4 parts of a thesis statement
One of the most important components of most scientific papers, whether essay or research paper, is the thesis statement. A thesis statement is a sentence that states what you want your paper to show, what you want to convince your readers of after having read your thesis. This is the foundation of the entire work and informs the reader exactly what you wish to achieve with the paper, and what you wish to prove or disprove. Unless you are documenting research or writing a purely descriptive essay, you will be basing the paper around this thesis statement, so it needs to be well thought out. If an assignment asks you to analyze, argue, compare and contrast, establish a cause or otherwise interpret, the chances are that you will need to base it around a clearly defined thesis statement. This sets out your position, and every part of the paper will need to refer to back to it in some way.
Elements of a Thesis Statement
For example, if you were to write a thesis statement on the topic of kids watching TV, it might look something like this:. In the United States, the average child between the ages of 2 and 11 watches around 30 hours of television a week. While there are some educational television shows out there, nothing can replace the learning that comes from loving human interaction; therefore, parents should spend more time with their kids and reduce the amount of television their children watch. Be specific in each part of your thesis statement!
Put all three parts together, and there you have it — a comprehensive thesis statement, letting your reader know what your paper will be about, what your opinion on the topic is, and how you will convince him or her that you are right. How can I write my thesis statement before I know what research is out there? Wait until you have researched and synthesized the information before writing your thesis statement. Sometimes I wait until I have written the bulk of my paper before writing my thesis statement.
Then I go back and tie all of the paragraphs back to the thesis statement. A: Good question. An introductory paragraph can sometimes include only a thesis statement, but the better-written ones also have a grabber at the beginning, like a quote, a compelling question, or an interesting scenario.
Then there is a bridge connecting the grabber to the thesis statement, and finally, the thesis statement itself. Q: What if my paper is much more complex, and I have far more than three parts to include in my roadmap? A: First, group your subtopics together as much as possible.
Even if a section has multiple components and paragraphs, as long as all of those paragraphs relate to the same subtopic, you can mention only that main subtopic in your thesis statement roadmap. Then, make sure that your wording is as concise as possible for your thesis statement roadmap.
You only want the main idea of the subtopic in your roadmap, not the details. A: A well-written thesis statement prepares your reader for the rest of your paper. It tells her what you will be proving in your paper and how you will go about proving it.
Thesis statements also help you by providing you with a roadmap for your paper, as well as a central idea on which to focus. Skip to content. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
the theoretical basis. the implementation of the project.
A thesis cannot be a mere statement of fact. It must explain facts to show their significance. In historical writing, a thesis explains the words or deeds of people in the past. It shows cause and effect; it answers the question, why?
The thesis sentence is the key to most academic writing.
For a short paper pages , the thesis statement is often the first sentence. A complex thesis statement for a long paper may be part of a thesis paragraph. If you are just starting out, and you are still developing an original, evidence-based claim to defend, a simpler formula is probably best.
Developing A Thesis
The best thesis statement is a balance of specific details and concise language. Your goal is to articulate an argument in detail without burdening the reader with too much information. Skip to main content. Module 3: Definition Essay. Search for:. A thesis statement tells a reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
Tag: parts of a thesis statement
Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements. If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance. Not all papers require thesis statements! 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. The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4. 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. 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.
Hope I was able to help. Most thesis follow the same basic structure and are made up of five parts: an abstract, introduction, methods and discussion, conclusions and references.
For example, if you were to write a thesis statement on the topic of kids watching TV, it might look something like this:. In the United States, the average child between the ages of 2 and 11 watches around 30 hours of television a week. While there are some educational television shows out there, nothing can replace the learning that comes from loving human interaction; therefore, parents should spend more time with their kids and reduce the amount of television their children watch. Be specific in each part of your thesis statement!
Parts of a Thesis Sentence
Although the organising principles described here are most clearly relevant for empirical theses, much of the advice is also relevant for theoretical work. Please note that the formal requirements vary between different disciplines, and make sure to confer the guidelines that apply in your field. For the contents in the various sections you may also confer Organising your writing. Most readers will turn first to the summary or abstract. The summary should highlight the main points from your work, especially the thesis statement, methods if applicable , findings and conclusion. However, the summary does not need to cover every aspect of your work. The main objective is to give the reader a good idea of what the thesis is about. The summary should be completed towards the end; when you are able to overview your project as a whole. It is nevertheless a good idea to work on a draft continuously. Writing a good summary can be difficult, since it should only include the most important points of your work. But this is also why working on your summary can be so useful — it forces you to identify the key elements of your writing project. There are usually no formal requirements for forewords, but it is common practice to thank your supervisors, informants, and others who have helped and supported you.
Structuring a thesis
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.
