how to write about theme in an essay

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How to Write a Theme Essay

Last Updated: January 4, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 209,163 times.

Starting the 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 .

• 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.

• 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."

• 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.

Writing Your Essay

• Questions can make fun hooks for the reader. Ask a rhetorical question that relates to the theme of the essay, such as "How does one decide what is good and what is evil?"
• You can also use a quote from the text as the hook. Find a quote in the text that explores the themes and ideas you'll be discussing in your essay.

• For example, you may introduce the role of nature plays in the text to discuss the theme of good and evil. The first sentence of your body paragraph should discuss the role of nature. This will set up the paragraph and let the reader know what the focus of the paragraph will be.

• For example, you may discuss the use of nature in the text in one paragraph. The body of the paragraph should then use quotes and scenes in the text to support this idea.
• You might write,"The descriptions of the Gabilan Mountains in the text symbolize good and evil. The characters in the story live in the Salinas Valley, trapped in a gray area between these two extremes."

• Ask yourself, "What do I want my readers to have learned through this essay?"
• Remind readers about the essay's theme. Reference some of the arguments you made in the body of your essay, reinforcing how they support your original point.

Revising Your Essay

• Check that there are transitions between paragraphs. Look at the beginning of each paragraph to make sure they all flow well together.

• Print out your paper and proofread it. Oftentimes, errors are easier to catch on paper. If you can't print out your paper, try changing the size or type of the font. Anything that alters how the work looked when you wrote it can help alert you to errors. [13] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Be open to constructive feedback from friends and peers. This will only improve the essay and ensure it is at its best when you turn it in.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://penandthepad.com/write-essay-theme-book-2200.html
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-hook/
• ↑ https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/how-to-write-an-essay/conclusion
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

When writing a theme essay, you’ll need to explore a given theme in the text you’re studying. Before you start your essay, brainstorm some notes about your theme, which you can then build your essay from. For example, if you have the theme of good and evil, think about which characters are mostly good or evil, any good or evil actions they take, description that uses light and darkness, and any religious context. In your intro, state your thesis, which should summarize your essay’s main argument. Then, choose 4 or 5 examples of your theme and write a paragraph exploring each one. Make sure you support your points with quotes from the text. In your conclusion, link your ideas back to your thesis statement. For more tips from our English co-author, including how to revise your essay to polish it up, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Home ➔ How to Write an Essay ➔ Thematic Essay

Thematic Essay Guide

Thematic writing is a staple of high school English and college writing courses. The idea behind thematic writing is to create a piece that uses a theme to tie together different ideas or topics. Thematic writing can be used for essays, short stories, novels, and even non-fiction pieces. In academic writing, thematic essays often center on a specific issue or theme and develop that theme throughout the essay.

Thematic essays are often assigned in high school English classes and college writing courses. They are also found on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.

If you need to refresh your memory regarding general essay writing, check our detailed guide: How to Write an Essay

There are a few different literary devices that are often used in thematic writing. These devices can help create a more cohesive essay or story and can also help emphasize the theme.

One literary device that is often used in thematic writing is symbolism. Symbolism is when an object, person, or place represents something else. For example, in the novel The Great Gatsby, the character Daisy Buchanan symbolizes wealth and shallowness. In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the black box that is used for the lottery represents tradition and the blind following of rules.

Definition and Purpose

A thematic essay is an essay that requires you to write about a particular question or theme. Thematic essays are often written in response to prompts that ask you to discuss a specific aspect of a larger topic.

The main point of a thematic essay is to show the development of a theme throughout a work of literature or to compare the way different authors or works deal with similar themes.

Essentials of a thematic essay:

• must be focused on a central theme
• must develop that theme with specific examples from the text(s)
• must synthesize several elements of the text(s), including plot, character, setting, style, tone, etc.
• must not be a mere plot summary
• must use evidence from the text(s) to support your argument
• must be well organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion

If you want to learn more about essays in general, we suggest you read this guide: Essay Definition

Pre-writing stage

Before you write a thematic essay, it is important first to understand the prompt and Rubric . The prompt will ask you to write about a specific theme, such as “Justice in Othello.” The Rubric will outline the specific requirements for the essay, including things like length, formatting, and the inclusion of outside sources.

So, before writing a thematic essay, you should carefully read the prompt and think about what you want to write about. Make sure that you understand what the prompt is asking you to do.

Some tips for pre-writing:

• Brainstorm possible themes or ideas that could be related to the prompt.
• Choose a central theme or idea you are interested in and think you can write about persuasively.
• Come up with specific examples from the text(s) that you can use to support your argument.
• Make a list of the different ways that the overall significance of the theme or idea can be developed.
• Decide on the main point you want to make about the theme or idea.
• Organize your thoughts and develop a thesis statement.

Analyzing the prompt and developing a thesis statement

To write a thematic essay, you need to analyze the prompt first. You will need to identify the task that the prompt is asking you to do, and you will need to identify the main idea of the passage.

For example, a prompt might ask you to write about the use of symbols in a work of literature. To answer this prompt, you would need to identify the different ways that symbols are used in the text. You also need to determine what the author is trying to communicate using symbols.

Literary theme analysis prompt example ( TKAM ):

How does Harper Lee use the symbol of the mockingbird to explore the theme of innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird?

When analyzing this prompt, consider what the mockingbird symbolizes in the novel and how this relates to the larger theme of innocence. You might discuss specific characters who embody innocence, such as Scout or Atticus, and how the events of the novel impact them. You might also discuss the impact of innocence on the town of Maycomb as a whole.

One example of how Harper Lee uses the symbol of the mockingbird to explore the theme of innocence is through the character of Scout. Scout is a young girl who is innocent and naive in many ways. She does not understand the prejudice and hatred that exists in her community. However, she can also see the good in people, even when they are not perfect. The mockingbird symbolizes this innocence.

Your thesis statement can look something like this:

The symbol of the mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is used to represent the innocence of characters like Scout and Atticus, as well as the innocence of the town of Maycomb as a whole.

Other examples of thematic essay topics:

• The Catcher in the Rye: How does J.D. Salinger use the character of Holden Caulfield to explore the theme of teenage angst and rebellion?
• Heart of Darkness: How does Joseph Conrad use the character of Kurtz to explore the theme of colonialism and its effects on the human psyche?
• All Summer in a Day: How does Ray Bradbury use the character of Margot to explore the theme of bullying and its effects on victims?
• The Great Gatsby: How does F. Scott Fitzgerald use the character of Daisy Buchanan to explore the theme of the American Dream?
• Metamorphosis: How does Franz Kafka use the character of Gregor Samsa to explore the theme of alienation?

Outlining your thematic essay

After you have analyzed the prompt and developed a thesis statement, you can begin to outline your essay .

Thematic essays usually have a standard structure and consist of five paragraphs. That typically requires you to include an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Each body paragraph should discuss a different aspect of your thesis. For example, if you need to write a thematic essay about the use of symbols in a work of literature, you might discuss how symbols represent different themes in the novel.

Your thematic essay outline might look something like this:

Introduction:

• Provide a brief overview of the work of literature you will be discussing
• Introduce the main idea or central theme that you will be discussing
• Thesis: The symbol of the mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is used to represent the innocence of characters like Scout and Atticus, as well as the innocence of the town of Maycomb as a whole.

Body Paragraph 1: Symbols representing innocence

• The mockingbird symbolizes Scout’s innocence
• The mockingbird symbolizes Atticus’ innocence
• The mockingbird symbolizes the innocence of Maycomb

Body Paragraph 2: The loss of innocence

• Scout loses her innocence when she witnesses the trial
• Atticus loses his innocence when Mr. Ewell attacks him
• Maycomb loses its innocence when Tom Robinson is convicted

Body Paragraph 3: The importance of innocence

• Innocence is important because it allows people to see the good in others
• Innocence is important because it allows people to hope for a better future
• Innocence is important because it allows people to see the world in a more positive light

Conclusion:

• Restate your thesis statement
• Discuss the larger implications of your thesis statement
• Leave the reader with something to think about

You can also dedicate each body paragraph to one specific character or one specific event in the novel.

For example, you might discuss how Scout’s innocence is represented by the mockingbird symbol and how this innocence is lost when she witnesses the trial. In your second body paragraph, you could discuss how Atticus’ innocence is represented by the mockingbird symbol and how this innocence is lost when he is attacked by Mr. Ewell. In your third body paragraph, you might discuss how the innocence of Maycomb is represented by the mockingbird symbol and how this innocence is lost when Tom Robinson is convicted.

Writing the thematic essay

Once you have developed a clear thesis statement and created a thematic essay outline, you can begin writing. We complement each section with a thematic essay example part to better illustrate how it can look.

Introduction

The introduction of your thematic essay should briefly state what you will be discussing in your paper and provide background information. The introduction should also include your thesis statement, which is the main argument of your paper, at the end.

At the very start, you can also use a hook to grab the reader’s attention . A hook is usually a sentence or two that draws the reader in and piques their interest.

Introduction example of a thematic essay:

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This quote, spoken by Atticus Finch, perfectly encapsulates the symbol of the mockingbird in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about the loss of innocence. The symbol of the mockingbird is used to represent the innocence of characters like Scout and Atticus, as well as the innocence of the town of Maycomb as a whole. The loss of innocence is an important theme in the novel, and it is represented in the characters of Scout, Atticus, and Maycomb.

Body paragraphs

Your body paragraphs should each be dedicated to one specific character or event in the novel and start with a topic sentence . After the topic sentence, you should use evidence to support it. You must analyze the evidence, not just merely state it. Lastly, end your body paragraph with a conclusion and transition to the next section.

A thematic essay body paragraph example:

One example of the loss of innocence is Scout. When the novel begins, Scout is an innocent child who does not understand the ways of the world. “‘Don’t you ever do that again,’ I said. ‘Don’t you ever do that again, it’s bad enough having Jem tell on me without you adding to it.’” (Lee 9). Scout is chastised by her father, Atticus, for fighting with her cousin, Francis. In this quote, Scout does not understand why fighting is bad and must be scolded by Atticus. However, by the end of the novel, Scout has learned the true evil that exists in the world and has lost her innocence. “It was then that I finally understood Mrs. Dubose’s courage, not because she had won, but because she had had the courage to fight and the strength to lose.” (Lee 281). Scout has come to understand that even though Mrs. Dubose lost her battle with addiction, she was still brave for fighting it. Mrs. Dubose’s courage has taught Scout that even in the face of defeat, there is still hope. Scout has lost her innocence because she has learned that the world is not a perfect place and that people are not always good.

Check our citation guide to learn more about using quotes in essay: How to Introduce a Quote

Your concluding statement should sum up the main points of your thematic essay and rephrase your thesis (restate it in different words). You can also discuss broader implications or give your opinion on the topic, but don’t add any new information.

A conclusion example of a thematic essay:

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about innocence—the loss of it, the destruction of it, and the fight to keep it. The characters of Scout, Atticus, and Maycomb all represent different aspects of innocence, and the novel explores how they each deal with the loss of their innocence. Scout loses innocence when she learns that the world is not perfect and people are not always good. Atticus loses his innocence when he realizes that sometimes the justice system does not work as it should. Maycomb loses its innocence when it is revealed that racism and prejudice are alive and well in the town. The loss of innocence is a sad but inevitable part of life, and To Kill a Mockingbird shows us that this loss can sometimes be for the better.

Final tips on thematic essay writing

Now that you know the main steps involved in the writing process of a decent thematic essay, here are some of the final tips and key takeaways that you should keep in mind when doing this task:

• Make sure to brainstorm first and develop a good thesis statement that will guide the rest of your essay.
• Create a thematic essay outline before starting to write the essay itself. This will help you stay on track and not miss any important points that you want to include.
• Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the paragraph’s main point.
• Use concrete and specific examples to support your points.
• Pay attention to your grammar and spelling.
• Make sure to conclude your thematic essay in a strong way that ties everything together.
• Analyze the work, not just summarize it.
• Take your time, and don’t rush the essay.
• And lastly, proofread your work before submitting it.

By following these tips, you should be able to write a thematic essay that will impress your teacher or professor.

• Solano Community College – World Literature
• Jefferson State Community College – Literary Theme Analysis

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How to Write a Thematic Essay

A thematic essay explores a central message or theme that runs through a piece of literature, a historical event, or even a societal trend. It analyzes evidence like characters' actions, plot development, or real-world examples to explain how this matter is revealed and unpack its significance, showing a deeper understanding of the subject at hand.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what is a thematic essay :

• Analyzes a central message (theme) in a text.
• Explains how the text explores that theme.
• Uses evidence (quotes, details) to support your analysis.
• Shows how the evidence connects to the overall theme.

If you’re having trouble with this type of assignment, feel free to use our paper writing service and streamline the process.

Dissecting a text's central message and how it unfolds can be a rewarding challenge. Here's a step-by-step breakdown to conquer your next thematic essay:

If you're thinking, ' I need help with my homework fast' – contact us without hesitation!

Thematic Essay Checklist

• State a focused main argument about the theme.
• Hook the reader and introduce the theme.
• Begin each with a clear topic sentence related to the theme.
• Use specific examples, quotes, or facts.
• Explain how the evidence supports the thesis.
• Link analysis back to the central theme throughout.
• Ensure paragraphs and ideas progress logically.
• Summarize key points and restate the thesis.
• Check for clarity, coherence, and grammar.
• Properly cite sources used.

How to Pick a Thematic Topic

A crucial aspect of writing a good thematic essay is choosing a theme. Follow the hints listed below to help you create a thematic topic:

Thematic Essay Topics

• Star-Crossed Fate: Destiny in "Romeo and Juliet"
• Gatsby's Illusion: The Mirage of the American Dream
• Thoreau's Call to Action: Civil Disobedience and Its Echoes
• Grit and Grind: Industrial Strife in "Hard Times"
• Monster or Man? Isolation in "Frankenstein"
• Voices of Change: The Civil Rights Movement Unveiled
• Big Brother's Watch: Propaganda in "1984"
• Silent Scars: The Aftermath of War in "All Quiet on the Western Front"
• Pride, Prejudice, and Power: Women in Austen's World
• Cultural Cracks: Colonialism in "Things Fall Apart"
• Echoes of Justice: Moral Struggles in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• Surviving Hard Times: Life During the Great Depression
• Invisible Chains: Identity in "Invisible Man"
• Worlds Apart: Control and Conformity in "Brave New World"
• Chains of Oppression: Freedom in "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
• Hester's Burden: Sin and Redemption in "The Scarlet Letter"
• Wired Society: The Tech Revolution's Impact
• Vengeance and Virtue: The Journey in "The Count of Monte Cristo"
• Island Power Struggles: Leadership in "Lord of the Flies"
• Dreams of Freedom: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Enduring Impact

How to Start a Thematic Essay

Every strong essay starts with a captivating introduction. For a thematic essay, this introduction should:

• Hook the reader: Grab their attention with a thought-provoking question, a relevant quote, or an interesting anecdote related to the theme.
• Introduce the topic: Briefly mention the literary work you'll be analyzing.
• State the theme: Clearly identify the central theme you'll be exploring.
• Preview the analysis: Briefly hint at how the theme is developed in the work.

Here's an example of a thematic essay introduction:

“Have you ever wondered why some stories keep coming back to the idea of forgiveness? In Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird , the seemingly simple town of Maycomb grapples with racial injustice. However, beneath the surface lies a powerful exploration of the theme of forgiveness, where characters must confront their own prejudices and learn to let go of resentment. This essay will analyze how Lee uses character interactions, symbolism, and the trial of Tom Robinson to demonstrate the transformative power of forgiveness.”

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Thematic Essay Outline

A thematic essay structure has several key components. Primarily, it should be five paragraphs or more, depending on the depth of the theme. Next, it should have a concrete thesis statement, which is the thematic statement that comes from the main subject.

The introduction presents the reader with the subject and the thesis statement. The body paragraphs each discuss one literary element or more to defend the validity of your thesis, all the while providing many supporting details from the text itself. 

Lastly, the thematic essay conclusion summarizes the main points presented and finishes off with a statement of significance.

Learn more: How to create a winning outline .

Introduction

The thematic essay introduction presents the main subject of discussion captivatingly. The first sentence of the intro should be a hook statement that makes some intriguing claims about the subject of discussion. If done correctly, this will grab your reader's attention. 

Then, provide any necessary background information from the literature to help the audience understand your claims later. Lastly, put together a well-thought-out thesis statement that reflects the novel's central theme.

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs follow a thematic essay format. Since each body paragraph’s purpose should be to present a literary device as evidence, the topic sentence should introduce the claim and gateway into the evidence. Every topic sentence must mention a literary device and its relationship to the literature.

Afterward, to validate your claim, use examples from the book that strengthen the reasoning of your statement. These can be actions from the plot or quotations parallel with the central theme. Explaining how the action/quote links back to your thesis statement is imperative, as it shows that you can support your logic.

Remember : Each claim must use a literary device. It can not just be a random moment or inference. Thematic essays are all about proving thesis statements through critical literary devices.

The thematic essay conclusion has three main objectives before wrapping up the paper. It should not present any new information or facts but summarize the information already given. First of all, restate your thesis statement in a new way. 

Then, summarize the central claims you made within the body of your paper and their influence on the thesis statement. To finish off the entire work, present an overall concluding statement with a global analysis of the subject. Leave your reader with another hook, making him/her interested in digging deeper into the topic.

