Do you want to know how to write an outstanding thematic essay? Good news: you’ve arrived at the right spot. Writing this type of essay involves meticulous planning, attention to detail, and connecting dots while studying a literary work.
Today we shall guide you through the steps of writing this academic task. Our essential tips on thematic essays throw further light on the writing process and offer helpful hints for building a solid thematic essay outline in this article. You’ll also find some excellent topics and wonderful samples as a bonus.
What Is A Thematic Essay?
A thematic essay is basically a piece of writing in which an author uses literary elements such as foreshadowing, imagery, personification, and so on to develop the core theme of some literature.
A skilled essay writer will elucidate the main topic, comment on the literary strategies used, and communicate the theme’s overall relevance. The biggest issue originates from the fact that, while there are numerous subjects to choose from, determining the most important and influential one might be difficult.
Generally, everyone has a different perception, making it difficult to reach a broad consensus on a primary issue. In short, a well-written thematic essay is founded on a sound primary idea that is convincingly established by literary devices and logical arguments.
How To Pick A Thematic Topic?
The first step in creating an excellent thematic essay is to choose an interesting topic/theme. Consider yourself really fortunate if your lecturer has assigned you a topic. However, we have provided valuable tips and original ideas to get you started for pupils who do not have a topic to write on. Consider the following suggestions to select an excellent thematic essay topic:
Brainstorm The Ideas:
Think about your own experiences. Remember what you talked about in class, with your friends, or with your parents. Do any of these discussions remind you of a book, novel, or other work of literature?
List Out The Ideas:
Make a list of every interesting thought that comes to mind. Sometimes your most ridiculous ideas are the best ones.
Concentrate On Social Issues:
A thematic essay is commonly related to social problems throughout various periods of human history. Therefore, explore ideas and themes in these lines.
Refer To Literary Works:
To develop a unique topic, use appropriate resources, suggestions, and references recommended by the professor.
Compile A List Of Your Favorite Literary Works:
Which work of literature had the most significant impact on you? Analyze its subject and the challenges the author created within the story; this may help you come up with your own ideas.
Examine The Specifics Of Other Works Of Literature:
Other books may also provide some intriguing details that can assist you in developing your theme.
Select An Intriguing Theme:
Understand your target demographic and define the most excellent and compelling topic that would pique the interest of an average reader.
Determine The Angle:
Consider a theme’s benefits and cons, and identify the tipping point that will lead you in the right direction.
Finding the right essay topic and ideas through these steps perhaps takes time. In case you want a quick suggestion on thematic topics, go through the theme essay examples below.
Top Thematic Essay Topics
There are numerous thematic essay subjects that you can use to create a fantastic composition. For example, history regents are one of the most common themes that have been used. You can choose the US history regents’ thematic essay topics, literature themes, or law-based subjects. Here are some examples for your reference:
US History Topics
- Significance and consequences of the Civil War
- The impact of the Great Depression
- The effects of racism in the US
- Slavery and its consequences in North America
- The history of US politics
Literature Topics
- The contribution of female authors to classical literature
- What does F. Scott Fitzgerald convey or say about the American Dream in the novel The Great Gatsby?
- The importance of a muse
- Communism in the novel ‘Animal Farm’
- The theme of ‘To Kill A MockingBird
World History Topics
- The impact of the holocaust
- Significance of the french revolution
- Influence of religion in the course of world history
- World’s oldest civilizations
- The reason for the collapse of Middle East alliances in the 20th century
Psychology Topics
- The effect of social media on teenagers
- Significance of counseling in today’s time
- Impact of an abusive relationship on self-confidence
- Covid-19 and its effect on mental health
- Effects of bad parenting on childhood
Tips To Find An Appropriate Central Theme
As previously said, the first essential stage in writing a themed paper is identifying the core subject and central theme. Nevertheless, with so much going on in the literature, it may be difficult to discern the underlying issue precisely. Consider following the steps below to ensure you select a suitable theme correctly:
Summarize The Text:
When going through the literature, explore the fundamental notion that the author is attempting to convey. Choosing the proper path is usually not difficult because there will be many hints along the route.
Select The Most Prominent Subject:
Recognizing the distinction between a subject and a theme is essential. A subject is the general topic of conversation, such as love, bravery, dishonesty, and so on. A theme is a distinctive point made by the author concerning the subject. So, identify the most often mentioned talking point. This will be the essay’s primary focus.
