9.2 Spotting the Thesis in Essay Prompts
Identifying the thesis in a writing prompt is the first step toward crafting a compelling analysis, counterargument, or agreement piece. Use these strategies:
Step #1. Isolate the Action command implicit in the thesis statement
- Look for directive verbs: argue, evaluate, justify, analyze, defend, propose. These signal the type of response expected.
Step #2. Find the Debatable Focus
- Prompts often center on issues with multiple viewpoints.
- Keywords like “should”, “must”, and “impact”, indicate controversy.
- Consider that a thesis always revolves around a claim you could reasonably agree or disagree with. Look for phrases that suggest tension or debate, like “to what extent,” “should,” “is it justified,” or “is effective.”
Step #3. Break down the Purpose and the Subject
- Purpose: Does the author want to persuade, inform, or compare?
- Subject: What concept, policy, or trend is under discussion?
- Ask yourself: “What is the central idea that the essay is built around? What does the prompt want me to prove or challenge?”
Step #4. Temporarily convert the thesis into a Yes/No Question
Example:
- Prompt: Should college tuition be free?
- Question: Should governments fund universal college education?
Step #5. Then rephrase the issue as a Debatable Statement
Example: College education should be government-funded to improve social equity and economic growth.
Step #6. Watch the text for Implied claims and take note of them separately
- Example Prompt: Discuss the impact of social media on teen mental health
- Implied claim: Social media significantly affects teen mental health.
Step #7. Scan the text to establish its scope
- Note any limits: of time, of population, of region, of ethnicity, of gender, of belief.
- Your counter-potential counter-arguments or thesis must stay within the established bounds.
How Are Arguments Built?
Let’s use the following sequence for dissecting arguments: Claim–Evidence–Reasoning. Understanding how arguments are built will help us evaluate their strength.
Claim – The Core Statement
- What is the author trying to prove?
- What is the thesis statement, or what are the topic sentences?
Evidence – The Support System
- Facts, statistics, expert opinions, anecdotes.
- Ask yourself: Are they credible? Relevant? Varied?
Reasoning – The Logical Bridge
- How does the evidence support the claim?
- Watch for transitions like “this shows that…” or “therefore…”.
