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Focus Your Topic - Direct Your Reader

Example of an unfocused essay topic or subject:

People everywhere all over the world are getting divorced.    • Avoid general words like everyone, nobody, people or everywhere, all over the world, in my country.    • Narrow your topic by asking who, where, when and why questions to arrive at a focused topic:

Examples of focused essay topics:

• The divorce rate in the United States has risen dramatically over the last three decades.    • In the mid-1980s the divorce rate in China began to rise significantly. These focused sentences clearly represent two different essay topics: the rising divorce rate in the United States and the recent increase in the divorce rate in China.

Develop the focused topic into a thesis statement. What do you want to discuss or show about the topic?

The thesis statement includes the topic, an assertion a statement that something is true  about the topic, and an indication of the writer's purpose by giving some direction as to how the essay will discuss and develop the topic. For example, in the above two examples, the writer's purpose might be to discuss the causes or reasons for the rising divorce rate in a specific place or to explain its effects on a particular group of people. The most complete thesis statements include a focused (limited) topic, a main idea  the statement the writer asserts about the topic , and clear supporting points, or subtopics. Each subtopic will become the main idea of a body paragraph that will support the assertion made about the topic.

Examples of focused and well-directed thesis statements showing the essay's purpose and method of development:

• Three main factors have contributed to the rise in the divorce rate in the United States over the last three decades. NoteThe phrase "three main factors" directs the development of the essay. The writer will discuss three causes of the rise in the U.S. divorce rate in three separate paragraphs. • Divorce affects poor women and children in the United States in several adverse ways.  NoteThe phrase "in several adverse ways" directs the essays development. The writer will show the negative effects of divorce on women and children in the U.S. Each body paragraph will show one specific adverse effect. • The divorce rate in China has risen since the mid-1980s due to three changes in Chinese society. NoteDue to three changes in Chinese society tells the reader that the writer will discuss three changes in Chinese society that have contributed to the increase in the number of divorces. Each body paragraph will explain the relationship of one of those changes to the rising divorce rate. • The rise in the divorce rate in China since the mid-1980s has affected the Chinese attitude toward marriage and the family in two important ways. NoteThe phrase, "in two important ways" directs the reader to focus on how the rise in the divorce rate in China has affected attitudes toward marriage and the family. The explanation will require two body paragraphs, each focusing on one effect.