How to Write an Amazing Theme

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TOPIC DOES NOT EQUAL THEME Theme is not one word! TOPIC DOES NOT EQUAL THEME You may have been told that love or friendship or trust is a theme. They were wrong, these are topics. The first thing to do when deciding on a theme is to make a list of topics. For example: love, family, independence, individuality, friends, danger, obedience, hate, security, risk, etc.

WRITE A THEME Pick a topic and write a sentence about what the author believes about that topic. You can look at how that topic helped the characters grow or change in the story. Follow this sentence prompt, “The author believes that …” FOR EXAMPLE: The author believes that a person needs to learn how to trust themselves and others. (Finding Nemo) The author believes that a person should be valued for who they are not what they remember. (“The Three-Century Woman”) The author believes that a person should be valued for who they are regardless of their differences.(Mississippi Trial, 1955)

WRITE A THEME Now cross out “The author believes that” The author believes that a person needs to learn how to trust themselves and others. So you end up with, “A person needs to trust themselves and others.” The author believes that a person should be valued for who they are not what they remember. Theme statement: A person should be valued for who they are, not what they remember. The author believes that a person should be valued for who they are regardless of race. Theme statement: A person should be valued for who they are regardless of race.

A THEME STATEMENT is a truth or insight about people or life that the author wants the reader to understand. The author does not state the theme explicitly(out right), it must be inferred. needs to be universal. It has to work for another story or book. The theme needs to be general so that it can apply to any story.

A THEME IS NOT ONE WORD A THEME DOES NOT mention a character from the story. talk about plot. A THEME ≠ TOPIC A THEME IS NOT ONE WORD

Weak Sauce Statements These statements are too vague. You want your themes to be more complex and sophisticated. The author believes that family is important The author believes that family is good. The eternal struggle against the corruption of power (This is a topic, albeit a long one. It is not a complete statement.) Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. (This is a topic and a cliché. A cliché does not make a good theme.) Things are not what they appear. (This is a topic. What is the author saying about things not being what they appear.)

Practice Read “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan Fish Cheeks What are the TOPICS of the story? (These can be one word.) What did the main character learn about this topic? Write three themes: “The author believes that_____________________________________.”

Practice (continued) Pick your best theme. Revise it. Make sure it is grammatically correct. Write your best theme at the top of a piece of paper. Now pass it to another group. When you get a new theme, you will look in the text to find evidence – quotes from the text that support that theme.

From Finding Nemo (you will use “Fish Cheeks”) Sample Assignment From Finding Nemo (you will use “Fish Cheeks”) List the topics: love, hate, family, danger, prejudice, trust, risk, security, protection, etc. Write three themes like this one: “The author believes that valuing security too highly can lead toward missing out on important life experiences.” Pick your best theme and revise it: “Valuing security too highly can lead to missing out on important life experiences.” Write it at the top of a piece of paper. Pass it to another group. Find textual evidence from the text to support the theme on the paper you just got from another group.

EXAMPLE Valuing security too highly can lead to missing out on important life experiences. Evidence: You will find quotes from the story. Nemo’s father wants to prevent him from going to school which would lead to him missing out. In the jellyfish forest Marlin has fun for the first time in his life.

SOURCES Johnson, Sara. 19 APR 2014. The only way you will ever need to write a theme. Retrieved 5 MAY 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6GCe7hmm A Jaeger, Julie. 23 OCT 2013. Theme. Retrieved 5 May 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTKnoCWK-wc Morgan, Dana. Oct. 30, 2013. Topic vs theme. Retrieved 5 MAY 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9s8vqztKUk