Learn more: Poetry analysis essay . 

Try also read an article on poetry analysis essay , it could be useful and can give you new insights.

Thematic Essay Example

The best way to familiarize yourself with this type of writing is to learn from thematic essay examples.

Wrap Things Up

Thematic essays are a powerful tool for students. They unlock deeper meaning in texts, sharpen critical thinking and analytical skills, and build strong writing foundations.

Before submitting your thematic essay, cross off all these items from the to-do list.

Learn more: Jem Finch character traits .

Need Help with a Thematic Essay?

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What Is a Thematic Essay?

How to write a thematic essay, what is the main point of a thematic essay.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

• Updated writing steps.
• Added new topics.
• Added a new example.
• Added a checklist.
• https://www.wboro.org/cms/lib/NY01914047/Centricity/Domain/1006/Thematic%20Essays%20Helpful%20Hints.pdf
• Thematic Essay - Regents Exam Rubric  | New Visions - Social Studies. (n.d.). New Visions - Social Studies. https://curriculum.newvisions.org/social-studies/resources/resource/thematic-essay-regents-exam-rubric/
• How to Structure Your Essay Introduction | Essay Writing Part 2. (2023, October 31). Matrix Education. https://www.matrix.edu.au/essay-writing-guide/how-to-structure-your-essay-introduction/  

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A thematic essay is a type of writing assignment that focuses on a specific theme or topic. It requires you to identify a central theme, discuss it in detail, and make connections between various facts. Your main goal is to demonstrate understanding and interpretation of the given subject matter. This type of essay is commonly used in literature classes or history exams.

If you’ve got an assignment to write a theme essay, you might wonder where you should even start from. No worries, we’ve got you covered here! The first thing you must know about this specific type of paper is that it aims to analyze a certain well-known theme and make an interesting statement about it. Here, you must explain meaning and relevance or complexity of your topic. You should summarize details that support your conclusion. In this article, we will conduct a detailed review of theme essay concept. We will also provide you a step by step guide on how to write a proper one. Let's dive right into it!  

Thematic Essay Definition

Let’s start with defining what is a thematic essay and its purpose. In this type, one should select a thesis and form unique statement related to its aspects. You should write about it, explaining or elaborating to your audience the following:

• How is your statement related to your topic?
• Which important or interesting aspects does it highlight?
• What approaches and literary devices are you using for analysis ? How do you explain your general theme? This can be comparison, metaphor, personification etc.

When composing such an essay, you must formulate and defend your statement. Here, you will demonstrate abilities of analysis and literary devices usage. At least several paragraphs would be needed to display such skills properly.

Thematic Essay Outline: What's Inside

The best way to begin is creating a theme essay outline for your topic. An outline should contain all key parts, concepts and ideas of your paper. You should put it in a sketchy but logical manner. This way you'll quickly prepare a shortened version of your assignment. It will also help you in reviewing it. Adding missing points and correcting significant mistakes would be easier at this early stage. Outline should include all main essay parts:  

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body section
• Conclusion.

Keeping it brief, you should not provide complete sentences to describe your statements, ideas and arguments. A few words would suffice for each important point. Purpose is to make it readable for yourself! You should review it quickly and spot any inconsistencies.

How to Write a Thematic Essay Step-By-Step

Now it is time to focus on how to write a theme analysis essay – the complete text from scratch. Is your goal to impress readers and achieve a good grade? Then it is important that you create a proper essay structure template and don't lose any of your key questions! Stay methodical and keep it logical! Make sure your audience is engaged and don’t disappoint them in the end. Below we’ll provide a general idea for each step of this process.

Step 1. Define the Topic for Your Thematic Essay

When it comes to choosing among thematic essay topics, it is important that you pick an interesting and maybe even a controversial one. At the same time, make sure you can actually provide some meaningful input about it. Your assignment should impress readers with detailed analysis and its author’s writing skills. That's why your chosen topic must provide enough material for that.  There is a diverse choice of topics. Choose the one you are really interested in whether it is  Bullying essay  or  Happiness essay . If you need some ideas for great essay topics, feel free to check out our other articles.  

Step 2. Create a Thematic Essay Outline

We've already covered the main points of theme essay outline concept. When writing it, include all the main parts of your future work. Keep it as short as possible, one paragraph per each key point will be enough. It isn’t even necessary to describe everything with complete sentences! A few words would suffice. Once done, review it first and make necessary corrections. It is advised to review an outline several times. That's how any noticeable gaps or mistakes would be spotted early.

Step 3. Start a Thematic Essay with a Hook

A good thematic essay introduction ought to captivate readers right from the start. That’s why it is always advised to add some ‘hook’ into it. You can begin with an unexpected statement, use wordplay or a plot twist. Then you can explain this in the main body part. This way your audience would be interested to hear those explanations. As a result, your paper will have better chances of success. Apart from that, introduction should contain the main statement and some information about its content.  

Step 4. Write Body Paragraphs for Your Theme Essay

Goal of thematic essay body is to answer all the questions stated in an introduction. You must elaborate the meaning of each key idea. Finally, display your usage of literary devices, as we’ve specified earlier. Common practice is to use at least one paragraph per a literary device disclosure. Besides, the main body is the right place to use all relevant sources that can support your analysis or provide you with helpful analogies. Keep the main body logical, so that every paragraph is somehow connected to the previous and the next ones.  

Step 5. Create a Thematic Essay Conclusion

A strong thematic essay conclusion should highlight all important points from tyourhe essay while avoiding adding new facts or evidence. Just restate your thesis, answer all questions and summarize your arguments. It might be also useful to leave some final note for readers with some deeper analysis of your topic. You can also highlight the need for further exploration of the chosen theme and thus to prepare readers for your future works on this topic.  

Step 6. Proofread Your Thematic Analysis Essay

After completing theme essay, it is highly recommended to review it thoroughly, even several times if possible. The goal is to find mistakes and to spot logical gaps or missing details. Even best essays typically have inconsistencies left at the early stage. Taking a fresh look at your text often reveals some issues. If possible, ask your friends or colleagues to review your text. They might notice something you could not.  

How to Format a Thematic Essay

When it comes to thematic essay format, you need to find out what are the requirements in your assignment or which format is common in the institution you will be presenting your essay for. In case no special requirements were made for you, just choose one of the most popular formats for scholarly papers:  

• APA paper format : typically used in natural sciences, education and psychology fields
• MLA: typically used for works in humanities
• Chicago: typically used in business, history, and fine arts fields.

Thematic Essay Example

Let’s illustrate the explanations above with a few theme essay examples. We’ll provide some real ones here so that your every question would be answered. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration in these examples for your own winning paper! The examples can be found below. Please scroll down to find them.  

Thematic Essay: Final Thoughts

In this article we have explored the theme essay concept in detail. Its central purpose and main definition were examined and a step by step guide for writing a strong one was suggested. We’ve also provided a few working examples for your convenience. Hopefully, all this information will be useful for your scholarly endeavors!

Feel free to check out our  paper writing services ! We’ve got a team of skilled writers with expertise in different literary areas, ready to help you. They deliver high quality content, always on time.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Theme Essay

1. what is the thematic statement.

A thematic statement typically takes the place of a thesis in a thematic essay. It consists of 1-2 complete sentences that express a theme which you have chosen for your work. This statement must convey the main message and also show what analysis will be done. It should be brief however as most of the details are to be provided in the main body.

2. What is the goal of thematic essay?

The thematic essay goal is to express an idea or some insights about the surrounding world and to change readers' minds about certain issues. As an author, you are expected to illustrate the team, provide all necessary explanations and conduct an analysis if needed. Besides, you typically should demonstrate familiarity with some literary interpretations and methods which are used to examine your theme.

3. How long should a theme essay be?

The minimum length of a theme essay is five paragraphs. One is for introduction, one for conclusion and remaining three for the main body. Of course, it can be more than that, depending on the depth of the theme that was chosen. The main rule is to keep your essay logical and concise, avoiding adding too many details. Otherwise your audience might get tired and the effect produced by your writing would be damaged.

4. What is a thematic essay history?

Thematic essay (history class) should be written to analyze some historical facts or significance of specific literary pieces. A typical case is examining different aspects of a controversial leader from the past or a political event that has produced a number of various important consequences. Or you might argue about a specific role of a certain book during a certain period or its influence on different nations or cultural groups.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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How to write a theme statement

When you get done with a reading assignment for school, usually an essay, novel, or short story, you'll sometimes be asked to write a theme statement.

The definition of a theme statement can vary, but essentially it's asking you to state what the piece of writing was about — not the plot, but what sort of insight or perspective does it give on life/the world/human nature?

Theme is also sometimes known as the "main idea" of a story.

But how do you find the theme of a story? And how do you write a theme statement?

To write a theme statement, follow these 3 steps:

• Pick the main topic addressed in the story
• Pinpoint the author's view on the topic
• Format that perspective using a theme statement template

Let's dive a little deeper:

Finding the theme of a story using topics

After you're finished reading the book, story, or essay (you did read it, right?!), think back on the main character or characters.

Did they undergo some kind of change throughout the journey? Did their outlook on life evolve in some way?

That's usually a pretty good place to start looking for the theme.

For example, maybe the story deals with the broad topic of "love." Well "love" by itself isn't a theme, but a specific perspective on love could be.

Try this exercise once you've found your topic. Fill in the blank:

"This author believes _____ about (topic)."

In our example about love, maybe the story's about how love conquers all. Or maybe it's about how love is fleeting and fickle.

Your theme at this point might look something like this:

"The author believes that true love doesn't really exist."

(A little dark, but hey, it's just an example!)

Using a theme statement template

Every teacher or instructor is going to have their own way of wanting you to present your theme statement, so be sure to get clarity on that directly from them.

That said, there are some agreed upon "rules" of writing theme statements.

• Don't include specific characters or plot points. This perspective on life should apply to people and situations outside the story.
• Don't be obvious. "War is bad," is not a theme. Dig a little deeper using details from the story. (What specifically is bad about war? How does it negatively impact the characters or the world of the story?)
• Don't make it advicey. "You should always be there for your family," isn't a theme, it's a suggestion. Keep your theme statement objective and based solely on evidence from the story ("The bond between family can overcome any obstacle.")
• Don't use cliches. "Once a cheater, always a cheater," or "Actions speak louder than words," aren't themes. They're just expressions people use all the time and have very little power or real insight.

Here is a general template you can use based on what we learned above:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic) ."

Alternatively, you could try: "In (piece of writing), (author) presents the idea that (position on topic)."

You may also be asked to use supporting details from the story to back up your theme statement. In that case, your full theme statement might look something like this:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic). When (event from the story) happens, it results in (blank), which demonstrates (some element of the theme)."

You're going to have to tweak and adjust this based on how much detail the assignment calls for and which examples from the text you choose to use, but it should be a good starting point!

Theme statement examples

OK, so what does it look like in action?

Here are some example theme statements from stories you're probably already familiar with (I'm doing these mostly to demonstrate how to use the template. I hope you'll put a lot of thought into your own theme statements and play around with different ideas before committing to one) :

In 'The Dark Knight Rises', Christopher Nolan presents the idea that true heroism requires complete and utter selflessness.

The central theme of 'Finding Nemo' is that fear is sometimes more dangerous than danger itself.

In 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare presents the idea that love is more powerful than hate.

Hope this helps! And good luck!

Questions? Let me know in the comments.

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How to Write a Thematic Essay: The Complete Guide

by  Antony W

June 24, 2024

In this guide, you'll learn exactly how to write a thematic essay step-by-step.

Thematic essays, or theme essays, require you to really examine a literary object such as a book, journal, paper, or other art form and pick out the main ideas (themes).

You will then explain how these themes are brought on and what literary devices are used to do that.

Key Takeaways 

To write an outstanding theme essay, you should: 

• Select a literary work to base your thematic analysis on.
• Choose a primary theme.
• Identify supporting evidence and literary devices   used.
• Plan and outline the essay.
• Write the first draft.
• Edit and proofread your work for submission.

What is a Thematic Essay? 

A thematic essay is a one in which you identify the main idea (theme) expressed in a chosen literary object and explore how the writer of that literature chooses to address that theme through various literary devices.

The devices can be metaphors, hyperbole, imagery, allegory, and many others.

Writing a thematic analysis essay is a great way to learn how to pick out themes in the literature you read as well as how to improve your writing skills.

A thematic essay will be at least five paragraphs long , but usually longer depending on the complexity of the work being reviewed.

You can write a thematic essay based on a book, a speech, a magazine article, a video, audio, or any other art form.

Choosing a Theme for a Thematic Essay 

Choosing the main idea or theme of such a work is not a straightforward process.

It is highly subjective, and what you consider the main theme in a book may not be somebody else’s.

You have to make sure that what you pick as your main theme is fully supported throughout the book and makes significant appearances in most chapters, if not all of them.

How to Write a Thematic Essay Step by Step 

Writing a thematic essay is easy. You just have to: 

1. Choose a Literary Object

If your instructor does not provide the topic, think back to a book or article that made a strong impression to you, or think about your favorite pieces of literature.

Another option is to brainstorm. Brainstorming hardly fails, especially if you incorporate the help of your friends and even your instructor.

Collect different ideas and be sure to write each of them down, no matter how unlikely they sound. From there, eliminate most of these the following criteria:

• The topic should be interesting and captivating. Avoid those that are too common and overly used in academia unless you can provide a fresh twist or insight.
• The topic needs to have one or more important themes running through.
• It should be a literary work that is relatively well known and in the public domain.
• Some of the shorter works are best because they guarantee your essay won’t be too long.

This process will likely leave you with one or two possible topics, but make sure to confirm with your instructor that what you choose to focus on is acceptable.

2. Find a Relevant Theme

A theme is a significant idea that recurs throughout the literary work you have chosen. You can think of it as the main message the author is trying to pass across. 

There are major and minor themes differentiated by how much attention the author gives to each.

For the best outcome, your theme should be one of the major themes addressed throughout the work.

There are a few things you can do to figure out what major themes are present: 

• As you read the work, note and write down what tone, setting, language styles, and characterization the writer is using.
• What is the plot of the book and what does it lead to? Think about what you would tell somebody else about the book.
• Identify who the protagonist (main character) is and what they represent. Do they change at all in the book? 

For example, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch does not change and represents morality, love, fairness, and good reason to the end.

• Put yourself in the author’s shoes and observe from their point of view. What message do you think they want to pass on as the most important?

3. Pick Material for the Essay

Read through the book again with the main theme in mind.

See how the author plays with it, what literary devices are used to highlight their thematic approach, and write down all these for reference.

What you are doing at this stage is a literary analysis.

The tools in the author’s hands include character development, mood, setting, irony, allegory, simile, alliteration, symbolism, metaphor, among many others.

Think about how effective these tools are in shining the light upon the main theme. It helps to read between the lines as well because sometimes the most important thing is what the author leaves unsaid.

4. Planning: Thematic Essay Outline 

A thematic essay is very simple and straightforward. Like most essays, it will have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Each of these parts should be considered carefully in the planning stage and map out which ideas will go where.

Introduction

The introduction serves to catch the reader’s interest, set the background, and mention what exactly you intend to discuss in the essay.

The first one or two sentences should be a hook, that is, a statement that will be intriguing enough to make the reader want to keep reading. It can be a clever observation, a surprising statement, or even a relevant question.

Second, provide a very brief background on which to build your essay.

However, you will be assuming that the reader has already read the literary work that is the subject of the essay. So you don’t have to give too much detail.

In winding up the introductory, write your thesis statement . This is a one-sentence statement that tells the reader what your essay is about.

However, don’t say it like this: “My thesis statement is ... “ Instead, let the introduction flow and link smoothly up to this point.

Body paragraphs

You will have three or more body paragraphs detailing your arguments about the main theme. In a thematic essay, each of the body paragraphs will be focusing on one literary device and how it is useful in presenting the theme message.

As with most essays, body paragraphs will follow the TEEL format. 

• Topic Sentence : The introductory sentence introduces the idea that the paragraph is about. Think of it as a mini-thesis statement. The rest of the paragraph will be explaining and supporting this one statement.
• Explanation:  Explain your topic idea clearly.
• Evidence : Give compelling evidence for your claims. It can be a quote, a direct observation, similar use of the same method elsewhere in the book, a citation from an authoritative work, etc.
• Link : Show how the idea you just described links with the rest of the essay and thesis statement. Again, you won’t say, “this idea relates to my thesis statement because …” Instead, let the whole paragraph flow smoothly and seamlessly.

The number of body paragraphs will depend on how much evidence you have collected. However, make sure to keep within the reasonable word count parameters as given by your instructor.

Recap the main arguments in your body and restate your thesis statement.

The purpose of the conclusion is to give your “take-home” argument, what you feel the reader should retain from the whole work.

Customize your theme essay outline accordingly; don’t make it as generic as this example here.

Fill it with details like what ideas you will include in your first paragraph, what your thesis statement will be, and what your introduction hook is. With this thematic essay format, you are now ready to do the write-up.

5. Write the Essay

With a good outline, writing a thematic essay becomes a piece of cake. You will simply be fleshing out the template.

6. Proofreading and Revision

Make sure to read through your essay at least twice.

Note how well your ideas flow, how the arguments and evidence presented link back to the thesis statement, and of course, clear any grammatical errors. 

