Creating a Thesis

For each of our essay assignments, you will be given a writing prompt that will focus your overall outline, and eventually, your essay.

When constructing your initial thesis statement--to provide guidance for your outline organization and argument development--you will want to take the writing prompt, focus on the main ideas within, and create an 'answer' statement to serve as your initial thesis statement.


As you begin to conduct research to help support your thesis, you may have to alter your thesis statement to refine your focus and assert your argument more clearly.

This video helps walk you through basic steps in constructing a thesis statement.  After watching the video, read the Thesis Review (in your textbook), followed by the partial sample thesis example.

Sample Writing Prompt:
Why is the Bible often misquoted?


Initial Thesis:
The Bible is often misquoted because humans take things out of context, the world has become book-ignorant, and the right to have access to the Bible is taken for granted.


The idea outlined below is only a brief, beginning to developing an argument surrounding the thesis presented above.  The thesis above indicated an argument and three supporting concepts.  Those three supporting concepts will need to be researched and developed into separate body paragraphs.


Body-paragraphs supporting ideas:
BP1: Topic sentence focus (out of context)

Research examples of familiar Christian sayings that are mis-understood due to being taken out of context.  

Research examples where the Bible was shortened to a cliff-notes version, and in that context looses its actual meaning. 

• God will not give you more than you can handle (Saying that is out of context) 
• True Bible verse: 1 Corinthians
• Within context, it is advocating self-discipline in the face of temptation with the hope of avoiding sin, particularly the sins of sexual immorality and idolatry.
• "Paul is telling the Corinthian Christians that their experience is not unique. Just as the Israelites were tempted, so too the Corinthians will be (and were being) tempted. In fact, we’ll all be tempted. Jesus himself experienced temptation. This passage is not about God declining to give you more burdens in life than you can handle. It is about God helping you when you are tempted…Temptation is indeed a test of your resolve, your character, and your faith. And that is what Paul is talking about here—not about adversity and the difficult circumstances that come into every life at some point. indicating God will help you handle all that you’ve been given."  from Half-Truths
• The out-of-context statement puts the spotlight on the person, not on God.  However, the whole point of our relationship with God is that we simply cannot make it on our own.  We need God in everything we do.
• Philippians 4:13 New International Version (NIV)  13 I can do all things through him who gives me strength.        Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 
• Most cliche'd, out-of-context Christian sayings provide just enough information to encourge, yet not necessarily in the way one really needs.  A Christian needs to constantly be reminded to rely on God, not on oneself.  And as that Christian relies on God, he/she needs to seek others to provide Biblical encouragement and support.  These people are put around us to support us.  So it is not the earthly concept that you will not be given more than you can handle that the Bible conveys  
• "It’s not that God won’t give you more than you can handle, but that God will help you handle all that you’ve been given.  That’s an important message." from Half-Truths
• Everyone is given more than they can handle at different times in life; however, it is how you respond to what life throws at you that determines whether the blows knock you down or simply push you back a little bit.  

BP2: Topic sentence focus (book-ignorant)

Research statistics that show the lack of book-reading by Americans.

Research percentage of Christians that own a Bible, have read 'some' of the Bible, have read 'all' of the Bible, and those that strive to understand the Bible through deeper historical contexts.

Argue that reading the Bible and knowing it for oneself is not as high a priority as it once was among Christians. 

BP3: Topic sentence focus (access to the Bible is taken for granted)

Research historical possession of Bibles by clergy and not common people

Research the uprising when people were able to read a Bible and found out that the clergy was misinterpreting the Bible or flat-out 'adding to' the Bible for their own gain. 

Research--if possible--Christian's views on the necessity (or lack-there-of) for knowing what is in the Bible today.

Argue that Christians have waived their rights to direct understanding and communion through the Bible by not reading it at home and only taking a clergy-memeber's 'take' on a passage through a weekly, 20-minute sermon.  Direct access to the Bible is taken for granted among Christians. 

BP4 (Counter-arguments)

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