Choose a topic. What do you want to write about? The environment? Breastfeeding vs. the bottle? A personal essay? Regardless of the topic, determine what your essay will be about before writing the thesis.
Brainstorm. Once you’ve chosen a topic, brainstorm to determine what angle you wish to approach it. Any topic can yield any number of angles. For instance, an essay about environmentalism can be approached from the subject of green jobs to choices a person can do to limit his carbon footprint.
Write an outline for your essay. Include all the relevant topics and subtopics that you wish to approach in your essay. This will not only organize your thoughts within the essay format, but will also clarify what it is you want to say about the topic.
Write with your audience in mind. Will you be writing to an audience who is interested in your topic but wants a fresh perspective on it? Or will you be writing to an audience who needs to be convinced or persuaded on the relevance of the topic? For instance, an essay about green environmentalism written with an audience who is ignorant of the topic will want information that will educate it. Meanwhile a well-informed audience will want information that offers a fresh perspective on the subject.
Determine what you want to argue or convey to your audience. What is it do you want to convince your audience in your essay? If you are writing about green jobs, what is it about green jobs that is important for your audience to know. For instance, if you believe that green jobs will help the economy while saving the environment, then that is your thesis statement.
Write your thesis statement as a statement and not a question. There should be no question as to the argument you are trying to make in your essay. Readers want to be convinced of your argument, so make certain that the thesis statement leaves no doubt where you stand on the subject.