Thematic Essay Writing Help 

If you don’t have the time to read your subject thoroughly and analytically, you can hire Help for Assessment’s  essay writing service .  We have a suitable writer that can help you get the assignment completed on time. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. how do you start a theme essay.

The introduction of your theme essay should be an intriguing hook about the subject you wish to discuss.

Ensure the hook is concise and strong enough to grab your reader’s attention.

2. What are the Elements of a Thematic Essay? 

The elements of a thematic essay are the introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion.

Ensure the introduction includes a thesis statement. The body paragraphs should support the thesis using relevant examples, evidence, and arguments.

Lastly, the conclusion should be logical enough to tie everything together at the end.

3. What is the Main Point of a Thematic Essay? 

The main point of a thematic essay is to identify themes from a source, present a theme statement, and address a specific issue within the requirement of the assignment. 

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

How to Write a Thematic Essay With Explanations and Examples

• Icon Calendar 18 May 2024
• Icon Page 4290 words
• Icon Clock 20 min read

Thematic essays are common essay assignments in college across all disciplines. Basically, this guide begins with a definition of a thematic essay and provides sample topics for illustration. Next, the manual deconstructs the process of writing a thematic essay. Moreover, the guide covers three core stages of thematic essay writing: preliminary actions, establishing the paper’s foundation, and writing. Finally, the manual presents a sample outline and an example of a thematic essay to demonstrate a real writing situation where a student implements these guidelines of thematic paper writing correctly. Hence, students need to learn how to write a thematic essay.

Definition of a Thematic Essay

A thematic essay is a form of academic writing that requires an author to react to a particular question or theme. In this case, instructors expect students to develop a written reaction to a question or theme by connecting various pieces of information to reach a reasonable conclusion. Moreover, writing a thematic essay has a high demand for research and a critical examination of subtle relationships that exist between sources. Then, the research process yields a significant amount of information, which learners may use to generate numerous logical relationships that lead to rational inferences. Consequently, students may select any set of evidence with a clear, logical association provided that their central claim centers on a theme of interest.

Sample Topics for Writing Thematic Essays

• A pure democracy.
• Privacy rights in the big data age.
• Life in prison and the ex-convict experience.

2. Sociology

• Major parenting issues of the 21 st century.
• Thematic family bonds in immigrant families.
• Escaping the cycle of poverty.

3. Literature

• The thematic significance of a muse.
• Corruption in 18th-century short stories.
• Female authors who left a mark on classical literature.
• Memories of the holocaust.
• Landmines on the modern political landscape.
• The cause of the collapse of Middle East alliances in the 20 th century.

5. Psychology

• Teenage confidence after the thematic emergence of social media.
• The impact of abuse on the formation of relationships.
• The efficacy of proactive counseling.

How Do You Know if Your Paper Is Thematic?

A student can readily identify a thematic essay topic because it boldly pronounces a writing theme but does not hint at any specific point of view. In particular, the primary goal of a topic of a thematic essay is to inform readers of a theme rather than the particular approach of an author, which becomes more apparent in the introductory paragraph. Specifically, a thematic essay topic does not allow students to develop a particular supposition concerning a theme because authors realize there may be multiple points of view concerning the idea of a thematic essay.

3 Steps For Writing an Effective Thematic Essay

Step 1: preliminary actions, a. define a thematic topic.

The ability of students to define a topic is dependent on the extent to which they understand essay rubric and instructions. Basically, once learners receive thematic essay instructions, they should critically read their prompts to ensure they comprehend all demands of writing requirements. Then, writers should use keywords from their instructions to write one or more questions, which represent the expectations of instructors. Based on developed questions, students can create a topic that adequately captures the content of possible responses holistically. Also, authors must consider the information in the instructions, which establishes the leeway they have in the selection of a topic, for example, choose a theme not covered in-class readings.

B. Identify a Purpose for Writing a Thematic Essay

The procedure of identifying a purpose occurs in two distinct stages: the selection of a general goal and defining a specific purpose. Basically, authors may write a thematic essay to achieve two general purposes: explanation and persuasion. In this case, expectations of instructors influence the choice of the general purpose of a thematic essay to a large extent. After learners pick the general purpose for writing a paper, they should create a specific purpose that shows the particular effect their papers must have on readers. Mostly, writers generate a specific purpose from questions that represent thematic essay instructions. In turn, the early determination of the purpose is crucial because it affects the students’ approach to research and word choice during drafting.

C. Analyze an Audience

Before writing a thematic essay, students need to determine the characteristics and expectations of readers. Basically, knowledge concerning the characteristics and expectations of the audience is valuable because writing allows authors to understand the interaction between the characteristics and attitudes toward a topic, the readers’ level of expertise, and the significance of misconceptions, which aid in selecting the appropriate presentation approach. Specifically, learners can determine the most effective organization patterns, identify the best evidence, and employ an accepted documentation style. Moreover, students ensure a suitable level of explanation accompanies specialized writing terms that appear in a thematic essay.

D. Generate and Write Ideas

After learners define the purpose and comprehend the needs and traits of the audience, they begin to develop ideas for the content of a thematic essay. Mostly, thematic essay assignments for writing a particular subject focus on topics lecturers discuss in classrooms and other course readings. Consequently, students may generate ideas through brainstorming based on the relevant information from the unit and other related units they encounter during their schooling. During brainstorming, writers engage in idea mapping and clustering, which enables them to keep track of relationships between ideas.

Step 2: Establishing a Foundation for Writing a Thematic Essay

A. search for sources.

The author’s initial ideas regarding a topic act as the starting point for acquiring credible sources that support and refine those ideas. Basically, contemporary learners engage in electronic searches to find useful and reliable sources for thematic essays. In this case, students should begin their search on the library’s website, which provides them with material that is reliable for academic writing. Also, library search engines have complex filter functionalities, which make the process of searching for academic sources quite simple. Then, authors turn to open-web searches using Google Scholar or other public search engines that generate a significantly larger number of sources. However, some articles may not be accessible to students. Moreover, the burden of determining the reliability of sources falls on authors when they use open-web search engines. In turn, students rely entirely on keywords or keyword combinations to generate working bibliographies.

B. Evaluate Sources Before Writing

Working bibliographies undergo an intensive evaluation process to establish whether they meet the necessary quality standards for inclusion in writing a college-level thematic essay. In this case, the evaluation process involves two primary stages: relevance determination and reliability test. During relevance determination, authors should examine each source by using three criteria:

• The level of attention that the source gives to the topic.
• The suitability of the sources’ sophistication to the purpose and audience’s needs.
• Impact of publication date on the relevance of its information.

Next, the reliability test investigates five critical writing aspects:

• The origin of the thematic source.
• The level of expertise of authors.
• Biases of a source in the context of existing literature.
• Availability and quality of the evidence supporting the source’s claims.
• Objectivity in the presentation of the author’s claims and handling of evidence.

C. Write a Thematic Annotated Bibliography

At this point, the revised working bibliography now contains fewer sources that are relevant and reliable. In particular, students should engage in critical reading of all sources in the working bibliography to identify useful pieces of information they may incorporate into a thematic essay. After reading each source, learners write an annotation that contains a summary of a source, ideas for using this source, and an assessment of this source. Besides the three main elements of an annotated bibliography entry, writers may choose to mention specific pieces of evidence, which are the most significant contributions of a source to a thematic essay. Typically, writers develop an annotated bibliography from notes they make as they read through a text.

D. Develop an Outline

Based on an annotated bibliography, students create an essay outline. Basically, the content of an annotated bibliography entry allows learners to develop relationships between sources, which is essential because it begins to shape an essay structure. In this case, writers identify and group sources that support a general point, which splits a body of a thematic essay into discernible sections. Then, authors break down each general point into specific points that can exist as a body paragraph and assign appropriate sources to individual body paragraphs. Furthermore, scholars logically organize particular points and establish some form of flow within each section of a body paragraph. In turn, writers document the organization of general and specific ideas and the distribution of evidence in a list, like a format that allows for easy identification of hierarchy.

Step 3: Writing a Thematic Essay

A. design a working thesis.

A student develops a working thesis statement, which presents his or her central claim. Basically, questions that writers derive from assignment instructions and specific minor arguments listed in a thematic essay outline are the main pieces of information they use to generate a thesis statement. Initially, writing a working thesis statement may appear as a simple combination of individual responses to assignment questions in the context of the information that forms an outline. However, authors must unite individual answers under a specific inference that demonstrates the significance of writing a thematic essay. Also, a working thesis statement undergoes multiple revisions, which occur randomly during the writing process.

B. Review an Outline

Once an author writes a working thesis statement, a person subjects an informal outline to a revision that results in the creation of a formal outline for a thematic essay. Basically, body paragraphs of a thematic essay are building blocks for a central claim. Consequently, learners must review an informal outline to ensure there is an apparent logical build-up to the inference, which they announce in a written thesis statement. During this review, students focus on the organization of minor arguments to ensure that body paragraphs contain a single minor idea while maintaining a rational relationship with other body paragraphs. Moreover, writing a formal outline contains a systematic arrangement where information with the same level of significance or roles has identical indentation or numbering.

C. Select Sources for Writing

Based on writing a formal outline, students make a final assessment of sources for each body paragraph. In particular, a formal outline contains some changes in its organization and the framing of minor arguments of a thematic essay. Also, these changes may affect the relevance of sources to each body paragraph’s argument. Then, the subdivision or merging of minor arguments may cause some sources to become inadequate because they do not extensively cover new minor ideas. Therefore, writers should check the suitability of each source to arguments it supports to ensure each source provides strong, relevant, and accurate evidence before commencing the drafting process.

D. Draft a Thematic Paper

During the drafting stage, authors expand a thematic outline into a complete paper by changing statements and brief notes into coherent paragraphs. Basically, there is no fixed approach to the drafting of a thematic essay because students may start writing at any point in a thematic essay with the aid of a formal outline. Nonetheless, it is an excellent practice for learners to begin drafting from a paragraph they understand the best because it ensures writers waste very little time trying to overcome the fear of creating the first draft. In turn, scholars should allocate adequate time for drafting.

How to Perfect a Thematic Essay

1. revision, a. self-critic.

After completing the first draft, students undertake a self-conducted revision process, which involves rethinking and rewriting. Basically, the process of revision focuses on the evaluation of the evidence and organization of body paragraphs to ensure they support a working thesis statement entirely. Further, learners revisit a working thesis statement to refine its wording and the claim it presents. Before starting the revision process, writers should take a break, which allows a human brain to reset and attain a higher level of objectivity while revising. Moreover, scholars should use a checklist to reduce the risk of overlooking various crucial thematic essay dynamics during individual revision.

B. Peer Review

The individual revision process identifies the apparent flaws in content presentation, but numerous flaws may go unnoticed due to the authors’ subconscious biases concerning their writing styles. As a result, students should subject their thematic essays to a peer review by a classmate, tutor, parent, or writing center staff. In this case, learners should select a peer reviewer that best represents a member of the target audience. Moreover, authors may provide peer reviewers with a checklist to guide them through the revision process, especially if a person is not an expert editor. Then, students should assign adequate time to the peer review process to allow reviewers to carry out the revision task comfortably. In turn, once writers receive feedback from peer reviewers, they consider comments when making the final revision of a paper.

A. Clarity and Effectiveness

The first consideration in the editing process is the clarity and effectiveness of sentences in a thematic essay. Basically, authors should edit each sentence to ensure statements convey the intended meaning to readers. In this case, it is advisable to focus on six clarity issues, which are the most common in writing thematic papers: lack of parallelism, dangling modifiers, vague references to pronouns, incomplete sentences, and incorrect separation of sentences. Besides clarity, learners should evaluate the efficacy of each statement separately and as part of a paragraph. In turn, the effectiveness of writing statements revolves around the smoothness of transitions, conciseness, variability in sentence structure and length, the distinctiveness of the author’s voice, and emphasis on core ideas.

B. Surface Errors

The subsequent stage of the editing process involves editing for thematic surface and documentation errors. In particular, students should strive to eliminate all surface errors because they divert the readers’ attention to meaning, although some writing errors do not necessarily change the meaning of sentences. For example, learners can edit surface errors by using six-item criteria: spelling errors, comma splices, sentence fragments, verb errors, punctuation errors, and pronoun errors. Moreover, students should not attempt to conduct clarity and effectiveness editing simultaneously with surface error editing, which may result in poor writing because of the extensive nature of rules governing the English language. In turn, the final step in editing a thematic essay is the correction of any documentation errors while referring to the appropriate style manual.

Sample Outline for Writing a Thematic Essay

I. introduction.

A. Hook sentence. B. Background information. C. Thematic thesis statement.

A. First paragraph

1. The idea for writing the first thematic paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of evidence.

• First specific deduction from evidence.
• Second specific deduction from evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the first paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

B. Second body paragraph

1. The idea for writing the second thematic paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the second paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

C. Third body paragraph

1. The idea for writing the third thematic paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the third paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

III. Conclusion

A. Restatement of the thesis statement written in a thematic essay. B. Summary of the three minor arguments in the body paragraphs. C. Closing remarks emphasizing the significance of the central claim in the context of the three minor arguments.

Commentary on a Thematic Essay Outline

1. identify a central theme.

The audience can determine the central theme of a thematic essay from a thesis statement or an overview of topic statements. Basically, writing a well-composed thesis statement must explicitly mention the central theme or implicitly hint at the central theme. Alternatively, the audience can read through topic sentences and correctly speculate the central theme of a thematic essay because minor arguments in individual body paragraphs are building blocks of a thesis statement. However, the readers’ ability to identify the central theme from a formal outline is dependent on their pre-existing knowledge concerning a topic because an outline uses statements and annotations with writing little explanation.

2. Uniqueness

A thematic essay stands out from other types of essays because of the high level of freedom that writers enjoy during authorship. During the writing of a thematic essay, authors can choose any purpose or a combination of purposes to use in different sections of 5 parts of an essay, which is a luxury that argumentative essays and expository essays do not extend to writers. Also, essay instructions for writing a thematic essay tend to define a broad scope for research, which implies that authors may develop a wide variety of arguments. In turn, the expansive nature of the subject of a paper is not present for argumentative essays, which forces students to choose one of the two sides of a controversial issue.

Outlining a Thematic Essay

The introduction section is the first part of a thematic essay, which consists of three main elements: hook, background information, and thesis statement. Firstly, a hook is the first statement of any paper that plays the role of capturing the audience’s attention through creative wording, which gives them a reason to read the entire paper. Since students know how to write a hook, they provide the essential background information that readers require to understand a thesis statement. Moreover, the background information element does not have a fixed length. Instead, it is dependent on the complexity of a thesis statement and the overall length of a thematic essay. Also, writing a thesis statement is the final item of the introductory paragraph. In turn, the length of introductions is approximately 10% of the essay’s word count.

II. Body Paragraphs

A. topic sentence.

A topic sentence contains a minor claim that an author discusses within a paragraph. For example, its primary role is to establish content boundaries, which ensures students focus on a particular idea in each paragraph. Moreover, a topic statement should present a minor argument and mention a relation that it has to the central idea of writing a thematic essay or make a tacit suggestion of its link to a thesis statement. Therefore, writers should avoid the use of in-text citations in a topic statement because it implies that an idea is not original.

B. Evidence

After a topic sentence, students unveil the evidence that supports their claims. In college writing, an in-text citation should accompany any evidence that learners introduce into a thematic essay to direct readers to its origin. Also, learners should rely heavily on summary and paraphrasing in their writing, as opposed to direct quotations from sources. Nevertheless, some thematic essay instructions may specify a particular technique writers must use when integrating evidence into a paper.

C. Evaluation

This element of a paragraph structure allows authors to explain the significance of the evidence to the paragraph’s argument. In this section of a thematic essay, students provide an interpretation of the evidence, which informs the audience of the meaning of the evidence in the context of a source text. Then, writers explain the value of the evidence in developing a reasonable justification for the idea proposed in topic sentences. In turn, learners should avoid the inclusion of lengthy pieces of evidence because it creates a situation where the voice of sources is more dominant than the author’s voice.

D. Concluding Statement

A concluding statement emphasizes the logical relationship that exists between the topic sentence, evidence, evaluation, and thesis statement. In some cases, it may establish the relationship of a paragraph with the preceding paragraph. Also, students should ensure a concluding sentence of a paragraph does not contain a meaningless summary of the key pieces of evidence. Then, a concluding statement of a thematic essay must not contain any new evidence because there is no opportunity to explain the contribution of the evidence in supporting the paragraph’s argument.

A concluding paragraph has three critical features: a restatement of the main claim, a summary of minor arguments, and closing remarks. Basically, the opening statement of a thematic essay reminds students of the central argument by using new words and syntax. After the opening statement, learners summarize minor claims that appear in individual body paragraphs while maintaining a logical organization, which is identical to the arrangement of ideas in the body. Finally, authors write a strong closing statement that knits together the introduction, thesis statement, and minor claims to create a lasting impression on the audience. Moreover, students should ensure they do not introduce new evidence or arguments in a concluding paragraph. In turn, authors must not apologize for a lack of expertise on a topic or make absolute claims because it diminishes the efficacy of writing a good conclusion.

Example of Writing a Thematic Essay

Topic: Recruitment of Terrorists

I. Sample Introduction of a Thematic Essay

Terrorism is a global problem, which appears to be spreading despite an increment in the efforts to suppress its growth. Basically, the prevention of recruitment is a crucial counterterrorism strategy. Moreover, its efficacy is dependent on the understanding of the terrorists’ recruitment techniques. In turn, the terrorist groups’ recruitment methods focus on the target’s identity crisis, which puts a potential member at risk of falling for the ‘appeal’ of terrorism.