Read Between The Lines:
Once you’ve found the best subject, figure out what the author is attempting to say. This will become obvious as you read (delve) further because clues and instances will occur regularly. One more important step is to understand the fundamental concept properly.
Overall significance:
What is the significance of the author’s point? Is there something that we can learn from this and apply to our own lives? In other words, what is the takeaway from this? What have we discovered?
Steps For Writing An Effective Thematic Essay
Writing a thematic essay is about exploring a subject’s central theme in a book or novel. The whole process revolves around the interpretation of the main subject with the assistance of solid evidence. Here are the steps to writing an outstanding thematic essay:
Brainstorm ideas:
Choosing a unique theme is critical to writing an excellent thematic essay. Some college students choose a broad theme for this type of essay, which switches the focus of the entire document. On the contrary, others choose a specific path. This is troublesome since it makes finding information difficult.
Here are a few approaches to this problem:
a) Use your previous experience: As a student, you may have had the opportunity to work on several types of essays. Thus, you can use a topic that you’ve worked with if it fits here. That’ll save you time as you don’t have to research again. Find pertinent notes, saved links, and anything else that will help with the essay.
b) Take the help of the internet – The internet is a great place to find your ideal hands-on topics. If you don’t possess any experience but want to come up with a theme on your own, this is your best bet. However, ensure that the topic you choose has adequate and credible information on it.
c) Refer to other works of literature – Make a list of literary works that are best according to you. Next, go over each of them quickly for inspiration and come up with your own concept.
Choose A Central Theme:
Devote enough time to explore the central theme and gather subtopics. Create a mind map of your findings. This will assist you in obtaining accurate information and quotes from credible sources to include in your essay. As a result, make sure you conduct thorough research without veering from the central theme.
You can refer to the above section, where we have discussed some excellent tips on finding the central or main theme.
Design An Outline:
Once you find the theme, develop an outline for your essay. Creating an outline is vital since it shows you which points to elaborate on and what material to include in each section – introduction, body, and conclusion.
Write The Thesis Statement:
Develop a thesis statement that reflects the central theme of the essay. Usually, the arguments presented in the outline serve as the source for your thesis.
A working thesis statement may initially seem like a simple compilation of individual solutions to assignment questions within the context of the information that makes an outline. However, you must unite individual responses under a clear inference that highlights the value of a thematic essay.
Draft The Essay:
Start building the essay using the thematic outline created in the previous step by converting remarks and brief notes into meaningful paragraphs. Essentially, there is no standard way to create a thematic essay, as students can begin composing the thematic essay using a formal structure from any point.
Nonetheless, it is a good habit for students to start drafting from a paragraph that they understand the best. This assures that writers spend very little time trying to overcome the anxiety of writing the first draft.
Write A Captivating Introduction:
Start with an enticing first paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention. Explain the theme’s significance briefly and provide a hint on how you will analyze the theme. Include the thesis statement that is written in the previous step.
Write The Main Section Or Body:
The body of the essay must include at least three paragraphs that build research and begin with the topic phrase — argument. The paragraphs must include proof, examples, and facts that have been proven.
At least one literary device should be the emphasis of each body paragraph. To back up your arguments, only use reliable information sources. Perform some research to back up your claim.
Write A Strong Conclusion:
Summarize the important ideas covered in the body paragraphs to conclude a topic essay. The goal is to provide a quick review of the work. Check that all questions have been answered as you write the last paragraph. Encourage your audience to undertake more studies on the chosen issue by providing them with some food for thought. Repeat (rephrase) what has been stated in the introduction.
Edit And Review The Essay:
Once you complete it, take a break and review it to improve the content. Check if the essay is convincing enough and conveys the correct meaning with a good number of examples. Ensure your essay reflects your intentions correctly.
Make changes and rectify the errors and mistakes while editing the essay. Proofread the essay to ensure your sentence structure is coherent and meaningful.
These are steps to write an effective thematic essay of your choice. Revision and editing enhance your writing. Please remember that an excellent thematic essay contains arguments that are logical and supported by literary devices.
Thematic Essay Outline
There are several fundamental components to the thematic essay. First and foremost, it should be five paragraphs or more in length, depending on the depth of the theme. Following that, it should have a concrete thesis statement (thematic statement) derived from the subject.
Basically, the subject and thesis statement is introduced to the reader in the introduction. The body paragraphs each discuss one or more literary elements to defend your thesis’s correctness while offering several supporting details from the text.
Finally, the conclusion of the thematic essay highlights the main arguments provided and concludes with a declaration of significance.
