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How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

  • Start with a question
  • Write your initial answer
  • Develop your answer
  • Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

  • Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
  • Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
  • Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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strong thesis statement writer

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

  • Why you hold this position
  • What they’ll learn from your essay
  • The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

  • In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
  • In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

  • It gives your writing direction and focus.
  • It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

  • Ask a question about your topic .
  • Write your initial answer.
  • Develop your answer by including reasons.
  • Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

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How to write a thesis statement + examples

Thesis statement

What is a thesis statement?

Is a thesis statement a question, how do you write a good thesis statement, how do i know if my thesis statement is good, examples of thesis statements, helpful resources on how to write a thesis statement, frequently asked questions about writing a thesis statement, related articles.

A thesis statement is the main argument of your paper or thesis.

The thesis statement is one of the most important elements of any piece of academic writing . It is a brief statement of your paper’s main argument. Essentially, you are stating what you will be writing about.

You can see your thesis statement as an answer to a question. While it also contains the question, it should really give an answer to the question with new information and not just restate or reiterate it.

Your thesis statement is part of your introduction. Learn more about how to write a good thesis introduction in our introduction guide .

A thesis statement is not a question. A statement must be arguable and provable through evidence and analysis. While your thesis might stem from a research question, it should be in the form of a statement.

Tip: A thesis statement is typically 1-2 sentences. For a longer project like a thesis, the statement may be several sentences or a paragraph.

A good thesis statement needs to do the following:

  • Condense the main idea of your thesis into one or two sentences.
  • Answer your project’s main research question.
  • Clearly state your position in relation to the topic .
  • Make an argument that requires support or evidence.

Once you have written down a thesis statement, check if it fulfills the following criteria:

  • Your statement needs to be provable by evidence. As an argument, a thesis statement needs to be debatable.
  • Your statement needs to be precise. Do not give away too much information in the thesis statement and do not load it with unnecessary information.
  • Your statement cannot say that one solution is simply right or simply wrong as a matter of fact. You should draw upon verified facts to persuade the reader of your solution, but you cannot just declare something as right or wrong.

As previously mentioned, your thesis statement should answer a question.

If the question is:

What do you think the City of New York should do to reduce traffic congestion?

A good thesis statement restates the question and answers it:

In this paper, I will argue that the City of New York should focus on providing exclusive lanes for public transport and adaptive traffic signals to reduce traffic congestion by the year 2035.

Here is another example. If the question is:

How can we end poverty?

A good thesis statement should give more than one solution to the problem in question:

In this paper, I will argue that introducing universal basic income can help reduce poverty and positively impact the way we work.

  • The Writing Center of the University of North Carolina has a list of questions to ask to see if your thesis is strong .

A thesis statement is part of the introduction of your paper. It is usually found in the first or second paragraph to let the reader know your research purpose from the beginning.

In general, a thesis statement should have one or two sentences. But the length really depends on the overall length of your project. Take a look at our guide about the length of thesis statements for more insight on this topic.

Here is a list of Thesis Statement Examples that will help you understand better how to write them.

Every good essay should include a thesis statement as part of its introduction, no matter the academic level. Of course, if you are a high school student you are not expected to have the same type of thesis as a PhD student.

Here is a great YouTube tutorial showing How To Write An Essay: Thesis Statements .

strong thesis statement writer

Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. 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. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  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 (5-15 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?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. 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." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? 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.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. 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.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Parts of a Paper / How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis can be found in many places—a debate speech, a lawyer’s closing argument, even an advertisement. But the most common place for a thesis statement (and probably why you’re reading this article) is in an essay.

Whether you’re writing an argumentative paper, an informative essay, or a compare/contrast statement, you need a thesis. Without a thesis, your argument falls flat and your information is unfocused. Since a thesis is so important, it’s probably a good idea to look at some tips on how to put together a strong one.

Guide Overview

What is a “thesis statement” anyway.

  • 2 categories of thesis statements: informative and persuasive
  • 2 styles of thesis statements
  • Formula for a strong argumentative thesis
  • The qualities of a solid thesis statement (video)

You may have heard of something called a “thesis.” It’s what seniors commonly refer to as their final paper before graduation. That’s not what we’re talking about here. That type of thesis is a long, well-written paper that takes years to piece together.

Instead, we’re talking about a single sentence that ties together the main idea of any argument . In the context of student essays, it’s a statement that summarizes your topic and declares your position on it. This sentence can tell a reader whether your essay is something they want to read.

2 Categories of Thesis Statements: Informative and Persuasive

Just as there are different types of essays, there are different types of thesis statements. The thesis should match the essay.

For example, with an informative essay, you should compose an informative thesis (rather than argumentative). You want to declare your intentions in this essay and guide the reader to the conclusion that you reach.

To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you must procure the ingredients, find a knife, and spread the condiments.

This thesis showed the reader the topic (a type of sandwich) and the direction the essay will take (describing how the sandwich is made).

Most other types of essays, whether compare/contrast, argumentative, or narrative, have thesis statements that take a position and argue it. In other words, unless your purpose is simply to inform, your thesis is considered persuasive. A persuasive thesis usually contains an opinion and the reason why your opinion is true.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best type of sandwich because they are versatile, easy to make, and taste good.

In this persuasive thesis statement, you see that I state my opinion (the best type of sandwich), which means I have chosen a stance. Next, I explain that my opinion is correct with several key reasons. This persuasive type of thesis can be used in any essay that contains the writer’s opinion, including, as I mentioned above, compare/contrast essays, narrative essays, and so on.

2 Styles of Thesis Statements

Just as there are two different types of thesis statements (informative and persuasive), there are two basic styles you can use.

The first style uses a list of two or more points . This style of thesis is perfect for a brief essay that contains only two or three body paragraphs. This basic five-paragraph essay is typical of middle and high school assignments.

C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series is one of the richest works of the 20th century because it offers an escape from reality, teaches readers to have faith even when they don’t understand, and contains a host of vibrant characters.

In the above persuasive thesis, you can see my opinion about Narnia followed by three clear reasons. This thesis is perfect for setting up a tidy five-paragraph essay.

In college, five paragraph essays become few and far between as essay length gets longer. Can you imagine having only five paragraphs in a six-page paper? For a longer essay, you need a thesis statement that is more versatile. Instead of listing two or three distinct points, a thesis can list one overarching point that all body paragraphs tie into.

Good vs. evil is the main theme of Lewis’s Narnia series, as is made clear through the struggles the main characters face in each book.

In this thesis, I have made a claim about the theme in Narnia followed by my reasoning. The broader scope of this thesis allows me to write about each of the series’ seven novels. I am no longer limited in how many body paragraphs I can logically use.

Formula for a Strong Argumentative Thesis

One thing I find that is helpful for students is having a clear template. While students rarely end up with a thesis that follows this exact wording, the following template creates a good starting point:

___________ is true because of ___________, ___________, and ___________.

Conversely, the formula for a thesis with only one point might follow this template:

___________________ is true because of _____________________.

Students usually end up using different terminology than simply “because,” but having a template is always helpful to get the creative juices flowing.

The Qualities of a Solid Thesis Statement

When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is.

Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions. Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause (the opinion) and a dependent clause (the reasons). You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long.

Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences.

Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true.

Example of weak thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easy to make because it just takes three ingredients.

Most people would agree that PB&J is one of the easiest sandwiches in the American lunch repertoire.

Example of a stronger thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are fun to eat because they always slide around.

This is more arguable because there are plenty of folks who might think a PB&J is messy or slimy rather than fun.

Composing a thesis statement does take a bit more thought than many other parts of an essay. However, because a thesis statement can contain an entire argument in just a few words, it is worth taking the extra time to compose this sentence. It can direct your research and your argument so that your essay is tight, focused, and makes readers think.

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Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

  • Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
  • Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
  • Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
  • Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
  • Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

  • Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
  • Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.
  • The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
  • The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

  • This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
  • I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

  • nature = peaceful
  • war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
  • need for time and space to mourn the dead
  • war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

  • although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
  • _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
  • phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

  • Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
  • Question each part of your draft thesis
  • Clarify vague phrases and assertions
  • Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

  • Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.
Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.
Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.
While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.
While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

  • Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
  • As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
  • Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
  • Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

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Writing Process and Structure

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Getting Started with Your Paper

Interpreting Writing Assignments from Your Courses

Generating Ideas for

Creating an Argument

Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

Working with Sources

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

Using Literary Quotations

Citing Sources in Your Paper

Drafting Your Paper

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introductions

Paragraphing

Developing Strategic Transitions

Conclusions

Revising Your Paper

Peer Reviews

Reverse Outlines

Revising an Argumentative Paper

Revision Strategies for Longer Projects

Finishing Your Paper

Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

How to Proofread your Paper

Writing Collaboratively

Collaborative and Group Writing

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How to write a thesis statement, what is a thesis statement.

Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement.

Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?

  • to test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two
  • to better organize and develop your argument
  • to provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument

In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores.