II. Examples of Body Paragraphs in a Thematic Essay

A. motivation.

An individual’s desire to be part of a movement that is effecting a radical change in society is a significant motivator for participation in terrorism. For example, recent studies show that terrorist groups begin conversations with most young recruits on social media platforms, which discuss topics concerning social, political, and economic oppression (Jacks, 2020). Basically, this finding suggests that young people in contemporary society have a desire to correct the ‘wrongs’ in society as a means of identity. Consequently, terrorists use the increased sensitivity to social injustices as a common ground to initiate and build a relationship with a prospective recruit. In turn, the youth’s strong desire to do something to stop social injustices that their respective governments ignore leaves them vulnerable to radicalization by terrorist groups.

B. Religious Beliefs

Fanatical religious belief may drive an individual to support or participate in terrorism for the sake of being part of a group. According to Mohammed (2020), the constant pressure from religious parents causes the blind indoctrination of adolescents and young adults, which enables recruiters from terrorist groups to present religious concepts as justifications for terrorism, for example, the holy war. In this case, Mohammed concedes that the mosque is an ideal site for the recruitment of terrorism because of the presence of youth with highly impressionable minds. Moreover, youths depend on teachings at places of worship for knowledge that defines their perspective of the world. As a result, terrorist recruiters disguised as spiritual leaders can easily nurture fanatical beliefs that endorse terrorist activities. Eventually, a feeling of separation from the conservative believers pushes them to pursue groups that share their fanatical religious beliefs.

C. Recruiting

The loss of a family member to counterterrorism activities may act as a motivation factor for grievers who are trying to re-establish their identities because they no longer fit into the traditional social structures. For instance, Tobias (2020) argues that recruiters prey on the pain of grieving family members by offering them retribution as a solution to the overwhelming feeling of incompleteness. After the death of a family member, the emotional turmoil increases the susceptibility of individuals to the idea that terrorist acts are an appropriate response to the ‘killers’ of their loved ones. Often, recruitment occurs during this unstable state and encourages the individual to relive the pain each day, which results in the permanent erosion of their former identity. Accordingly, grievers may find themselves as sympathizers of terrorism, which leads to active or passive participation.

III. Sample Conclusion of a Thematic Essay

Most members of terrorist organizations experience an identity crisis at the time of recruitment. Basically, the need to gain membership to a group that fights against social injustices tolerates fanatical religious beliefs or seeks revenge for the death of loved ones is a sign that identity crisis is a common characteristic in recruits. In turn, current counterterrorism initiatives should seek to break the cycle of recruitment, which will weaken terrorist groups.

Takeaway on How to Write a Good Thematic Essay

• Students should define a narrow writing topic to guide them in generating ideas in response to a thematic paper prompt.
• The characteristics and expectations of the audience are vital in determining an appropriate presentation approach.
• Before drafting a thematic essay, authors must write a formal outline and annotated bibliography, which are critical for organization and evidence selection.
• The maintenance of a high level of fluidity during drafting is critical during drafting because it allows writers to experiment with different styles of expression.
• Revision and editing are aspects of the writing process that a student should not take lightly.
• All body paragraphs must adhere to the four-element paragraph structure.
• The conclusion of a thematic essay should not contain any new evidence or arguments.
• Learners must write a thesis statement that captures a theme that instructors highlight in essay prompts.

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How to write a top-grade Thematic Essay

When assigned to write a thematic essay, you ought to understand what it is, how to approach it, and how to put every aspect of it on paper finally. You will most likely be assigned to write a thematic essay in high school, college, and university. Instead of getting confused, as most students do, you can use this quick guide and learn how to write a thematic essay quickly and seamlessly.

Remember, a thematic essay entails developing the central theme in literature, using specific literary devices. This guide will teach you the steps to take, identify a central theme, and some helpful tips when writing thematic essays. You will also have some topic suggestions and advice.

Without wasting time, let us delve deeper into it.

What is a thematic essay?

A thematic essay is a category of essay that involves the creation of a major literature theme using literary devices such as imagery, personification, and metaphor, among others. The writer expresses the importance of the themes in the essay .

However, the common challenge in a thematic essay is that every writer interprets the main theme from their perspective. Therefore, an ideal thematic essay should consist of logical arguments that are justified through literary devices.

The fundamental role of a thematic essay is to unwarp the major subject discussed. As a student, you are required to use facts, evidence, and examples obtained from a secondary and primary source.

You should connect the various facts to the main subject of your essay to demonstrate logical arguments in your essay.

How to write a good thematic essay in simple steps

One major challenge for students writing a thematic essay is that they have to identify a central theme. Apart from that, your thematic essay should also have logical arguments backed by evidence, examples, and illustrations that are based on literary devices.

Step 1: Read the essay prompt

The essay prompt provides information about the issue or the topic to be discussed in the essay.

Reading the prompt is significant in inspiring your response in essay form, which is critical in your reasoning and analytical skills.

Moreover, reading essay prompts is important in informing the writer about what is expected in the thematic essay.

Step 2: Choose the text you are going to use

  It is important to gather the sources you will use in your essay writing before embarking on writing.

The texts include literature abstracts, discussions, or other texts that support your theme. Therefore, it is vital to gather the texts properly.

You should ensure that your chosen text contains facts or examples supporting your essay theme.

Step 3: Take notes as you read

As an essay student, taking notes will influence your attention to decide the key literary devices to apply in your essay. 

Choosing relevant sources that entail comprehensive literary devices that support your theme is vital as you make notes.

Step 4: Determining the central theme

Determining the central theme is one of the vital steps of thematic essay writing. The central theme is the basic component of your essay. It defines the essence and scope of the essay . It also defines your angle of analysis .

Therefore, it is significant to determine the central theme of your essay. We will provide hints later in this article on identifying central themes. It is vital to have the hints at your fingertips as a student.

Step 5: Craft your essay thesis

After determining your main theme, it is vital to develop your essay thesis. Your essay thesis is fundamental in summarizing the points that will be discussed in your entire thematic essay.

This thesis will be posted at the end of the introduction paragraph; your essay thesis should clearly define the central idea to be discussed in your essay.

Consequently, every component of your essay can relate to your essay thesis. The following tips can help you to craft your essay thesis:

• Construct a question. To craft your essay thesis, you can begin by considering the questions provided. However, if not provided, you can develop your individual question. What can you decide or like to explore on the topic?
• Write your first answer. After researching, you can construct a temporary answer to your question. This is a simple task because it controls the writing and researching process.
• Construct your answer. After writing your answers, you need to consider that you will use your answer to co-compel your readers of your essay. Reading extensively concerning the topic will give your more details about your answer and assist you in developing further.

Step 6: Write body paragraphs

Writing the body paragraphs follows the introduction in thematic essay format. The body paragraph should convey the purpose of the essay and utilize literary devices that are used as evidence; each literary paragraph should consist of literary devices.

The topic sentences are introduced to provide a gateway and claim of the evidence. Each topic sentence is linked to a literary device and its connection with the literature.

After writing your topic sentence, you are required to justify your claims. You can use secondary sources to strengthen your point of reasoning through facts, figures, and examples. You can use questions or plots related to your essay's main theme.

It is crucial to prove how the quotes or plots link to the thesis statement of your essay. It is also important to note that every claim should apply the literary device. Thematic essays rely on applying literary devices to improve the thesis statement.   

Step 7: Write a captivating introduction

The introduction summarizes your approach and understanding of the answer to your essay question. It is critical in revealing what you intend to discuss in your essay and how you evaluate the theme.

To write a captivating introduction in your thematic essay, your initial stamen in the introduction paragraph should hook the reader through an intriguing claim concerning the topic.

This will attract the reader's attention and provide required background information that assists your audience to comprehend the essay claims later. Moreover, writing a captivating introduction is vital in conveying a well-framed thesis statement that reveals the novel central theme.

Step 8: Write a powerful conclusion

The conclusion marks the end of the thematic essay. When you write your conclusion, you should ensure it completes the essay before wrapping up the whole paper. It should include new information not discussed in the essay's body.

To write an effective conclusion as a student, you need to start by reinstating the thesis statement differently from how you stated in your introduction. Then, summarize your logical arguments on the central theme in the body paragraph.

To end your essay. Provide a final concluding statement that analyzes the topic. You should ensure that you leave your audience with a hook making them interested in exploring the topic. 

Step 9: Format, edit, revise, and proofread the essay

After writing your thematic essay to a conclusion, it is vital to check the format of your essay and adjust any necessary items as required by your professor's instructions before submission. 

You should confirm and double-check your central themes to match your essay requirements. Finally, peruse through your entire essay and edit any mistakes should note that grammatical mistakes will irritate your readers.

Therefore, it is critical to clean up all mistakes to make the essay attractive to the reader. Revise the paper to ensure that the essay is well-edited and efficient.

Proofread your essay to remove any possible mistakes. Proofreading can also assist you in changing the sentence structure to help polish your essay further. Moreover, it can help in eliminating mistakes from the paper.

Generally, as an essay student, you should ensure that your essay is in the correct format, well-edited, revised, proofread, and free from grammatical mistakes before submission.

How do you pick an excellent thematic topic?

Selecting an excellent thematic topic is one of the crucial aspects of thematic essay writing. The following guidelines help pick an excellent thematic topic:

• Brainstorm. Remember anything you discussed with your parents, friends, or teachers. Do the conversations link to some novel, book, or literature writing?
• Write the ideas that you can recall . Usually, the ideas that come first in your mind are the best ones to build on.
• List the best literature . Ask yourself about the most touching piece of writing to you. Then, evaluate the subject and the author's challenges in the literature developed in the story. This can help you to develop your ideas.
• Select a convincing theme . You should understand your expected audience and provide strong ideas to engage them as ordinary readers. Considering things that can engage your audience can assist you in coming up with a central theme in your essay writing.
• Refer to other pieces of literature. Using your professors' materials can assist you in coming up with the main theme of your essay. In addition, reading the material provided or suggested by your professor can give hints of an appropriate theme that you can discuss in your thematic essay.
• Get the Perspective. Sometimes to come up with the major theme, you will be required to consider the advantages and disadvantages of issues ad consider one perspective that can lead to a major theme to use in your essay.
• Consider social issues. A thematic essay is often linked to social problems that affect human life. Therefore, to develop a compelling theme as an essay writer, you need to analyze the social issues and select one that is appropriate to develop the main theme in your essay.

Related: How to make a good essay outline

How to identify the central theme in a text

 As discussed before. Unwrapping the major subject and the main point are the fundamental steps in writing a thematic essay. However, sometimes it is cumbersome to interpret the central theme effectively due to numerous aspects that run within the literature Coming up with a central theme is one of the significant approaches in thematic essay writing. The steps provided below can assist you in coming up with an appropriate theme.

• Condense the literature: consider the major idea that the author is conveying. There are many hints about the literature summary. As a writer, you should choose the hints that are effective and less challenging
• Pick a common subject: As an essay writer, it is vital to identify the difference between subjects. A subject is regarded as a general topic; it can be deception, love, or bravery. However, there is a specific point that is derived from the subject. Therefore, identify a common talking point and make it the focal theme of your essay.
• Read the central point: interpret the major idea that the author was delivering upon getting the subject. You will become more apparent as you explore the frequent examples and clues in the literature.
• Overall significance : you should consider the importance of the author�s point. Identify what can be retrieved and applied in personal lives. Generally, this will drive you to ask the lesson that can be derived from the literature. 

Comprehensive Outline for a Thematic Analysis Essay

As an essay writer, your main objective is to be creative when writing your essay to include all crucial details. Consequently, beginning your essay with the outline is vital for thematic essay writing.

Your outline should note that all things contained in the draft do not necessarily form your final piece of writing. Nevertheless, an outline is significant in guiding you throughout your work.

As a writer, you should make sure that you check the flow of your essay. You can achieve this by checking how you use transitions.

In many instances, students tend to treat every paragraph as a mini-essay without linking one paragraph to the other. This aspect leads to an essay that is incohesive and is not flowing.

Also, students should refrain from emotional expression and wordiness to prevent irritation of the reader. When drafting your essay, you should ensure that you are neutral in the sense that you should refrain from being informal or formal. It would assist you to sound sincere and respectful.

A thematic essay outline is meant to guide the writer without mistakes throughout the writing process. Additionally, an outline is crucial in preventing the writer from getting stuck during the writing process. In most cases, the outline of a thematic essay follows a 5-paragraph structure that consists of an introduction, 3-body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Some students think that writing an outline is a waste of time. However, this is not the case; an outline is the basic component of your essay paper.

Possessing a detailed essay outline allows you to create a fantastic thematic piece of writing that is logical, flowing, and coherent.

Overall, a good outline consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, the number of your body paragraphs can vary depending on the depth of the theme of your essay.

Introduction

You should begin your essay with an introduction. You should make an impressive introduction that attracts the attention of your reader. The introduction section consists of background information and the vital points discussed in the essay.

You should be strategic when developing this section. Utilizing practical tools such as humor or posting a connective question is critical. In your introduction, deploying exciting and surprising facts encourages the readers to explore your work.

However, you should not make this paragraph lengthy. Instead, it should be brief and contain the central idea concerning the essay. The last sentence in your introduction should comprise the thesis statement.

As discussed earlier, the thesis statement provides information about what is discussed in the body of the essay. Therefore, make sure your thesis statement is clear and provides a logical argument about the topic of the essay.

Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs are the essay's main body that comprises of detailed discussion of the central theme. This is where you will be providing analysis, supporting justifications, and developing arguments.

It is critical to avoid giving baseless statements in this section because this part demands well-constructed logical arguments supported with evidence, facts, and examples that increase the quality of your essay.

As an essay writer, you should ensure that all your main points are discussed in the body of your essay . Each point should be discussed in each paragraph. The point is stated in the form of the topic statement and supported with the literary device.

Also, you can use subheadings in your thematic essay to avoid clustering of your content. All the paragraphs in your essay should be of equal length.

This is important in producing a quality essay. You can get numerous thematic essays on websites. You can read the samples to guide you in writing an excellent thematic essay.

The conclusion is, marks the end of the essay. A reasonable conclusion should be precise, practical, and logical.

Generally, the conclusion should resonate with the information in the thesis statement . To write a reasonable conclusion, begin by rephrasing the thesis statement.

Rewrite the thesis statement in your own words while keeping the meaning of the idea. After that, summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs of your thematic essay. Ensure all the points are summarized.

Finally, provide an overall statement that can hook the reader and attract the reader's interest to explore the topic further.

Essential tips when writing a thematic essay

• Read relevant literature that includes book chapters and other relevant sources that support your theme. Then, read the essay question carefully and brainstorm the best approach to writing your thematic essay.
• Developed a detailed outline that will guide you in writing the paper
• Ensure you master the requirements of the essay and academic rules that govern essay writing. Ensure you adhere to the required format and refrain from plagiarism by paraphrasing important p points from secondary sources.
• Your introduction should be brief and to the point, and you should not forget to include a logical thesis statement
• It is necessary to develop one straightforward central question in every paragraph
• You should present your paragraphs in a logical format. Ensure the paragraphs are linked with one other to ascertain the flow of the essay.
• Use compelling examples and claims that support the points in each paragraph. The claims and examples should be verifiable and well elaborated to bring the logical arguments in the essay.
• You should reference your source properly. Poor citations and references may result in plagiarism. Therefore, ensure you include a well-structured intext citation and reference list in your essay.
• Ensure all your description is followed by extensive analysis as a way of justifying your claims in the essay. Any description that lacks analysis should not be included.
• Make sure that your conclusion is relevant and concise.
• Make sure that all the materials are referenced, and a bibliography or reference list indicating all the used sources is provided
• Ensure you submit your essay at the required time.

Mistakes to avoid when writing a thematic essay

• Avoid using the complex word;
• Avoid using text that is not significant to your essay;
• Do not exaggerate your essay;
• Avoid long sentences;
• Avoid submitting your essay without proper citing;
• Do not submit the paper unreviewed;
• Make sure the paper contains stronger arguments;
• Refrain from submitting your work without running it through a plagiarism checker and Grammarly software
• Avoid using the wrong essay format;
• Avoid using too many questions from secondary sources.

Thematic essay topic ideas

Numerous thematic essay topics can be utilized to produce impressive work. Most of the common thematic topics are related to historical events. As an essay writer, you should consider an exciting topic to write about. Getting an interesting topic is fundamental in deriving ideas and writing quality work based on your knowledge. The following are some of the topics that are related to distinct subjects.

Global regents

• The transformed meaning of philosophy
• Can a person manage unconscious thinking?
• The responsibilities of Men and Women in the modern society
• Human rights in the contemporary world.
• The role of social media in the modern old
• The significance of the political system in the contemporary society
• The role of globalization in the contemporary world.
• The role of religion in society

Belief systems

• Should the death penalty be allowed?
• Should people be allowed to carry handguns?
• Are video games effective in mental health mitigation?
• Women should take care of children and not engage in any form of work.
• The childhood period is the most significant part of human life.

