How to Write a Theme-Based Essay

Writing a theme-based essay can be an interesting exercise as it allows you to prepare to write by structuring your essay in an organized manner. Theme-based essay writing is used in a variety of disciplines and it is a skill you should acquire if you are intent on higher education, as inevitably, this is something that you are going to have to do, that could make a difference to the grades that you achieve.

While theme-based essays tend to be open-ended, meaning that you have the opportunity to reach any number of conclusions based on the slant of your writing, the key to doing well in writing such essays is to have a structure that you are going to follow.

This will require you to organize your thoughts on the particular topic. You can start by asking yourself the simple question of whether you agree with the theme or not. Use this platform to then as why. Based on your responses to this, it will be possible to identify the slant that you are going to use when you write the essay.

Depending on the length of the essay that is required, you should then select between three to five key points that you would like to raise in your essay. To make the decision of which points should be raised, it is always useful to do a little research in order to determine the content that will be used for each of these points.

Once you have this basic outline in place, plan your introduction. Basically, this should entail considerations about what the topic is about and even include definitions if you feel that this will help the reader understand the topic better. The focus of the introduction is broad and not intended to allow the reader to make any decisions at this point.

In order to craft a professional theme-based essay, a basic rule of thumb is to never refer to yourself in the essay. If indeed there are views and opinions that you may want to demonstrate, present these as, “it is suggested that …”, for example.

Once the introduction is done, then decide the sequence in which you are going to present your main points. There are many ways to do this and there is no set rule. The tendency is of course to present them in sequence of priority – whether these are informative or argumentative. If the key points will tend to be argumentative or have alternative views, it is always better to present both sides of the argument so that your theme-based essay comes across as balanced.

Where possible, try to use examples to illustrate what you are explaining, and it is always useful to never assume that the reader already has knowledge about the particular topic of your theme-based essay. The appeal of writing in this format is that anyone reading your work will then be able to grasp even the most complex ideas as you have taken the time and trouble to lay the foundation for the discussion.

In conclusion, take your stand, but again without reference to yourself. Where possible, this should be done in broad terms but if you have a firm view or opinion that you want to share, this is the best place to do it. And of course, without fail, always proofread, spell and grammar check your essay before submitting it.

Have you written theme-based essays in the past? Did you find it difficult? Go ahead and share your both positive as well as negative experience, and even tips on how to do this. 

Categories: Writing Tips   Tags: how to Write a theme based essay