Try to pick a topic that has three or so aspects that your essay needs to explore and write them down in a draft of a thesis sentence. For example, say you have chosen the topic, "Preseason Football." Three aspects of this topic could include: administrative responsibilities, player practice, and promotion. Once you have arrived at these general topics, can you narrow them more, perhaps dealing with just the players; perhaps: hiring of players, player training, and player promotion of the team. These aspects, when you feel they are precise enough, can then be organized into a thesis statement.

The trick to narrowing a topic is asking yourself: is this subject too broad. Usually, inexperienced writers will answer yes. Narrow your topic until you feel it is too narrow, then you are probably ready to concentrate on a thesis statement.

Now, organize these topics into a thesis sentence: While there are many aspects of preseason football that professional teams must consider, the administrative hiring of players, the physical training of the players, and the public appearances of the players are three of the most important. This sentence, while it may be revised further, represents a good start in narrowing a broad subject into a topic and finally into a workable thesis sentence.

Generally, a thesis should be as specific as possible, letting the reader know exactly what your essay plans to cover�sort of a promise to your audience. While three aspects of a topic is manageable, four or five could work just as well. Be careful not to be too general; remember, detail makes an interesting essay.

Weak Thesis Statements:

A good piece of writing establishes and maintains a clear and appropriate direction. Your topic should clearly relate to the question or assignment. It should not be too broad, too narrow, or irrelevant. if your instructor asks you to write a review of an article on the use of computers in medicine, you shouldn't review an article on computers in modern society even if it discusses their role in medicine; and, of course, you shouldn't review an article on computer imaging in space exploration. Having chosen an appropriate topic, you should stay on topic from beginning to end. In a review of computers in medicine, don't drift into a discussion of the dehumanizing effects of life-sustaining technology in medicine--unless it relates directly to a point about computers. In the traditional expository essay, the focus is usually established by a thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph. But this is not the only way to establish focus; a well-chosen title is often sufficient. For example, if your instructor permits, place the title of your review at the top of the paper (e.g., A Review of "Expert Systems in Medical Diagnosis," James Moltke, Journal of Medical Diagnostics), and then commence directly with the business of summarizing and evaluating the article. This is acceptable as long as your purpose and direction are evident. in any case, make sure that your writing stays on track. (Holt)

How do I decide on a topic? What interests you? What do you know something about? These two questions should figure prominently whenever you write. Writing about something you know and like will not only produce a better, more informed paper, but will also make the writing process less laborious. You can cater your paper to fit any essay assignment and should want to write on a topic, not select one because your professor might like it. Yet, often in Freshman English, you must choose a topic assigned by your professor.

The next step is to figure out if you can develop an essay that fully addresses your topic and the assignment in an orderly, appropriate essay.

What topics are appropriate? Like deciding on a topic, appropriateness depends on whether or not you can adequately cover the topic in the assigned length of the paper. A second consideration should be subject matter. "Topic" is different from "subject matter" in that the former represents a problem, concern, or detailed aspect of of the subject. For example, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is excellent subject matter, but a poor topic because it is too broad for a 800-1000 word paper. Similarly, "Football" would be too broad, but concentrating on a particular aspect of the game, like players' preseason training, would be manageable and more specific, making for a stronger essay.

Use your common sense in selecting your topic. While writing on a controversial subject like pornography would be appropriate, discussing sexual relations in an essay would not. Finally, consider audience when deciding on a topic. Who is reading your paper? Should not your topic appeal to the reader? Absolutely--ignoring your reader's interests will result in a less well-received essay (See No Audience).

What types of essays are there? Open any Freshmen English text and you will see several "types" of essays: comparison and contrast, persuasion, instruction, evaluation, definition, cause and effect, et cetera. While these forms are good exercises for writing, they, usually, by themselves fall short of a complete essay. Instead of considering these forms as different "types" of essays, consider them as techniques, or rhetorical strategies, within an essay.

Can you write a comparison and contrast essay that evaluates or defines its subjects? Of course you can. Remember: all writing is persuasion; the trick is to figure out the different rhetorical strategies a writer uses, evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies, and employ them as necessary in your own writing. Effective writing stems from critical reading and a knowledge of rhetorical devices (see McCuen and Winkler, Chapter 1 and Kennedy, et al., parts one-three).