Literary thematic essay topics

• Explain the themes explained in the book �The Great Gatsby."
• Explain the major theme highlighted by Bernard Shaw in the novel �Arms and the man."
• What is the central theme in the poem �The Road not taken" by Robert Frost?
• Happer Lee discusses "innocence" in his novel To Kill a Mockingbird. What does he try to elaborate on?
• The civil war era.
• The slavery issue in America
• US-Russia relations
• The Cold War Period
• Industrial revolution in the USA
• International organizations

Read our article on the list of social issues and see if you can consider some controversial and current social issues for your topic ideation. 

Final Remarks!

As you wind up your thematic essay, ensure that everything is okay. Remove any spelling, stylistic, typographic, and grammatical errors.

Also, confirm is your central theme comes out clearly in the paper. You can hire an expert proofreader to help you spot and correct mistakes.

Thus far, we are sure you have the correct information that has set you up to write a great thematic essay by yourself. You can use this guide to research, plan, and write a quality paper.

Alternatively, you can hire an essay writer to write your thematic essay from Gradecrest. Our model essays are plagiarism-free, 100% unique, and top-quality.

You can also check sample essays online to get further inspiration. We believe that you will write an excellent paper from now on.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

How to Write a Thematic Essay?

06 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Kate Smith

The road to graduation from any educational institution is lined with essays and written assignments – and the majority of these happen to be thematic essays, as they are supposed to demonstrate that the students understand the topic or material well. A thematic essay is almost as old as writing is, for it focuses on investigating a topic to provide detailed analysis and evidence of why a certain claim can be made.

What is a Thematic Essay?

Although this type of essay is commonly used to analyze some historical facts or a specific literary piece and its significance, a thematic essay can be assigned on a variety of subjects. It is also a traditional classroom essay that may be a part of different exams, so students may be required to craft a thematic essay within limited time, sticking to the topic provided. This is the main reason why they consider thematic essays difficult, but whenever there’s a longer deadline and a choice of topics, the writing process is easier.

However, there’s an important thing that everyone who’s wondering ‘what is a thematic essay?’ needs to know. This type of essay mainly lets the teacher determine your knowledge of the material, and it should demonstrate your comprehension of the topic that you can back up with solid arguments and relevant examples. But proper structure is just as essential to your writing as the scope of the topic. All of the points you want to make, as well as the supporting evidence must be organized in a clear, consecutive way. If your essay lacks focus or is illogical in its organization, your readers will not be able to recognize neither the thoroughness of your research, nor the significance of your critical thinking. They might even have trouble following what evidence you found to help you arrive at a certain conclusion.

How to Find and Explore the Central Theme?

To tackle this type of essay, you often have to narrow down a topic that’s too broad before getting started on your writing. A theme is what an author portrays in a literary work, or the specific point the author is making. Often, it is the most frequently discussed one, or it is a lesson of the greatest overall significance that can be derived from the work and applied to our lives. Thus, to effectively plan out how you are going to write a thematic essay, identify the theme first. Focus on the main point the author is trying to make about a particular subject, the message he is trying to convey, why it is relevant or important at the moment, and the way the reader can benefit from it.

That’s why having a place to start and an outline to follow lays the groundwork for your thematic essay. It is the most important step in the entire essay writing process.

Thematic Essay Outline

By using an outline to shape your essay, you have a format to follow that ensures knowledge of the topic, addressing all the questions of the assignment, and keeping all of the points you want to make well-organized. A thematic essay outline lets you effectively draw parallels between different facts, formulate a coherent and detailed evaluation of the topic, and see whether something in the essay is lacking or needs to be rearranged and revised.

Some essay types may have less rigid layouts and writing requirements, allowing for more creativity and freedom when it comes to formatting. However, this is not the case with instructions on how to write a thematic essay. Just as with other traditional essays, there should be at least five paragraphs in a thematic essay, including an introduction with a thesis statement, three body paragraphs that will support your thesis with relevant arguments and examples, and a logical conclusion to wrap everything up at the end.

Introduction 

Generally, to write a thematic essay you need to have an idea of what your thesis will be, how your body paragraphs will prove it, and how you are going to summarize all of the arguments detailed in the body of the essay in your conclusion. The introduction has to present the main subject of your essay as well as any necessary background information and your thesis statement. At the same time, it should be interesting enough to make the reader want to learn more about the topic. The opening sentence of the introduction is often referred to as a ‘hook’ because it is supposed to grab the reader’s attention. For this purpose, it can evoke anticipation, controversy, irony, or ask a question. The thesis statement is very important because it gives your topic a direction and a specific purpose.

The thesis statement lays the ground for further analysis, for answering a specific question, asserting an opinion or explaining how and why something works (or has worked/failed to produce an expected result). Think of your thesis statement as a compelling and concise headline that gives the reader a good idea of what the rest of the paper is about and what to expect next. It should be engaging, but not confusing to your audience. Have you ever been extremely disappointed by reading an article or watching a movie because it wasn’t what the headline, magazine cover or a movie trailer promised it to be? To make sure your reader doesn’t feel like that, you want your thesis to be integral to the essay and to all of the evidence that you provide in the following body paragraphs. Quite often, a thesis statement needs a few revisions to acquire more focus and clarity as you add the body paragraphs to your thematic essay.

Body paragraphs 

While the 5-paragraph structure gives you a basic layout to work with, it should have three body paragraphs because the thesis must be supported by at least three significant arguments. However, unless the essay has a required length, you can include more supporting facts or examples. There may be more body paragraphs than just three, depending on the details of the assignment or the points you are required to address, but keep in mind that your essay should be concise and devoid of wordiness. Usually, the essay writer should focus on one point or sub-topic per paragraph, but depending on the complexity of the topic, the quantity of paragraphs for validating each claim or explaining your reasoning may vary. 

You can think of body paragraphs as building blocks that include expert quotes or specific examples to add weight to them, as well as to your arguments. This is the ‘meat of your essay’ as long as you make sure that you explain the logic behind each quotation or evidence supporting your claim, and that it is in sync with your thesis statement. Such connections are essential as they tie not only the evidence and arguments, but an entire essay together. 

The conclusion is not simply a reiterated thesis, but a reinforced one. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it should not introduce any new facts not discussed in the body of a thematic essay. The conclusion has to summarize the information presented in the essay, briefly going over the main ideas or claims and explaining how they influence your thesis. Finally, it should wrap up your essay in the most meaningful way, emphasizing the significance and relevance of your topic.

Thematic Essay Examples

Check the examples of thematic essays to use as writing models:

https://www.template.net/business/essay/five-paragraph-essay-template/

Thematic essay topics

To sum up, reading some properly structured thematic essay examples may be the most helpful tip for understanding what your essay should look like, and how to organize your thoughts into a logical sequence. Besides, a list of the most commonly used thematic essay topics is a frequent search query along with ‘thematic essay examples’, as it helps students to get an idea of what to expect at exams.

US History Thematic Essay

In this essay, there will be fewer words that address the reader. The purpose of this writing is to present a balanced analysis of a topic based on facts, explaining a topic in a logical and straightforward manner.

US History thematic essay example topics:

• Major movements in U.S. history
• Major advances in U.S. history
• Significant government reforms
• U.S. Presidents and their major decisions 
• U.S. wars and conflicts

Global Regents Thematic Essay 

These topics are likely to feature broad concepts, but they usually include tasks and suggestions that are more specific. In your essay, you are supposed to address this detailed task and the issues, concepts or questions it prompts you to explain or interpret. Using examples from your course of global history or geography is also required in your thematic essay. 

Global Regents thematic essay example topics:

• Impact of colonizations on world history
• Migrations of people and their effects
• Major characteristics of world civilizations
• Cultures and their contributions
• Economic Systems
• Political Systems
• The turning points in history (revolutions, conflicts, wars)
• Revolutions and clashing of ideas
• Revolutions and new discoveries
• Scientific development
• Technological progress
• Human rights: impactful leaders and their ideas
• Human rights violations

Belief Systems Thematic Essay

A belief system is a way a group or an individual regards religious or philosophical principles. The beliefs that have formed major religions or a mainstay of a civilization may be similar or different, but each belief system has influenced the lives of its followers as well as the history, culture, politics, or economy of a specific nation or country.

Belief Systems thematic essay example topics:

• How belief systems influenced ancient civilizations?
• How did a belief form a religion?
• Cultures as systems of interconnections between humans
• The role of religion in Ancient Roman society
• The three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
• Judaism: the first monotheistic religion
• The personal belief system and life values
• Compare Christianity to another religion. Are there more similarities or differences?
• Compare two struggles for religious freedom in different countries and time periods
• What makes all struggles for religious freedom similar?

The bottom line

While students often have difficulties writing thematic essays, these are not the most complicated tasks to complete within a certain course or subject. They just require making a detailed examination of the topic using relevant facts, examples or other evidence that you should be able to find in order to make your arguments more solid, and to show that you have gained a thorough understanding of the topic. However, you mustn’t just summarize the well-known facts or what you have learned from a course or book. In a thematic essay, you are supposed to identify and explain or compare issues, causes, patterns, outcomes, and connections between facts or events as well as their consequences or influences.

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Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

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How to Write a Thematic Essay

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Thematic essays deal with major themes or topics in a society or a country. As a result, they allow students to get aware of what's going on and provide their voice. Additionally, the arguments presented in the essay may have significance in real life. Therefore, theme essays should be a part of every curriculum.

What is a Thematic Essay

Take help from your experience, make internet your best, guidance from other literature pieces, summarize the literature, pick the most prevalent subject, overall significance, tips for choosing the best themes for thematic essays, theme essay outline and draft, introduction, body paragraphs, proofreading and taking advice, belief systems, global regents thematic essay, literary theme paper example, thematic essay introduction example, thematic essay main body, theme essay conclusion.

Many students find the thematic essay definition a bit confusing. What does it mean for a written piece to be thematic?

In this type of essay, you will be required to develop a central theme. Do you remember the words "foreshadowing" "imagery," "personification"? You will be using these to analyze the central theme of the piece of writing you have chosen. Along with the literary devices, you will be proving your interpretations and logical arguments. Let us now move to the outline that you must follow to develop an essay that surpasses your professor's expectations.

Thematic essays work with a social theme of importance. The author uses several literary techniques like metaphors and imagery to get across their point. Additionally, the author explores the theme in-depth and tries to make a general statement. They also highlight a specific issue that should be addressed, backed by the findings of the author.

Authors try to pick a theme that is relevant to society or the present times. They may also present recommendations to deal with the issue for a better future.

Best of all, theme essays allow you to explore the different nuances of culture and society. Therefore, writing the essay also enriches the knowledge of the author.

Thematic essays are generally graded on rubrics.

Theme Essay Steps

To write an excellent thematic essay, choosing a theme plays a crucial part. For this type of essay, some college students tend to go with a vast theme, that shifts the entire paper's focus. On the contrary, some select a particular direction. This is problematic because finding information becomes challenging this way, So, how do you come up with an ideal topic? Here are a few ways you can tackle this challenge.

As a student, you might have had opportunities of working on different types of essays. If you ever worked with a topic suitable for here, utilize it. By doing so, you will save time that would have been spent on additional research, and you will be more educated regarding the route to take. Find relevant notes, pull up saved links, anything beneficial for the essay.

Internet is an excellent source to get your ideal hands-on topics. If you lack the experience and are looking forward to coming up with a theme on your own, this is the next best alternative. However, make sure the topic you select has enough content on it. Also, the resources are authentic and credible.

List down the best literature pieces according to you. Next, skim through each of them. You never know; this might provide you enough inspiration to come up with your idea.

Pick a Central Theme

As stated previously, uncovering the central theme and main subject is the first building block of your thematic paper. Follow the steps below to prevent any mistake in the choosing process:

Identify what the author is trying to convey. Chances are, it will be repeatedly mentioned throughout. All you need to do is stay vigilant and not miss out on the hints that come along the way. It is no rocket science.

First, you need to understand the difference between a theme and a subject. A subject makes up the general topic on which the entire conversation is based. On the other hand, a theme is more of a specific point, and the author tries to establish the subject. This forms the focal point of your essay.

This will be the overall significance of academic writing. What can a reader take away from the essay? What can be applied to personal lives? In short, the lesson learned from this.

Count on your personal experience: A theme that resonates in your life will make the best essay . You are likely to go into depth as the issue affects your lifestyle.

Note down your ideas: Some ideas that come to your mind may seem useless. However, note down every idea as they may seem important at the latest. Additionally, these trivial ideas can give rise to more relevant ideas.

Explore contemporary literature: Reading current literature may give you ample ideas for thematic essays. Additionally, you can use the cues from their essays on themes to strengthen your arguments.

Stay updated on the latest trends: Themes that affect society don't stay the same. At one time, the industrial revolution transformed the world. However, it is not that relevant today in the world of artificial intelligence. Therefore, stay updated on the latest news and trends to choose the most relevant topics.

Look at issues that affect you: This is the best way to choose a topic for a theme essay. You are going to perform well if you take up a theme that impacts your daily life, like waste management.

Your aim has to be creative and vigilant while writing. This is important so that you do not miss out on crucial details. Thus, starting from a draft makes perfect sense. You will always need to go back and revise your work once you are done. Never consider your first copy to be your last. Outline and follow it throughout. A template is okay as well.

One critical piece of advice here is to keep checking your transitions and the flow of the essay. Often, students tend to treat each paragraph as a mini-essay and forget that they have to be cohesive with each other. Excessive wordiness and expression of emotion should be avoided. The tone while drafting this should be neutral. Do not be very formal or informal. It would help if you sounded respectful and sincere.

Thematic Essay Structure and Format

Essay outline should stick to a structure or format for the best results. It also allows the reader to get the vital information quickly and give your essay more importance.

Below is a format you can implement for your thematic essay:

An essay starts with an introduction . The first sentence of the thematic essay introduction paragraph should be as captivating and interesting as possible. It is your first chance to make a good impression on the reader and to catch their attention. This section should highlight background information and all the significant points of the essay. Try being strategic while devising this section. Use practical tools like a dash of humor or start by posing an engaging question. Stating a surprising and exciting fact is also an excellent way to encourage the readers to stay glued to your work. With that said, do not make this paragraph very lengthy. It has to be concise and deliver the main idea about your essay. The last line of your intro paragraph has to be a thematic thesis statement. This is the argument you will be proving throughout your essay. Therefore, don't change the wording of your hypothesis.

This is the essay's main body, where you will be conducting a detailed discussion of the novel's central theme or issue. You will be developing your argument, providing analysis and supporting justifications. Remember that you shouldn't give any baseless sweeping statements as it will weaken your stance and the overall quality of your writing. Keep a checklist of main points so that you don't miss any. Subheadings can come in handy in a theme essay. They will make your content less cluttered. Keep all of the paragraphs of equal length. Start each one with a topic sentence and refrain from adding multiple ideas in a single thematic paragraph. This will help you in producing a quality paper. You can find numerous samples of thematic essays on a writing service website. Please go through them in case you have any confusion.

You may use two, three, or four paragraphs in your body without any problems. However, don’t add unnecessary information to make your essay longer.

Your body should contain the following things like a topic sentence. However, you should state only facts and refrain from presenting your own opinions. Additionally, you can mention names, dates, places, and other information backed by evidence.

Additionally, be descriptive about the points you are presenting in your essay. Moreover, analyze the facts to make the readers make sense of what you want to say.

Most importantly, evaluate the key points in detail. They will go a long way to prove or disprove your hypothesis. Additionally, you should also give examples to elaborate on the points you are presenting in your essay.

One tip is to not overthink your theme thesis. Go over the examples you have included in your essay and pick the best one to explain your hypothesis.

Additionally, you should keep examples simple and use transitory phrases to ensure a smooth flow for a good thematic essay.

After discussing all of the points on how to write a theme paragraph, it's now time for a closing ceremony; keep your essay conclusion crisp and short. Do not give additional arguments or add points that you might have missed earlier. Remember, it must be glued to your content. So, ensure that your content is smooth and has a logical conclusion at the end.

Moreover, your conclusion gives you the power to create robust arguments. You can bring a logical closure to your essay and make your opinion stand out. However, don’t just state the themes again but focus on their analyses and impacts. Moreover, include all the vital arguments in your conclusion. You may even suggest steps to resolve the issue or provide recommendations.

After you are finished with the writing part, you will conduct a two-step reviewing and editing process. First, go through the content and make the necessary changes while cross-checking it with the rubric provided to you by your professor. Next, ask your classmate or a friend to read your essay about themes. Ask them if any part is lacking evidence or if you haven't made a point clear. You can also consult your teacher. They can guide you in case any primary or secondary argument is missing. Since they have read the material or will be familiar with the theme, they can also point out the areas you have forgotten or are worth discussing more. So, this phase is all about making your argument robust and paper detailed. Do not be shy or stingy when adding a lot of points. You can always go back and remove them. It is the "adding" part that is the hardest.

Here is a list that you should keep in front of you are done writing a thematic essay:

• Do not include text that is not making any contribution to your stance;
• Avoid using complicated words;
• Refrain yourself from exaggerating;
• Do not use long sentences;
• Do not submit your theme analysis essay without citing the work that you have used to make your argument stronger;
• Please do not submit the paper without reviewing it twice;
• Make sure that you have used the correct paper structure;
• Run your work through grammar and plagiarism checking software;
• Check the formatting.

