggling to formulate a thesis for your next essay, article, or Substack post, here’s what I recommend:

1. Pick a topic you’re passionate about.

2. In one sentence, formulate a specific, clear-cut argument you want to make (i.e., What is the ONE THING you want to say about that topic?)

3. Underneath your thesis statement, make a bullet point list outlining the pieces of evidence that support your argument. (These will become the focus of your subsequent paragraphs.)

4. If you notice that some of your points are related to your topic but don’t explicitly support your central argument, jot them down in a separate document to explore in a future essay. (Keep your thesis focused and nuanced!)

5. And if all else fails, start free-writing. If your topic is introspective or deeply personal in some way, give yourself permission to “turn on the tap” and see what flows.

   1. Once the stream of consciousness has dried up, take a break (drink some water, use the bathroom, eat a snack) and then revisit your musings with a clear head.

   2. Look at what you’ve written. Do you see an argument or proposition emerging?

   3. Pick one thought, line, or idea from your scribblings to start formulating into a thesis statement.

Homework:

1. Pick one of the following topics and, in one sentence, formulate a specific, nuanced argument you want to make about that topic:

   1. Dating

   2. Friendships

   3. Reading

   4. Music

   5. Art

2. After you draft your thesis, make a bulleted list of evidence that supports your central argument.

   1. EXAMPLE: “Anyone who wants to become a better storyteller should make a steady diet of classical literature. Here’s why:”

      1. Reading classical literature improves your vocabulary.

      2. Studying classical literature teaches you how to craft complex characters.

      3. Analyzing classical literature helps you understand how specific word choices shape a story.

      4. Familiarizing yourself with classical literature helps you to understand why certain themes, stories, and plots have maintained their popularity over time.

3. Share your thesis statement and supporting arguments in the comments section below and offer feedback to at least two other writers!