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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples
What’s Covered:
What is the purpose of a thesis statement, writing a good thesis statement: 4 steps, common pitfalls to avoid, where to get your essay edited for free.
When you set out to write an essay, there has to be some kind of point to it, right? Otherwise, your essay would just be a big jumble of word salad that makes absolutely no sense. An essay needs a central point that ties into everything else. That main point is called a thesis statement, and it’s the core of any essay or research paper.
You may hear about Master degree candidates writing a thesis, and that is an entire paper–not to be confused with the thesis statement, which is typically one sentence that contains your paper’s focus.
Read on to learn more about thesis statements and how to write them. We’ve also included some solid examples for you to reference.
Typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph, the thesis statement serves as the roadmap for your essay. When your reader gets to the thesis statement, they should have a clear outline of your main point, as well as the information you’ll be presenting in order to either prove or support your point.
The thesis statement should not be confused for a topic sentence , which is the first sentence of every paragraph in your essay. If you need help writing topic sentences, numerous resources are available. Topic sentences should go along with your thesis statement, though.
Since the thesis statement is the most important sentence of your entire essay or paper, it’s imperative that you get this part right. Otherwise, your paper will not have a good flow and will seem disjointed. That’s why it’s vital not to rush through developing one. It’s a methodical process with steps that you need to follow in order to create the best thesis statement possible.
Step 1: Decide what kind of paper you’re writing
When you’re assigned an essay, there are several different types you may get. Argumentative essays are designed to get the reader to agree with you on a topic. Informative or expository essays present information to the reader. Analytical essays offer up a point and then expand on it by analyzing relevant information. Thesis statements can look and sound different based on the type of paper you’re writing. For example:
- Argumentative: The United States needs a viable third political party to decrease bipartisanship, increase options, and help reduce corruption in government.
- Informative: The Libertarian party has thrown off elections before by gaining enough support in states to get on the ballot and by taking away crucial votes from candidates.
- Analytical: An analysis of past presidential elections shows that while third party votes may have been the minority, they did affect the outcome of the elections in 2020, 2016, and beyond.
Step 2: Figure out what point you want to make
Once you know what type of paper you’re writing, you then need to figure out the point you want to make with your thesis statement, and subsequently, your paper. In other words, you need to decide to answer a question about something, such as:
- What impact did reality TV have on American society?
- How has the musical Hamilton affected perception of American history?
- Why do I want to major in [chosen major here]?
If you have an argumentative essay, then you will be writing about an opinion. To make it easier, you may want to choose an opinion that you feel passionate about so that you’re writing about something that interests you. For example, if you have an interest in preserving the environment, you may want to choose a topic that relates to that.
If you’re writing your college essay and they ask why you want to attend that school, you may want to have a main point and back it up with information, something along the lines of:
“Attending Harvard University would benefit me both academically and professionally, as it would give me a strong knowledge base upon which to build my career, develop my network, and hopefully give me an advantage in my chosen field.”
Step 3: Determine what information you’ll use to back up your point
Once you have the point you want to make, you need to figure out how you plan to back it up throughout the rest of your essay. Without this information, it will be hard to either prove or argue the main point of your thesis statement. If you decide to write about the Hamilton example, you may decide to address any falsehoods that the writer put into the musical, such as:
“The musical Hamilton, while accurate in many ways, leaves out key parts of American history, presents a nationalist view of founding fathers, and downplays the racism of the times.”
Once you’ve written your initial working thesis statement, you’ll then need to get information to back that up. For example, the musical completely leaves out Benjamin Franklin, portrays the founding fathers in a nationalist way that is too complimentary, and shows Hamilton as a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that his family likely did own slaves.
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 that you feel like you can truly write a paper on the topic. Once you’ve done that, you can then begin writing your paper.
When writing a thesis statement, there are some common pitfalls you should avoid so that your paper can be as solid as possible. Make sure you always edit the thesis statement before you do anything else. You also want to ensure that the thesis statement is clear and concise. Don’t make your reader hunt for your point. Finally, put your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph and have your introduction flow toward that statement. Your reader will expect to find your statement in its traditional spot.
