How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples,How to Write a Thesis Statement
Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction. A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter ( page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction Web1 State your topic Your topic is the essential idea of your paper. It is usually a few words or a phrase that summarizes the subject of your paper. For your thesis statement, try to WebA thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten WebGeorge Banks Deciding on a topic for your thesis, dissertation or research project is the first step in making sure your research goes as smoothly as possible. The very first step WebThis handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft. Introduction Writing in college ... read more
Here are two thesis statements:. This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague. Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers. Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements:. This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. While most American families would view consanguineal marriage as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.
This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point. Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:. Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.
To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:. Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support. This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like because , since , so , although , unless , and however. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic.
For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say:. This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:. Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable. This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger.
Home Writing Guides How to Write a Thesis Statement. How to Write a Thesis Statement. How to Write a Thesis Statement What is a Thesis Statement? Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement? How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement? How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. You start out with a thesis statement like this: Sugar consumption. You change your thesis to look like this: Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children. You revise your thesis statement to look like this: More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school children.
You decide to explain what you mean about food and beverage choices , so you write: Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar. You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this: Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand. There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely.
You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have. Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction. A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter page essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb. Anticipate the counterarguments. Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay.
Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument. This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below. Some Caveats and Some Examples. A thesis is never a question. Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question "Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe? A thesis is never a list. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse.
This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important. A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational. An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil. what does evil mean? and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading. An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe.
The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim. A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.
We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement. In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores. Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic. Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. Brainstorm the topic. You find that you are interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject.
Narrow the topic. Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the conclusion that elementary school children are consuming far more sugar than is healthy. This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one segment of the population: elementary school children. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree, because while most people might agree that children consume more sugar than they used to, not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. Take a position on the topic. After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what you really want to say about this topic is that something should be done to reduce the amount of sugar these children consume.
More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school children. This statement asserts your position, but the terms more attention and food and beverage choices are vague. Use specific language. You decide to explain what you mean about food and beverage choices , so you write:. Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar. It merely reports a statistic instead of making an assertion. Make an assertion based on clearly stated support.
You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this:. Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights. Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to evaluate.
Here are two thesis statements:. This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague. Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers. Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements:. This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. While most American families would view consanguineal marriage as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.
This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point. Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:. Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.
To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:. Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support. This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like because , since , so , although , unless , and however. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say:.
This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:. Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable. This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger. Home Writing Guides How to Write a Thesis Statement. How to Write a Thesis Statement. How to Write a Thesis Statement What is a Thesis Statement? Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement? How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement? How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question.
You start out with a thesis statement like this: Sugar consumption. You change your thesis to look like this: Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children. You revise your thesis statement to look like this: More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school children. You decide to explain what you mean about food and beverage choices , so you write: Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar. You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this: Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.
A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand. Here are two thesis statements: There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement. This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements: My family is an extended family. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea. For example: Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.
One way to revise the thesis would be to write: Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support. A strong thesis statement is specific. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say: World hunger has many causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this: Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable. Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Writing Tutorial Services Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. Wells Library E. Bloomington, IN Twitter Facebook Instagram.
Developing A Thesis,What is a thesis statement?
WebGeorge Banks Deciding on a topic for your thesis, dissertation or research project is the first step in making sure your research goes as smoothly as possible. The very first step WebA thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten WebThis handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft. Introduction Writing in college Web1 State your topic Your topic is the essential idea of your paper. It is usually a few words or a phrase that summarizes the subject of your paper. For your thesis statement, try to WebNEED AN EXPERT TO WRITE YOUR THESIS? WE WILL HELP! We can help you. Being a student, you may face numerous pressures during the educational years. Combine Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction. A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter ( page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction ... read more
Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation. What is a thesis statement? The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons: It gives your writing direction and focus. Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement.
This concern, while understandable, is misguided. How Can Help with my thesis Write a Good Thesis Statement? Wells Library E. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts such as surprising contrasts or similaritiesand think about the significance of these relationships. Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable. Bloomington, IN You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you, help with my thesis.
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