Article: A theme essay usually responds to a specific prompt given to you by a teacher or professor. Most essay prompts will ask you to identify the theme, or the overarching message, in a text. Look at the terms used in the prompt and highlight keywords or important terms. This will help you identify what you need to address as you write your essay. For example, an essay prompt may ask you to reflect on the theme of good versus evil in John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Once you've read and considered the essay prompt, brainstorm how you can write your essay. In your essay, you will use research and evidence to support a central argument. Start to jot down examples you can use to reflect on the theme.  Make a list of everything you know about the topic. This can be information you learned in class, as well as information you found on your own. Write down keywords or key scenes in the text that respond to the essay prompt. Think about what words or scenes from the text come to mind when you think of a specific theme. For example, when you brainstorm ideas on East of Eden, you may write down any moments in the text that seem to speak to the theme of good and evil. . A thesis statement is a single sentence that summarizes the entire essay. You'll need to include this thesis statement in your introductory paragraph, and the rest of your essay will need to support it.  Your thesis statement will need to address the theme, your primary example or examples, and the stance you will take on the topic. For example, your thesis might be: "In East of Eden, John Steinbeck rejects the Biblical idea of good and evil and instead focuses on the contradictions and complications found in good and evil." Once you've figured out your thesis, you can begin outlining your essay. Some teachers may require a 5-paragraph essay while others may want the essay shorter or longer. A typical essay outline has three main parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. For example, using the East of Eden prompt, your outline might be:  Introduction: Discuss landscape as metaphor, include thesis statement. Body: Describe mountains in opening scene, elaborate on how they symbolize good vs. evil, state how characters live between the mountains, showing how people are caught between good and evil. Conclusion: Restate thesis statement, return to landscape as metaphor.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Read the essay prompt carefully. Brainstorm ideas for the essay. Create a thesis statement Outline the essay.