There are two basic types of main
idea statement: a thesis statement, which is the main idea of an essay,
and a topic sentence, which is the main idea of a major supporting paragraph.
First, when creating a main idea for an essay
or a paragraph, don't settle for just one. Play with it, paraphrase yourself,
invert the phrasing, turn it around, use synonymous terms/phrases. The
key to writing is revision!
Let's say you come up with about 3 to 5 "test"
main idea statements. Turn each one into its "interrogative" equivalent
[click
here for a brief review about sentence types]; a good main idea
statement will ask a good question.
Examples:
Thesis Statements:
Statement: Physical appearance reveals
much about a person.
Interrogative equivalent:
What does a person's physical appearance reveal?
Statement: The actions of Lady Macbeth
in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" compel Macbeth to perform atrocious acts.
Interrogative equivalent: What actions
by Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" compel Macbeth to perform atrocious
acts?
Statement: In Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler,"
Hedda possesses some of the characteristics of the archetypal good mother.
Interrogative equivalent: What characteristics
of the archetypical good mother does Hedda possess in Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler?"
Topic Sentences:
Statement: Posture often reveals much
about a person's personality.
Interrogative equivalent: In what
ways is a person's personality revealed through posture?
Statement: One way Lady Macbeth coerces
her husband to perform heinous acts is to denigrate his status as a man.
Interrogative equivalent: In what
ways does Lady Macbeth denigrate her husband's status as a man?
Statement: One archetypal characteristic
of a good mother that Hedda possesses is a great deal of patience.
Interrogative equivalent: In what
ways does Hedda exhibit motherly, archetypal characteristics of patience
with her children?
Knowlege of the relationship between declarative
and interrogative sentences leads to a great technique for writing
main idea statements because formulating the "interrogative" equivalent
provides multi-benefits: it makes you aware of the question the
audience is going to ask of your thesis, it makes you think
about the question that must be answered (throughout every step of the
process, you want to ask if what you're writing directly or indirectly
focuses upon a central or major supporting idea), and the process provides
an opportunity to produce a more viable main idea statement, which is,
after all, the main focus of the paper or of a major supporting paragraph.
The reason thesis statements and topic sentences
are so much alike is that they both are main idea statements: the thesis
statement is what an essay is about; the topic sentence is what
a paragraph is about.