Chapter 04: The thesis statement (X) and its supporting ideas (1-2-3)

In history papers, students' most common mistake is to write a simple narrative of events without a "controlling idea" (or thesis). This mistake can be avoided using a method we call X-1-2-3.^[1]

With X-1-2-3, you write a thesis statement (Sentence "X") that can be readily parsed into at least three separate and distinct ideas. These ideas then become your paper’s main supporting points in a mini-outline.

A good thesis statement does not require a 3-part structure. But if your thesis statement cannot easily be broken down into three supporting ideas, this may be a signal that it needs more thought. The X-1-2-3 method is both a diagnostic test and a preventive measure: it protects you from writing a purely narrative or descriptive paper.

Example 1

Thesis with 3 ideas underlined:

The Great Terror resulted more from the ideology, paranoia, and political inexperience of the Jacobins than from the circumstances of war and economic crisis.

Topic:

the Great Terror

The Great Terror resulted more from the ideology, paranoia, and political inexperience of the Jacobins than from the circumstances of war and economic crisis. (THESIS)

The Great Terror resulted from the ideology, paranoia, and political inexperience of the Jacobins. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

The Great Terror also resulted from the circumstances of war and economic crisis. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

However, the Great Terror resulted primarily from the ideology, paranoia, and political inexperience of the Jacobins. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

Notice that the topic of this paper—the Great Terror—is also the grammatical subject of sentences X, 1, 2, and 3. With the X-1-2-3 method, your thesis statement "controls" your supporting points via the structure of the sentence.

X-1-2-3 sentence sets work as simple outlines for papers of any length, and can easily be grown into formal outlines, with smaller points and historical detail nested under sentences 1, 2, and 3. As you write, an X-1-2-3 sequence allows your argument to unfold gracefully over the pages of your paper, with historical narrative and description woven in.

Example 2

The most important reason for the French monarchy’s financial difficulties was its constant warfare, but the nobility’s tax exemptions and venal office holding figured prominently as well. (THESIS)

The French monarchy’s financial difficulties were caused primarily by its constant warfare. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

The French monarchy’s financial difficulties were also caused by the nobility’s tax exemptions. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

The French monarchy’s financial difficulties were also caused by the nobility’s venal office holding. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

Example 3

A comparative thesis statement and its supporting sentences:

French intellectuals were more likely to become radicalized politically than their British counterparts because the former were largely excluded from government and the latter often played a major role in it. (THESIS)

French intellectuals were more radical than their British counterparts. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

French intellectuals were largely excluded from government. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

British intellectuals often played a major role in government. (SUPPORTING IDEA)

[1] Adaptation of a method created by William J. Kerrigan (Kerrigan, William J. and Metcalf, Allen. Writing to the Point. 4^th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1987. Print.)