Easy process for formulating a thesis statement

While in the process of writing an essay for the summer reading assignment for high school (which starts on Monday), I decided to look up some useful articles on writing thesis statements, which is still something I struggle with.

My search landed me this excellent article by Dennis G. Jerz, who is an English professor at Seton Hill University, so this information is obviously intended for college students. This is all well and good for me, as despite being a high school student, I want to learn to write a college-level essay rather than a high school-level one.

According to the article, there are three parts to a thesis statement:

• The Topic: The main topic of your essay
• The Precise Opinion: The argument about the main topic of your essay that is presented throughout.
• The Reason Blueprint: The reasons supporting the argument about the main topic of your essay that is presented throughout, which are elaborated on in the body.

Now that I was aware of these three parts, I was now able to begin formulating my thesis statement. Here's where I decided to get a little creative and take my own approach.

~*~

This is the essay question for my summer reading assignment:

If you could be or if you admire any character in the book, whom would you choose? Explain. Support your answer with at least three specific examples from the story.

This question was not specifically chosen for the book, which I chose to be Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but was a general question. As it was, it was a little vague and subjective to answer with a thesis statement, so I doctored it, as follows:

Out of all the characters in the book, which one is the most admirable? Explain and support the answer with at least three specific examples from the story.

Now, I was able to form a thesis statement. I decided to do it by tackling the three pieces in order. I thought of each part as adding on to the preceding step, as follows:

• Topic: R. Walton
• Opinion: R. Walton is the most admirable character
• Reasons: R. Walton is the most admirable character because he is willing to care for a dying man and record his story, he is not afraid to sacrifice his honor and his ambitions, and he puts other people before himself.

Initially, I tried to make Frankenstein my topic, but then I realized that my opinion was about R. Walton, the character, and not the novel itself. When I changed the topic to R. Walton, the process went much more smoothly. This is how I realize that each part merely adds on to the first.

Now, I had a rough thesis statement, all I needed to do now was fix it up a little so that it would make a little more sense to a reader:

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, R. Walton is the most admirable character in the story because he is willing to direct the most of his attention to the emotional support and care of a dying man, he is not afraid to sacrifice his honor and his ambitions, and he puts the safety and desires of other people before his own.

Now I'm ready to use this thesis statement to write an essay!