I'm about to embarrass myself in front of thousands of readers of this magazine. I'm going to show you my underwear. Just a second ... all right, here it is: Although multiple-choice tests give swift feedback about a certain type of thinking, essay tests offer a more comprehensive picture of a student's abilities, because the essay measures logical thinking, experience, facility of expression, and, most important, the individuality of the student.

What, you don't like boxers? Sorry, but my underwear can't be too brief. It has to be loose enough to hold a Big Idea yet snug enough to keep me in focus. And it has to contain a pattern. After all, it's not just underwear; it's my thesis statement too.

A thesis statement is a Big Idea boiled down to a single sentence. It is also the answer to a question-one you ask yourself or one you are asked on an essay test, such as "Essay Test vs. Multiple-Choice Test: Which Is Better?"

Before you can write a thesis statement, you have to think. Think long and hard. Think critically and creatively. Think until your head hurts. All that thinking will lead you to a Big Idea. Your Big Idea will lead you to a thesis statement.

Here's the thinking that went into my thesis statement above: Bubble tests are lame. They care more about the scores than about the students. They're lazy, designed for quick, computer-generated results. They're also meanspirited, trying to trick students by offering more than one answer that could be correct. Essay tests, on the other hand, encourage independent thinking. They challenge students to organize their thoughts and to express them in words, not bubbles. Instead of turning you into a percentile, they try to see you as a human being.

Now it's time for me to find the Big Idea in all that thinking. It has to do with the goals of the two types of tests. Multiple-choice tests seem more interested in how well the group does, whereas essay tests care more about the individual. My Big Idea, then, is that essay tests are more humane.

I'm ready to craft my thesis statement. I'm writing a persuasive essay, so I'm going to use an although ...because pattern, a handy format that you should practice for your own persuasive essays because it forces you to be balanced in your thinking. The although half of the statement considers the other side:

Even though multiple-choice tests give swift feedback about a certain type of thinking ...Now I show my side: essay tests offer a more comprehensive picture of a student's abilities ...I could stop there and have an adequate thesis statement, but I can make it stronger by adding a because clause with at least three reasons of support: because the essay measures logical thinking, experience, facility of expression, and the individuality of the student.

A thesis statement has to accomplish two things: announce your Big Idea to the reader and give you a road map of how to prove it.

You should always take a second look at your thesis statement before you start to write. This is like adjusting your underwear — sometimes it can be a little one-sided. Mine doesn't consider other benefits to multiple-choice testing. For instance, bubble tests cost less to grade. I should also concede that essay tests, because human beings read them, might yield unreliable results. Human beings are biased and sometimes in a bad mood.

Computers, however, are always in the same mood. What's more, my thesis statement does not say enough about my Big Idea-that essay tests are more humane.

The thesis statement I wrote is an imperfect road map too. You want your essay to begin at the beginning and power forward to the end. No detours. No circles. If I followed my original road map, I would travel in circles. Do you see where? It's in the word experience. Experience and individuality of the student are similar lines of support. The goal of a good essay is to present at least three distinct reasons to support your Big Idea. Make sure you don't repeat yourself.

Let's revise my thesis statement: Even though multiple-choice tests give quick, inexpensive, and objective feedback on several important skills, essay tests offer a more humane and comprehensive picture of a student's abilities, because the essay measures logical thinking, facility of expression, and, most important, the individuality of the student.

Not very jazzy, but the thinking is sound.

Students often ask me, "Where should I put the thesis statement?" And I say, "Do you want to make your first impression in your underwear?" It's better to start your essay with a strong hook-an outrageous sentence, a funny story, or an unforgettable quotation. Once you have your reader's attention, you can spring the thesis statement on him or her, usually at the end of your introduction.

Finally, I have to tell you that most teachers want to see your underwear-oops, I mean your thesis statement. They're just doing their job. They want to see your thesis statement because they want to be sure you've thought your way to a clear and logical plan for your essay. So don't be embarrassed. Show them what you've got.

A thesis statement is a Big Idea boiled down to a single sentence. It is also the answer to a question-one you ask yourself or one you are asked on an essay test.

Students often ask me, 'Where should I put the thesis statement?' And I say, 'Do you want to make your first impression in your underwear?

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By Steven Frank