How to Write a Thematic Essay
A thematic essay is an essay on a particular theme, usually in the area of social studies or history. Thematic essays are a way for teacher to test both what the students have learned and how well they are able to synthesize that knowledge. To write a good thematic essay, a student has to be able to use concrete facts from history to prove his position.
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Instructions
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1
Read the essay question and divide it into theme and tasks. The theme is the subject, and the tasks are what you have to do to fulfill the theme. Consider the following essay prompt as an example:
Climate often influences the development of countries. Discuss one climactic characteristic and how it has affected the development of two countries or regions.
The theme is the effect of climate on development. The task is to discuss the effect of a climate characteristic on two countries or regions.
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Come up with a thesis that satisfies the task. In the example above, you would select a climactic characteristic and briefly state its effect on two countries or regions. For example, you could write, "In both the Nile and Ganges civilizations, fertile river deltas produced enough food to allow large and complex civilizations to develop."
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Outline your body paragraphs. You should have one paragraph for each topic in your thesis, and each body paragraph should have two pieces of evidence. For example, in the thesis above you would have one paragraph on Nile civilization and one on Ganges. You could use historical evidence about population growth in the areas, or anything else that shows how the river deltas helped create "large and complex" civilizations.
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Write the body paragraphs. Examine each example separately, but show what they have in common.
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Write the introduction. Introductions can be though of as upside down triangles: They start broad and end narrow. In the example above, you could start with a statement about the importance of climate, then talk about how the ability to grow food is one of the most important results of climate, and finally state your thesis.
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Write a conclusion. A conclusion should start narrow and end broad. Begin by restating your thesis and end by showing its importance in a broader historical context.
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