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Reverse Engineering Your Thesis Statement

In school, we’re usually taught to write essays in a certain order. You come up with a thesis statement, build an Introduction paragraph around your thesis, write Body paragraphs that support your thesis, and finish with a Conclusion. It’s a good strategy, but it doesn’t always work.

Don’t get “stuck” on your thesis statement.

Here’s an alternative approach: try writing your body paragraphs first!

How To Write Your Body Paragraphs Without A Thesis Statement

Hopefully, you’ve brainstormed a bit. Ideally, you’ve read the material. If you’ve already written your body paragraphs, you can skip this section.

Pick a few ideas you want to talk about or quotes you want to analyze. They should at least feel like they’re related, but you don’t have to know how yet. Your first draft of these paragraphs is just going to be about exploring the topic.

Start out with some targeted brainstorming about the quotes and ideas you picked. What feels significant about them? How do they connect to the prompt? This is a great time to just ramble about the subject.

Once you have a better understanding of your quotes and ideas, write a couple of body paragraphs using them. It doesn’t have to be all of them, but it should be at least two. The most important part of this step is that you write a clear main point for each paragraph.

How To Reverse Engineer Your Thesis Statement From Body Paragraphs

Look at your body paragraphs and make a list of their main points.

It’s time to brainstorm now. Make a list of all of the arguments you can think of that combine your main points. It doesn’t matter if they’re good; it doesn’t matter if you agree with them. Just lists everything you can think of that fits all (or most) of your main points.

Now take that list of arguments and compare it to the prompt. Cross out any arguments that don’t fit the essay prompt. Pick your favorite of the arguments that remain and that should become your thesis statement.

 

 

This handout is courtesy of WRAC Center Tutor Merricat FA22