Thematic Essay Topics - Choose the Themes Wisely

To give you some inspiration, here are some English thematic topics related to different subjects:

• Is the death penalty ethical? Should it be allowed?
• Can people carry handguns?
• Class fellows make a considerable impression on a child's success in school life.
• Childhood years are the most crucial years of a person's life.
• Video games are good for mental health.
• A person must always consult others for critical decision making.
• Is divorce a solution to marital problems?
• Women should stay at home and should work.
• The role of a political system in a society.
• The changed meaning of philosophy.
• Can an individual control unconscious thinking?
• The roles of Men and Women in society.
• The role of Materialistic values in the modern era.
• Human rights in the 21st century.
• The issue of slavery in America.
• The era of civil war.
• Facts and events of the most critical century in American history.
• Industrialization in the US.
• Periods of the Cold War.
• Then vs. now: modern America.
• The US and the Muslim countries.
• US- Russia relations.
• International organizations.
• UN and USA.
• What is the main idea behind the poem "The Road not taken" by Robert Frost?
• Which themes did Bernard Shaw highlighted in his novel "Arms and the man"?
• What does John Steinbeck mean when he talks about loneliness and isolation in Of Mice and Men?
• What are the themes highlighted in the novel "the great gatsby"?
• Harper Lee discusses "innocence" in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird; what does she mean by it?

Examples on How to Write a Theme Essay

Let’s say we have chosen the theme work from home for our thematic essay. Therefore, your introduction will describe how remote working has become a norm across the world. You will cite statistics, like 70% of the global workforce wants to work from home for a few days of the week. Or many companies have embraced a hybrid working model.

In addition, you will present your hypotheses, such as work from home will stay even if the pandemic goes away. However, you should collect enough information and facts to prove your hypothesis and make it sound. A good theme essay example should thoroughly explain the topic.

Your main body should support your hypothesis. Therefore, it is necessary to present facts and figures that prove your point. For example, research shows working from home can boost the productivity of individual employees.

Additionally, the workforce finds it easy to maintain an optimum work-life balance. Moreover, businesses also save on costs like overheads when they allow remote work.

Most importantly, remote work reduces the stress of daily commute to work. It also lets employees work at their convenience without compromising time.

With some research, you will find ample statistics to show the benefits of remote work.

The conclusion of your thematic essay provides an opportunity to sum up your arguments. You can express how remote working benefits both organizations and employees. Additionally, modern employees prefer flexible working models to balance work and life. These arguments show that working from home is a viable choice for businesses around the world. It can improve performance, reduce costs, and allow businesses to achieve their objectives.

Lastly, you may end your essay with the references you used to make your arguments. You should also use citations for numbers and figures in your essay based on your college’s requirements.

Now that you have gotten familiar with the themes and the essay outline, you will not spend hours on every step. Just drink some hot cocoa, open up this article, and get started!

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How To Write A Thematic Essay: Essential Guide And Example

Table of Contents

What is a thematic essay, how to choose the topic & sources for theme analysis essay, step 1. define the topic in the intro, step 2. create a thematic essay outline, step 3. start the essay with a hook, step 4. write body paragraphs for your theme essay, step 5. create the perfect conclusion.

• ★ The Introduction 
• ★ The Body Paragraphs
• ★ The Conclusion

A thematic essay revolves around a specific theme. Such essays ask writers to identify and explore the theme (s) in a work or subject and elaborate upon them. Some assignments may specify the theme on which to write, but the overall idea remains the same: developing an engaging, cohesive, and revelatory write-up around a central theme.

Writing a theme analysis essay requires minute analysis, careful investigation, and a well-planned approach. Ease up the essay writing process with this expert blog from AllEssayWriter.

Whether you are exploring themes intrinsic to a literary piece or in general,  thematic writing will have to go in deep. As a writer, you cannot let the focus of your essay sway too far from its central theme. Examples, literary devices, the thesis statement, the main points & arguments in the body paragraphs, the background information – every element of such an essay must work together to help readers understand the different nuances and facets of the general theme.

➔ A thematic piece may require you to go through excerpts from some piece of work, identify the underlying theme, and elucidate how that theme permeates that work.

➔ Theme analysis is the primary objective of all thematic essays. You will need to look into all aspects of a theme in-depth – how it's explored in the piece of work or subject under study, as well as its characteristics, applications, implications, etc., in general.

➔ Literary devices play a major role in these kinds of essays. In addition to analysis, literary devices help writers craft engaging and emotive prose.

➔ Provide necessary background information about the theme and the body of work under study. Developing a proper context is crucial before you begin to explain the significance of the theme.

For example, if you are tasked to explore the themes of wealth & class disparity and how they permeate the idea of The American Dream inThe Great Gatsby, you will need to look into themes, both within and without the context of the novel.

Careful analysis of both the theme and the body of work is essential for a holistic analysis of the theme.

➔ Elaborate upon an overarching central theme, the most prevalent subject, the focal point, or the myriad themes/subjects permeating a literary piece. But as you do so, remember to link your analysis with the main subject of the piece.

➔  Do not lose focus when analyzing literary pieces or when writing a thematic paper. There must be cohesion among the main ideas in your essay, relevant information throughout, and proper transitions among all the paragraphs.

 If you are tasked with choosing the topic of your theme essays, then the next section offers some handy tips in that regard.

As is the case of any other essay type, the key to finding or choosing the best thematic essay topics is brainstorming. Go through the essay prompt minutely to determine your approach, understand the essence of the theme/s you need to work on, and then start brainstorming.

• Look for keywords in the prompt. Use them to understand how best to approach and analyze the theme.
• Align your essay topic carefully with the theme you are about to explore. It may seem tough, especially when your essay question does not refer to any specific literature.
• Go through the thematic essay examplesat our website or anywhere else, and you will notice how every one of them is more analytical than descriptive.
• Brainstorm ideas about how to approach and investigate the theme and associated piece of work. Determine the kind and extent of research necessary and scope out relevant sources of information.
• Finding the most pertinent information sources is as important as choosing the right topic. Whether your chosen themeis the central theme or main point of a body of work or one amongst many, it is best to look into other literary pieces that revolve around the theme of your analysis or explore it to a certain extent. This is because themes are generally universal and pervade across all forms of communication media, not just a particular literature. Drawing connections with other works is, thus, important for conducting exhaustive analysis.
• Suppose you are about to write a theme essayon the human-inflicted environmental crisis in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The majority of your essay will obviously revolve around Steinback's masterpiece. Still, it would be best if you also explored how other literary works have explored the theme.  

It’s best if you list out the different works related to the trope you are exploring.

If you ever need to write a theme essay exploring the subject of man-made environmental crisis in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, a great supplementary piece of work can be Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Environmental crisis due to human activity is the primary subject of both these iconic American novels.

• Make sure to narrow down your options as you are brainstorming for your theme essay topic. Most major pieces of work encompass a variety of themes; choose a topic that’s most relevant to the essay question or problem.
• Rack your brain cells and come up with a topic that allows you to highlight the interesting aspects of a theme. If your essay question mentions a particular piece of work, use it to build your ideas. If not, do some more brainstorming and research & find the best & most relevant sources to investigate in your theme analysis piece.
• Once you are ready with the topic, have found the best possible sources, and developed tentative ideas, start working on the outline. Start developing the first draft as you are developing the outline.

The next section offers a step-by-step breakdown of the writing process by professional writers of AllEssayWriter. But if you need someone to explain the process or provide urgent help with finding a topic, do connect with our   essay writing service  today.

Strugllling to Choose Thematic Essay Topics, Get Help!

How to Write an Essay about Theme Analysis? A Step-by-Step Breakdown

If we consider all things, then writing is the least complicated of the essay development process. And we are not just talking about thematic pieces but essay writing in general. Nevertheless, here's a quick and systematic breakdown of the process for developing thematic essays.

The introductory paragraph of a thematic piece is not much different from that of any other type of essay. Start with a hook statement that grabs attention right away. Then, provide the necessary information to develop context and acquaint readers with the what, why, and how of your writing. Discuss the motif you are about to explore. If you are referring to a piece of work, then make sure to discuss it in light of your essay's themes.

The thesis statement plays a crucial role in helping your readers understand the specific point you are trying to make. It sets the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the write-up, and all body paragraphs must align with it. Craft one that acts as a thematic statement for your piece; through it, tell your readers the overall significance of your theme analysis.

The thematic essay format/outline is also not that different from other essay types. Go through any thematic essay example on our website, and you will find →

• An introduction with a thesis statement
• Five paragraphsin the main body (can differ as per requirements)
• A conclusion

Keep things brief when you are developing the outline. Add the main points, the primary logical arguments, and major pieces of evidence. Make sure it is easy to follow so that you do not have to spend time pondering how and where to add your ideas when writing.

The purpose of an essay’s introduction is to grab a reader’s attention and then lure them in. Hook statements are the perfect literary mechanisms to capture the attention of any audience.

In the first sentence of your essay's introduction, employ quotations from the work whose theme/s you are exploring. You can also add eye-catching facts and stats, an unexpected statement, wordplay, or different literary devices to grab and hold readers' interest.

Literary devices play a significant role in a theme essay. You will have to use different kinds of them to help your readers realize the potentiality of the theme you are exploring and distill their emotions.

Elaborate upon all aspects and nuances of your essay's topic. Analyze how it is explored in the work that you are directly referring to. Look into the other works that involve the trope of your essay. They are the sources from when you find the evidence to support all the ideas, claims, and logical arguments in your piece.

Use examples as you elaborate and analyze. Use your knowledge of literary devices to craft a compelling narrative and establish a connection with your audience. Here are some of the most common literary devices used in these essays →

• Foreshadowing
• Parallelism
• Personification

Cohesion is critical. Ensure a seamless flow among all the ideas you present. Add effective transitions between the main paragraphs. Do not add any extraneous information or swerve off-topic.

Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence that touches upon a specific aspect of the main theme. If need be, follow the TEEL or PETAL paragraphing techniques to develop tight and engaging paragraphs. Keep in mind that the focal point of all your body paragraphs and the entire essay, for that matter, must revolve around the central theme of your essay.

Conclude your essay emphatically. A thematic essay conclusion must not be just a summary of the key points but an insightful closing excerpt that highlights the significance & implications of your theme analysis.

Do NOT try to explain or add any new information here. Instead, restate the thesis statement, answer the essay questions, and highlight the primary arguments. If you have dug into an intricate topic, then you can elucidate things further. You can also suggest certain recommendations for your readers.

Those were the five key steps in a thematic essay development process. We hope it comes in handy when you write a quality essay. Please go through the thematic essay examples on our website as you read this blog, and connect with us for expert help with a thesis statement, introduction, conclusion, main body, or any other aspect of the writing process.

Get Help from Expert Thematic Essay Writers

We wrap things up with a concise breakdown of a generic essay outline.

Elucidating a Theme Essay Outline for Comprehensive Understanding

★  the introduction  .

○ Start with an attention-grabbing hook statement.

○ Develop the context and background.

○ Talk about the theme/topic as well as any work that you are directly referring to.

○ Craft a strong thesis statement that sets the mood & atmosphere for your essay and helps readers understand your approach, mindset & intent.

★  The Body Paragraphs

○ Add relevant examples about the theme from all the body of works you are referencing. Use them to substantiate your elaborations.

○ Note the characters, events, and plot points in a work that revolve around the theme.

○ Use literary devices to make things engaging and help the audience connect easily.

○ Thread the key ideas of your analysis as well as any argument together using the thesis statement as your guide.

○ Topic sentences must state clearly the idea/s in a paragraph. No one paragraph must be similar to the other.

○ Do not overuse any specific type of literary device.

○ Make sure to answer all the questions related to the prompt.

★  The Conclusion

○ Wrap things up nicely by restating the thesis statement and presenting acute insights about your analysis.

○ Do NOT add any new information here.

○ Write to leave a lasting impression. Do not just summarize the points in the main body.

○ Close the conclusion with a global analysis, another hook, or some recommendation.

That’s about it for this write-up. Hope this acts as a helpful guide whenever you get down to writing a thematic article. Whether you are writing on belief systems, human rights, or the impact of the death penalty, use this blog to guide your planning, research & analysis, and writing.

And if you are looking to buy an essay  crafted by certified professionals, then share your requirements with us today!

FAQs About Thematic Essay

What is the main point of a thematic essay.

The main idea behind these essays is all about elaborating upon a theme from some literary work or anywhere else for that matter. Study any thematic essay example from our website to better understand the nature and features of a good thematic essay. Also, go through this article carefully for a clearer understanding.

What is the definition of thematic essays?

The formal definition can be written as follows - an eloquent piece that investigates all aspects of a particular theme in detail, generally in light of a literary work. Go through this article as well as every example on our website for better understanding.

What should be included in the introduction of a thematic piece?

The first sentence of the introduction should always include hook statements. Next, you need to add the necessary contextual information, a concise overview of the motif under exploration, and an emphatic thesis statement. Read this article thoroughly to develop a general idea about crafting intriguing introductions.

How to write a conclusion for a thematic essay?

As mentioned in this article, the conclusion should be no less attention-grabbing than any other aspect of the piece. Present insights of your theme analysis, but do not add any new information. Most students find it easy to write the conclusion and introduction in tandem; you can try it, too.

How long should a theme essay be?

It all depends on the requirements. Almost every example on our website comprises an introduction, five paragraphs, and a conclusion. If you have any doubts, consult with your professor or supervisor.

What should you do during the revision stage of a thematic piece?

Check for cohesion & the usage of transitions, the prominence of the thesis statement, the impact of every literary device employed, and how well the piece communicates the overall significance of the theme. Revise everything thoroughly and then edit & proofread. Check whether the main idea of every body paragraph aligns with the corresponding topic sentence.

Use this article as your guide, and go through each example on our website to develop clear ideas.

Which would you not include in your first draft of thematic essays?

It is best not to add any suggested insights in the first draft of your paper. Review what you have written again, connect everything to the question, and examine your analysis again before adding such insights.

Bella Phillips As a passionate blogger for Essay Help USA by #1 Writing Expert 50% Off.I am currently employed at a leading Business Law firm in White Plains. I am associated with Allessaywriter.com for several years and helping the Law students with their essays.

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How to Write a Thematic Essay

What is a thematic essay.

A thematic essay is a type of essay where the writer develops the main theme in literature using particular literary devices like personification, imagery, metaphor, and so on. The significance of the theme should be expressed by the writer. The main challenge for writing this type of essay is that each writer has his or her own interpretation of the central theme. In any case, a good thematic essay should include logical arguments supported with literary devices – you should know these facts whether you are going to write an essay yourself, and if you are going to order an essay .

How to choose a thematic essay topic

How to write a thematic analysis essay in 6 steps

• Prepare for writing . Find the source material that you are going to use (such as abstracts of read literature, recording the results of discussions, or your own considerations about the theme). It is important to process the available source material (its organization, reasoning, and arguments) in the proper way.
• Take notes when reading. When you are taking notes, you pay attention (after making the appropriate decision) to those moments that are key (literary devices in our case). While making notes, you select the relevant material and develop your understanding of literary devices which are used.
• Write an introduction. It should include a summary of your understanding and approach to the answer to the question. It is very useful to cover what you intend to do in the essay (your goals), and how you are going to analyze the theme. Presenting literary devices themselves should be given in the main part of your essay. Write a thesis statement that will grab the reader’s attention.
• Write the main section. This part assumes the development of your analysis. This consists of the main content of your essay, and this is the main difficulty: you have to substantiate (logically, using examples) the analysis you are proposing. Filling the sections with your analysis, limit within the paragraph the consideration of one main idea.
• Write a conclusion. The final part of the essay may include a brief summary of your analysis, but try to make it very brief. Don’t include any new information in your conclusion. Restate the thesis statement that you have included in the introduction. Summarize the main claims from your body paragraphs.
• Edit the essay. Reviewing the first draft is of great importance to writing an essay. When writing a draft, your main task is to develop analysis, refine the basic ideas, and arrange them in a strict sequence, accompanying them with examples. After writing the first draft, leave it for a day or two, and then go back to work on checking and improving, with a fresh mind. When checking, first of all, pay attention to the strength of your analysis. Does the essay you completed coincide with your intentions you had before writing? Is it coherent and convincing? Are the examples used enough?

Thematic essay sample

You, apparently, want to get a good grade for your thematic essay, and a sample can help you with that. We want to present you a thematic essay sample on relationships between a human and a dog in the novel “The Call of the Wild.” Get some ideas from it if you want to write a quality paper and get a good grade.

How Is the Relationship Between Human and Dog Presented in the Novel The Call of the Wild ?

Connected Feelings

Dog is man’s best friend. This is considered a cliché because we all know the “uses” of dogs in our lives. They can be guard dogs, hunting dogs, herding dogs, guide dogs, and police dogs (“Dog”). Clearly, it is not different with what Buck’s responsibilities are. Normally, humans return the devotion with friendship. But is the friendship offered by the owner enough in return for the adoration a dog gives? In the story Call of the Wild , a human showed that we, people, can give more than just friendship and companionship.

At the start of the story, we can see the importance of Buck to Judge Miller’s family was not simply as a pet to be pampered but more likely to be a reliable companion and protector. Buck and his father Elmo were consistent hunters and protectors of the residence. No wonder they were treated well, resulting in good experiences for Buck with men. Unfortunately, one life-changing experience showed him of the fiercer way of life.

We see how the people treated dogs ruthlessly. They forced dogs to pull heavy weight despite their tiredness and the cold weather. Dogs were not compensated enough with sleep and food even though they worked hard throughout the day.