Introduction
An introduction is the first paragraph of the essay. The central topic of discussion is presented in an engaging manner in the thematic essay beginning. Include a hook statement that makes an exciting claim about the topic at hand. If done right, this will pique your reader’s interest.
Following that, share any background material from the literature that can aid the audience in understanding your statements later on. Finally, create a well-thought-out thesis statement that embodies the novel’s fundamental subject.
Body
The body paragraphs are organized in a theme essay framework. Because the purpose of each body paragraph should be to show a literary device as proof, the topic sentence should establish the claim and serve as a gateway into the evidence. Every topic sentence must include a literary device and its significance in the text.
Following that, to substantiate your argument, cite examples from the text that support the reasoning of your statement. These can be plot actions or quotations that are related to the core subject. It is critical to clarify how the action/quote relates to your thesis statement, as this demonstrates your ability to defend your logic.
Note: Each claim must contain a literary device. It cannot be a chance occurrence or conclusion.
Conclusion
Before concluding the assignment, the thematic essay conclusion must achieve three primary objectives. It should not introduce any new information or facts but rather recap the information that has already been provided. First and foremost, rephrase your thesis statement.
Then, outline the main points you made in the body of your work and their impact on your thesis statement. Finish by presenting an overarching concluding statement with a global appraisal of the issue. Leave your reader with another hook that piques their interest in learning more about the subject.
Outline template
Introduction
- Hook or captivating sentence
- Background information
- Thesis statement (reflecting central theme)
Body paragraphs
1st para
- The first paragraph’s idea
- Evidence to back up the idea in this paragraph
- Evidence interpretation and analysis
- First, draw a specific conclusion from the evidence
- Second specific deduction
- A concluding statement that establishes the connection between the claim in the first paragraph and the thesis statement
2nd para
- The second paragraph’s idea
- Evidence to back up the idea in this paragraph
- Evidence interpretation and analysis
- First, draw a specific conclusion from the evidence
- Second specific deduction
- A concluding statement that establishes the connection between the claim in the second paragraph and the thesis statement
3rd para
- The third paragraph’s idea
- Evidence to back up the idea in this paragraph
- Evidence interpretation and analysis
- First, draw a specific conclusion from the evidence
- second specific deduction
- A concluding statement establishes the connection between the claim in the third paragraph and the thesis statement.
Conclusion
- The thesis statement is restated.
- The three arguments in the body paragraphs are summarised here
- Closing remarks underline the central claim’s importance in the context of the three minor arguments.
Thematic Essay Examples
Sample 1: Terrorist recruitment
Terrorism is a global issue that looks to be spreading despite increased efforts to contain it. Essentially, preventing recruiting is a critical counterterrorism technique. Furthermore, its effectiveness is contingent on an understanding of terrorist recruitment strategies. Terrorist organizations’ recruitment strategies, in turn, focus on the target’s identity crisis, putting a potential member at risk of surrendering to the ‘appeal’ of terrorism.
Sample 2: Athens and Sparta
Despite their physical proximity, the ancient Greek towns of Athens and Sparta had vastly different cultures, lifestyles, ideals, and political systems that distinguished them. The following study examines and contrasts the cultural impacts of the two cities by looking at some of the citizenry’s obligations and responsibilities, as well as the many ideas that were regarded as significant. The study goes on to evaluate the impact of both city-states’ successes on the history of western civilization.
Sample 3: Research paper topic selection
While it may appear challenging to narrow down a decent research paper topic, the idea is to find something that influences you since you know it well and can back up your claims with relevant data. The topic should be well-organized and pertinent to your thesis statement. Always take the time to research the list of sources before writing your topic sentences so that they are relevant to your thesis. Before you begin working on the paper and selecting a topic, looking at a solid research paper introduction example is always a good idea. Here are the actions that you can take.
Conclusion
A thematic essay requires more than just research and language skills. Students frequently struggle with writing thematic essays. However, these are not the most challenging tasks to accomplish within a specific course.
They simply require a thorough investigation of the topic with some pertinent facts, examples, or other evidence. You should be able to uncover all these to strengthen your arguments and demonstrate that you fully comprehend the topic.
However, this does not mean that you just paraphrase well-known information or what you have learned from a course or book. Instead, in a thematic essay, you must identify and explain or compare topics, causes, themes, results, and connections between facts or events, along with their implications or influences.
You must be strategic and incorporate appropriate literary devices to make your essay more thematic. We hope this article will help build a solid thematic outline and compose an excellent essay. Just follow the tips and make use of the topics provided for your reference.