How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement?

Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic.

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. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. For example, if your assignment is, “Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class,” turn the request into a question like, “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” After you’ve chosen the question your essay will answer, compose one or two complete sentences answering that question.

Q: “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” A: “The potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class are . . .”
A: “Using computers in a fourth-grade class promises to improve . . .”

The answer to the question is the thesis statement for the essay.

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How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned

Even if your assignment doesn’t ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue you’d like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question you’d like to write about.

A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:

  • take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree
  • deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the assignment
  • express one main idea
  • assert your conclusions about a subject

Let’s see how to generate a thesis statement for a social policy paper.

Brainstorm the topic . Let’s say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by changes in the dietary habits of Americans. You find that you are interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume.

You start out with a thesis statement like this:

Sugar consumption.

This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you want to say about sugar consumption.

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.

You change your thesis to look like this:

Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children.

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. You should note that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions on the topic.

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 revise your thesis statement to look like this:

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.

This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. 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.

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.

How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

1. a strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand..

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:

There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.

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.

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific.

2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.

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:

My family is an extended family.

This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.

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.

3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.

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.

This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages. 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 .

4. A strong thesis statement is specific.

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:

World hunger has many causes and effects.

This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages. 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.

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How To Write A Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is the most important part of an essay. It’s the roadmap, telling the reader what they can expect to read in the rest of paper, setting the tone for the writing, and generally providing a sense of the main idea.

Because it is so important, writing a good thesis statement can be tricky.

Before we get into the specifics, let’s review the basics: what thesis statement means. Thesis is a fancy word for “the subject of an essay” or “a position in a debate.” And a statement , simply, is a sentence (or a couple of sentences).

Taken together, a thesis statement explains your subject or position in a sentence (or a couple of sentences). Depending on the kind of essay you’re writing, you’ll need to make sure that your thesis statement states your subject or position clearly.

While the phrase thesis statement can sound intimidating, the basic goal is to clearly state your topic or your argument . Easy peasy!

The basic rules for writing a thesis statement are:

  • State the topic or present your argument.
  • Summarize the main idea of each of your details and/or body paragraphs.
  • Keep your statement to one to two sentences.

Now comes the good stuff: the breakdown of how to write a good thesis statement for an informational essay and then for an argumentative essay (Yes, there are different types of thesis statements: check them all out here ). While the approach is similar for each, they require slightly different statements.

Informational essay thesis statements

The objective of an informational essay is to inform your audience about a specific topic. Sometimes, your essay will be in response to a specific question. Other times, you will be given a subject to write about more generally.

In an informational essay , you are not arguing for one side of an argument, you are just providing information.

Essays that are responding to a question

Often, you will be provided with a question to respond to in informational essay form. For example:

  • Who is your hero and why?
  • How do scientists research the effects of zero gravity on plants?
  • What are the three branches of government, and what do each of them do?

If you are given a question or prompt, use it as a starting point for your thesis statement. Remember, the goal of a thesis statement in an informational essay is to state your topic.

You can use some of the same vocabulary and structure from the questions to create a thesis statement. Drop the question words (like who , what , when , where , and why ). Then, use the keywords in the question or prompt to start your thesis statement. Be sure to include because if the question asks “why?”

Check out the following example using the first prompt:

Original question : Who is your hero and why? Drop the question words : Who is your hero and why? Answer the question using the key words : My hero is Amelia Earhart, because she was very brave, did things many women of her time did not do, and was a hard worker.

If we were to write the rest of the essay based on this thesis statement, the outline would look something like this:

Introduction : My hero is Amelia Earhart, because she was very brave, did things many women of her time did not do, and was a hard worker. Body paragraph 1 : Details about how Amelia Earhart was brave Body paragraph 2 : Details about how she did things many women of her time did not do Body paragraph 3 : Details about how she was a hard worker Conclusion:  It is clear that Amelia Earhart was a brave woman who accomplished many things that women of her time did not do, and always worked hard. These are the reasons why she is my hero.

These general guidelines work for other thesis statements, with some minor differences.

Essays that are responding to a statement or given subject

If you aren’t given a specific question to respond to, it can be a little more difficult to decide on a thesis statement. However, there are some tricks you can use to make it easier.

Some examples of prompts that are not questions are:

  • Write about your favorite sports team.
  • Describe how a motor works.
  • Pick a famous scientist and write about their life.
  • Compare and contrast the themes of a poem and a short story.

For these, we recommend using one of the following sentence starters to write your thesis with:

  • In this essay, I will …
  • [Subject] is interesting/relevant/my favorite because …
  • Through my research, I learned that …

As an example of how to use these sentence starters, we’ve put together some examples using the first prompt: Write about your favorite sports team.

  • In this essay, I will describe the history and cultural importance of the Pittsburgh Steelers, my favorite sports team.
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers are my favorite because they have had a lasting impact on the history and culture of the city.
  • Through my research, I learned that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a lot of influence on the history and culture of Pittsburgh.

Any one of these thesis statements (or all three!) could be used for an informational essay about the Pittsburgh Steelers football team and their impact on the history and culture of Pittsburgh.

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Argumentative essay thesis statements

The basic building blocks of an informational essay also apply when it comes to an argumentative essay . However, an argumentative essay requires that you take a position on an issue or prompt.

You then have to attempt to persuade your reader that your argument is the best. That means that your argumentative thesis statement needs to do two things:

  • State your position on the issue.
  • Summarize the evidence you will be using to defend your position.

Some examples of argumentative essay prompts are:

  • Should high school students be required to do volunteer work? Why or why not?
  • What is the best way to cook a turkey?
  • Some argue that video games are bad for society. Do you agree? Why or why not?

In order to create a good thesis statement for an argumentative essay, you have to be as specific as possible about your position and your evidence. Let’s take a look at the first prompt as an example:

Prompt 1: Should high school students be required to do volunteer work? Why or why not? Bad thesis statement: No, I don’t think high school students should be required to do volunteer work because it’s boring. Good thesis statement: I think high school students should not be required to do volunteer work because it takes time away from their studies, provides more barriers to graduation, and does not encourage meaningful volunteer work.

Let’s look at a couple other examples:

Prompt 2: What is the best way to cook a turkey? Bad thesis statement:  The best way to cook a turkey is the way my grandma does it. Good thesis statement:  The best way to cook a turkey is using my grandmother’s recipe: brining the turkey beforehand, using a dry rub, and cooking at a low temperature.

Prompt 3: Some argue that video games are bad for society. Do you agree? Why or why not? Bad thesis   statement:  Video games aren’t bad for society, because they’re super fun. Good thesis statement:  Video games aren’t bad for society because they encourage cooperation, teach problem-solving skills, and provide hours of cheap entertainment.

Do you notice the difference between the good thesis statements and the bad thesis statements? The bad statements are general, not specific. They also use very casual language. The good statements clearly lay out exactly what aspects of the argument your essay will focus on, in a professional manner.

By the way, this same principle can also be applied to informational essay thesis statements. Take a look at this example for an idea:

Prompt:  What are the three branches of government, and what do each of them do? Bad thesis statement:  There are many branches of government that do many different things. Good thesis statement:  Each of the three branches of government—the executive, the legislative, and the judicial—have different primary responsibilities. However, these roles frequently overlap.

In addition to being more specific than the bad thesis statement, the good thesis statement here is an example of how sometimes your thesis statement may require two sentences.

Final thoughts

A thesis statement is the foundation of your essay. However, sometimes as you’re writing, you find that you’ve deviated from your original statement. Once you’ve finished writing your essay, go back and read your thesis statement. Ask yourself:

  • Does my thesis statement state the topic and/or my position?
  • Does my thesis statement refer to the evidence or details I refer to in my essay?
  • Is my thesis statement clear and easy to understand?

Don’t hesitate to edit your thesis statement if it doesn’t meet all three of these criteria. If it does, great! You’ve crafted a solid thesis statement that effectively guides the reader through your work. Now on to the rest of the essay!

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Ways To Say

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9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

Learning objectives.

  • Develop a strong, clear thesis statement with the proper elements.
  • Revise your thesis statement.

Have you ever known a person who was not very good at telling stories? You probably had trouble following his train of thought as he jumped around from point to point, either being too brief in places that needed further explanation or providing too many details on a meaningless element. Maybe he told the end of the story first, then moved to the beginning and later added details to the middle. His ideas were probably scattered, and the story did not flow very well. When the story was over, you probably had many questions.

Just as a personal anecdote can be a disorganized mess, an essay can fall into the same trap of being out of order and confusing. That is why writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they are about to discuss in the body.

Just like a topic sentence summarizes a single paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes an entire essay. It tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, while the essay itself supports that point. It is like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.

Elements of a Thesis Statement

For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea. This idea stems from a topic you have chosen or been assigned or from a question your teacher has asked. It is not enough merely to discuss a general topic or simply answer a question with a yes or no. You have to form a specific opinion, and then articulate that into a controlling idea —the main idea upon which you build your thesis.

