Geography of a Thesis and Proof Essay
Let me begin by running a model of the thesis and proof essay by you.
I want to emphasize at the start that not all thesis/proof essays look like the above diagram. What I'm presenting is an archetype, one which can serve as a basic frame for the organizing schemata of academic thought, that is, the basic types of development that underlie fixed-form expository writing. What are these schemata? They include:definition, classification, order/sequence, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, listing/enumeration, and problem/solution.
Let's take classification, for example. If I am writing a paper in which my purpose is to classify American presidents from George Washington to the present into categories based on degrees of effectiveness (e.g., best, average, worst), I might establish three categories. In laying these out in a paper, I probably would begin with a paragraph in which I established my purpose and introduced the classification system. Then in the body paragraphs I would systematically introduce each category (perhaps one per paragraph), define it, and give concrete examples of presidents who belong in it. I would then likely conclude with a paragraph in which I commented on the significance of what I had shown.
Let's look more closely at each part of the model.