: Re: How should one write a thesis statement for a paper with many points? I have always been taught to write essays in the same format: First paragraph â€“ Introduction including a thesis statement

Did someone really say "paragraph one", "paragraphs two through four", and "paragraph five"? As if all essays must have exactly five paragraphs? Or do you just mean, the first paragraph, the body, and the last paragraph?

But in any case, this is an excessively rigid format. I wouldn't take advice like this too absolutely. It's probably fair to say, "start out with an introduction, then give the body of your exposition or argument, then give a conclusion". But supposing that your introduction and conclusion must each be exactly one paragraph is rather limiting.

If you are writing a 300 page book, I would expect the introduction and the conclusion to each be more than one paragraph.

But perhaps more to the point: If you are writing an essay, it should normally have some coherent subject. If someone said, "I am writing an essay about how to build automobiles, freedom of religion, and why tomatoes are good for you", I'd ask him what connects these things. If he has an answer, if he can say, "because they all follow logically from X", then the subject of the essay is X. If he can't connect them, except to say that these are three subjects that he is interested in, then I would suggest he write three essays instead of one.

So what is it that connects these ideas in your essay? If your answer is, say, "I want to discuss the history of protestant churches view of religious freedom in America", then there's a basis for your thesis statement.

Like if you wrote an article listing your 20 favorite types of yarn, I wouldn't expect you to being, "My favorite types of yarn are ..." and list the 20. That would be tedious. I'd look for something that links them together. Like, "My favorite types of yarn are those that are tough and have a silky feel" or whatever. Or if there's no connection between the 20 other than that they're all types of yarn, perhaps something like, "I like some types of yarn better than others" or "We all have our favorite types of yarn" or some such.

Load Full (0)

: How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo? I've done worldbuilding and extensive plotting for a Book 1 based around a "detective" (not a literal detective

@Annie587

Load Full 5 Comments

: Create looping patterns within the dialog, such as the order that people speak, and little mannerisms within their speech. Then repeat the pattern a few times. You don't need to be too rigid

@Annie587

Load Full 0 Comments

: Archetype or Stereotype? After feedback on character design for my visual novel, my grizzled Noir Detective is drifting into an Old Jazz Musician. There's a reason I post the artwork: what

@Annie587

Load Full 6 Comments

: What is this hairstyle called? Now, here is the hairstyle in question: The character in the image has nothing to do with the question itself. It simply was the closest depiction about the

: Re: How should one write a thesis statement for a paper with many points? I have always been taught to write essays in the same format: First paragraph â€“ Introduction including a thesis statement

More posts by @Annie587

: How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo? I've done worldbuilding and extensive plotting for a Book 1 based around a "detective" (not a literal detective

: Create looping patterns within the dialog, such as the order that people speak, and little mannerisms within their speech. Then repeat the pattern a few times. You don't need to be too rigid

: Archetype or Stereotype? After feedback on character design for my visual novel, my grizzled Noir Detective is drifting into an Old Jazz Musician. There's a reason I post the artwork: what

: What is this hairstyle called? Now, here is the hairstyle in question: The character in the image has nothing to do with the question itself. It simply was the closest depiction about the

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top