This essay assignment is journal-style, so it is less formal than most academic essays. The thesis statement serves to make the main point clear. For this assignment that means making a statement about the connection between the illness experience and the social factors that you will discuss. There are many ways that you could structure your thesis statement. Students typically take one of two approaches: narrowed/specific or broad. Both can work, and examples of each are below.

Examples

Narrowed/Specific:

Improper pain management from government agencies, lack of medical technology and supplies, organization of life in big, patriarchal families, inequality of genders in family and socio-economic status are some of the reasons that led to Julie’s condition shift from a small injury to severe chronic pain.
In this illness narrative, I will talk about Jorge’s experience with type 2 diabetes and how his lifestyle and stress levels prolonged him discovering what the underlying cause of his symptoms was. I will also analyze his experience with diabetes from a biological, cultural, and economic view.

Broad:

There are two main factors that shaped my strep throat experience and they were biological and economic factors.
The paper will analyze the experience that Bill has been forced to undergo through, since the diagnosis of COPD-Emphysema, and further analyze the etiology (biological), and economical impact apparent in the illness experience.
Being disabled, especially as a young person, has a lot of impact economically and culturally.