Identify the Main Thesis

When approaching an article, your initial task is to summarise the central idea into a concise sentence. While two sentences are acceptable if needed, aim for brevity. This sentence should encapsulate the article’s core message.

As an example, take a moment to read the provided article on Mohammed bin Salman below.

Article

Who is Mohammed Bin Salman, the “Impatient Prince” of Saudi Arabia?

The one commonly referred to as “MBS” is more in the spotlight than ever since he has seized a portion of the reigning power. Young and dynamic, Mohammed Bin Salman is swiftly reforming and purging his country, perhaps at the risk of moving too fast.

On the evening of Thursday, November 9th, Emmanuel Macron, who was on his way to inaugurate the Louvre Abu Dhabi, decided to make an unexpected detour to Riyadh. The situation had captured the concern of the French president. He wished to converse with the strongman of Saudi Arabia. However, it wasn’t the king he would be shaking hands with, but his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

A few hundred meters away from the meeting point of the two men, at the Ritz-Carlton in the capital of the kingdom, around sixty princes, businessmen, and religious dignitaries have been detained for several days. A week prior, shortly after the establishment of an anti-corruption agency, princes, ministers, businessmen, and religious dignitaries were arrested at the luxury hotel.

This unprecedented show of force in the usually discreet monarchy, where matters are typically settled behind closed doors and within the family, is orchestrated by the young prince Mohammed Bin Salman, nicknamed “MBS.” With a full beard, sharp eyes, and a hint of a smile, the 32-year-old Crown Prince is asserting his future power by initiating these sweeping changes.

Unlikely but Preferred

At first glance, the young Mohammed Bin Salman’s ascent seemed improbable. Just a few years ago, he was relatively unknown to the general public. No one would have bet on MBS, as he was less academically accomplished than his older half-brothers. Unlike other princes, he did not pursue education abroad; he holds only a bachelor’s degree in law from King Saud University in Riyadh. Moreover, he is not particularly fluent in English.

“Nabil Mouline*, historian and researcher at CNRS specializing in the Middle East, explains, “He’s not the brightest nor the most competent. His rise is due to a significant factor: he is the favorite son of King Salman.” The young prince, who has never truly left the kingdom, has patiently developed himself alongside his father. “Between 2009 and 2015, he remained in the shadows,” continues Nabil Mouline. “He was laying the groundwork, building a power base, forging relationships, and gaining experience.”

In 2009, he became a special advisor to his father, who was the governor of Riyadh at the time. Even then, MBS prevented ministers from seeing his father without going through him. When Salman was appointed to the Ministry of Defense, he brought his son along. The same pattern emerged when Salman became the Crown Prince in 2012 after the death of his brothers. His youngest son then took charge of the future king’s cabinet.

A Minor Earthquake and a Long Reign

Mohammed Bin Salman appeared on the world stage in 2015 when his father ascended the throne. He became the youngest Defense Minister on the planet and assumed leadership of the Economic Development Council.

A few months later, he was appointed Deputy Crown Prince, ultimately being designated as the direct heir to his father in June 2017. This reshuffling marked a minor earthquake in the Saudi monarchy, where power typically transitions from brother to brother, often of advanced age. As a result, when MBS is crowned, his reign could extend for several decades, given his young age of 30 at the time.

Since then, the young prince has embarked on rapid reform efforts, addressing the state of stagnation in a country where petrodollars alone are insufficient to sustain an economy in crisis.

A Combination of Two Factors

This zeal for reform is driven by the confluence of two factors, according to Nabil Mouline. The ambitious personality of the young prince and the dire state of the Saudi economy.

Firstly, there’s his personal ambition and quest for legitimacy. Under the guise of fighting corruption, MBS is systematically clearing existing networks within the kingdom to align his own supporters for future endeavors.

“He’s targeting major figures,” elaborates Clarence Rodriguez**, former correspondent in Riyadh for twelve years and astute observer of the country. Enclosed within the Ritz-Carlton are influential businessmen, princes, and former ministers.”

In their place, MBS is assembling a court of technocrats and young princes from his generation, who will be loyal to him and indebted to him. “He’s building his legitimacy,” analyzes Clarence Rodriguez. In doing so, MBS is disregarding long-standing principles to a degree that some “elderly Saudis” have taken to calling him the “reckless prince.”

“The Saudi power structure is not vertical, but horizontal, distributed among different princes,” explains Nabil Mouline. “This makes the decision-making process complex and sluggish, as consensus must be sought.” MBS defies this norm and aims to restore a sense of vertical authority to the throne, ensuring that all emanates from him.

Pragmatic and Impatient

“He’s defying this pact,” summarizes Clarence Rodriguez. “With a specific goal in mind: his ‘Vision 2030.'” The objective of this grand project is to diversify the economy so that Saudi Arabia is less reliant on oil, its main source of revenue. Moreover, the distribution of oil revenues is no longer effective.

For Clarence Rodriguez, this objective underscores his recent reforms and media-worthy moves. When he decided to allow women to drive, it was just the first step to opening up other rights for women, enabling them to work. “A single salary in a Saudi household is no longer sufficient,” asserts Clarence Rodriguez. “He wants women, especially in the tertiary sector, to replace foreign labor, which doesn’t invest in the country,” adds Nabil Mouline.

Similarly, during his “Davos in the Desert” event, the young prince astonishingly announced, “We will not spend another thirty years accommodating extremist ideas; we will destroy them now.” The aim here is also to streamline a society that is no longer functioning optimally.

Simultaneously, such declarations ensure his popularity among women and the youth, representing nearly 70% of the population and forming a base on which he plans to rely durably. However, MBS is not so daring as to challenge the most influential religious figures. Those who are detained are merely secondary figures.