Remember that a thesis is not the topic itself, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic your professor gives you, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful and confident.

A thesis is one sentence long and appears toward the end of your introduction. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that are able to be demonstrated in the body. It forecasts the content of the essay and suggests how you will organize your information. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize an issue but rather dissects it.

A Strong Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities.

Specificity. A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic. For example, health care is a broad topic, but a proper thesis statement would focus on a specific area of that topic, such as options for individuals without health care coverage.

Precision. A strong thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and to remain focused on the topic. If the specific topic is options for individuals without health care coverage, then your precise thesis statement must make an exact claim about it, such as that limited options exist for those who are uninsured by their employers. You must further pinpoint what you are going to discuss regarding these limited effects, such as whom they affect and what the cause is.

Ability to be argued. A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.

Ability to be demonstrated. For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion. You can rely on personal observations in order to do this, or you can consult outside sources to demonstrate that what you assert is valid. A worthy argument is backed by examples and details.

Forcefulness. A thesis statement that is forceful shows readers that you are, in fact, making an argument. The tone is assertive and takes a stance that others might oppose.

Confidence. In addition to using force in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as I feel or I believe actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing. Taking an authoritative stance on the matter persuades your readers to have faith in your argument and open their minds to what you have to say.

Even in a personal essay that allows the use of first person, your thesis should not contain phrases such as in my opinion or I believe . These statements reduce your credibility and weaken your argument. Your opinion is more convincing when you use a firm attitude.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a thesis statement for each of the following topics. Remember to make each statement specific, precise, demonstrable, forceful and confident.

  • Texting while driving
  • The legal drinking age in the United States
  • Steroid use among professional athletes

Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements

Each of the following thesis statements meets several of the following requirements:

  • Specificity
  • Ability to be argued
  • Ability to be demonstrated
  • Forcefulness
  • The societal and personal struggles of Troy Maxon in the play Fences symbolize the challenge of black males who lived through segregation and integration in the United States.
  • Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.
  • Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet spoils the outcome for the audience and weakens the plot.
  • J. D. Salinger’s character in Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caulfield, is a confused rebel who voices his disgust with phonies, yet in an effort to protect himself, he acts like a phony on many occasions.
  • Compared to an absolute divorce, no-fault divorce is less expensive, promotes fairer settlements, and reflects a more realistic view of the causes for marital breakdown.
  • Exposing children from an early age to the dangers of drug abuse is a sure method of preventing future drug addicts.
  • In today’s crumbling job market, a high school diploma is not significant enough education to land a stable, lucrative job.

You can find thesis statements in many places, such as in the news; in the opinions of friends, coworkers or teachers; and even in songs you hear on the radio. Become aware of thesis statements in everyday life by paying attention to people’s opinions and their reasons for those opinions. Pay attention to your own everyday thesis statements as well, as these can become material for future essays.

Now that you have read about the contents of a good thesis statement and have seen examples, take a look at the pitfalls to avoid when composing your own thesis:

A thesis is weak when it is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay.

Weak thesis statement: My paper will explain why imagination is more important than knowledge.

A thesis is weak when it makes an unreasonable or outrageous claim or insults the opposing side.

Weak thesis statement: Religious radicals across America are trying to legislate their Puritanical beliefs by banning required high school books.

A thesis is weak when it contains an obvious fact or something that no one can disagree with or provides a dead end.

Weak thesis statement: Advertising companies use sex to sell their products.

A thesis is weak when the statement is too broad.

Weak thesis statement: The life of Abraham Lincoln was long and challenging.

Read the following thesis statements. On a separate piece of paper, identify each as weak or strong. For those that are weak, list the reasons why. Then revise the weak statements so that they conform to the requirements of a strong thesis.

  • The subject of this paper is my experience with ferrets as pets.
  • The government must expand its funding for research on renewable energy resources in order to prepare for the impending end of oil.
  • Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who lived in Baltimore during the nineteenth century.
  • In this essay, I will give you lots of reasons why slot machines should not be legalized in Baltimore.
  • Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation.
  • Because many children’s toys have potential safety hazards that could lead to injury, it is clear that not all children’s toys are safe.
  • My experience with young children has taught me that I want to be a disciplinary parent because I believe that a child without discipline can be a parent’s worst nightmare.

Writing at Work

Often in your career, you will need to ask your boss for something through an e-mail. Just as a thesis statement organizes an essay, it can also organize your e-mail request. While your e-mail will be shorter than an essay, using a thesis statement in your first paragraph quickly lets your boss know what you are asking for, why it is necessary, and what the benefits are. In short body paragraphs, you can provide the essential information needed to expand upon your request.

Thesis Statement Revision

Your thesis will probably change as you write, so you will need to modify it to reflect exactly what you have discussed in your essay. Remember from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that your thesis statement begins as a working thesis statement , an indefinite statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process for the purpose of planning and guiding your writing.

Working thesis statements often become stronger as you gather information and form new opinions and reasons for those opinions. Revision helps you strengthen your thesis so that it matches what you have expressed in the body of the paper.

The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.

Ways to Revise Your Thesis

You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps:

1. Pinpoint and replace all nonspecific words, such as people , everything , society , or life , with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.

Working thesis: Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

Revised thesis: Recent college graduates must have discipline and persistence in order to find and maintain a stable job in which they can use and be appreciated for their talents.

The revised thesis makes a more specific statement about success and what it means to work hard. The original includes too broad a range of people and does not define exactly what success entails. By replacing those general words like people and work hard , the writer can better focus his or her research and gain more direction in his or her writing.

2. Clarify ideas that need explanation by asking yourself questions that narrow your thesis.

Working thesis: The welfare system is a joke.

Revised thesis: The welfare system keeps a socioeconomic class from gaining employment by alluring members of that class with unearned income, instead of programs to improve their education and skill sets.

A joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience. By asking questions, the writer can devise a more precise and appropriate explanation for joke . The writer should ask himself or herself questions similar to the 5WH questions. (See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information on the 5WH questions.) By incorporating the answers to these questions into a thesis statement, the writer more accurately defines his or her stance, which will better guide the writing of the essay.

3. Replace any linking verbs with action verbs. Linking verbs are forms of the verb to be , a verb that simply states that a situation exists.

Working thesis: Kansas City schoolteachers are not paid enough.

Revised thesis: The Kansas City legislature cannot afford to pay its educators, resulting in job cuts and resignations in a district that sorely needs highly qualified and dedicated teachers.

The linking verb in this working thesis statement is the word are . Linking verbs often make thesis statements weak because they do not express action. Rather, they connect words and phrases to the second half of the sentence. Readers might wonder, “Why are they not paid enough?” But this statement does not compel them to ask many more questions. The writer should ask himself or herself questions in order to replace the linking verb with an action verb, thus forming a stronger thesis statement, one that takes a more definitive stance on the issue:

  • Who is not paying the teachers enough?
  • What is considered “enough”?
  • What is the problem?
  • What are the results

4. Omit any general claims that are hard to support.

Working thesis: Today’s teenage girls are too sexualized.

Revised thesis: Teenage girls who are captivated by the sexual images on MTV are conditioned to believe that a woman’s worth depends on her sensuality, a feeling that harms their self-esteem and behavior.

It is true that some young women in today’s society are more sexualized than in the past, but that is not true for all girls. Many girls have strict parents, dress appropriately, and do not engage in sexual activity while in middle school and high school. The writer of this thesis should ask the following questions:

  • Which teenage girls?
  • What constitutes “too” sexualized?
  • Why are they behaving that way?
  • Where does this behavior show up?
  • What are the repercussions?

In the first section of Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , you determined your purpose for writing and your audience. You then completed a freewriting exercise about an event you recently experienced and chose a general topic to write about. Using that general topic, you then narrowed it down by answering the 5WH questions. After you answered these questions, you chose one of the three methods of prewriting and gathered possible supporting points for your working thesis statement.

Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write down your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

In your career you may have to write a project proposal that focuses on a particular problem in your company, such as reinforcing the tardiness policy. The proposal would aim to fix the problem; using a thesis statement would clearly state the boundaries of the problem and tell the goals of the project. After writing the proposal, you may find that the thesis needs revision to reflect exactly what is expressed in the body. Using the techniques from this chapter would apply to revising that thesis.

Key Takeaways

  • Proper essays require a thesis statement to provide a specific focus and suggest how the essay will be organized.
  • A thesis statement is your interpretation of the subject, not the topic itself.
  • A strong thesis is specific, precise, forceful, confident, and is able to be demonstrated.
  • A strong thesis challenges readers with a point of view that can be debated and can be supported with evidence.
  • A weak thesis is simply a declaration of your topic or contains an obvious fact that cannot be argued.
  • Depending on your topic, it may or may not be appropriate to use first person point of view.
  • Revise your thesis by ensuring all words are specific, all ideas are exact, and all verbs express action.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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  • Writing Tips

5 Tips for Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

5 Tips for Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

  • 5-minute read
  • 15th January 2021

Every good research paper needs a strong thesis statement. Typically, this is a line or two near the start where you set out the basic idea or argument that you will explore. But how do you write a perfect thesis statement? We have five top tips:

  • Think about the type of paper you are writing.
  • Come up with a question that your paper will answer.
  • Answer your question to work out a point you can argue or defend.
  • Summarize the key arguments or points you will make.
  • Review your thesis statement after writing your paper.