Heaven came to Buck and his mates when they met their savior through the personality of John Thornton. For the first time, he experienced a passionate love he never felt from his former owner Judge Miller. Thus, Buck returned to his master Thornton with total devotion. However, one day, Thornton died. With a devastated and broken heart, Buck took his revenge for his master and then joined a pack of wolves. Despite his new wild life, he always returns to the place where Thornton died to mourn for his one-of-a-kind, loving master.

At the end of the story, we can see that time and death never became a hindrance for the dog to show his connected feelings with his master. Indeed, loyalty is not the only thing a dog can give. The dog can also shower its owner with unconditional love and adoration. It is no wonder that Robert Wagner, an American actor, quoted, “A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.”

Works Cited

“Dog.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 12 Oct. 2017. Web. 13 Oct 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog London, Jack. The Call of the Wild . 1903. Ibiblio. Web. 14 October 2017, https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/London/Call%20of%20Wild.pdf

How to find a central theme

The core of a thematic essay is finding the central theme. Not every student can handle this task. Here are some tips that can help you to choose wisely.

• Think about the core element of the book that you are analyzing. Usually, this is not a problem, as the author makes the core idea clear. To paint a clear picture here, we advise you to take notes. Stay focused in order not to miss important things that may help you to write your essay.
• Differentiate the theme from the subject of the work under analysis. The general topic of the conversation is a subject. For example: love, hate, or brevity. A theme is more specific and is based on the subject.
• To understand what the essence of the essay presents, look at the point that is brought up often in the book.
• Find out what the main point is that the author tries to present. Don’t worry if you can’t see this point immediately.
• One of the most important things is overall significance. Think about how a reader can benefit from the author’s message and what lesson he or she can learn.

Tips for writing a thematic essay

• Have you carefully read the relevant literature (chapters from books and other sources relevant to the theme)? Did you read the question carefully? Have you thought about what the approach will be for writing a thematic essay? These questions should be answered before you start writing your paper.
• You should develop a detailed plan for your writing before you start your work.
• The essay should be written according to the teacher’s requirements and academic rules.
• The introduction should be concise and correspond to the topic.
• You should formulate one clear main question in each paragraph.
• Paragraphs should be presented in logical sequence.
• Your claims and examples should be used effectively.
• Reference to the sources should be presented correctly.
• You should avoid descriptions without analysis.
• The conclusion should be concise and relevant.
• Don’t forget to make a bibliography indicating all reference materials.
• Keep in mind that you should hand in your essay at the appointed time.

How to analyze the prompt

You need to carefully read the teacher’s instructions. You may be faced with the following tasks:

 – To discuss. You need to make observations using arguments, logic, statistics, and so on.  – To describe. You need to use numerous details to illustrate the topic.  – To show. You need to point out something, to state your opinion.  – To explain. You need to present things in an understandable manner using reasons and causes.

Mistakes to avoid in writing a thematic essay

• You are unable to answer the question.
• You organize your answer badly.
• You are not able to adhere to the answer to the main question.
• You don’t include enough examples.
• You present too extensive a narrative, which is not backed up by analysis.You state other
• points of view without expressing your own position.
• You repeat your thoughts unnecessarily.

We hope that you get much inspiration to write a thematic essay on your own. Using this guide, prepared by our essay writer online , is the best option to write a quality paper. You can always look for ideas in the samples we present on our site. Having a guide and samples is the simplest and most reasonable way to write a good paper on any topic.

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What is a Thematic Essay?

A thematic essay is based on a specific question or theme. A writer will develop a main idea or a theme around which the whole essay will revolve. The writer answers certain questions related to the opted idea and explain using certain literary devices. These devices could be:

• Personification.
• Comparison.
• Foreshadowing.

A writer will reveal the primary subject and explain all the literary devices used in the text, and express the significance of the theme. For example, this article is itself a thematic essay as the basic purpose or the idea behind this article is to help you write an essay.

How do you write a Theme Essay?

To write a theme essay, you should follow the following tips:

• Paragraphs should be five or more depending upon the theme. A minimum requirement is five paragraphs.
• Brainstorm ideas at first.
• It must include a thesis statement or the topic sentence.
• Introduction must elaborate the thesis statement.
• Main body must discuss the literary devices used.
• Add relevant supporting details to the main body that defend your theme.
• Conclusion should be precise and finishes off the essay stating the overall significance.
• Be relevant and precise.
• Add necessary examples where needed.
• Refer to the author and avoid giving your personal opinion.

Thematic Essay Outline

The outline of a thematic essay is similar to the general essay writing. It includes an introduction, main body, and the conclusion.

How do you introduce a Thematic Essay?

Introduction is the heart of every essay. It should not involve any stories but must be relevant, precise, and interesting for the reader. An introduction will decide that the reader would further go through the essay or not. A weak introduction might not get the attention of a reader but a strong introduction will definitely get the interest of the reader. These are some basic tips that will help you in developing a strong introduction:

• Select a relevant topic.
• First sentence should be a hook statement. A good hook statement will grab the reader’s attention instantly.
• Provide necessary background information after the hook statement. This will help the readers to better understand your claims in the rest of the text.
• Now add a thesis statement. The statement should summarize the main idea or theme of the essay.
• The thesis statement should be well researched and related to the theme.

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The  body paragraphs  of a thematic essay follow strict formatting.

• Every paragraph must represent a literary device.
• Every sentence should have author’s name and his connection to the claim you are making along with a literary device.
• The easiest way to strengthen your claims is to insert examples from book.
• You can add quotations or actions relevant to the theme of the essay.
• Literary devices are necessary to use as they reduce the risk of losing the focus of the essay.
• Be precise and do not give your own opinion as this is an expository essay.

For the  conclusion:

• Never add new information to the conclusion even if it is related to the topic.
• The conclusion must summarize what you have explained in the body paragraphs.
• Use you thesis statement at first with a transition like “in a nutshell”
• Summarize the three most important claims and briefly discuss how these claims influence the thesis statement.
• Lastly, add an overall concluding sentence that gives a wide analysis of the discussion.

Animal farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is a political allegory inspired by the rise of Soviet communism. The farm animals create a political philosophy called Animalism. It is idyllic at first, but is twisted and abused until it becomes a force of oppression used by the ruling class (the pigs).

One of the most important themes in Animal Farm is that of class conflict. Old Major encourages the animals (the working class) to rebel against the humans (the upper class leaders). Their initial attempts to create a utopian society are foiled by the power-hungry Napoleon, who declares that “some animals are more equal than others” and becomes indistinguishable from a human.

Truth becomes an important theme in the novel, particularly when Napoleon relies on the eloquent pig Squealer to spread lies in the form of propaganda. Squealer’s lies manipulate the animals and consolidate Napoleon’s power.

Animal Farm perhaps works best not as a specific allegory of the Russian Revolution but rather as a fable about the basic nature of human beings, both in isolation and in groups, which militates against any utopian ideal. What Orwellhas seized upon is precisely those qualities of animals that humans share which make such an ideal impossible—qualities such as sloth, stupidity, fear, and greed. The central irony of the fable is that although the animals initially rebel against the humans because of behavior which humans usually call “beastly,” the animals themselves, as the work progresses, become more and more like humans—that is, more and more base and beastly.

This is not the complete essay but just an extract for your guidance. This essay is based upon a novel regarding the Russian Revolution. Other topics that can be chosen are:

• Belief systems.
• Global reagents.
• History related topics.

Bottom Line

From the above example you might be clear about thematic essay. We have tried to be as clear as possible and hope that this would help you in writing a theme essay. Being a student, you must remember the above stated rules and do not forget to add at least five paragraphs in your essay. Be precise and relevant as much as you can. Do not vague as the reader would lose interest. Avoid giving your personal opinion and add the author’s name and elaborate the literary devices used. For the introduction, a hook statement would give you bonus points.

Writing Theme: The Simple Way to Weave a Thematic Message into Your Story

by J. D. Edwin | 0 comments

Does the concept of “theme” confuse you? Do you have trouble writing a strong theme, or weaving a theme into your story? How do you write a theme in literature? 

If theme confuses you, you’re not alone. Lots of writers struggle to identify a theme in their book—and many don't even know what thematic message the are communicating through their story until a second or later draft.

The good news is, there are writing tips you can use when weaving a thematic message (or two) into your story. I'd like to share three simple ways to do this.

Why Writing Theme Was Difficult for Me (And How I Overcame This)

I remember the days back in high school English class when I dreaded writing essays on the common themes of books and stories.

There was one particular book that always lingers on my mind, Cold Mountain. I did not understand this book in the least, and when asked about theme, I picked a random sentence that sounded nice and called it a thematic statement. It wasn't one. It was about rocks—not the human condition.

As I grew and developed my skills as a writer, the concept of inserting a theme into a story eluded me.

A theme, after all, is an important story element when writing a novel .

It’s often abstract and vague, and yet it’s supposed to fit every part of your story and tie it all together.

How can you fit this big, confounding idea into your story and keep it consistent throughout, especially when writing a book?

Believe it or not, there is a way!

It wasn’t until the last few years that I finally began to understand how exactly a theme should fit into a story, and that—as it turns out—writing theme isn’t that complicated at all.

When Writing Theme, First Ask Yourself: “What is a Theme?”

A central theme is the main idea or underlying meaning that an author explores in a novel. There can be multiple themes in a story, but each of them says something big about the story's lesson, and what readers can take away from the book.

Does this seem confusing, or ambiguous? Let’s make it simpler:

A theme is an idea that recurs in a story.

That makes a little more sense. But let’s break it down even further.

A theme is a message you keep reminding your reader because it's what the story is really about.

That means a theme is a message that says, “Hey, by the way, just so you remember, this is what I’m trying to tell you. I want you to read this story and remember this .”

You sprinkle this message throughout your story like seasoning on a dish, through description, through dialogue, and through choices made by your characters.

But when writing theme, how do you choose your story's theme(s)? And even after you choose them, how do you weave them into your story's scenes ?

How to Choose Your Story's Theme

Your theme doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be one sentence, a simple phrase, or just one word. In fact, the simpler and more straightforward the theme, the better.

Think of your theme as the one idea you want your readers to keep in the back of their minds during and after reading the story.

For an example, let’s pretend we are going to write a story about an old woman recounting the long life she’s lived.

The theme we want to convey is “passage of time.”

But what does this mean? What will this say about your character experiencing your story, and how can you make this clear to the reader without being overly obvious? What will my story say about the passage of time?

Weaving Theme in Your Story

When writing theme, and then weaving it into your story, begin by identifying words relevant to your theme.

In the example we’ve selected, many words tie to the concept of time, such as:

• Clocks/watches
• Ahead/behind
• Birth/death

Once you identify these words, weave them into your story. This is something that may feel difficult when you first draft your story, but can be done fairly easily in future drafts or during editing.

Let’s take a look at how we can weave this theme of passing time into our story. Imagine this scene:

Doris sat on the creaky bench at the bus stop. The shops down by Main Street had changed from what she remembered. Old McLaren’s barbershop had become a trendy boutique, and the high school where her children attended had been knocked down and rebuilt twice since they graduated. A bike lane had been added to accommodate the increase in cyclers. Biking seemed to have made a comeback. The city bus pulled up with a groan. The tired-looking driver popped the door and gestured to her. “Come on now, I got a schedule to keep.” Doris rose, wincing at her aching bones, and dragged herself onto the bus, where she chose a seat near the back window and watched the city she no longer recognized scroll by outside.

This passage conveys what the story wants to say about time, but something feels weak about it.

It’s loose, like a series of thoughts and descriptions that has a central idea but not quite. To change that, let’s review our theme-relevant words above and take another crack at it.

Here we go:

The ancient bench creaked under Doris as she put her weight on it. It needed a coat of paint badly, but the fast-paced city couldn’t be bothered to pause and refurbish every run-down bus stop. It certainly had time though, Doris thought, to take down and replace all her old haunts. Old McLaren’s barbershop had become a trendy boutique last fall, and the high school where her children attended had been knocked down and rebuilt twice since they graduated at the turn of the century. A bike lane had been added to accommodate the increase in cyclers. Biking was big in the ‘80s, and now the hipsters have brought it back. The city bus pulled up with an exhausted groan. Compared to the bus stop, the old machine looked even worse for wear. The driver with deep lines over his brows popped the door and gestured to her. “Tick-tock, lady. Got a schedule to keep.” Doris rose, wincing at her aching bones. Perhaps she ought to lose weight, she thought to herself, but it was more a flight of fancy than anything – the days when she could still hit the treadmill in between busy work days and long nights partying were far behind her. She dragged herself onto the bus, started to sit in the first available seat, then changed her mind and moved to a quieter spot near the back window, where she settled down heavily and watched the city she no longer recognized scroll by outside.

Does this passage feel more interesting? More emotive? Paints a clearer picture?

The reason is because the theme of time comes through, not only for Doris, but in the poorly maintained bus stop (ancient; contrast against the fast-paced city), the passing of seasons and time (fall, turn of the century), and word choices (tick-tock).

The bus is an old machine, the driver has lines over his brows, the old trend of biking comes full circle, and Doris is no longer the young buck she once was.

Then, instead of sitting in the most convenient seat, she chooses one in the back, a quiet spot that contrasts against her former busy, noisy life of working, gym, and parties.

Every part of this passage now emphasizes time, using words that call to mind clocks, seasons, fast and slow, old and young. Not only does it bring forth the theme and message more strongly, it also makes the story more vivid, tight, and emotional.

Writing theme—specifically the passage of time—in this example takes on new meaning because the context of the story's character, perspective, setting, and conflict all points back to the character's relationship with time itself.

The theme becomes more purposeful because the theme, the passage of time, has a purpose in how the character experiences her surroundings.

Writing With a Theme Makes a Difference

Fitting a theme to your story doesn’t have to be complicated.

By breaking it down to relevant words wrapped around a central idea, you can sprinkle it all throughout your book and reiterate your message to your readers in a subtle, consistent manner.

Writing with a theme can seem daunting, because it feels like everything you write has to fit this one central idea. But the truth is, deciding on a theme can actually help making the writing process easier.

There are a million ways to describe a particular tree your character encounters on their walk. Is it tall? Beautiful? Ugly? Majestic? Inconvenient? Knobbly? But with a theme in mind, you can quickly narrow down the appropriate words to use.

A theme of time, as mentioned above, might lead you to describe the tree as “ancient”, or “a young sapling,” or “bent like grandmother's back.” A different theme, such as young love, might lead you to describe it as “a meeting place of lovers,” or “swaying gently like a lady's hips.”

Instead of being a burden or extra consideration, a theme can work with you and serve as your guide.

And remember, you shouldn't overthink (or overdo) a theme. Plenty of writers don't even know their story's theme until after they've written their first draft.

Still, you need a theme to make a story resonate with your reader after they finish your book. And using the simple tip for writing theme (and weaving it into your scenes) discussed in this post will strengthen your revisions—and the messages making your story memorable and meaningful.

Have you come across themes in your past readings that really resonated with you? Share in the comments below.

First, pick a theme and list out five to ten words relevant to it. Really think about what it would take to integrate these words into a story. Take five minutes to choose your theme and list your words.

Now, take ten minutes to write a blurb that communicates the theme above using the words you listed to inject your message into the story.

When you're done, share your theme and your blurb in the Pro Practice Workshop here . And be sure to support your fellow writers by commenting on what they share, too!

J. D. Edwin

J. D. Edwin is a daydreamer and writer of fiction both long and short, usually in soft sci-fi or urban fantasy. Sign up for her newsletter for free articles on the writer life and updates on her novel, find her on Facebook and Twitter ( @JDEdwinAuthor ), or read one of her many short stories on Short Fiction Break literary magazine .

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How to Write a Clear Theme Statement (with Examples)

Have you been asked to write a theme statement? It might seem easy at first glance, because theme statements are so short — one sentence, or two at most. Coming up with a solid theme statement requires careful analysis, however. Here's how to write a strong theme statement for any work of art.

Theme Statement Basics

A theme is, in works of art, literature, film, and TV, the one overarching idea that defines the work. No matter the plot and the sub-themes explored in the work, the main theme will shine through in everything the work deals with. A theme statement is a short summary of that idea — a single sentence, or sometimes two, that lay the subject out for an audience.

Theme statements are helpful tools when analyzing a work. In the case of novels, movies, and TV shows, they can also be used to draw potential audience members in without spoiling the work — because (and this is important, so listen up!) a theme statement is not a plot summary, and should never mention specific plot points !

A good theme statement describes the essence of a work, but not its details. It describes the whole work, and not only one particular part of it.

Here's one example:

In the Amazing Spider-Man 2, Marc Webb shows that with great power, there must not only come great responsibility, but also great sacrifice.

Theme statements are, however, to an extent open to interpretation. Works of art often have multiple themes, and you can write an accurate theme statement in a few different ways.

Theme Statement Vs. Theme Topic

If you find yourself needing to craft a theme statement, you may struggle with this question. How does a theme statement differ from a theme topic? Understanding the similarities and differences is quite easy, thankfully. Look at it like this:

• A theme topic simply describes the theme of the work — and although there are many, some common examples include "rags to riches", "coming of age", or "true love".
• A theme statement, in contrast, is a complete sentence (or even two), with some additional information and an interpretation about the way in which the work (film, book, painting, poem...) deals with the theme topic.