“Yemen Risks Becoming His Vietnam”

One issue lies in his timing, according to Clarence Rodriguez. Having spent over a decade in the country, she insists he is moving too quickly. “In Saudi Arabia, if you move too swiftly, you risk implosion. He’s disregarding ancestral customs. He’s pushing boundaries more than his predecessors ever did.”

This frenzy and brutality had already burst onto the world stage in his regional policies. Notably, when he, a young Defense Minister, engaged his troops in Yemen—a proxy war against Iran, battling the Houthi rebels (of Shia persuasion).

This stands as a significant blemish on his popularity. “It’s a massive stumbling block,” explains Clarence Rodriguez. “He’s asking the population to tighten their belts, and concurrently, he’s waging a war that costs billions.”

Today, the country is entangled in this increasingly deadly conflict, with war crimes escalating. Seven million people are on the brink of famine, millions are displaced, and thousands are dead.

Far from disengaging, MBS persists and intensifies. Just a few days ago, he further tightened the blockade around the “

strip” and is increasingly making aggressive statements towards Iran. In Clarence Rodriguez’s view, “Yemen risks becoming his Vietnam.”

Absolute Monarch

Nevertheless, his omnipresence on the domestic and international stage is only possible with his father’s approval. Although diminished, the 80-year-old king is aligned with his son. “This is also what lends him his legitimacy; the official institution is on his side,” affirms Nabil Mouline.

Furthermore, he has no intention of liberalizing society, is indifferent to human rights, and has no intention whatsoever of moving towards democracy. He’s a pragmatic reformer. “He’s seeking to concentrate power,” summarizes Clarence Rodriguez. “He aims to become the absolute monarch.”

According to the researcher, “MBS” has “made a bet” and “cannot turn back.” In any case, according to him, he had no choice; these reforms were necessary. Yet, the prince is generating expectations among his people. “Either he succeeds and becomes a great king, or he fails and is lynched.”

Finished? Fantastic. While the specific content of the article is less important, it serves as an example where your prior knowledge may be limited.

• Main Thesis: The new Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is enacting reforms that promote openness by empowering the youth, middle class, and women. These changes are designed to establish his legitimacy and strengthen his position amid an economic crisis.

Although this main thesis might appear somewhat extensive, we managed to capture it within just two minutes. Remember, perfection isn’t the goal; the essence is what matters.

Why engage in this practice? Two benefits emerge. First, it hones your ability to synthesize essential information—a skill crucial in various situations like readings, discussions, and interviews. This skill improves with practice, and we’ll delve deeper into it later. Begin by practicing this exercise—it might take some time initially, but after around 50 or 100 repetitions, it will only require about 30 seconds. After several hundred repetitions, like us, you’ll perform it naturally.

Secondly, this practice facilitates future retrieval of key ideas from your notes without the need to reread the entire article.

Two points to remember: Initially, mastery of this skill takes time, and you might not always capture the main thesis accurately at first. That’s okay; there’s no grading involved. To overcome this initial challenge, verify your sentence by asking yourself, “Does this truly capture the essence?” Often, you’ll find room for nuance or refinement. This improves with practice, so remember, “practice makes perfect.”

Avoid dedicating too much time to this—just two minutes.

Identify the Core Issues

What do we mean by issues? These encompass the overarching problems an article addresses. Let’s return to the article about bin Salman to identify these issues.

Primary Issues:

• Leadership of Saudi Arabia
• The level of openness in Saudi society (women’s rights, cinema, tourism visas)

Secondary Issues, or Sub-issues:

• Saudi Arabia’s challenging economic scenario (+ oil prices)
• The legitimacy of bin Salman (+ unique Saudi power structure)

These issues relate to the main thesis yet maintain their distinctiveness. A journalist might support a specific aspect (X or Y) of a topic. The inquiry regarding Saudi Arabia’s openness or its power structure transcends this specific article. It constitutes a broader exploration about Saudi Arabia that holds true across various articles, regardless of the journalist’s stance or the author’s perspective. This is our understanding of issues.

The benefit: when encountering three or four articles on a subject, their main theses may differ—asserting MBS’s modernity versus portraying him as a traditional absolute monarch—yet the fundamental issue of “who should lead Saudi Arabia” remains constant. Identifying similar core issues in multiple articles allows you to discern what matters amidst variations. This cultivates your synthesis abilities, enabling you to impress the jury by stating, “The primary question in Saudi Arabia revolves around its leadership,” demonstrating insightful analysis.

We’ll revisit recognizing issues later, but for now, the second task while reading an article is identifying two or three issues tied to the thesis. You’ll realize there are fewer issues than you might anticipate, making this task progressively easier.

Forge Connections to Other Topics

The third step demands your knowledge, creativity, and intellect. Intelligence, originating from “inter-legere”—interlinking. Intelligence indeed thrives on this—connecting dots to reason more effectively.

Two benefits emerge: Firstly, it solidifies the subjects and issues in your memory through reflection. More importantly, it establishes connections among subjects, forming an intricate network in your mind.

Why engage in this? Once you’ve mentally navigated a path, doing so again becomes smoother. A hint: if you’ve already created connections between subjects while taking notes, you’re more likely to do so during interviews with the jury or when writing exam papers.

Returning to our Saudi example, what connections can you envision with this article? Let’s give it a try. In just two minutes, we came up with:

• The Yemen conflict
• Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Iran
• The Shia-Sunni divide in the Muslim world
• The Saudi Arabia-Qatar crisis
•  French relations with Saudi Arabia (Macron-MBS)