Building the What, How, So What Thesis
Sometimes, even when you know your position, coming up with a thesis can be a difficult task. One way
to create a thesis statement is to build it piece by piece.
First, what is your claim or argument?
• What is your simple answer to the prompt you’ve been given? Do you agree or disagree with an
author? Is there an event in history or in a novel that you think is most significant? Write out this
answer for yourself.
Second, how will you prove this claim?
• What evidence will you use to prove your position? Are you using historical events? Certain literary
conventions in a novel or poem? Findings from peer-reviewed research? Anecdotes or personal
experience? Think about the common thread(s) that connect the evidence you plan to use to prove
your claim. Consider your evidence from an analytical perspective and try to characterize how this
evidence helps you to prove your position to answer the question “how will you prove this claim.”
Write out this answer for yourself.
Finally, why does your claim matter?
• What impact does your argument have on the broader or more general issue? Why should your
readers care about your position? Why do you care about your position? Why is it important to
consider your perspective or process for considering this issue? What does the reader gain from your
position? Any of these questions, or some combination of them, can help you determine the “so what”
or relevance of your position. Write out the answer for yourself that best fits your topic.
Once you have responses for each piece of the thesis statement, you can try to put them together into one
or two sentences that clearly state(s) your idea. One way to start putting your ideas together is by using
the “Magic Thesis Statement.” This formula is often not the best way to phrase your thesis in the end, but
it is a useful tool to get yourself writing and working with the wording of your ideas.
Through (how) , we can see that (what) , which
is important because (so what) .
After you have plugged your responses into this formula, read over the sentence and consider the
relationships between each element of thesis statement: How can you improve this statement to make
your position clearer? How can you change the wording to better connect each part of the thesis? Do
certain parts of your thesis overlap (maybe the what and how?), and is that ok? Do you need to break the
thesis statement into two sentences to make sure your ideas are clearly understood?
Remember: Writing is a process! Don’t be afraid to revise your thesis and try different ways of phrasing
it. You may also want to save your final revision of your thesis until after the first draft of the essay has
been written to make sure your thesis accurately reflects the arguments you make in the essay.