As an example, "love conquers all" would be a theme topic. "The central theme in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is that only love can prevail across space and time," would be a theme statement.

How to Write a Theme Statement

Are you still lost? Are you no closer to writing a killer theme statement now than when you started reading? That's where this step-by-step guide comes in. Warning: Penning a high-quality theme statement requires a deceptively large amount of work and creative power.

1. Explore the Work Thoroughly

Theme statements may be written about:

• Short stories

Your first step lies in interacting with the work — and to keep things simple, let's say you're writing a theme statement about a novel. Read the work thoroughly, cover-to-cover, at least once. It helps if you take notes as you read.

2. Make a List of the Theme Topics You Discover

As you read, you will inevitably discover that the book contains multiple sub-themes. Get yourself a nice notebook, or set up a Word document, and write down any theme topic you come across.

Which one bleeds through in the entire work? That will be the main theme. From the main challenge the protagonist faces and the way in which they overcome it, the interactions the characters have, the language used, and the way in which the setting is described, can you guess the author's opinion on this central theme? Now you have a solid base to work with.

Reading the book closely, and asking yourself what message it's sending, is the way to find a theme in a literary piece. That same process works for movies, TV shows, and short stories as well. Finding the theme in a painting or poem can be significantly more challenging, however.

3. Explore the Author’s Thoughts

The work you are interacting with, and are attempting to write a theme statement for, is of course the main place where you will be exploring the author's thoughts on the book's theme topic. It is not, on the other hand, your only possible source of information. Especially if you are writing a theme statement for a more recently-written book, you are highly likely to be able to find:

• Interviews in which the author shares their thoughts on the character's main struggles and the ultimate meaning of the literary work.
• Social media blurbs on the topic.
• Don't discount the synopsis on the back of the cover, either! You'll often find a lot of good info there.

4. Use a Template or Theme Statement Generators

Congratulations! The book you are writing a theme statement for has now become, at the very least, an "acquaintance", and maybe even a "friend". You have immersed yourself in the book's overarching theme, and you have intellectually analyzed the book, at least informally in your own mind.

Still not sure how to write a theme statement? You could look for theme statement templates or theme statement generators on the internet, and find some useful tools. You could also work with the following informal template:

The [film/book/poem/etc] [title], by [author] explores [main theme], showing that [main opinion or message about the theme].

Once you're done filling in the blanks, get to work on rewriting that sentence to make it sound a lot more appealing.

You could start your sentence with:

• [Name of the work] masterfully explores how....
• The main theme of [Title] is that...
• [Name of author's] work [Title] shows that...

Once you have penned a theme statement you wholly agree with, and you feel confident that it reflects the spirit of the work, you will only need to format it and incorporate it, where relevant, into a wider essay you are writing about the work.

Good Examples of Theme Statements

Are you still not certain that you are on the right track with your theme statement? It always helps to see some examples in action.

Theme Statements Exploring Family

The remake of the classic show Lost in Space sheds a new light on an age-old struggle — exploring each member's individuality in relation to the family unit.

E.B. White's Charlotte's Web illustrates that "family" is not necessarily the group one is born into, but a group that chooses to stick by one another unconditionally, no matter what struggles lie ahead.

Theme Statements Dealing with Friendship

Stranger Things is ultimately about the enduring power of friendship — which can, with the right dose of determination, overcome almost anything.

Spider-Man Far from Home deals with some of the hardest aspects of friendship, asking what lengths we are morally obliged to go to to protect those we love.

Theme Statements Discussing Love

Shakespeare explores the unstoppable force of love, regardless of obstacles, in Romeo and Juliet .

Pride and Prejudice leaves no stone unturned as it boldly discusses the ways in which budding love can change us forever.

Theme Statements About Death

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera demonstrates the power of mortality itself, for it is the guaranteed ending that makes life worthwhile.

Henry Scott-Holland's poem Death Is Nothing At All explores the transitory nature of life.

Theme Statements that Touch on Fear

In Heart of Darkness , Joseph Conrad shows that fear can be used to control — or to overcome.

Sony's Into the Spider-Verse sheds a unique perspective on the universal emotion of fear, showing that our own insecurities often represent our most significant fetters.

Theme Statements about Identity

Good Will Hunting explores the universal themes of abandonment and identity, asking whether trusting others is possible after a lifetime of isolation and fear.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's Secret Garden is a tale of lost souls who are found, and learn to trust themselves in the process.

The book Record of a Spaceborn Few , by Becky Chambers, shows that even the oldest of traditions must sooner or later bend to the harsh tides of history.

Social Issues

Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy grapples with the universal human challenge of injustice, showing that hope can be found in the darkest of places.

The Hate U Give , by Angie Thomas, is a coming-of-age story with a twist. When oppression is a daily reality, Thomas shows, love and unity are the only way forward.

5 Important Tips on Writing a Theme Statement

Are you ready to rock your own theme statement now? Yes — very nearly. Before you do go forward with your final version, you'll want to make sure to stick to a few important dos and don'ts.

When you present a theme statement for a book, movie, TV series, or piece of poetry, see to it that your statement is:

• The best theme statements are the result of the hard work you did in interacting with (reading, watching) the work of art you are writing a theme statement for, and getting to know it intimately. Once you are familiar with the work, you can analyze it and present an authentic opinion on its main theme. Note that others may disagree with you. That is OK, as long as you sincerely believe that your position is correct and can defend it.
• Your opinions in writing your theme statement should flow directly from the literary or cinematic work you are analyzing; don't bring your own baggage into the theme statement if the work does not explicitly tackle it.

As you pen your theme statement, make sure that you don't:

• Offer specifics. This is both so that you can see the "trees for the forest", so to speak, and identify the theme rather than the plot points, and so that you do not spoil the work for people who have not yet read it or seen it.
• Deal in cliches. It's easy. You'll even spot a few in the previous section. If your theme statement is important to you, however, try to toss your preconceived ideas aside and analyze the work's important subject matter in a novel way.
• Don't generalize in your theme statement. Love doesn't "always triumph", for instance.

As long as you keep these points in mind, and you have done the work you need to in analyzing your book, movie, or other piece of art, you will end up with a theme statement you can be proud of.

How to start a theme statement?

You can start a theme statement simply by discussing what work of art you are talking about — "in [this work] authored by [this person]...", or "[Author's] classic book, [title], shows that...". Your readers want to know what you are talking about, after all. Take it from there.

How to write a theme statement essay?

After opening your essay with the theme statement, as you view it after careful analysis, you can discuss the main theme and related sub-themes explored within the work you are analyzing in detail. You may compare the work to other works that deal with similar themes, perhaps in entirely different settings, as well.

How to write a theme in a sentence?

If you follow the format of "who wrote this work", "what's the main underlying topic?", and "why is that important?", you will be able to summarize the theme of a literary or cinematic work in a single sentence. Remember that theme statements may have two sentences, though.

How to write a theme paragraph?

If you were asked to write an entire paragraph, simply explore the work's theme topic in more depth. You should still avoid any specifics, including plot points or character analyses.

Can you find a theme through titles?

Titles can sometimes offer important clues about a work's theme. This is not always the case, however. Some works of art have deceptively unrelated titles.

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A Writer's Handbook

• Introduction
• Purpose & Audience
• Opening Sentences
• Linking Sentences
• Finished Introduction
• Topic Sentences
• Development
• Conclusion Sentences
• Conclusion Paragraphs for Essays
• Essay Writing Organization: The Outline
• Annotating Readings
• General Writing Idea Development
• Rhetorical and Visual Analysis Idea Development
• Character Analysis Idea Development
• Theme Analysis Idea Development

Literary Theme Analysis

Exercise 10, overall tips for literary analysis essays.

• Theory Analysis
• Using the Library
• Using Sources for Illustration or Support
• Using Research for Essays
• Writing About Research
• MLA Handbook Summary for Citations
• Final Thoughts on Essays
• Literary Element Index
• Appendix of Example Papers

A literary theme analysis will synthesize several elements within a work and prove an overall message with those elements.

• Characters:  What kind of people does the story deal with?
• Plot:  What do the characters do?  Are they in control of their lives, or are they controlled by fate?
• Motivation:  Why do the characters behave as they do, and what motives dominate them?
• Style:  How does the author perceive reality?
• Tone:  What is the author's attitude towards his subject?
• Values:  What are the values of the characters in the story?  What values does the author seem to promote?
• The importance of theme in literature can be overestimated; the work of fiction is more than just the theme.  However, the theme allows the author to control or give order to his perceptions about life.
• Think of the possible messages within the story – why was this story told (EX. Harry Potter series has a classic “good vs. evil” theme or even a finding out about one’s true self theme.  Maybe I would look at the symbolic fight between good and evil or at a coming of age story…Harry Potter series also has a look at family relations where blood family is not necessarily a person’s true family…)
• Choose a theme/issue that will be supported with enough examples from text (EX.  Coming of age, Familial vs. adopted relations and how friends and mentors can become family)
• State what you want to present about the theme in the story in the body of the paper

EX:  A true coming of age is seen in the characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.  **Note:  This would be the X, Y, Z thesis

EX: Characters in Harry Potter’s life illustrate the notion that a father figure does not necessarily have to be one’s biological father.  **Note:  This thesis is put into a general thesis format, not X,Y, Z

Find evidence within the work to illustrate your points

Find secondary sources as needed that help you prove your points

Exercise 10:  Brainstorm some possible theme analysis ideas with Harry Potter; start with the following – what could you do with these:

• Notion of competition in children
• Comment on bullying
• Comment on children having to grow up too quickly
• Class difference
• Good versus Evil
• Jealousy among siblings
• Exercise 10: Brainstorming for Theme Analysis
• Be careful not to summarize the story – this is not an analysis
• Find connections and be original in your synthesis
• When using secondary sources, proof of your exact idea may not be readily available – what you will do is use support of individual elements to then address your main thesis idea
• Never use just the author’s first name – use the last name only or both names when discussing the author
• Always use present tense when talking about literature unless something directly happened “in the past” in the literary piece
• << Previous: Character Analysis Idea Development
• Next: Theory Analysis >>
• Last Updated: Jan 3, 2023 9:01 AM
• URL: https://library.jeffersonstate.edu/AWH

• How to Cite
• Language & Lit
• Rhyme & Rhythm
• The Rewrite
• Search Glass

Writing About the Theme of a Book

5 tips in writing about the theme of a book, how to write an essay on the theme of a book.

Every book has a theme and, often, they contain more than one. In order to successfully identify and write about a book's central theme, ​ you need to closely read the text, plan before you write and provide sufficient analysis and direct quotes from the story to support your point. ​

1. Take Notes

​ Take notes on the literary work. ​ Literary themes are implied through elements of the text, so taking notes as you read helps you identify and gather the book's clues. Underlining interesting passages, jotting down questions, marking moments when characters have to make important or difficult decisions and recording instances of symbolism and foreshadowing will deepen your interpretation of the book while also building a toolbox of material to draw from when you write your essay.

2. Find the Theme

​ Find the theme of the story. ​ A theme is a universal idea that is often a reflection on human experience suggested by the text. Often a theme can be gleaned from an evaluation of the circumstances surrounding repeated objects or symbols in the story.

The central theme can also be identified by examining the characters':

• weaknesses,
• and actions.

The theme is not explicitly stated, so your notes are crucial to identifying and evaluating the book's central theme.

Examples of book themes include:

• "death is a part of life,"
• "crime doesn't pay,"
• "all humans need to be loved,"
• "aging is inevitable"
• and "racism harms communities for generations."

3. Formulate the Thesis

​ Formulate the thesis. ​ Once you have determined the theme of the book, you can formulate a thesis statement. The thesis statement conveys a particular point about the theme and how it is manifested in the book.

For example:

For example, you might identify the theme of Paulo Coelho's book "The Alchemist" as "the treasure of human potential." Using that theme, you can write the thesis statement, "Santiago's journey for external treasure was necessary to discovering the treasure that lay inside him."

​ Analyze the theme in your essay. ​ An essay on the theme of a book is a synthesis of your reflections on elements of the story and their relationship to a deeper and broader meaning. The analysis shows how the theme is illustrated in the text and why the theme matters, both in story and in the real world.

Your analysis can examine:

• why characters make specific choices,
• how the book's setting impacts the plot,
• what conflicts exist in the text
• and how those conflicts are resolved.

Most importantly, your analysis should answer the question of why any of these points matter.

5. Gather Quotations

​ Gather quotations for supporting evidence. ​ In addition to analysis, the body of the essay should incorporate evidence to support the the analysis.

Using direct quotes from the novel, you can concretely link the theme to the story with specific examples. The quotes prove the point you are making at that moment.

All quotes must be properly cited and must be accompanied with explanations of how specifically the evidence is a concrete manifestation of the book's overall theme, as well as the essay's overall point.

Soheila Battaglia is a published and award-winning author and filmmaker. She holds an MA in literary cultures from New York University and a BA in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. She is a college professor of literature and composition.

Essays and Short Answer Prompts

The Penn application process includes a personal essay —which is sent to most schools you apply to—as well as a few short answer prompts . We read your words carefully, as they are yet another window into how you think, what you value, and how you see the world. Through your writing, we get a glimpse of what you might bring to our community—including your voice and creativity. 

Remember, you are the expert on your story. This is an opportunity for you to reflect and understand who you are now, and who you want to be in the future. You have the agency to choose the information you want to share. This is your story: your experiences, your ideas, your perspective.   

A Few Writing Tips

• Review the prompts thoroughly.  Be sure you’re answering the question or prompt being asked. Topics are chosen because the Admissions Committee wants to know specific things about you. If you don’t address them directly, we are left to make decisions regarding your application with incomplete information. 
• Consider your response carefully.  We understand that you may be writing responses for different schools and you may want to reuse material, but be sure to read through your response to make sure it is relevant to the prompt. 
• Double-check your writing.  Give yourself time to revisit your response. Try to avoid rushing your writing process so you have time to revise your work. Ultimately, it is up to you to polish and proofread your writing before you submit. 
• Do your research. Are there classes you’re eager to take? Research opportunities you’d love to pursue? A group or club you want to be a part of? This kind of specificity shows us you’re serious about Penn and have thought about how you’d spend your time here. 

2023-24 Short Answer and Essay Prompts

When answering these prompts, be precise when explaining both why you are applying to Penn and why you have chosen to apply to that specific undergraduate school. Some of our specialized programs will have additional essays to complete, but the  Penn short answer prompts should address your single-degree or single-school choice.  

• Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words, not required for transfer applicants) 
• How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words) 
• The school-specific prompt is unique to the school to which you are applying. (For example, all applicants applying to the College of Arts and Sciences will respond to the prompt under the “College of Arts and Sciences” section). Considering the undergraduate school you have selected for your single-degree option, please respond to your school-specific prompt below.  

Transfer Essay (required for all transfer applicants): Please explain your reasons for transferring from your current institution and what you hope to gain by transferring to another institution. (4150 characters) 

Undergraduate School-Specific Short Answer Prompts

For students applying to coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer this question about your single-degree school choice; your interest in the coordinated dual-degree or specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay.  

Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. What do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150-200 words) 

To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about  Penn Nursing’s mission and how we promote equity in healthcare . This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of our values and how they align with your own goals and aspirations. 

The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words) 

To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about the  academic offerings within the College of Arts and Sciences .  This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of how the study of the liberal arts aligns with your own goals and aspirations. 

Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues.  Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it.  (150-200 words) 

To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about  the foundations of a Wharton education . This information will help you better understand what you could learn by studying at Wharton and what you could do afterward. 

Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at Penn. (150-200 words) 

To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about  Penn Engineering and its mission to prepare students for global leadership in technology . This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of academic pathways within Penn Engineering and how they align with your goals and interests. 

Coordinated Dual Degree and Specialized Program Essay Prompts

For students applying to coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer the program-specific essay below. 

** Numbers marked with double asterisks indicate a character count that only applies to transfer students applying through Common App.  

Why are you interested in the Digital Media Design (DMD) program at the University of Pennsylvania? (400-650 words / 3575 characters**) 

We encourage you to learn more about the DMD: Digital Media Design Program . 

The Huntsman Program supports the development of globally minded scholars who become engaged citizens, creative innovators, and ethical leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the United States and internationally. What draws you to a dual-degree program in business and international studies, and how would you use what you learn to contribute to a global issue where business and international affairs intersect? (400-650 words) 

The LSM program aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the life sciences and their management with an eye to identifying, advancing, and implementing innovations. What issues would you want to address using the understanding gained from such a program? Note that this essay should be distinct from your single degree essay. (400-650 words) 

• Explain how you will use the M&T program to explore your interest in business, engineering, and the intersection of the two. (400-650 words) 
• Describe a problem that you solved that showed leadership and creativity. (250 words) 

Describe your interests in modern networked information systems and technologies, such as the internet, and their impact on society, whether in terms of economics, communication, or the creation of beneficial content for society. Feel free to draw on examples from your own experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology. (400-650 words / 3575 characters**) 

Discuss your interest in nursing and health care management. How might Penn's coordinated dual-degree program in nursing and business help you meet your goals? (400-650 words) 

How do you envision your participation in the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) furthering your interests in energy science and technology? Please include any past experiences (ex. academic, research, or extracurricular) that have led to your interest in the program. Additionally, please indicate why you are interested in pursuing dual degrees in science and engineering and which VIPER majors are most interesting to you at this time. (400-650 words)