Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements
There is another important tip for you to consider when working on your thesis statement. You should select the right place for your thesis statement to be at. Typically, it goes at the end of your introductory paragraph, which is usually the first one in your paper. If you are working on a complex assignment with several opening paragraphs, placing the thesis sentence near the beginning of your paper is what you should go for. Whereas the first paragraph may be entirely focused on general information related to the subject, you should place your thesis statement toward the beginning of the second introductory paragraph. It should by no means be introduced in any of your paper's body paragraphs. All research papers will address a specific research problem, whether its a practical issue that you want to explore or a theoretical issue that can expand our understanding of a particular field of study. The direction your research takes will depend on your field and what you aim to accomplish in your thesis. For those who want to know how to write a thesis statement, we have compiled this how-to with mainly one objective in view: to help you master your writing skills and find detailed answers regarding writing your thesis statement. First things first: what makes writing a thesis statement so challenging? Why is a thesis statement important? Being an integral part of the introductory section, a thesis statement is an effective tool for putting forth the main idea of your paper clearly. An academic essay is a well-structured piece of writing controlled by the main idea. It is written with the attempt either to affirm the concept as true or to verify it. The main idea is generally grasped from the thesis statement.
Its almost always better to change your problem statement for your thesis, rather than continue trying to put together your argument with unsatisfactory supporting research. If you need to boil everything down into just one sentence, go for Sentence 2 above. Thats the heart of your research and the summary of everything that youre aiming to achieve in your thesis. Make it short, clear, and punchy. You can use the rest of your thesis to expand on that sentence, so dont clog it up with unnecessary verbiage. Make it nothing else but a concise statement of the problem. Example: Notice how the thesis answers the question, What should be done to reduce sugar consumption by children, and who should do it? When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights. Writing a thesis takes a lot of time and effort, but with the right tools, you can simplify the process significantly.
Know where to place a thesis statement
Can a question be a thesis statement - Paragraphs are actually organizedmuch like persuasive papers are. Just like a paper has a thesis statementfollowed by a body of supportive evidence, paragraphs have a topic sentence followed by severalsentences of support or explanation. If you look at this paragraph, for example, you will see that it starts with a clear topic sentence letting you know that paragraphs follow a structure similar to that of papers. The next sentence explains how a paragraph is like a paper, and then two more sentences showhow this paragraph follows that structure. All of these sentences are clearly connected to the main idea.
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. You should come up with an initial thesis,
sometimes called a working thesis, early in the writing process.
As soon as youve decided on your essay topic, you need to work
out what you want to say about ita clear thesis will give your
essay direction and structure. 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. Good
expository thesis statement: "The government should consider
implementing basic income because of its potential to reduce
poverty, establish gender equality, increase employment rate, and
ensure overall economic growth. " In fact, as you do your
research, the specific focus of your thesis might change, or you
might discover new information that changes your angle of attack.
As you gather information, consider how this changes your problem
statement and whether you still want to run with it.
Frequently asked questions about thesis statements - This will produce a basic four-sentence problem statement that you can use as-is or expand as you feel necessary. However, dont feel shackled to one specific phrasing of your problem statement. This template is more of a set of guidelines that can help you along, rather than a fixed format that you should follow to the letter.
With a complete academic writing suite like Flowcite, you can get from problem statement to printed thesis paper seamlessly using tools that are purpose-built to make writing research papers easier, like: 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. By no means. A fact requires no proving whatsoever, and thus we cannot dedicate an entire paper to it. Yes, we could name or state it, but it requires no argumentation. On the contrary, a fact can be an argument in support of your thesis statement. A research question indicates the direction of your research. It is an open-ended query, not a final claim or conclusion about an idea. A good research question should act as the focus of a study. It helps the author decide on the methodology she will use as well as guide all subsequent stages of inquiry, analysis, and reporting. It might be helpful to think of a topic sentence as working in two directions simultaneously. It relates the paragraph to the essays thesis, and thereby acts as a signpost for the argument of the paper as a whole, but it also defines the scope of the paragraph itself. For example, consider the following topic sentence: Topic sentences often act like tiny thesis statements.
An example of a direct thesis statement: "The four major qualities that a student has to possess to succeed in studying are advanced time management skills, an inquisitive mind, out-of-the-box thinking, and resilience." Structure-wise, there are direct and indirect thesis statements. An indirect thesis statement is a bare statement bereft of any argumentation, whereas a direct thesis statement should very briefly identify the proving system, through which you are going to make out your case. Even if your assignment doesnt ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue youd like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question youd like to write about.