1. Let’s imagine the topic you recently wrote about, your beliefs, is a bucket of sand. Every grain inside this bucket is an aspect of your topic you could write about. One of the biggest mistakes writers’ make is trying to write about ALL the grains of sand. This is understandable—you have many stories to share, and every one of them is important, vital, wonderful. However, you only have 3-5 pages. It isn’t realistic to try and tell us all of them. So, reach into that bucket of sand, select ONE grain, set it on the table before you and say to yourself “That is the one specific (thing, place, time, person, idea, belief, etc) I will write about this time.” Then push away the bucket. Those are stories for another time.
2. Look at your grain of sand. You now have a specific idea, and you can realistically write about it, because it is your personal experience. Now ask yourself, “Can I write about this grain of sand completely in 3-5 pages? Or is it too much to tackle in the measure I’ve been assigned?” On the flip side, is the grain one that can be developed in the measure, or will it fizzle after a couple of paragraphs?
3. So you go through this process, and finally you find that single grain of sand that fits the criteria. So you’re ready to write, right? Maybe. Look at the grain of sand you pulled from your “This I Believe” discussion. No doubt, it’s a moving, fine belief. But here comes the most difficult question to ask—SO WHAT? What about this grain you’ve chosen makes for a good essay? Why did you choose it? As you begin developing your essay, you must ask yourself this question repeatedly—Why have I chosen this (thing, place, time, person), and what does it reflect about me?
4. This So What question leads to what many instructors here at SJC fondly refer to as the BIG TOMATO. It is the heart of the story, the meat of what you’re trying to say. So, as you select your topic, you will focus on showing the reader the Big Tomato.
5. Let’s use a personal narrative as an example. Without the Big Tomato, you might tell us about a trip you took with your grandfather when you were eight-years old. You might spend three pages describing getting up, feeling excited about the journey climbing into your grandfather’s 1967 Chevy pickup with the torn seat cover, driving four hours listening to Hank Williams, Jr. on the eight-track stereo, arriving at the state fair, looking at all the exhibits, eating dinner, and coming home. Wonderful story . But ask yourself- So What?
6. Your job in this essay is instead show us how this trip formed some belief. Before you can really do that, you have to know what the answer to that is. Perhaps the writer of the roadtrip story is now himself a father or grandfather, who can state “I believe that spending time with those you love is the greatest gift you can give.” Or maybe that one trip on really bad roads led to the writer going to college to study construction so “I believe education will give me a way of contributing to the world” (by becoming an engineer, construction foreman, etc). These are the Big Tomatoes.
7. Once you have decided the Big Tomato, you will find formulating your thesis statement much easier. If you were only telling us the story of the roadtrip with your grandfather, your thesis statement might be something like “One time I went to the state fair with my grandfather.” And while you can easily form an essay around this, you might find yourself getting off focus on occasion, because your memories will be coming to you like crazy, and you might go into a couple of paragraphs describing the mountains at dawn.
8. However, if you know what the Bit Tomato is, you have a specific, realistic, measurable idea to focus on. If anything in your essay does not come back to proving this statement, you have two choices—revise it to make the connection clear, or cut it out. If the mountains at dawn don’t prove what your thesis says, it probably needs to go. However, if your grandfather took the time to pull the Chevy over and point out how the light played over the mountain, this could be very important. The key is to make clear to your reader “So What.” And a good thesis statement will help you do just that!