If you’re having trouble getting started, or need some guidance on your essay, there are tools available that can help you. CollegeVine offers a free peer essay review tool where one of your peers can read through your essay and provide you with valuable feedback. Getting essay feedback from a peer can help you wow your instructor or college admissions officer with an impactful essay that effectively illustrates your point.
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This quiz will cover questions regarding thesis statements. You will be given 10 multiple choice questions. ... What is an example of an ef fective thesis statement? ... and effective time management. It gives pertinent information and points out thr ee main areas of focus for. the paper. 3. What is an example of an inef fective thesis statement?
The best thesis statements are concise, contentious, and coherent. Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper. ... What is an example of an effective thesis statement? Why is it effective? Freshman year academic success has been proven to be achieved through goal setting, time ...
A strong thesis statement must stick to a general topic, be precise, be able to be argued, and must be confident. What is an example of an effective thesis statement? Why is it effective? "A man's cuteness is derived from his body shape, hair color and personality." These are three things that can be debated on. What are some components of ...
Announcements of subject rather than stating a true thesis idea, Composing of statements that are too broad and wordy, Writing statements that are too narrow. Why is that example of a thesis statement ineffective? writer announces the subject rather than state a debatable idea. Topic 3 Quiz study guide. What are the.
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.
The thesis statement presents the argument that your essay will be defending with your original thoughts and ideas, along with your research. Why is a thesis statement important? The most important reason for a thesis statement is to let the reader know what the paper will be about.
What is a Thesis Statement? A thesis statement tells a reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. Such a statement is also called an "argument," a "main idea," or a "controlling idea.". A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how ...
What is an example of an effective thesis statement? Why is it effective? Because men earn significantly more than women, employers must narrow the earning gap between genders (may be agreed on or argued) -Online learning provides numerous benefits to adult learners (complete sentence) 3.
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 ...
For example, if you're writing a paper on the differences between corporate charitable donation strategies, your thesis statement might read something like this: It is not known what the differences in charitable donation strategies are in four U.S. corporations. For a lengthy dissertation, however, the thesis statement may be found ...
d- All of the answer choices. According to the text, the most effective listeners remain totally silent while another person speaks. b- False. Effective conflict resolution depends on asking not to display strong emotions. b- False. In contrast to verbal messages, ___________________ messages include your posture, gestures and style of clothing.
Checklist of a Strong Thesis Statement. ü Clear and concise. • R-T sentences (rest of intro can explain hows, whys, and whats in more detail) • Presents summary picture of your main argument. • Avoids hedging ("I hope to show," "I will try to prove," etc.) ü Specific and Arguable. • Avoids broad / unprovable statements.
12. Where should a thesis statement appear in an essay? The thesis. statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper. 13. What are the components of a strong thesis statement? the limited subject, the precise. opinion, and the blueprint of reasons. 14. What is an example of an effective thesis statement? Why is it ...
Bullet point ideas: Jot down ideas or topics that could be a part of your work using a bulleted structure. Draw a bubble map: Brainstorm related ideas and topics using a bubble map. Make a flow map: Draw a flow map to visually understand what will be in each section. 3. Know When To Avoid Writing in Order.
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Identify the best thesis statement given the statements below: Students can attain success in the online classroom through dedication, accountability, and effective time management. The following is an example of a Mapped Thesis Statement:Childhood obesity is a condition that is a result of society's reliance on convenience or fast food.
What is an example of an effective thesis statement? Why is it effective? In large classrooms there are three issues that may occur, classroom management, student engagement, and student success. It is effective because it includes all 3 issues/topics that will be in the essay. What is an example of an ineffective thesis statement?
As a graduate level GCU student, research becomes a large part of your curriculum. Sometimes you want to take on additional research opportunities to build your resume, make connections, or learn through hands-on research. Whatever your reason is, here are a few of our mostly commonly used resources that might be of interest to you.
Which of the following is an example of an ineffective thesis statement? - Three ways bullying impacts children are low self-esteem, suicide, and lower GPA. - Three characteristics of good leaders are empathy, integrity, and positive attitude.
Overview. The GCU Library provides expert research and reference assistance to the scholarly community. In addition to interlibrary loan, journal selection guidance, citation management strategies and assistance with literature search strategies, the library provides support through several programs specifically developed for researchers.
Effective thesis statements answer which of the following questions? All of the above The three major elements of a good thesis statement are: a subject, a main idea, and support or evidence