For more advice on all the above, read our guide below, or watch our video:

1. Tailor Your Thesis Statement to Your Paper Type

Different papers may require different approaches to writing a thesis statement. Three common paper types are argumentative, expository, and analytical:

  • Argumentative – An argumentative thesis statement sets out the position you will argue for and outlines the key point(s) from your paper.
  • Expository – Expository essays explain something, so the thesis statement for a paper like this will summarize the key facts from your research.
  • Analytical – Analytical essays focus on breaking down and exploring an issue in depth, so the thesis statement will summarize the issue and your analysis.

Thus, before writing anything, work out what kind of paper you’re writing. Once you’ve done this, you can tailor your thesis statement to match. We’ll give examples of argumentative, expository, and analytical thesis statements below.

2. Start with a Question

To work out a basic thesis, you need to start with an essay question. This is the issue your paper will address, and thus the main subject for your thesis statement.

If you were assigned a question for the paper, this will be simple! Otherwise, think about the topic of your paper and work out a simple question that you will answer.

You can see some examples of possible essay questions below:

  • Argumentative – Should vaccination for measles be compulsory or voluntary?
  • Expository – What effect did the Great Depression have on the US economy?
  • Analytical – What is the role of the “play within a play” in Hamlet?

This question will provide a jumping off point for your full thesis statement.

3. Work Out a Position You Can Defend

When you have a question, sketch out a basic answer for it. Importantly, this has to be something someone could disagree with or take a differing position on.

For instance, simply saying “The Great Depression had a major effect on the economy” would not be enough. This is too obvious. Instead, try to think of as position that someone could rationally dispute or disagree with. For example:

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  • Argumentative – Vaccination for measles should be compulsory.
  • Expository – The Great Depression significantly reduced GDP in the USA, triggering a shift to a mixed economy.
  • Analytical – Shakespeare uses the “play within a play” in Hamlet to explore the relationship between performance and authenticity.

This will become the basic thesis you will expand on or defend in your paper.

4. Summarize Your Key Arguments

A strong thesis statement will be clear and concise (a sentence or two at most). But it should also be detailed enough to show how you will answer your essay question.

Thus, when you have your basic thesis, you will want to expand it to summarize the key points or arguments you will use to support it. For instance:

  • Argumentative – Vaccination for measles should be compulsory because research shows it has saved millions of lives with few negative side effects.
  • Expository – The Great Depression reduced GDP in the US by 50% within the first five years, triggering a shift to New Deal politics and a mixed economy.
  • Analytical – Shakespeare uses the “play within a play” in Hamlet to explore themes of performance and authenticity, including the reliability of external appearances and how performance shapes our lives.

Your thesis statement should now give a strong sense of what you will say in the rest of your paper, setting up the reader to follow your arguments.

5. Review Your Thesis After Writing Your Paper

The thesis statement always goes at the start of a paper, so it may be one of the first things you write. But it is worth revisiting your thesis once you have a first draft.

This is because you need your thesis statement to reflect the content of the paper as a whole. And if the focus of your work shifts during writing – perhaps because you found a new piece of evidence or thought of a new argument at some point – you may find your conclusion and your initial thesis don’t quite match up any more.

When you have a first draft, though, you can tweak your thesis statement to reflect any changes made while drafting (or tweak your paper to match the statement).

Expert Paper Proofreading

We hope this guide has helped you to develop a strong thesis statement. If you’d like help with the rest of your paper, though, why not give our student proofreading service a try? You can even get your first 500 words proofread for free !

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

  • An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
  • An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
  • An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

  • Explain the analysis of the college admission process
  • Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

  • Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

  • Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college
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25 Thesis Statement Examples That Will Make Writing a Breeze

JBirdwellBranson

Understanding what makes a good thesis statement is one of the major keys to writing a great research paper or argumentative essay. The thesis statement is where you make a claim that will guide you through your entire paper. If you find yourself struggling to make sense of your paper or your topic, then it's likely due to a weak thesis statement.

Let's take a minute to first understand what makes a solid thesis statement, and what key components you need to write one of your own.

Perfecting Your Thesis Statement

A thesis statement always goes at the beginning of the paper. It will typically be in the first couple of paragraphs of the paper so that it can introduce the body paragraphs, which are the supporting evidence for your thesis statement.

Your thesis statement should clearly identify an argument. You need to have a statement that is not only easy to understand, but one that is debatable. What that means is that you can't just put any statement of fact and have it be your thesis. For example, everyone knows that puppies are cute . An ineffective thesis statement would be, "Puppies are adorable and everyone knows it." This isn't really something that's a debatable topic.

Something that would be more debatable would be, "A puppy's cuteness is derived from its floppy ears, small body, and playfulness." These are three things that can be debated on. Some people might think that the cutest thing about puppies is the fact that they follow you around or that they're really soft and fuzzy.

All cuteness aside, you want to make sure that your thesis statement is not only debatable, but that it also actually thoroughly answers the research question that was posed. You always want to make sure that your evidence is supporting a claim that you made (and not the other way around). This is why it's crucial to read and research about a topic first and come to a conclusion later. If you try to get your research to fit your thesis statement, then it may not work out as neatly as you think. As you learn more, you discover more (and the outcome may not be what you originally thought).

Additionally, your thesis statement shouldn't be too big or too grand. It'll be hard to cover everything in a thesis statement like, "The federal government should act now on climate change." The topic is just too large to actually say something new and meaningful. Instead, a more effective thesis statement might be, "Local governments can combat climate change by providing citizens with larger recycling bins and offering local classes about composting and conservation." This is easier to work with because it's a smaller idea, but you can also discuss the overall topic that you might be interested in, which is climate change.

So, now that we know what makes a good, solid thesis statement, you can start to write your own. If you find that you're getting stuck or you are the type of person who needs to look at examples before you start something, then check out our list of thesis statement examples below.

Thesis statement examples

A quick note that these thesis statements have not been fully researched. These are merely examples to show you what a thesis statement might look like and how you can implement your own ideas into one that you think of independently. As such, you should not use these thesis statements for your own research paper purposes. They are meant to be used as examples only.

