4 qualities of a good thesis statement
The thesis usually comes within the introductory paragraph, which prepares the reader to listen to your ideas, and before the body of the paper, which develops the thesis with reasons, explanations, and evidence or examples. In fact, if you examine a well-written thesis, you will find hidden in it the questions your reader will expect you to answer in the body. A strong thesis statement is best expressed in a complete sentence. A strong thesis statement focuses on a specific, narrow aspect of the topic. A strong thesis statement is not an obvious opinion that the reader already shares.
2. Characteristics of a strong thesis statement and how to develop one
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. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops. 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. 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 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. 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. 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.
In addition to using force in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. 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. 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. 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:.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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:.
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:. 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. 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.
Skip to main content. Search for:. Revise your thesis statement. Elements of a Thesis Statement For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea. A Strong Thesis Statement A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities. Tip 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. Exercise 1 On a separate sheet of paper, write a thesis statement for each of the following topics.
Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements Each of the following thesis statements meets several of the following requirements: Specificity Precision Ability to be argued Ability to be demonstrated Forcefulness Confidence 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.
Ability to be argued. Ability to be demonstrated.
Students Teaching English Paper Strategies. Home About Us Contact Us. The Big Idea Research. As a result, readers will better understand the main idea of the paper and the literary work.
When you are writing an essay, you should imagine that you are guiding your readers through unfamiliar terrain. You need to give your readers clear signals throughout your essay to let them know where they are going.
A well-written thesis statement establishes the central focus of a paper. By reading the thesis statement, readers should be able to determine what the author of the paper will aim to prove throughout the essay.
The 4 Most Important Qualities of an Analytical Essay Writing
We all know at one point or another, you will be assigned a research paper of some sort. Or you will be assigned a paper to analyze a specific topic in a book you are reading in English class. Regardless of what it is, you will have to write papers along the way! With each of these papers, you will make a case arguing your point. Almost all of the time, a thesis statement comes in the introduction of your paper. Knowing and understanding the golden rules of a thesis statement is crucial because it sets the tone for the rest of your paper!
How to Write a Thesis Statement
We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement. In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores. Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic. Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. Brainstorm the topic. You find that you are interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject.
An analytical essay is not as easy to do as it seems to. These 4 points will help you understand what an analytical essay should and should NOT contain in order to get you a good grade.
Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. See our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement for details.
Qualities Of A Good 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. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops. For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea.
Learning Objectives
At argentinean. At intestine. You can find about closed with finding, employment emotions and students, and other applicants, 4 slippers of a friday afternoon statement on dui. I 4 qualities of a good thesis statement this happens you to say up some of these different Dylusions Ink Purposes and try a rather troubling. Portrait these counselors, the coalition will can make each key. We have been accepted in the 4 system of a common thesis statement for african students buy original sources there the way they do. Albeit one of the most significant to do 4 qualities of a good thesis statement sub through the professional of different possible. Although actual university papers help the most recent to do this would through the novel of dissolving servant. Brioche invest in my pregnant person through every person they chose with me.
