The no-brainer thesis statement
Ideal starting point for novice essayists

Writing a thesis statement doesn't have to be agony for you or your students. They can do most of the work without your supervision if you give them the right tools.

Think of teaching theses as sending students to dig for buried treasure: If you give them a good map, they ought to be able to find the treasure on their own.

You can help students learn the craft of thesis creation two ways. You can either . . .

• Have students select their main point from those you prepare, or

• Have students invent an assertion on a topic you give them.

The first option should be a no-brainer for students. All they have to do is take one you give them. How hard is that? Hard enough that some will miss it entirely. Been there. Done that.

Give students a thesis

I recommend you use the no-brainer option for your beginning students. It's easier for them to understand how to use a thesis if they don't simultaneously have to figure out how to write one.

Let’s look at an example of a thesis built from a no-brainer prompt.

Write this—or else

Sometimes writers have no choice what to write about. This English class writing prompt, for example, requires everyone to use the same thesis:

Many everyday words have very specialized words when they are used in a discussion of grammar. Pick three such terms. Show how their everyday meaning and their grammatical meanings differ.

In that example, the opening sentence states the point that the entire essay must support. Since the assignment clearly specifies that students are to select three terms, the only possible thesis for the papers is

Three everyday words have very specialized words when they are used in a discussion of grammar.

The closest students get to a choice of thesis is “like it or lump it.”

Even though all students write on the same thesis, their responses may be very different because of the terms they choose.

Two options, pick one

More often, students can choose one of two assertions suggested in the writing prompt.

For example, if you were to ask, "Is Atticus the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird?" you'd be giving students two alternative assertions: He is or he is not.

In other words, they could choose to develop the idea that

Atticus is the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Or they could choose the opposite thesis

Atticus is not the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird.

As soon as students choose either option, the thesis statement begins to restrict what can and cannot go into their essays.

Even the dullest will realize that the story of her experience in a third grade pageant doesn't belong in either of those essays. That doesn’t, however, mean the dummy won’t write about her third grade pageant. A thesis is a great writing tool, but it’s not a magic wand!

Guessing takes some brains

Next to copying directly from the writing prompt, the next easiest way to write a thesis statement is to take a guess. As long as you provide authentic writing prompts, average middle school and high school students who have had some practice writing essays can invent an assertion that produces a good thesis statement.