  • Vaccinations Because many children are unable to vaccinate due to illness, we must require that all healthy and able children be vaccinated in order to have herd immunity.
  • Educational Resources for Low-Income Students Schools should provide educational resources for low-income students during the summers so that they don't forget what they've learned throughout the school year.
  • School Uniforms School uniforms may be an upfront cost for families, but they eradicate the visual differences in income between students and provide a more egalitarian atmosphere at school.
  • Populism The rise in populism on the 2016 political stage was in reaction to increasing globalization, the decline of manufacturing jobs, and the Syrian refugee crisis.
  • Public Libraries Libraries are essential resources for communities and should be funded more heavily by local municipalities.
  • Cyber Bullying With more and more teens using smartphones and social media, cyber bullying is on the rise. Cyber bullying puts a lot of stress on many teens, and can cause depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Parents should limit the usage of smart phones, monitor their children's online activity, and report any cyber bullying to school officials in order to combat this problem.
  • Medical Marijuana for Veterans Studies have shown that the use of medicinal marijuana has been helpful to veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Medicinal marijuana prescriptions should be legal in all states and provided to these veterans. Additional medical or therapy services should also be researched and implemented in order to help them re-integrate back into civilian life.
  • Work-Life Balance Corporations should provide more work from home opportunities and six-hour workdays so that office workers have a better work-life balance and are more likely to be productive when they are in the office.
  • Teaching Youths about Consensual Sex Although sex education that includes a discussion of consensual sex would likely lead to less sexual assault, parents need to teach their children the meaning of consent from a young age with age appropriate lessons.
  • Whether or Not to Attend University A degree from a university provides invaluable lessons on life and a future career, but not every high school student should be encouraged to attend a university directly after graduation. Some students may benefit from a trade school or a "gap year" where they can think more intensely about what it is they want to do for a career and how they can accomplish this.
  • Studying Abroad Studying abroad is one of the most culturally valuable experiences you can have in college. It is the only way to get completely immersed in another language and learn how other cultures and countries are different from your own.
  • Women's Body Image Magazines have done a lot in the last five years to include a more diverse group of models, but there is still a long way to go to promote a healthy woman's body image collectively as a culture.
  • Cigarette Tax Heavily taxing and increasing the price of cigarettes is essentially a tax on the poorest Americans, and it doesn't deter them from purchasing. Instead, the state and federal governments should target those economically disenfranchised with early education about the dangers of smoking.
  • Veganism A vegan diet, while a healthy and ethical way to consume food, indicates a position of privilege. It also limits you to other cultural food experiences if you travel around the world.
  • University Athletes Should be Compensated University athletes should be compensated for their service to the university, as it is difficult for these students to procure and hold a job with busy academic and athletic schedules. Many student athletes on scholarship also come from low-income neighborhoods and it is a struggle to make ends meet when they are participating in athletics.
  • Women in the Workforce Sheryl Sandberg makes a lot of interesting points in her best-selling book, Lean In , but she only addressed the very privileged working woman and failed to speak to those in lower-skilled, lower-wage jobs.
  • Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide should be legal and doctors should have the ability to make sure their patients have the end-of-life care that they want to receive.
  • Celebrity and Political Activism Although Taylor Swift's lyrics are indicative of a feminist perspective, she should be more politically active and vocal to use her position of power for the betterment of society.
  • The Civil War The insistence from many Southerners that the South seceded from the Union for states' rights versus the fact that they seceded for the purposes of continuing slavery is a harmful myth that still affects race relations today.
  • Blue Collar Workers Coal miners and other blue-collar workers whose jobs are slowly disappearing from the workforce should be re-trained in jobs in the technology sector or in renewable energy. A program to re-train these workers would not only improve local economies where jobs have been displaced, but would also lead to lower unemployment nationally.
  • Diversity in the Workforce Having a diverse group of people in an office setting leads to richer ideas, more cooperation, and more empathy between people with different skin colors or backgrounds.
  • Re-Imagining the Nuclear Family The nuclear family was traditionally defined as one mother, one father, and 2.5 children. This outdated depiction of family life doesn't quite fit with modern society. The definition of normal family life shouldn't be limited to two-parent households.
  • Digital Literacy Skills With more information readily available than ever before, it's crucial that students are prepared to examine the material they're reading and determine whether or not it's a good source or if it has misleading information. Teaching students digital literacy and helping them to understand the difference between opinion or propaganda from legitimate, real information is integral.
  • Beauty Pageants Beauty pageants are presented with the angle that they empower women. However, putting women in a swimsuit on a stage while simultaneously judging them on how well they answer an impossible question in a short period of time is cruel and purely for the amusement of men. Therefore, we should stop televising beauty pageants.
  • Supporting More Women to Run for a Political Position In order to get more women into political positions, more women must run for office. There must be a grassroots effort to educate women on how to run for office, who among them should run, and support for a future candidate for getting started on a political career.

Still stuck? Need some help with your thesis statement?

If you are still uncertain about how to write a thesis statement or what a good thesis statement is, be sure to consult with your teacher or professor to make sure you're on the right track. It's always a good idea to check in and make sure that your thesis statement is making a solid argument and that it can be supported by your research.

After you're done writing, it's important to have someone take a second look at your paper so that you can ensure there are no mistakes or errors. It's difficult to spot your own mistakes, which is why it's always recommended to have someone help you with the revision process, whether that's a teacher, the writing center at school, or a professional editor such as one from ServiceScape .

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How to Write a Thesis Statement: 3 Tips

Learn how to craft a strong thesis statement for your academic papers and essays with these essential tips and insights into the writing process.

How to Write a Thesis Statement: 3 Tips

Kate Windsor

Jun 19, 2024

How to Write a Thesis Statement: 3 Tips

The Importance of a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is the cornerstone of any well-written academic paper or essay. It is a concise summary of your main idea, argument, or claim, and it sets the foundation for the rest of your essay. Crafting a good thesis statement can be challenging, but with these three tips, you'll be well on your way to writing scientific papers and essays like a pro.

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Tip 1: Make your thesis statement specific and focused

One of the most common mistakes students make when writing a good thesis statement is being too broad or vague. A strong thesis statement should be as specific as possible and focused, narrowing down your topic to a particular argument or claim.

For example, instead of saying, "Climate change is a problem," a more effective thesis statement would be, "The increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes is a direct result of climate change caused by human activities." This paragraph demonstrates a clear and specific main idea that can be developed throughout the essay.

Tip 2: Ensure your thesis statement is debatable

A good thesis statement should present an argumentative position, not a fact or an obvious truth. If your thesis statement is something that everyone already agrees with, there's no point in writing an essay about it. Instead, choose a topic that allows for debate and discussion, giving you the opportunity to present evidence and citations to support your position.

For instance, "The death penalty is a controversial issue" is not a debatable thesis statement, whereas "The death penalty is an ineffective deterrent to crime and should be abolished" is. A debatable thesis statement invites readers to disagree or propose alternative viewpoints, making your essay more engaging and thought-provoking.

Tip 3: Place your thesis statement strategically

The placement of your thesis statement is crucial. It should typically appear at the end of your introduction paragraph, setting the stage for the rest of your essay. In some cases, your thesis statement may require more than one sentence, but try to keep it concise and to the point.

A well-placed thesis statement acts as a roadmap for your readers, guiding them through your argument and helping them understand the main idea of your assignment.

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The Writing Process: From Working Thesis to Final Statement

Developing a strong thesis statement is an essential part of the writing process. It begins with a working thesis, which serves as a starting point for your academic writing, helping you focus your research and outline the main point of your paper.

As you  write your paper for your thesis and go through the writing process, developing a strong statement often begins with a working thesis. This initial idea serves as a starting point for your academic writing, helping you focus your research and outline the main point of your paper. 

In the process of choosing your topic and/or as you've chosen your topic, use this working thesis to guide your research and draft the first paragraph of your introduction. Remember, there are different types of thesis statements depending on your paper's purpose – whether it's to analyze, contrast, or persuade the reader. 

Avoid relying on a thesis generator in writing a paper, as these often produce generic statements. Instead, formulate your own ideas and cite sources appropriately to avoid plagiarism.  

Your thesis sentence should summarize and encapsulate the subject of your paper, serving as a roadmap for the rest of your paper. As you progress through the body of your essay and revise your work, don't be afraid to refine your thesis.

Often, the writing center at your institution can help you transform a weak thesis statement into a persuasive and strong one that effectively sums up the main argument and helps your reader understand what you want to say. 

Remember, crafting a final thesis statement is often the first step in ensuring the rest of your paper flows logically and coherently.

A strong thesis statement is essential for any successful academic paper or essay. By making you write a thesis statement in a specific, debatable, and strategically placed manner, you'll be setting yourself up for success in your assignments.

As you continue your academic journey, remember to apply these tips to your writing, whether you're  writing an academic book proposal or using AI for research . And when the time comes, make sure to prepare thoroughly for your thesis defense .

We encourage you to put these tips into practice. Happy writing!

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Free Thesis Statement Generator - Create Your Thesis Online

1. State your topic*

Your topic is the main idea of your paper. It is usually a phrase or a few words that summarize the subject of your paper.

2. State the main idea about this topic*

Explicitly state what the main point of your thesis will be early in your paper.

3. Add evidence that supports your main idea*

What evidence could you use to drive home your thesis’ point? What facts or reasons support your argument?

4. Give another evidence that supports your main point

5. Include a counterargument if possible

Every topic has alternative schools of thought. Think of someone who would disagree with your arguments and/or evidence. What would they say? The more you understand the counterargument, the better you can defend your thesis and its arguments with evidence.

Read the options and choose the one you like:

How to use thesis generator by papersowl.

  • Enter all the information we need in brief, do not use full sentences.
  • Everything you need is to insert your text and its title into the box.
  • Do not use capital letters, periods, or full stops in your answer.
  • Hit the “Generate Thesis” button and get samples of your thesis statement.
  • Choose the one that suits you from the five presented.

What should you have before using Thesis Generator?

  • The topic of your paper. Get creative topic with our topic generator .
  • Main conclusion. Use conclusion generator to compose a summary for any type of paper!
  • Arguments for your conclusion
  • Argument against

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Thesis Statement Generator Review

Other platforms charge for the use of their thesis statement generator that are not always reliable or unique; you get the opposite with Papersowl’s simplistic and reliable thesis statement generator.

Features Any Thesis Statement Generator Papersowl Thesis Statement Generator
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How Does Thesis Statement Generator Work?

  • The task is to formulate the key concept of your paper; in other words, this is your topic. A statement or a few phrases summarize your paper's main theme. Fill in the requested topic of your paper. First, you should enter all the relevant information. Use clear and concise phrases. You do not need to use complete sentences.
  • Explain your major point regarding this subject by inserting the title and the text into the box. Write what you need to say or prove about your subject. When expressing your viewpoint, explain one main thought, define the subject, and declare something particular about it. Avoid using capital characters, periods, or full stops.
  • Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory. Once you have filled them in, hit the generate thesis button. You will see the results below in a separate window. Key phrases will be highlighted in different colors. You can rephrase the thesis or click the button to get a new one. In addition to generating a thesis, you can request the design of examples. Several possible theses will be displayed in the same window.
  • The last step is optional. The program offers you sample essays. Click on the corresponding button to get acquainted with examples of related works. The search will return essays or excerpts as close as possible to your topic. You can read them for free or, if necessary, order the full version.
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A thesis statement may appear the most complicated task in the process of writing an academic assignment. We’ve covered you here by developing a game-changing tool. Generating perfect thesis statements, it fills the gaps for you and provides some other tasty benefits:

Our service formulates a powerful thesis statement that informs readers about the scope, objectives, and subject of the paper. The thesis statements derived from our tool are catchy, unique, and relevant, so you don't have to worry about their intelligibility.

