I think we can all agree that the only thing that sucks more than writing a thesis statement, is writing an opening paragraph introducing a thesis statement. Many people (myself included) spend way to much time planning and re writing and editing that first initial paragraph. If only it were easier… oh wait, it is. Below is an example opening paragraph introducing a thesis statement for Tim Burtons 2004 film “Big Fish.”
Light Blue - Introduce the topic very broadly. What is your thesis statement about? Narrow it down. It explores the idea that imagination is the most important aspect of embracing ife fully. Great, narrow it down to one word - imagination. Make a very very broad statement about imagination that could be looked back on after your papaer is written and it would make sense. “Imagination is the crux upon which human civilization has evolved and developed.”
Yellow - Go a little bit more into dept about the very broad statemnt you just made. Explore it a little bit. Explain what you mean by your statement and why its so important. These are your opening remarks, they set your whole papaer, make them good.
Purple - GIVE TANGIBLE EXAMPLES. I cant empasize this one enough. In order for people to understand what you’re taking about they need to be able to relate it back to themselves in some personal and tangible connections. “Imagining a place to store 64GB of music” provides the example that the imagination is capable of so much.
Green - This one isn’t necesary but it definitely doesnt do any harm. Back to the topic of tangible examples, it shows you are reaching out and making real life connections with your essay and your thesis statement.
Dark Blue - Introduce the piece of art your paper is on, Movie, book, song, whatever. This is you narrowing your opening statements down EVEN MORE. You went from a very broad topic such as imagination to going more into depth with quotes and tangible examples and now you’re here, introducing what the rest of your essay is about.
Pink - Finally, the thesis statement. Im not going to go super into how to write a thesis statement exactly because it differentiates on your school, your level, the class etc. If you guys would like a post on how to write thesis statements (High School Level) let us know in the comments or in our asks and we would be more than happy to get that out to you :)
- Brooke (@stopeatingmynotes)