We understand your pains arising in the process of creating an efficient research paper and we don't want to further increase them. That's why we made our tool free for you to use.

Students may spend hours trying to come up with a relevant thesis statement they can defend in the course of the research. We offer a simple and time-saving algorithm for a great outcome.

We developed our tool with experts so that you could receive the best service. The brand-new software analyzes your inputs and produces a 100% unique statement that guides the reader and backs up your research.

Thesis Statement Generator Online

The most difficult and main part of each writing work is to form a thesis statement. The assignments of different topics are not so easy to create it perfectly at the beginning of writing. But to solve this problem and to help people all around the world who have been puzzled for hours over this issue, an online thesis statement generator was developed and that’s why you can try now to make your ideal one with filling the gaps. Sounds too complicated?

Don’t be scared of wasting lots of time or payments because it will take you less than 2 minutes to get your wish from the free thesis generator. There is nothing sophisticated, just start your research by stating your topic and then write down the main idea of the text, your position. After that you have to fill in a few more gaps, press submit and Bob’s your uncle.

By the way, our website involved lots of professionals to create such a wise thesis maker. And you may not be informed that this service is mostly chargeable on different websites. But we offer you is entirely free of payment. And if you are interested in such an experiment for your writing skills you can try a thesis for a research paper .

If You Pay For Research Paper You Get Many Advantages

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Main Types Of Thesis Statement

There are some kinds of essay papers that have ideas and purposes. Therefore, it is logical that for each particular type of essay you should use your own corresponding thesis creator. Each of them has specific skills to find an appropriate one analyzing all information you brought in and producing a well-directed idea in accordance with the essay type.  Also, each of them has its own system of calculation.

  • Informative speech statement  generator

The main idea is to form no argument or expressing but a general goal of your essay. Here it is very important since this expository thesis statement provides the reader with a clear and accessible view of your paper and keeps reading curious.

  • Compare and contrast the thesis statement generator.

This calculator works with comparison two or more things depending on your writing task. Instead of wasting lots of time to find an appropriate one to contrast it is very wise to work out the best statement. And having already all the points to work with it would be much easier to finish your work.

  • Argumentative thesis statement generator

The problem of this writing helper is to get your opinion and to find out perfect arguments towards it. This one is based on examining your counter position, suggesting different reasons for the subject. Also, get your short summarize on exploring the issue.

  • Cause and effect thesis statement generator

Using this one you will get a variety of reasons that refer to the text main idea, which is always hard to produce much. Moreover, you will receive effects that are related to just-ready causes. After that, it is no problem to get over with the rest of the analytical writing information to have your essay one of the best.

  • Expository thesis statement generator

Helping students with explaining the sense of an issue to the audience is how it works. What does it imply? Working out evidence evaluating and investigating the problem of the text you will get the very one you needed. The hardest difficulties of such kind of essay leave for its solving.

Choose the appropriate thesis statement maker to enjoy its results on research paper writing service.

The Structure Of Thesis Statement

Its structure is a strong argument you should prove through the whole text. To build it you need to a generalization in one or two sentences. It should include a comment on your position, central message, be something clear and useful for readers. Shape it to show the reader that all information and main you mean there is in your narrative work, nothing extra. Every sentence should be informative or has a reason to think about it.

Samples Of Thesis Statement Created By Our Users

People who visited our website tried to create their own samples and here is what they got:

  • After graduating high school, students need a gap year because this leads to socialization and students become aware of what do they want from life.

Considering high schools and people it is a fact as that is the true and the second part of the sentence is a reason because that could be the answer to the previous part of the sentence.

Sample Of Thesis Statement On Gender Roles.

Using a thesis statement creator makes it possible to receive such a sentence:

  • There are some expectations that we grow familiar as the times passes and they are regarded to be the gender roles. Basically, the gender role is what is convenient for a man or woman to do in society.
  • You get it when explaining that, for example, what I believe on this matter is that it affects children and teenagers negatively because it puts pressure on them and creates a superiority relation between the genders in our society.

Sample Of Statement On Advertising

How to make one? To express your opinion even on advertising it is available with thesis statement generator free. Just look at the problem from different sides. Here we have:

  • Advertising can be incredibly effective and powerful in promoting causes and beneficial products, while at the same time be negative for forcing ideas upon its audience. Advertising, despite its causes, is beneficial and necessary towards creating a stable and free-flowing society and economy.

Thus here we have a strong one and already positive and negative sides. They are significant in developing good text and picking up all the audience. By the way, if it is difficult to continue with the writing and thesis generator for the research paper didn’t give you a strong new one, because you can always choose buy a research paper at our website.

Sample Of Statement On Fake News

To form such kind of them also needs some efforts but if you are already little experience in this area it wouldn’t be quite difficult. Everything is about practice.

  • We present new evidence on the role of false stories circulated on social media prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Drawing on audience data, archives of fact-checking websites, and results from a new online survey, we find: social media was an important but not dominant source of news in the run-up to the election.

This is a phrase we should work with. Having studied that we can claim that:

Exploring many reliable sources it turned out that presidential elections weren’t clear and even social media were accused of it.

Now you are acquainted much closer with statement generators of different kinds. We believe your life will become easier with its help and good grades expect for you soon. Thus, don’t give up on your writing, use smart technologies and make progress. You can much more than you are expected to do.

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Thesis Statement Generator: Free & Precise

Looking for a thesis statement generator? The free online tool we offer will make a thesis in no time! Our thesis sentence generator will suit argumentative, informative, and comparative essays. All you need to do is look at the examples and add the necessary information.

☑️ How to Use the Thesis Generator?

  • 📝 Essay Thesis
  • ✍️ Research Paper Thesis
  • 📜 Dissertation Thesis
  • 🙊 Thesis For a Speech

💡 Make a Thesis with Our Tips

🏆 10 best thesis generators, ⭐ thesis statement maker: the benefits, 🔗 references, 🔧 thesis generator: what is it.

Sometimes it can be challenging to come up with a topic, research question, or a thesis statement for your paper. An excellent solution is to use online topic makers, problem statement generators, and thesis topic generators, such as ours! Our free online generator will help you create the perfect thesis statement! Follow the steps below to get thesis statements relating to your topic:

  • Introduce your topic. It can also be the title of your paper (e.g., the benefits of online education).
  • State the main idea about this topic. It is the specific point of view that you will discuss in your paper (e.g., online learning is beneficial)
  • Make an argument supporting your point of view. It must be a strong and valid argument. Don't claim something that you can't back with facts (e.g., online learning is flexible)
  • Make another argument supporting your point of view (e.g., online learning is affordable).
  • Make an argument against your point of view. Make sure you don't just dismiss it, but acknowledge its validity (e.g., online learning is not always taken seriously)
  • Decide on the topic of your paper.
  • Think about the main idea that you will express in your paper. It will also be the conclusion.
  • Choose arguments that can support your point of view. Also, think of at least one counterargument. It will help you discuss your topic better.
  • Enter this information into respective fields. Use short sentences. Do not use punctuation or capital letters.
  • Click on the "Generate Thesis" button to get samples.
  • Choose the sample you like best!

📍 Why Make a Thesis Statement?

You might have already heard about theses and thesis statements. Well, the main difference is: a thesis is the key point or argument of your assignment. And the thesis statement is this point expressed in one sentence.

Here’s one crucial thing you should always keep in mind when you write this sentence: it should meet the professor’s requirements.

There are two types of thesis statements:

  • Direct. It states the exact reasons for your paper. For example, "I do not support vegan lifestyle because animals do not have feelings, this lifestyle is too expensive, and a vegan diet is not healthy." Such a thesis sentence would tell the reader what each body paragraph or section is going to be about.
  • Indirect. Unlike the direct thesis statement, it does not state clear arguments. Here’s the sample: "I do not support vegan lifestyle for three reasons." The fact “I do not support vegan lifestyle” is the topic, and "three reasons" represent an indirect thesis statement. The assignment will contain these three reasons.

Most kinds of academic papers require a thesis statement, which can also be considered as your answer to the research question.

Now that you've learned the basics let's see what can help you to create an excellent thesis statement for anything: from history research to a critique paper!

📝 Essay Thesis Statement

You will probably write many essays as a high school or college student. Writing an essay is quite easy: it doesn't require any serious research on your part, and the resulting text is usually short. That's why you choose a narrow thesis statement that you can talk about in 4-5 paragraphs.

Your choice of a thesis statement depends on what type of essay you're writing. Here are some examples:

In an expository essay , you explain the topic logically, using your analytical skills. This type of essay relies only on facts, without any reference to the writer's personal opinion. The topic statement is the most critical part of an expository essay. It should be short and manageable so that you can describe it in just a few paragraphs. As you can see from the definition, it also should be based on facts and not on the writer's position. This category includes compare and contrast essays, definition essays , and others:

e.g., While online education is not always taken seriously, it is beneficial because of its flexibility and affordability.

On the contrary, argumentative essays are centered on the writer's personal opinion. This type of essay is also called persuasive because your aim is to persuade people that your idea is right. The thesis statement should reflect this:

e.g., Vegan lifestyle should not be promoted because it's expensive and not healthy.

Note: it's better not to use the word "I," because it may appear as too subjective. Remember: a strong thesis statement means an excellent essay!

✍️ Research Paper Thesis Statement

Unlike essays, research papers require more information, and they are lengthier than essays. That's why a research paper thesis statement should be slightly broader. This way, you make sure that you have a lot to discuss and can demonstrate your more profound knowledge on the topic.

Research paper thesis statements can be simple or more complex, depending on the purpose of your paper. Simple thesis statements can be formulated with the help of the outlines:

Something is true because of these reasons .

The US Constitution is not outdated because it's an integral part of the country's identity.

Despite these counterarguments , something is true.

e.g., Despite not being outdated, the US Constitution needs many amendments to keep up with the changing times.

You can make more complex thesis statements by combining several arguments:

e.g., The US Constitution is not outdated, because it's a part of the country's identity; still, some amendments need to be made.

Remember: it is essential to stay on topic! Avoid including unnecessary and random words into your statement. Our online thesis creator can help you in writing a statement directly connected with your theme.

Our thesis statement generator can help writing a thesis for your research. Create a short, catchy thesis statement, and you are one step closer to completing a perfect research paper!

📜 Dissertation Thesis Statement

Writing a master's thesis or a Ph.D. dissertation is not the same as writing a simple research paper. These types of academic papers are very lengthy. They require extensive analysis of information, as well as your ideas and original research.

Besides, you only have limited time for writing a dissertation, so you'll have to work on it systematically.

That's why it's better to come up with a thesis statement as early as possible . It will help you always stay on topic and not to waste your time on irrelevant information.

A dissertation can have an even broader thesis statement because of how lengthy your work should be. Make sure it's something you can study extensively and from different points of view:

e.g., The use of memory techniques at school can boost children's abilities and revolutionize modern teaching.

Don't forget to include a statement showing why your dissertation is interesting and relevant!

🙊 Thesis Statement For a Speech

Similarly, the thesis statement for a speech should be catchy and exciting . If you include it in the introduction, you will provide your audience with a sense of direction and make it easier to concentrate. The audience will know what to expect of your speech, and they will pay more attention.

Speech, unlike a research paper, includes only the most relevant information . If your speech is based on a paper, use your thesis statement to decide what to leave out. Remember that everything you say should be connected to your thesis statement! This way, you'll make your speech consistent, informative, and engaging.

Another useful tip is to rehearse your speech several times before deciding that it's finished. You may need to make some corrections or even rephrase the thesis statement. Take your time and make sure you do your best!

Now, we will concentrate on your thesis writing. We’ve prepared six tips that would help you to master your thesis statement regardless of the paper type you were assigned to:

  • Formulate your topic. Here’s the secret: the good topic makes half of the success when you write a paper. It defines your research area, the degree of your involvement, and, accordingly, how good will the result be at the end. So what is the topic of an essay? Basically, it’s a phrase that defines the subject of your assignment. Don’t make it too broad or too specific.
  • Determine the key idea. It will help you get an understanding of your essay subject. Think about things you are trying to state or prove. For example, you may write down one main idea; consider a specific point of view that you’re going to research; state some facts and reasons you will use in your assignment, or express your opinion about the issue.
  • Choose the central argument to support your thesis. Make a list of arguments you would use in your essay. This simple task has at least two benefits. First, you will get a clear understanding on what you’re going to write. It will wipe out the writer’s block. Second, gathering arguments for the topic will help you create an outline for your assignment.
  • Generate other arguments to support the thesis. Free thesis generators suggest you proceed with a few arguments that support your topic idea. Don’t forget to prepare some logical evidence!
  • Come up with a counterargument to the main idea. You might find this exercise a bit hard, but still, if you're dreaming of writing an excellent paper, think of another side of the argument. To complete this task, you should conduct preliminary research to find another standpoint and evidence behind it.
  • Provide your thesis statement as early as possible in your paper. If you're writing a short paper, put your thesis in the introductory paragraph. For more extended essays, it is acceptable to write it in the second paragraph. And avoid phrases like, "The point of my essay is…"
  • Make your thesis statement specific. Remember to keep it short, clear, and specific. Check if there are two broad statements. If so, think about settling on one single idea and then proceed with further development. Avoid making it too broad. Your paper won’t be successful if you write three pages on things that do not disclose the topic and are too generic.

Original thesis:

There are serious objections to abortions.

Revised thesis:

Because of the high risk of breast cancer or subsequent childbearing, there should be broadly implemented the informed consent practice that certifies that women are advised of such risks prior to having an abortion.

When writing your thesis, you use words that your audience will understand:

  • Avoid technical language unless you’re writing a technical report.
  • Forget about jargon.
  • Avoid vague words: “exciting,” “interesting,” “usual,” “difficult,” etc.
  • Avoid simply announcing the topic. Share your specific “angle” and show why your point on the issue matter.
  • Do not make judgments that oversimplify complex topics.
  • If you use judgment call in your thesis, don’t forget to specify and justify your reasoning.
  • Don't just report facts. Instead, share your personal thoughts and ideas on the issue.
  • Explain why your point matters. When you’re writing a thesis, imagine that your readers ask you a simple question: “So what?” Instead of writing something general, like "There are a lot of pros and cons of behaviorism", tell your readers why you think the behaviorism theory is better than cognitivist theory.
  • Avoid quotes in your thesis statement. Instead of citing someone, use your own words in the thesis. It will help you to grab the reader's attention and gain credibility. And the last advice: change your thesis as you write the essay. Revise it as your paper develops to get the perfect statement. Now it's time to apply this knowledge and create your own thesis! We believe this advice and tools will be useful in your essay writing!
Thesis Generator Tool Type of paper Free/ Paid Outline option Ads Hints and examples IvyScore
Any Free Yes None Instructions, questionnaire 5 out of 5
Any Free None None Instructions, examples 4 out of 5
Any Free None None Examples, guide 4 out of 5
Persuasive Free Yes None Instructions, questionnaire 4 out of 5
Any Free None None Guides, examples 4 out of 5
Argumentative Free None None Instructions, examples 4 out of 5
Argumentative Free (up to 1000 words/week) Yes None Hints, a short guide on different thesis types 4 out of 5
Any Free None Too many Hints, guide 3 out of 5
Any Free None Too many Hints, samples, thesis statement examples on various topics 3 out of 5
Persuasive, research, compare and contrast Free None None A short guide on each type of thesis, questionnaire 3 out of 5

To ease your writing, we prepared an IvyPanda thesis statement generators. Check the list below:

1. Thesis Statement Generator

Thesis Statement Generator is a simple online tool which will guide you through the thesis statement creation. To get your thesis, you will have to provide the following information: the topic, your personal opinion, the qualification, and reason sentences. Then press the button “My Thesis” to see the final draft, edit it and print or save it on your computer.

Also, you can make an outline for your future paper within a couple of clicks. The tool works with any type of paper.

2. Grammarly AI Thesis Statement Generator

Grammarly is known for its superb grammar-checking software, but it has recently added various AI-powered tools. An AI Thesis Statement Generator is one of them. To use this tool, specify your audience and briefly describe your paper type and topic. After that, wait a few seconds, and Grammarly will provide three thesis statement options.

However, as with any AI writing tool, you should be critical of the information they provide. Therefore, we recommend you check the generated thesis statements for inaccuracies before using them in your writing.

3. HelpfulPapers Thesis Statement Checker

HelpfulPapers Thesis Statement Checker is another free service that requires no registration and provides unlimited attempts for thesis creation. To create a thesis statement, you should put a topic, your main conclusion about it, two arguments, and a counterargument. Then, click the button “Make a thesis statement.” You will get a few thesis examples to choose from.

On the page, you will also find a comprehensive guide on thesis statement writing with good and bad samples. This website doesn’t allow its users to create an outline draft. However, the HelpfulPapers blog contains lots of useful articles on writing.

4. Thesis Builder

Thesis Builder is a service by Tom March, which is available for students since 1995. This ad-free tool allows you to generate a persuasive thesis and create your essay outline. This web app is completely free, so fill in the boxes and write your assignment. You can print a result or send it as email.

5. Thesis Statement Creator

The next tool in our list is Thesis Statement Creator. The service is ad-free and offers unlimited attempts to generate thesis statement. It works with any type of paper and requires no registration. Users can find a short guide and thesis statement prompts. The app allows printing the result.

6. UAGC Thesis Generator

The University of Arizona Global Campus has designed a convenient tool for crafting compelling argumentative thesis statements. Just follow the prompts on the website to fill in all the boxes and get a strong and focused thesis.

If you want to learn more about developing thesis statements, the university invites you to follow the link to their thesis writing guide. From there, you’ll learn how to craft not only argumentative thesis statements but also analytical and expository ones.

7. HIX.AI Thesis Statement Generator

HIX.AI is an AI-powered thesis statement generator. To use the tool, enter your topic, specify the main idea and supporting evidence, and add a counterargument. You can also choose your audience, tone of voice, and language. Then, click the button and check your thesis.

HIX.AI offers a free plan: you can generate a maximum of 1,000 words per week without charge. Although not quite a lot, it can be enough to craft 20-25 thesis statements a week. So, you are highly likely to get the one that suits you.

8. Editpad Thesis Statement Generator

Editpad Thesis Statement Generator is another AI-powered tool for crafting thesis statements. Yet, it has a much simpler interface: you only have to enter your topic and click the button to get your thesis statement.

If you’re looking for a quick, unsophisticated tool or haven’t identified your main point, evidence, and counterargument yet, the Editpad thesis generator can be just what you need. However, if you want a more customizable option, you’d better choose something different from our list.

9. Thesis Statement Maker

Thesis Statement Maker is similar to the previous tool. The page contains hints on thesis writing, four fields to fill and get a thesis, and works with any type of paper. As a bonus, you will find a list of thesis statements on various topics.

The key drawback is the same too: lots of ads and no paper outline option.

10. Thesis Generator | SUNY Empire State College

The truly academic tool in our list: SUNY Empire State College Thesis Generator. Students can find a lot of useful information on thesis writing. To generate summary, choose the type of paper you are going to write, fill the form and get your thesis. The website is ad-free and provides a short guide on most common types of thesis.

Among its drawbacks are only three supported types of thesis statements and no outline generation.

🧭 Intuitive Use the prompts and look at the examples to make a thesis.
📍 Customizable Generate a thesis statement for an argumentative or analytical essay.
💰 Free Don’t pay anything with this thesis statement generator.
🌐 Online No need to waste precious space on your devices with this tool.

Updated: Dec 19th, 2023

  • Argumentative Essays: Purdue OWL
  • Developing A Thesis: Harvard College Writing Center
  • 5 Types of Thesis Statements: University of Guelph
  • The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Thesis Statement: Grammarly
  • Expository Essays: Purdue OWL
  • How to Write a Thesis Statement: Indiana University Bloomington
  • Thesis Statements: UNC Writing Center
  • Thesis Statements: Texas A&M University Writing Center
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If you need help to write a thesis for your paper, this page will give you plenty of resources to do that. You’ll find out about the essentials of thesis statement. There are also tips on how to write the statement properly. But most importantly, this page contains reviews and links to online thesis generators.

IMAGES

  1. 45 Perfect Thesis Statement Templates (+ Examples) ᐅ TemplateLab

    strong thesis statement writer

  2. How To Write A Thesis Statement (with Useful Steps and Tips) • 7ESL

    strong thesis statement writer

  3. 36 Examples of Strong Thesis Statement

    strong thesis statement writer

  4. Strong Thesis Statement

    strong thesis statement writer

  5. 120+ Thesis Statement Examples

    strong thesis statement writer

  6. 25 Thesis Statement Examples (2024)

    strong thesis statement writer

VIDEO

  1. Crafting The Perfect Thesis: Strong vs. Weak Statements

  2. How to write a strong thesis statement

  3. How to write a strong thesis statement

  4. Start strong! Hook your readers with a well-crafted INTRODUCTION

  5. How Can I Effectively Write a Literary Analysis Essay?

  6. How To Write A Thesis Statement

COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Thesis Statement

    Types of thesis statements. Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you're writing: In an argumentative essay, your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.

  2. Strong Thesis Statements

    This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

  3. How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

    Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing. Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and ...

  4. How to write a thesis statement + Examples

    It is a brief statement of your paper's main argument. Essentially, you are stating what you will be writing about. Organize your papers in one place. Try Paperpile. No credit card needed. Get 30 days free. You can see your thesis statement as an answer to a question. While it also contains the question, it should really give an answer to the ...

  5. Thesis Statements

    A thesis statement: tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself.

  6. Developing A Thesis

    A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay. Steps in Constructing a Thesis. First, analyze your primary sources. Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication.

  7. How to Write a Thesis Statement in 4 Steps

    How to Write a Thesis Statement in 4 Steps. If you produce a solid thesis statement to kick off an argumentative essay or piece of academic writing, you instantly frame the objective for yourself as a writer and for your audience as readers. By learning how to write a thesis statement, you will rapidly advance your pedigree as an academic ...

  8. How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

    Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences. Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone ...

  9. Developing a Thesis Statement

    A thesis statement . . . Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic. Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. Is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper. Is generally located near the end ...

  10. How to Write a Thesis Statement

    4. A strong thesis statement is specific. 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: World hunger has many causes and effects. This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons.

  11. PDF Thesis Statements

    This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can discover or refine one for your draft. ... There isn't one right answer; there are only strong and weak thesis statements and strong and weak uses of evidence. Let's look at another example. Suppose your literature professor hands ...

  12. How To Write A Strong Thesis Statement

    The thesis statement is the most imporant part of your essay because it tells the reader everything they can expect. Here's a guide to writing a strong one.

  13. 9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

    Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write down your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident. Collaboration. Please share with a classmate and compare your ...

  14. PDF Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

    Writing a Strong Thesis Statement . A thesis statement is one or a few sentences that express the main ideas of your paper and answer the questions posed by your paper. Some thesis statements offer readers a quick and easy-to-follow summary of what the paper will be discussing and what you as a writer are setting out to tell them.

  15. Thesis Generator

    Remember that the thesis statement is a kind of "mapping tool" that helps you organize your ideas, and it helps your reader follow your argument. After the topic sentence, include any evidence in this body paragraph, such as a quotation, statistic, or data point, that supports this first point. Explain what the evidence means. Show the reader ...

  16. 5 Tips for Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

    Analytical - Shakespeare uses the "play within a play" in Hamlet to explore the relationship between performance and authenticity. This will become the basic thesis you will expand on or defend in your paper. 4. Summarize Your Key Arguments. A strong thesis statement will be clear and concise (a sentence or two at most).

  17. Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips

    Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement. 1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing: An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.; An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.; An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies ...

  18. 25 Thesis Statement Examples That Will Make Writing a Breeze

    What that means is that you can't just put any statement of fact and have it be your thesis. For example, everyone knows that puppies are cute. An ineffective thesis statement would be, "Puppies are adorable and everyone knows it." This isn't really something that's a debatable topic. Something that would be more debatable would be, "A puppy's ...

  19. How to Write a Thesis Statement: 3 Tips

    The Writing Process: From Working Thesis to Final Statement. Developing a strong thesis statement is an essential part of the writing process. It begins with a working thesis, which serves as a starting point for your academic writing, helping you focus your research and outline the main point of your paper.

  20. Thesis Statement Generator

    Choose the appropriate thesis statement maker to enjoy its results on research paper writing service. The Structure Of Thesis Statement. Its structure is a strong argument you should prove through the whole text. To build it you need to a generalization in one or two sentences.

  21. Thesis Statement Generator: Free & Precise

    Thesis Builder is a service by Tom March, which is available for students since 1995. This ad-free tool allows you to generate a persuasive thesis and create your essay outline. This web app is completely free, so fill in the boxes and write your assignment. You can print a result or send it as email.

  22. 5.5.1.9: Opening Paragraphs

    A Strong Thesis Statement. An introduction usually contains a thesis statement (i.e., the main point of the essay). A thesis statement is a promise to the reader about what the essay will be about. A thesis is not the topic itself, but rather the writer's angle on the topic.

  23. Thesis Statement Generator

    Use this thesis statement generator to build your argumentative or compare and contrast thesis statement in less than 5 minutes. > Thesis Statement Generator. What type of paper are you writing? ... - The Secrets of a Strong Argumentative Essay - How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay. Company. About Us; Contact/FAQ; Resources; Terms of ...

  24. How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement for Essays

    While the phrase thesis statement can sound intimidating, the basic goal is to clearly state your topic or your argument. Easy peasy! The basic rules for writing a thesis statement are: 1. State the topic or present your argument. 2. Summarize the main idea of each of your details and/or body paragraphs. 3. Keep your statement to one to two ...